An Old Box of Films, Part 1
Written by Dan
Back when we first opened the theater, a gentleman dropped by and told us that he had recently inherited several boxes and canisters filled with old 35mm films. He had no idea what the movies were, so he asked if we might be able to put them on our projector and help him figure it out. We agreed, and told him to bring by the films whenever he had a chance. Today, nearly a year after our original meeting, he called to let us know he was in town with the films.
Long story short, we now have a dusty collection of 35mm films sitting in the vault... but that's not the half of it, folks. As I started to dig through everything, I found not one, but TWO complete feature films (one of which looks like it's never been played before), a couple animated short film featurettes from the 1950s, and several film trailers from the late 70s... including an original STAR WARS preview.
Here's a detailed list of what I've uncovered so far:
- THE DREAMER - This is the first of the two feature length films, and it is in pristine conditions. When a film is screened, the heads and tails (excess film on both ends of the reel) are typically cut away, allowing the reels to be spliced together seamlessly. However, the heads and tails are uncut on all five reels. There's no scratches, dirt, or any other visible signs of having been shown before. However, after searching IMDB for the film, I came up empty-handed.
There are three direct title matches: a British film from 2000 (too new), a black and white from 1948 (the film is color, so that's not it), and a third from 1916 (definitely not it). The other results are foreign films where the title translates to "The Dreamer," but from what I can tell, the film isn't foreign. There are no subtitles and the film stock is from the US. From the frames I saw, it looks like the film is set in the 1970s (obvious fashion and hairstyles), in an office setting. Reel number one, the one that should contain the title in the opening credits, is wound backwards, so the outermost part is the end of the reel.
- DAMNATION ALLEY (1977) - wikipedia - This is the second feature-length film in the collection, and it looks like a hoot. According to the IMDB trivia, "the movie sat on the shelf at 20th Century Fox for some time after production was completed in 1976. Fox had high hopes for it on its release in 1977, expecting it to do better at the box office in comparison to Fox' other sci-fi release scheduled for that year... Star Wars."
Unlike THE DREAMER, this print looks like it's been played... but not much. The print itself is in perfect condition - in fact, I've seen current films that looked worse than this one. When I was reading the forum for DAMNATION ALLEY, a certain post caught my eye (requires login). It said:
My best memories of this movie are the giant cockroaches and the "Star Wars" trailer (before the special effects were done) that preceded the movie.
Hmm, could that mean that the included STAR WARS trailer is an early version of the film, sans sepcial effects?
- Two reels (#1 and #3) of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, along with two lengthy promo trailers for the film. It's obvious that these reels have been played numerous times, but considering their age, they've held up pretty well. The color has faded a little, and there seems to be some tinting towards the outer part of the reel.
- The STAR WARS trailer is awesome. It's in great shape, despite missing its tail and having some masking tape residue on last few frames. I unwound it far enough to see a couple frames of Chewie and Han, and a tie fighter with the classic semi-transparent squares around it. I can't wait to see this one on the big screen.
- The short featurettes are: SKY RIDERS promo; BILLY BOY, an animated short directed by Tex Avery from 1954; and ROCK-A-BYE BEAR, another Avery cartoon from 1952. There's a fourth short animated film - looks like another Avery - but it's in terrible condition.
More to come!
