HISTORY:
I am not a 'film buff' and my "world" is 'the arts' and more specifically, music, artwork and hand crafted/decorated chinaware's.
An extremely unwell associate has asked me to find new owners for THEIR large collection of photographic and film items ... this is one of those items. I am often asked "THE QUESTION"
So how many films do you have, Russ?
My response is ... boxes and boxes of them, perhaps 400+ left now
I have been honoured with the trust and care of these films, to the owner they are an important part of his life and I respect that. Each film is VERY SLOWLY (I have a lot of other things to do as well!) being evaluated, run through the projector (currently an ELMO ST1200D) and if needed, addition packing added to protect the film more.
ALL film stock is safely away in my storage units, nice n cool and out of harms way while I look (and smell!) each film ... NO ONE can just casually "browse" the collection. My associate wouldn't like that and neither do I.
Due to my previous working life in technical fields, I tend to be quite detailed in my item descriptions, please READ all the details to decide if this item may interest you.
Vinegar Syndrome: my nose came up NEGATIVE on this reel ...
Regardless of this, please keep the following in mind ...
From time to time I have noticed a "vinegar smell" coming off some films that I have been checking. I have been contacted by a learned ex film professional who has provided some pointers about this vinegar smell. Thank you kind Sir!
It seems that the presence of this odour indicates a chemical reaction is underway which will affect the base material of the film - over time. Most of these films are already around 50 years old, how much longer will they "survive" I wonder? No-one can provide a definitive answer to that one ... it's a bit like "the earth WILL be hit by a comet, one day, but no-one knows when"
This chemical reaction which is indicated by the Vinegar odour can (over time) affect both colour and black & white films equally, gradually becoming worse as time passes although I could not find a reliable guide as to how much time we are talking about - months? years? No-one seems confident enough to commit to a time frame.
If you "click" on the CAVEAT EMPTOR (Buyer Beware) in Red above, buried there is a link will take you to the esteemed National Film And Sound Archive Of Australia page which talks about this Vinegar Syndrome problem. These people at NFSA know their stuff ... the most disturbing aspect which jumped out at me is the possible effects of this chemical reaction on HUMAN health. Be careful when handling one of the "vinegar beasties", even just breathing the vapours is apparently not a good idea for sustained periods!
Having said all of this, I will ALWAYS indicate film stock that is producing this Vinegar odour in my description - although "aged", my nose still works (sort of!). I will still run the film through the projector for "testing" but have no way of knowing how advanced the chemical reaction may already be - unless the film stock crumbles in my hands! Hmmm ... not a good sign!
I still have a ton of films to investigate (the owner of these films was a BIG film buff in the 1960's ~ 1980's) and so far only a small percentage have proven to have the air of Vinegar about them ...
I have also been advised that even if NO smells are being produced, chemical reactions may still be underway but as yet undetectable by the human nose.
It really comes down to ... these films are OLD, probably they were never intended to be viewed up to 60 years later ... everything eventually fails
Please be realistic and keep all of this in mind.
Now, on with the description ...
How To Succeed As A GANGSTER (Humphrey Bogart & James Cagney) PLUS CRAZY FLYING
TWO short films on one 400' reel
"Gangster" is from United Artists
Crazy Flying is a Waltons release
This is 2x relatively short films, around 8 minutes each
400 Feet Cream-White unbranded reel
Leader fitted although quite short
Black & White
SILENT with on-screen text at frequent intervals
Run time: approximately 16 minutes total
How To Succeed As A Gangster (Featuring amongst others, Humphrey Bogart & James Cagney)
I think I have seen others from this series called HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS ... this film deals with the gangsters and their antics on screen, scenes cut from various motion pictures with on-screen text boxes indicating "well known" lines the actors used in the scene. Ranging from tough guy scenes, to love scenes (rough love!)
The second film CRAZY FLYING is also a series of snippets showing man's attempts at flight, quite lighthearted, I think this film is intended to amuse. Again, there are frequent on-screen text boxes to explain what you are watching.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
The original cardboard boxes had apparently fallen apart so the owner cut out the relevant front graphics from each box and attached them to this generic cardboard box.
NO personal writing on either the outer case or the film reel
Film stock is undamaged with a leader film fitted but no film clip.
TESTING:
Test machine: ELMO 1200ST
The projector film path has been completely cleaned prior to running this film through the machine. I now have a "running sheet", my maintenance schedule if you like - I record when each maintenance is performed because I am running a lot of films through the machine.
Film looks to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged, although in my opinion there is too much film on this reel and it is hard to prevent it spilling (no film clip is fitted)
NO leader film is fitted, begins with clear film only - not a true leader film
I ran the film through the projector for the complete reel as I needed to view just what the content was.
Black & White is the name of the game and silent to boot! On screen text boxes to help the viewer understand what was going on. There are two short films, as outline above.
Nice looking Black & White, although it does "lean" towards a Brownish-Sephia at times. Contrast is fine and of a normal "brightness"
My photographs show the weaknesses of the old digital camera I am using, it tends to throw Pink or Reds into the mix, in reality the on-screen picture is much better.
The sound is non-existent, this was produced as a silent version and frequent text boxes show on the screen to guide the viewer along.
I am happy that the unmarked reel inside the box is as stated on the outer cardboard box and that both of the two short films are on this reel.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films, they are after all the property of another, and I have now packed the film back into the polystyrene case, added a couple of Silica Gel packets and then sealed the reel in clear plastic, then another sealed clear plastic packaging has been added around the outer case.
This film is now stored in a cool, low humidity environment while it awaits a new projector to live with.
