What 8mm films did I watch last night?

[Lee Mannering]

Started work early this morning to make way strangely as it seems for our W.C Fields and Chaplin night and we are looking forward to lots of laughs.
Dentist is in, Golf specialist, Bank Dick and loaned a print of Gold Rush to compliment from a new UK MAIN 8mm only dealer. Quite exciting reely..
Ending with a bit of Sid Field also doing the Gold Specialist UK version on 16mm.

[Philip Hamilton]

CREEPS! Hey that's Red Skeleton!

and

OUR WIFE !

[Dominique De Bast]

Just watched a 100 year old film : The Sky Pilot, with Colleen Moore. I mounted the film on a 360 m/1200 ft spool. Some intertitles disappear quickly from the screen but it was still ok.

[Brian Fretwell]

Just one part of Cinderella (3x600ft from Derann) as I had a Zoom social later.

[Melvin England]

I spent a good chunk of the morning outside in the fresh air with my table and rewind arms and decided to clean a 3x 600' film I have had in my collection for a while but have never got around to see. It is now clean and no after smell to contend with being out doors.

I decided to watch it tonight.

"Second Chorus" starring Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith and Artie Shaw.

It was then that I discovered what a waste of a morning I had had.
I have to say that this was the worst super 8 transfer I have ever seen. It was taken from a scratched to hell master print full of jump cuts. No, they weren't splices on my copy.... REAL jump cuts. Several nasty tram line scratches throughout the film from the master copy and to add insult to injury I think someone had tried to re-record the sound ( I HOPE it was someone...... I certainly hope it wasn't the original sound) which was a lost cause with a lot of it out of sync, particularly through a jump cut.
The actual film storyline wasn't very good either and , apparently, Fred Astaire later admitted it was his worst film. Artie Shaw commented that it made him decide NOT to go into movies!
I know I cannot blame the film company for the sound issue, but this was just a complete mess. Does anyone have any idea who released it on super 8 or has a copy of their own and could pass comment on it ?

I need either a stiff drink after this, or a great quality film to watch to re-affirm my faith in super 8. Now..... where's my copy of JP got to ?????

[Dominique De Bast]

Sorry for your bad experience, Melvin.

First, I screened "Rango". The film is not in its original box and is 120 m/400 ft version. Since there the box has the two boards I took pictures of, I assume "Terror Of The Jungle" was spliced after Rango and is a second extract of this 1931 film (if someone can confirm...).





After that, a French film : Une partie de campagne. Interesting film from Jean Renoir (the son of the famous painter). It was shot in 1936 but was released only 10 years later as it was unachieved. The final (not shot) scenes are not crucial for the story (which is based on a famous short story from Maupassant). The film is about a Parigian family spending a Sunday at the countryside ("campagne" in French, hence the title). The mother and the daughter are seduced by two boatmen. The missing last part of the story is a visit from one of the two boatmen later in Paris, so nothing is lost from the main action.

[Steve Klare]

Cheer Up, Melvin!

-It's the crappy ones that make the good ones all the more special!

(-and we all have a few, at least!)

[Janice Glesser]

Melvin England What a bummer experience. I have had bad films, but nothing to the extent that you discovered. You just happened to stumble upon a bad egg. Just shelve it and mark it with a skull and crossbones.

[Graham Ritchie]

For the last few days I have been sorting out those little 200 footers that I bought new back in the 1970s. Those short films have had a lot of use over the years, but was surprised how many are still very good color wise they have not faded anywhere as bad as I thought they might have.

I made up a 800ft reel of them, removing the heads and tails for a smooth transition from one film to another. I screened the reel last night

1....T/G "Professor Tom" Stunning Walton print in excellent condition.
2....Lady and the Tramp "Evening with Lady and the Tramp" Disney excellent color and condition, a reel delight to watch. I also have "Muzzle Trouble" which used to make a nice 400 footer but that one has faded to much for my liking to screen so it was removed.
3.....Bedknobs and Broomsticks.... "Match of the Century" excellent color print.
4.....My 400 footer of "The Rescuers" both extracts joined together, both prints have a couple of light base line scratches, color and general condition both prints are very good.

So that was last night, its a real time warp to screen those films again since most were bought new back in the 1970s, they have lasted remarkably well, yikes that's over 40 years of use

[Lee Mannering]

Dom Add Sky Pilot to our watch list when we have to get-together would love to see that!

Fantasia 2000 feature. Beautiful effort to emulate the original buy nay will only be one Fantasia. Great quality from Derann and so colorful.
Ended with our beloved Stand for The Queen although going a little pink.

[Brian Fretwell]

Full feature of Carry On up the Khyber, unfortunately not on low fade stock but still good colours.

[Oliver Feld]

I had a great time with Disney‘s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.
Maybe not the very masterpiece of all the animated classics, but very touching and including some phenomenal scenes.
And Alan Menken gives this hero a perfect musical touch!

[Graham Ritchie]

Screened my second 800ft of 200 footers

1...."The Frog and the Princess".... excellent print apart from a light base scratch on the far right.
2....."Donald Duck and the Gorilla".....excellent color print.
3......"Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby".....I marked this one as, a "stunning" color print.
4......T/G Mouse comes to Dinner...... faulty soundtrack so had to be removed.
5......T/G Yankee Doodle Dandy....faulty soundtrack also had to be removed.

I was half way through Mouse Comes To Dinner, when I heard a click from the soundtrack along with a sharp drop in volume. I cant remember where I got those two T/G, as this was the fist time I had screened them. I suspect that a previous owner had been playing around with the sound track. But there you have it, those two had to be removed. I did replace them with two 200ft extracts from "Pinocchio" although both have slight fade, they still are ok so far

[Graham Ritchie]

Oh! I nearly forgot, this afternoon of being not so lucky with faded prints, which went in the rubbish this one turned out to be a pleasant surprise, with excellent color and sound, not a mark on this print. It been sitting on a shelf for years today, screened it twice so that lifted my spirits after the big chuck out of the other stuff.

[Osi Osgood]

We watched "Helpmates", the Mountain Films version! Melvin, can you tell us who was the distributor of 'Second Chorus", so we can know to avoid it?