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 this reel, 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 ...
EVERGREEN (1934) - Super 8 Film
PM Films Ltd (England)
I believe this would be a "selected scenes version" being only a single 600 foot reel
Commercial release for the Home Movie market
Original outer cardboard box packaging.
In brief, this is an old classic British musical drama which revolves around the principal female character Harriet Green, played by Jesse Matthews, an immensely popular singer but with a career destroying secret - she has a baby. Under threat of blackmail, she moves to South Africa with her child. Decades later, the same child returns to London passing herself off as her Mother, creating a complicated life for herself!
Film identification on the cardboard box but the reel simply has a TYPED label, presumably by the owner. How long has it been since anyone used a typewriter to create labels!
Leader film is fitted
8" Light Grey Grasso (Italian made) plastic reel ***
*** Note: that this is an 8 inch reel, you will need to use a projector capable of handling a 600' foot reel.
Black & White
Sound
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Film stock and the reel is undamaged
Outer cardboard packaging is in reasonable condition
Vinegar odour was not detected, at first I thought there was the dreaded Vinegar smell but then I realised it was coming from the film "next door" to it.
NO personal names or other writing on the packaging or the film reel
TESTING:
Test machine: ELMO 1200ST
First up, this reel is FULLY loaded (and it doesn't have a film clip!) It is interesting trying to feed the film into the projector when the supply reel is tending to spill film all over the floor! I have no idea why the owner put so much film onto the reel but it is not a great idea me thinks!
Leader film is fitted and it fed into the projector no problems (sprocket holes look good and undamaged)
The normal countdown 10-9-8 etc and then the film begins ... I must say this is a very dated British movie but I find the opening screen shots to be especially interesting and oh my! credits are given to just about anyone who had anything to do with the production of this motion picture.
Picture is as expected, contrast was fine, not too dark or light and I didn't notice any issues with scratching on the film.
Sound is acceptable (just) perhaps the level was a little low and with just a slight loss of low end frequencies but I could easily follow what the actors were saying (or singing because the opening scenes are of the young lady singing ... and goodness me, can she sing!) this all sounded good to me (monaural though)
After around five minutes only of play time, I had enough and am happy the film is in reasonable condition.
I have now packed away the film inside in a sealed clear plastic packet, along with a couple of Silica Gel packs, and then also the outer cardboard box ... in an attempt to keep moisture at bay and preserve the condition for as long as possible.
