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 "a person of age", 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 "dog film sniffer" 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 to 60 years later ... everything eventually fails
Please be realistic and keep all of this in mind.
Now, on with the description ...
CAT BALLOU (With Lee Marvin & Jane Fonda)
COLUMBIA HOME MOVIES
Series: Comedy Classics
Title: Cat Ballou (1965)
Catalogue # CB5002
400 Feet
Colour
Sound (Mono)
Run time: approximately 17 minutes is normal although this edition indicates it is the "Extra Long Edition" but with no indication of the run time.
Normally this would be a 400' reel, I can only guess that perhaps the film stock is thinner to enable more film to be wound on this size reel.
Synopsis (very brief):
Howdy partner!
Cat Ballou (played by Jane Fonda) is out to seek revenge for the death of her father, the killer of whom was Tim Strawn who is played by Lee Marvin. The film is a Western with a comedic flavour (a spoof) and it has songs performed by Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Very good
Film stock and the Fire Engine Red reel (PLiO-MAGiC USA) are undamaged, there is a White leader film.
Outer all cardboard two part case is in good condition, clean, no substantial structural damage or graphic damage and no personal writing.
The only writing on the reel is "Cat Ballou" - nothing else
The front cover has full colour graphics and rear is basically a promotion for other Columbia Home Movies releases in Blue print only.
TESTING:
Test projector is the ELMO 1200 that I have on hand at the moment.
Film looks to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged.
Gave the reel a good "sniff" and there are no signs apparent of any vinegar smells although it smelt just a little "musty", much like an old person's clothing!
I only ran the film for the first couple of minutes or so to observe the picture and sound.
The colour has definitely lost all signs of Blues and the Greens are not faring well either! Yes, Red dominates as can be seen a the screen shots I have included. Interestingly, the opening frames with the Columbia "logo" has quite a Green presence but once further into the reel, the Green slide into oblivion! While the colours are all out of wack, the actual picture is fine, sharp and with good contrast.
Sound is good and clean, easy to understand the dialogue or when listening to the musical numbers.
In my opinion, after this very brief test, I am happy that the film is as stated on the box and that the film stock appears to be in reasonable condition, considering the age.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films (I am after-all doing this on behalf of another person) and I have now packed it back into the original cardboard box AND sealed the film within clear plastic - waiting for a Super 8 film enthusiast to add to their collection!
