Bill Davison

[Adrian Winchester]

As some members will know, Bill Davison used to write the 'Bootlace Cinema' Super 8 reviews in Movie Maker magazine, and he also had some involvement in Blackpool conventions in the pre-Derann era. He made an unexpected appearance at Blackpool in 2019, which some of us enjoyed seeing. I recall there were one or two forum posts before this, indicating that someone had contacted him, so I wondered if anyone can reach him now?

If he proved to be well and willing, the Blackpool team would like to invite him to appear in a Q&A at this year's convention.

[Paul Adsett]

Bootlace Cinema would be a really great Q&A topic Adrian. I remember the anticipation of each edition of Movie Maker, and Bill Davison's Bootlace Cinema was always the first pages I would read (closely followed by Ivan Watson's brilliant articles).
I hope you get the opportunity to secure Bill for the next Blackpool. One thing I have always wanted to know - did he get to keep all those great prints?

[Douglas Meltzer]

Paul,

I asked Ged Jones about Derann's policy on that subject. He said the prints were returned, but if the reviewer wanted to purchase the print they would work out a price for them. Gary Brockelhurst kept a book with all the films going out for review and would delete them on their return.

Adrian,

I hope Bill Davison is able to join you. His reviews were always great fun to read.

[Adrian Winchester]

Many years ago, I bought some 200' and 400' prints that Bill offered somewhere, so maybe they included review prints but I can't be sure. He had covered all the cardboard boxes with an adhesive black covering to give them a uniform look. So, if you ever see a film box that's completely black and shiny, it's probably a film that was in Bill's collection!

[Adrian Winchester]

I'm still trying to contact Bill! If anyone knows collector Guy Badger and could reach him, I'd appreciate the information, as Guy was in touch with Bill around 2019. Guy is in the members list here, but probably hasn't seen the messages I've tried sending to him.

[Melvin England]

Just sent you a PM, Adrian.