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Eric Grayson .. a.k.a. Dr Film .. Nitrateville Member since Dec 17, 2007

Click Link to Listen/Participate Jon Mirsalis
stusshow.com
WEDNESDAY- FEBRUARY 4, 2015
4:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM MT / 6:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM ET
(Shows often run over 2 hours)


ERIC GRAYSON - Film Historian/Preservationist
"With a Look at Collecting 16mm Films in the 1960s and 1970s
This subject is very near and dear to your genial host's heart. When it was affordable, collecting
16mm TV shows, features, and cartoons was the way to go in the pre-VCR days. How cool was it
to own your own prints of "I Love Lucy", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Flintstones", and many
other shows you could only watch on television during those years? If you were a feature film buff,
you also might have had in your library prints of "Horsefeathers", "The Wizard of Oz", "Singing in the
Rain", or even (gasp!) "Mary Poppins" and "Elmer Gantry"...and that's where the trouble for film
collectors began. Although it seems ridiculous now, back then just POSSESSING the films was
against the law. Film collectors around the country were being raided by the FBI on orders from all the
major studios to confiscate any and all prints. Collections were wiped out. Sellers were fined big
time and served long prison sentences. It all slowed way down with the advent of the VCR, which
paved the way for a new kind of harassment - bogus claims from would-be copyright holders, capping
off with nasty "cease and desist" letters from lawyers and eventual lawsuits. Wanna learn more about
this fascinating era?
Film preservationist ERIC GRAYSON will provide a detailed history of the whole
period...a time when even respected actors like Roddy McDowall were busted for loving the movies.
It will be an entertaining look back at a hobby that barely exists today thanks to DVDs and streaming
online. Tune in and be fascinated...
- we'll talk about all of this and read your e-mails too! "

1. SEND YOUR EMAIL QUESTIONS NOW - [email protected]
2. CALL TOLL FREE PROGRAM LINE - (888) 746-5875
Call while we're broadcasting or record your
question for playback during the show!

CAN'T HEAR THE SHOW LIVE? FEAR NOT! THE PROGRAM WILL BE AVAILABLE
FOR INSTANT DOWNLOAD FROM THE ARCHIVES BEGINNING THE NEXT DAY.
IN FACT, EVERY EDITION OF "STU'S SHOW" IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD!

Frank Thompson's The Commentary Track: Jon Mirsalis

Another great podcast- conducted by Frank Thompson -
covering, in greater detail, some of the same ground as the Grayson podcast...
plus, the latter portion has much unpublished fabulous film gossip from Mirsalis


CLICK TO HEAR
Episode 70 - Jon Mirsalis Returns
"Jon Mirsalis returns with tales of film collecting,
Cinecon and movie stars he has known."

Is this usually viewable in the UK? Sounds great.

There are more of us 16mm collectors still around than you might think.

As a movie fan kid growing up in the early 1950s and began collecting 16mm film in the 1960s, how well I remember those days! I had my visit from the FBI in 1976.

From there eventually I bought my own theatre in 1990 to run my 35mm public domain movies--and it was still fun!


Unfortunately, the prices of both 16mm and 35mm film on the collectors market skyrocketed and it became unrealistic to
pay many hundreds or thousands of dollars for a film print, seldom able to recoup that cost if you wanted to resell it--or worse yet, having it turn "vinegar" eventually, which many of my 35mm prints did.

Now that the digital projection age is here and picture and sound quality is MUCH better than it ever was with Blu-Ray, etc.,
I am happy to own great movies for a small fraction of the cost of film--without the hassles of worn prints, dupes, vinegar, faded color, etc., and project them in excellent quality in my home theatre.

Marr&Colton wrote:As a movie fan kid growing up in the early 1950s and began collecting 16mm film in the 1960s, how well I remember those days! I had my visit from the FBI in 1976.

From there eventually I bought my own theatre in 1990 to run my 35mm public domain movies--and it was still fun!


Unfortunately, the prices of both 16mm and 35mm film on the collectors market skyrocketed and it became unrealistic to
pay many hundreds or thousands of dollars for a film print, seldom able to recoup that cost if you wanted to resell it--or worse yet, having it turn "vinegar" eventually, which many of my 35mm prints did.

Now that the digital projection age is here and picture and sound quality is MUCH better than it ever was with Blu-Ray, etc.,
I am happy to own great movies for a small fraction of the cost of film--without the hassles of worn prints, dupes, vinegar, faded color, etc., and project them in excellent quality in my home theatre.

For the collector of movies, of course, you're right. To be honest, I don't buy much film at all any more for the reasons you mentioned - mainly the cost. However, I still have a small collection and, to me, there's still something magical about projecting film, which I'll always want to have a piece of.

I'm still a diehard. I just got in a second print of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. Most of them are from Realart materials with most of the main title missing. This is a Universal print with the complete opening. Some critic on the net wrote that the film killed Joe Penner's career. Actually, it was a heart attack!

Anyway, I would not hold my breath waiting for Universal to release this on DVD.

Ray Faiola wrote:I'm still a diehard. I just got in a second print of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. Most of them are from Realart materials with most of the main title missing. This is a Universal print with the complete opening. Some critic on the net wrote that the film killed Joe Penner's career. Actually, it was a heart attack!

Anyway, I would not hold my breath waiting for Universal to release this on DVD.

Oh, I don't know. If Universal can release HER JUNGLE LOVE and SKYLARK through their MOD program, would THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE be that far fetched? There have been rumors for some time of a Universal 40s musicals box set, and as a Rodgers and Hart, I would think TBFS would merit consideration for inclusion. Could be a TCM Vault release.

In the meantime, there are plenty of gray market DVDs of BOYS around... I believe Vintage Film Buff put it out briefly, transferred from 16mm.