1977 News Story about an FBI raid on a 16mm collector

[silentfilm]

According to the notes on the YouTube page, this teenager was acquitted and eventually got his films back.

[markfp]

Oh, I remember those days. They'd come in and grab anything with sprocket holes. It didn't matter if the films were in public domain or whether they had legally been purchased from some company like Blackhawk. Out they'd go and it was up to the collector to prove they had the right to them. I knew one collector who lost 30 years of personal home movies because he had used 16mm film instead of 8mm. When he questioned the FBI agent about seizing them he was told that "nobody shot home movies on 16mm so they must be illegal." Those were certainly dark days for collectors.

[Ed Watz]

Oh, I remember those days. They'd come in and grab anything with sprocket holes. It didn't matter if the films were in public domain or whether they had legally been purchased from some company like Blackhawk. Out they'd go and it was up to the collector to prove they had the right to them. I knew one collector who lost 30 years of personal home movies because he had used 16mm film instead of 8mm. When he questioned the FBI agent about seizing them he was told that "nobody shot home movies on 16mm so they must be illegal." Those were certainly dark days for collectors.

Jack Valenti is dead. Raymond Rohauer is dead. They were two heartless vultures in filmdom, one working within the industry, the other on its fringes. I knew collectors who used to dream of the day when these two greedy characters wouldn't be around to harass them...instead their passing was more like Georgie's anticipated comeuppance in THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. It eventually happened, but no one cared any longer to notice.

[Richard Finegan]

More on the case:

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xm ... -1950-1985" target="_blank

[Bor Enots]

Go to thesmokinggun.com and search "roddy mcdowall" and you can see the documents related to his home being raided by the FBI looking for pirated films. Roddy ratted out just about everyone he could think of in an effort to save his own skin. He eventually donated his film colllection to Boston University with a restriction that it couldn't be touched until 2100...what a guy!!

[Ed Watz]

Go to thesmokinggun.com and search "roddy mcdowall" and you can see the documents related to his home being raided by the FBI looking for pirated films. Roddy ratted out just about everyone he could think of in an effort to save his own skin. He eventually donated his film colllection to Boston University with a restriction that it couldn't be touched until 2100...what a guy!!

Let's hope they put Roddy's films in vented cans, or at least toss in new molecular sieves every couple of years!

[westegg]

I recall reading how Roddy would have movie night, showing nitrates of 4 DEVILS, HOLLYWOOD etc. Too bad it's such a long wait.

[pookybear]

Oh yes,

Hard times for film collectors. How odd it was when studios found their holdings to be rotting away in cans how quickly
they turned to collectors for help. With the recent move to digital in an attempt to stamp out bootleg copies of films
and a total control on all new copies of films seemingly solved.....An evil eye once again can be turned our way.
I can see that "those days" could quickly come back again for any remaining vintage prints. And how they were acquired
questions all over again. It just amazes me how fast Hollywood can destroy a film and then wonder how it happened.
And how quickly they forget the past painted over in a certain shade of copyrights laws that are stretched beyond
any reason of personal ownership and private viewing of films. They own only the idea of the film and not the base on
which it is printed and at some point they had sold to people or threw away in a dumpster to be conveniently forgotten.
All to quick "those days" can return again.

Pookybear

[Gaucho]

Go to thesmokinggun.com and search "roddy mcdowall" and you can see the documents related to his home being raided by the FBI looking for pirated films. Roddy ratted out just about everyone he could think of in an effort to save his own skin. He eventually donated his film colllection to Boston University with a restriction that it couldn't be touched until 2100...what a guy!!

From RM's F.B.I. file:
"I decided to place a portion of my films on videocasstte tapes because of the ease of storage, space saving advantages, and the longer life expectancy of videotape as compared to film."

Interesting also how public figures like Rock Hudson and Richard Shepard's names were not blacked out by the Bureau. I wonder whether there ever was any search of Dick Martin or Mel Torme's homes after Roddy "outed" them?

As I understand it, the seal placed on his collection was more to protect his papers (which some have speculated contain his takes on other stars, his sexuality, etc.) rather than his films.