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 500+
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 these reels, however ...
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 be underway but as yet undetectable by the human nose (Hmmm ... is there such a thing as a "film sniffer dog" such as Border Patrol uses at the airport?
It really comes down to ... these films are OLD, probably they were never intended to be viewed up 50+ years after being released ... everything eventually fails
Please be realistic and keep all of this in mind.
Now, on with the description ...
This 3x reel motion picture is in the original distributors packaging, and surprising reasonable condition considering it's age.
TECHNOFILM (ITALY) - Super 8 Film
Commercial release for the Home Movie market
Catalogue # Unknown (not indicated on packaging or reels)
A QUIET MAN 1952
Romantic comedy drama
After accidentally killing an opponent in the ring, boxer Sean Thornton (John Wayne) leaves America and returns to his native Ireland, hoping to buy his family's homestead and live in peace. In doing so, he runs afoul of Will Danaher (Victor McLaglan), who long coveted the property. Spitefully, Will objects when his fiery sister, Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), begins a romance with Sean and refuses to hand over her dowry. Mary Kate refuses to consummate the marriage until Sean retrieves the money.
This box set is housed in the original thick cardboard outer box, with each reel of film fitting inside this box, with individual labelling, they are labelled as ...
REEL 1: Return To Innisfree
REEL 2: In Love With Mary Kid
REEL 3: The Fight
This packaging is original NOT a "White box"
Leader film fitted to Reels 1 & 2 but NOT Reel 3
3x 7" 400' capacity Grey PLiO MAGiC (USA) plastic reels with NO film clips fitted
Colour
Sound
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Film stock and each reel in the case are undamaged
Outer heavy cardboard box with graphics is in surprisingly good condition after around 50 years! Barely any wear at all to the graphics. There is a note which has been attached by the owner to the box ... "Cleaned & Lub 11/10/83" now I do not know how or what a "film clean & lub" means and in any case, it happened 35 years ago!
The 3x reel cases are all undamaged
Vinegar Syndrome: my nose came up NEGATIVE on these reels ALTHOUGH because I have been giving so much film "the sniff test" lately, sometimes I "think" I can smell a faint whiff of Vinegar - these reels are like this ... if there is an Vinegar smell, it is extremely low level. I need a sniffer dog!
NO personal names or other writing on the case or the film reels
TESTING:
Test projector is the ELMO 1200 that I am using at the moment.
All film looks to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged.
A White leader film is fitted to Reels 1 & 2 but not Reel 3. With the latter reel (3), you get the 10-9-8 etc countdown and then straight into the film ... this all means that once the film is wound onto the takeup reel, the beginning of this reel is just seconds away instead of the longer times created when using a leader.
I ran the film through the projector for approximately the first five minutes each, to observe the picture and check that the sound quality.
Yes! Definitely the Blues/Green are "out to lunch" possibly a little Green remains as instead of just plain Red or Pinks, the overall hue is an Orange Yellowish colour but certainly the colour information has changed dramatically. If I was to single out a reel, in my judgement Reel 3 has the most Greens showing, resulting in the Brown colouring being are more distinct.
The sound is fine at least, that distinctive John Wayne voice is unmistakable! Easy to follow the dialogue just the picture which is disappointing.
In my opinion, after these brief tests, I am happy that the film is as stated on the case and looks to be in fair technical condition.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films, after all these are owned by another and I have been placed in their care, so I have now added within each reel two Silica Gel satchels and then sealed the entire outer cardboard box in an effort to maintain the current condition for as long as possible.
