SECOND TR I UMPHANT YEAR SINGLE COPY PRI CE: 40¢

FILM BUFF···

VOL. 2 NO I 11 JULY 1973

Can you identify the famous 1927 film represented in this sti l l?

See cover picture identification on page 2 .

, ,

IN TH IS ISSUE OF FILM BUFF I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

* 'THE READER SPEAKS' - THE MOST POPULAR FEATURE

IN ANY FILM PUBLICATION
* A REVIEW OF BLACKHAWK'S 'PHANTOM OF THE OPERA'
WITH PRINT QUALITY CRITIQUE
* NE WS ABOUT NEW RELEASES FROM MAJOR DISTRIBUTORS
FOR THE COLLECTOR AND HOME SHOWMAN
* TI PS ON SHOWMANSHIP, FILM AND EQUIPMENT CARE
* REVIEWS OF 'CAMPUS VAMP' AND 'SERIAL TRAILERS'

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 FILM BUFF
P.2
FILM BUFF
Published monthly by Impact Promotion
& Publishing at 2648 Grand Avenue, Bell­
more, Long Island, New York, 11710. Mail
address: P.o. Box 352, Bellmore,N.Y.117l0.
Editor and Publisher: FRED F. MURO, JR.
Circulation averages 500 to 750 copies
per month on a controlled basis to film
collectors, home showmen, film makers,
nostalgia buffs, film technicians and
film educators and students.
Deadline: the FIFTEENTH of each month pre­
ceding date of publication.
Cine Mart advertis~ng is payable in ad­
vance. Display advertising, except that
of recognized credit, is also payable in
advance. Display ads must be submitted
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MANUSCRIPTS: Film Buff does not pur­
chase such scripts at this time although
we will publish those that are suitable
if those submitting them wish to contri­
bute them for the benefit of our other
subscribers.
THE READER SPEAKS publishes letters from
readers and opinions expressed do not
necessarily represent the opinions of
the publisher or Film Buff.
WONDERING WHAT YOU MISSED?
If you are a relatively new FILM BUFF
subscriber, you missed many interesting
a rt i c les and reports on l6mm, Super 8mm
and Standard 8mm silent and sound films
and home showmanship. Here's your chance
t o catch up:
F I LM BUFF SCRAPBOOK NO.1 - a collection
o f articles, film reviews,etc. from the
fi r st seven issues of the Buff! $3.50
FILM BUFF SCRAPBOOK NO.2 - a collection
of articles , film reviews,etc. from the
second series of 7 issues of the Buff.
Some illustrations. $3.50.
ORDER EITHER OR BOTH DIRECT FROM:
IMPACT PROMOTION & PUBLISHING
P.O.Box 352, Bellmore, N.Y. 11710
Add sales tax if in N.Y. Add 50¢ to or­
ders from Canada, $1. to European orders.
July 1973
WHAT'S NEW?
Certainly not the photo
at the right! Every film
buff recognizes Chaplin
and little Jackie Coogan
and knows their comedy
classic, "~he Kid".
What every film buff does
not know, however, is that
Film Buff, through its
tape facility, is produc­
ing a delightful sound
track f or that 1920 gem.
And does everybody know that you can get a great
little follow-up featur e to THE KID from Cine
Service Vintage Films (585 Pond St., Bridgeport,
Conn. 06606)? It's called "My Boy" and is five
delightful reels long with Coogan giving the per­
formance you expect--replete with pathos and fun.
It is almost a copy of "The Kid" ex c ept that you
have Claude Gillingwater in Chaplin's place as
the man who loses his heart to the captiva ting
Jackie.
WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Film Buff editor FRED MURO is booked for a week­
end at Edgewater Acres, Ted Reinhart's resort in
Pennsylvania. Ted is a film buff and your editor
will look over the barn theatre maintained there
for the showing of the classic films to guests.
We will be reporting on Edgewater and also on
the outcome of talks initiated by Ted Reinhart
concerning the possibilities for a classic film
festival co-sponsored with Film Buff.
"CAMPU S VAMP" (rev i ewed in this issue) is a good
of the screen's all-time lovelies, Carole Lombard
and Sally Eilers and we believe that the high
quality print available from Thunderbird deserves
a soundtrack. Film Buff has already prepared the
track and it is now available in standard reel or
cassette versions.
Coming in August FILM BUFF:
The "Reader Speaks" column will include a very in­
teresting letter reporting on a visit to Blackh awk
Films. One of our fine readers has gone to th e
trouble of reporting in detail on the operations
at Blackhawk, Davenport, Iowa, where he was given
the "guided tour." You'll enjoy that letter. ***
Another reader has given us a story on the fabled
western film hero, BUCK JONES and we will publish
that one in August, too.
Somebody wants to know where a film distributor
known as "Watsofilms" is located. He cannot find
the company anywhere and is getting desperate be­
cause the firm apparently has some juicy titles.
Is it a British outfit? If anybody knows the ad­
dress, at least one Buff reader will appreciate
getting it. Drop a card to the Buff. And thanx!
FRANKIE LARKIN's office has asked us on a couple
of occasions why we never mention their CINE
NOSTALGIA publication. Would love to do more
than mention it, friends, but you still haven't
sent us a sample copy on which to base a review!
DITTO Essex Film Club. We have great respect
for Essex and for Griggs Moviedrome but how can
we say anything when you don't give us anything
to say? Still don't have your catalog!
NEVER SEND CASH IN THE MAIL. Always use a money
order or personal check. One or two envelopes
reached us this week with flaps opened and the
remittances missing. Sticky Fin gers Sam must be
operating again. Postal inspectors please note.
 FILM BUFF P .3
J ULY 1973

THE READER SPEAKS!

Letter s to the e d itor ar e us ed in th is col umn u n l e s s y o u s p ecifi c all y as k u s not
to p ub lish them. So me l e t t er s are e di t e d or s hor te n e d b ec a u s e o f spa c e limita­
t ion or o th er e d i t o ri a l co n s i de ra tio n s . Th i s i s a for um for th e ex c ha n g e of
ide a s, op i ni o n s a n d r e c o~m en dati o ns fo r film c ollecto r s , fi l m teache r s a n d
fil m student s o r f a n s i n ge n era l. Send us y o u r id e a s . Ot h e r readers wil l
a p preciate t h e m a n d t h e y wi ll oft e n t e turn t 6 e ~av & r . "Add r Ass : Edi to r, Fil m Buf f
Impact P ro moti on a nd Publis h i n g, P.O. Box 352, Be l lmore, N.Y. 11710
- ---- - - ---- - -- -- - - - ----------------------------- - --- --- --- - ------------------ - ----
GEORG E KONDER publi sh er of MOVI E REVI EW a nd the HARO LD F,BENSON one of our most coo per ative readers
ma rk eter of a f a s c i nat ing line of home s howmans hip 'J.nd a de di c a t e d f ilm buff contri but es a gain to t h e
mat er ials ( 32 9 Lat hro p Rd. , Syr a cuse , N.Y . 1 3219) knowl e dge o f "f e l l ow colle cto r s:
wr i t e s: "The code l et t ers for th e Eumig 710-D p r oj ecti on
"Re - Ar t i c l e ' Ar e Film Co l le c to r s Lone r s ?' l amp i s E F P and i t i s s upposed to b e made by GE .,
I to o believe t ha t i t i s t he r e s pon s i bili ty of t he but no de aler t hat I have co ntac t ed ha s be e n a ble
f i lm c ollector t o s t i mul a t e new a c quainta nc es who to ~ ind i t lis t ed . Al l t he lamps I have u se d we r e
mi ght enj oy wa t ching a f i lm. of European ori gi n, s uch a s At l a s , Phi l ips or Os r am.
"However , I f ound t ha t family a nd f r iends yo u al ­ I ha ve f ound t ha t s ome of t hem do not have t he l a mp
re ady ha ve wi ll al so e nj oy si l ent (with so undtrack) pr op erly cente r ed i n t he re fl e ct or , a nd a s t here i s
a nd early sound fi l ms i f you i nt r oduce t he f i lms no way t o a d jus t the r efl ec t or , t he l ight can be
pr oper ly, and put your a ud i ence in the r i ght mo od . very uneven, wi t h da rk section s on t h e s c re e n. I
"I us e d to s t a te th e t itle of th e film, wh o wa s in als o ha d one of these l amps e xplode , aft e r about
i t et c ., and answer any ques t i ons t he a udi ence give minu t es of us e , r esulting i n glas s pa rt i cl es
might ha ve ab out the f i lm , be f or e t he viewing . being s cat t e re d i n th e pr oje ct or , whic h I r emoved
Then, I kille d t he l ights and s tar t ed the proj e c t or. with a va cuum c leaner.
This me t hod is t oo a brupt . The re i s no pr of e s sional "Ano the r way to g e t more li ght on t he scree n, b e ­
co ntinui ty . No ma tt e r wh ere peop le go t o se e a film, sides a br i gh te r l amp , i s t o u se a f a ster lens.Th e
t hey exp e ct ent e rt a i nment or somet hi ng pleas ing t o Eumi g Var i o-Euprone t f / l .3 supplied with the 710- D
the eye to look a t be f or e t he film st arts a nd dur ­ i s a good lens, reasonab l y sharp and of good con­
ing the intermiss io n . trast, but I find that a Bell & Howell F11movara
"This is why I spent weeks looking for movie-oriented f/l.2 from a several years-old Standard 8 projector
products that would add that 'theatr e touc h ' to my increases the screen light consider a b ly, and the
s howings . Since I mus t sh ow a l l my f i l ms i n our liv­ ove r a ll s har pne ss s eems t o be i mprove d .
ing room (fortunately it is about 25' long and con­ "The plast i c spiral grooved tubes that Eumig uses
nects with the dining room which is another 20') I on i t s lens can be purchased separately from Eumig
was l ooking for some s pec i alt y t hat was portable ( $1.00 ea ch plus pos tage) and if the lens barrel
and compac t . is eve n ly wr appe d wi t h mas king tap e, t o a diamet e r
"Then I f ound Chas er Light Co n tro ll er s whi ch I use t hat wi l l provi de a fo r ce d f i t of t he t ub e, a lmos t
for a miniat ure mar quee ( wit h t he ' moving ' lights any l ens ( i ncluding s ome 16mm f or a l ong t hr ow) can
going ar ound it . ) Next, I f ound Mi ni atur e Sea rc h­ be t ri ed . "
l ights . They ' r e l i ke the ki nd you see in t he 20th
Ce nt ur y -Fox Trad ema rk f ilm only very smal l , a nd th ey
r otat e t oo ! Mi ni a t ure mi r ror ed ba l ls were ne xt ­ PHI L YERMAC K of Far Ro ckawa y , Ne w York , t ook t he
when the l i gh t f rom t h e s e a rc h light s hit s t h e bal l s , t i fue to pen thi s i nf ormat i ve lett e r t o f e l l ow fi l m
t hey fill t he ro om wi t h a ' cascade of d i amonds. ' bu ff s :
"Na tura l l y, a ll th ese things cos t mo ney a nd I didn't "Havi ng r ec ent ly r e c ei ved a p ar t- col or print o f
buy t hem all a t once . It took ma ny months to purch a s e The Phant om of t he Opera fro m Blackhawk Films ,I 'd
a ll "t he items. l i ke t o offe r my c omments whic h ma y a n swer s ome
"Now; b e fore the film begins, I hav e a s epa ra t e mus i c of t he q ue s tions pos ed by J ame s Hugh Henry i n
s ource (a t ape rec orde r) playing old tune s of t he 20 's , your June is s ue. Firs t , it s h ould be no t ~ d t ha t
30's, a nd 40's and I have t he ma rq ue e wit h t he Chas e r Blac kh awk c laims t ha t t he y have t he c omplet e gene- ,
Li ghts goi ng. Then , simultane ous ly , I turn of f t he ra l r el e a s e ve r s i on . I n 8mm t his r un s to 1425 f t .
room lights and switch on t he s e a r ch light( s) a s a \about 7 1/ 8 r e e l s) . This pr oba b l y di ff e r s some­
pre-re corde d drum roll f ills t he a i r . The film begi ns what f r om t he ori gina l ha r d t i c ke t ver s ion (re­
a nd I douse al l other l igh ts in the r oom . At the e nd l ease d i n 10 r e els a c cording to Robert G. Ande r so n
of the fi lm, I do all of the abo ve , b ut i n r eve r s e, i n h i s fin e bo ok on Lon Chaney , Fac e s , For ms a nd
of cour s e . Films . Th is probably exp l a i ns the occ a s iona l
"I have fo und that this s y tem of showmanship make s lap s es in conti nuity that Mr. Henr y no t ic ed. The
t he a udienc e exci t ed a nd with a l l t he old- fas hi oned , Blac khawk pr i nt, howeve r, is ra ther mo r e c omple t e
and mUCh-nee de d, glamour, th ey a re s e t t o wa tc h j ust t han the v ers i on put ou t by I mperia l-Ent erta i nment
ab out a ny f i l m a nd re a l l y e njoy i t . Fi l ms which I a l s o own. Among the foo t age mi s s i ng
"Of course, yo u don't need al l t he equi pme nt I men­ in t he Entert a inment pr i n t, but inc l ude d in the
t i oned. Like I s a id, I di dn 't ac quire it all a t once Blac khawk verSi on, i s a puzzli ng s c ene immedi a tely
and t he audi e nc e s t ill became mo re intere ste d in the f ollowi ng t he opening cre di ts involving a cha r a c ­
f ilm with jus t t he chas e r l ight s. te r wa nd ering a r ound t h e ca t a comb s wi t h a l a mp
"For a mo r e i nexpens i ve but fa s cina ti ng t ouch to f ollowed b y a sha dow whic h obvi ous ly b elong s t o
your ' home theatre ' I woul d rec ommend one of the new Eri k ( t h e Phantom ). Als o adde d t o t h e Bl ackh awk
he at-p owe red r e vo l ving p l a st i c c ylinder s you see in ve rsi on i s a ke y s cen e prec e ding t he c l as s i c un­
gi ft s hop s . I don' t l i ke all t hos e ' p sychede li c ' one s mask i ng s c ene Wherei n Chri s tine i s warne d , by
but I bought one of Nia gar a Fa l ls . It l ooks l i ke
l e tter , t hat s he i s s afe a s l ong a s s h e doe s n ' t
t he wat e r i s a ctually moving . It ma ke s mos t
tou ch t he Phant om' s mask. Thi s very i mp ortant
peop l e l ook twice . They r un a bout $9.00 and I
s cene is eliminat ed from En ter t a inment' s ve r si on.
i magi ne they're a va ila bl e i n mos t gi ft shops. "
As f or Mr .Henry 's sp e c ifi c questio ns, Ca r l ot ta ' s
dis a ppearance f r om t h e f i lm seems logi ca l . Her
( Cont i nued on Page 4 )

p. 4
THE READER SPEAKS
( cont i nued fr om page 3)
PHI L YE RMACK le tt e r :
part is rat her s ma l l , though essentia l unt i l th e
'chandelier scene ' . Af t er th i s , her a bs ence is e x­
plained by a tit le claiming that her car eer was
termi na te d by the Phantom' s cur s e (whic h le d t o
the cha ndelier f iasco) . The char act er s er v es no
furth er purpose . As for the ot her 3 questions,
all seem t o hi nge on some early s tangling in t he
fi lm . That odd seque nc e mentioned ab ove (the
man and t he shadow) may h a ve something t o do with
th i s but even thi s pri nt off ers no conc r e te evi ­
dence any st r angling prior to the death of the
st age hand , Joseph Buq uet .
"As i de fr om t his rather minor l apse i n pl otting ,
whic h all prints seem to suffer fr om, Blackhawk ' s
ve r sion has the following as s e t s:
1 . Sharp focus and cont r a s t t hr oughout - e ven
t he le t t ers are clear and eas y t o read.
2. Mini mal scra tches .
3 . Perfe c t l y cente red tit l es .
4. The pre lude to the unma s king s cene and the
u ~as king sc ene (its elf ) usua l ly t he poor est
pr e s er ved sc e ne s i n the f ilm , though defini t ely
badly de t er i orat ed in comparison to the res t of
t he print, are f ar superi or to mo st other sma ll
gauge pri nts that I have s e en a nd, t hough s pot ted
and shady at t i mes , it alwa ys mai nt a i ns f ocus .
5 . The Bal Ma sque Se quence is i n early 2- co l or
f rom ' Ti l lie' but thi s fi lm is na tura l a t 24 fp s .
Technicolor or s ome simila r ear l y co lo r pr oce s s .
The color , t hough lac king pure whites and fav or­
i. e. f irs t f r ame i s printed twic e , s ki p t wo , four th
ing or a nge, i s remar kabl y good and s hould be of
interest to any film co lle ct or .. (I would suggest,
when showing the film, to skip the intro added by
Blackhawk which mentions the color, and leave the
indicate running time. Why can't there be a standardi­
;-c o-l-eT- s-e-gme nt -' a ~a s urpr±-s e to your-aud-i ence . It
should cause quite a pleasant surprise).
"As I seem to be writing a book inste~ d of a let­
ter, let me close wit h my thank you for the good
r eading your ma ga zi ne provides every month."
DIC K IAN NOTT I of Wate rtown, Conn. writes:
" I woul d like t o s ay tha t I enjoy Film Buff i m­
mens ely. It i s enjoya b l e t o r ead ab out f ellow film
col l ect ors and r ead t hei r comments . Every art i c l e
i s read and en joyed . A fin e ma ga zi ne .
" I especiall y like the produ ct r evi ews and th e
film r e views .
"I ha ve t he p l ea s ure of owni ng a He urt ier ST- 42
mono proj ector. I must report t hat it i s a beauti­
fu l mac hine. The s ound qua lity fa r surpasses any
ma chi ne I have owne d or heard. I a lso l ike t he
800 ft. capac i t y. I have bough t some films- t hat ad­
vertis e at 900 or 1 , 000 ft. and , with a little edit­
ing , they f it nicely on a n 800-ft reel . The mac h i ne ­
takes a li t tle get ting us e d t o , f or the cont rols
STEVEN DHUEY of Mi.lwaukee , Wis. writ e s :
are a l i tt le more compli cated t han nor mal. But once
"I was t hril led to s e e my l et te r in t he May Film
yo u get used t o them yo u wil l fi nd the ma chine a
gem . I can re comme nd the Heur t i e r t o any buff wi t h
no re s erva tions.
*** **
I n closing, I would like t o s ay, kee p up the good
work in Fi lm Buff. I look f orward to future i ss ue s ."
RANDY RUDD of Lubb oc k , Texas wr it e s:
" I jus t t hought it might be of inter e s t t o fell ow
Laurel and Har dy f ans t hat t he re i s an a lb um out
cal led ' Na t ur a l ly Hi gh ' which is a 33 1/3 l p of
s ome of t he i r be st lines of dialogue a nd some great
songs . Include d are : 'Let Me Cal l You Sweetheart'
( 'Swi s s Mis s ' ) , ' On The Trai l of the Lonesome Pi ne'
( ' Wa y Out We st ' ), ' I Love You ' (' Bea u Hunks '), 'Lazy
Mo on' ('Par don Us' ) , and 'Going Down To Di xie'
('Way Out We s t ' ). The LP is available f r om Douglas
Recor ds , dis tr ibut e d by PIP Rec ords , 850 Seventh
Avenue , New York , N.Y . 10 019.
'.
FILM BUFF JULY 1973
J.B.WHITLEY of For t Wort h, Texas wri te s :
"I was s'omewhat a mus e d by your rema rks in res pons e
to Randall Rudd's lette r in t h e May i ssue in whi ch
you s t a ted ' ... Your being a cy c le fan would s ug­
ges t yo u may be $omewhat yo unge r t ha n s ome of us . . '
Like mo s t sp ort s, r ecrea t ion a nd hob bies, motor­
cyc l ing has n o age boundari e s . I me t one couple
l ast s ummer who had just re t i re d and were t ouring
t he country on their fir s t mot orcycl e a nd enjoying
every minute of it ! NOW, yo u can add a mot orcyc le
cop to yo ur list of ' cul t urall y or i e nt ed' c i ne
buffs!
"I s t arted t hi s fasc inat ing a v oca tion a fte r the
introduct i on of Super 8 be c aus e I wa nted a 'train­
ing f ilm' of a lo ca l si t uation . The bug r eal ly b i t
and I ha ve been filmin g ever s inc e . J us t during the
pas t t wo yea rs have I s t arte d a l i brary of ot he r
fi lms . In t his regard , your column on 18 vs 24 f ps
was most int erest i ng. Our area 8mm c l ub f eat ured
a s ymposium on this very sub j ec t r e cently . Sound
ca n be ve ry satisfactory a t 18 fp s. Al l of my
early fi l ming was done at 18 but I s t a rt ed 24 f ps
prio r t o a vacation t r i p to t he Northwe s t l as t ye a r .
Pe r s onally, I cannot te l l that much difference in
t he quality of the sound - but t h e v is uals s e em to
be much smoother . Elimi nat es the st r ob e ef f ect.
" I have the Blackhawk print of 'Ti llie ' s Punctured
Romance' and it is qui t e s a t i sfact ory a nd l ooks
na tura l when pro j ect e d at 18 f ps. Anot her film ,
f rom t he Paul Ki lliam library , fe a tures e x c erp ts
Pre s umably the y have a dd ed eight extr a f r ames;
frame tWice, etc . As you know, Bl a ckhawk gene rally
indicates number of f eet for a s ub ject. Thunderbird
indicates number of r e els, and one or two others
zatiGn .i B thi s - re.ga-rd-,! I p rep-o s-e- the running-time - - - ­
Since, being the showmen that we are, we are in-
terested really in computing how long our presenta­
tion will be?
"Certainly enjoyed your product report on the Bolex
St riper. I have be en st r iping my fi l ms with one of
those che ape r br a nds s o far. I f i nd you can stripe
c ontact pri nt s (with emu lsion si de away fr om t he
lens ) pr ovided you ' cond i t ion' it first wi th a ve r y
useful ga dge t from England cal l ed the ' Cut - A- Rut ' .
It r eall y works, if you have t he pat ience t o do t he
job prop erly. I do hope t o ha ve e nough pennie s s ave d
some day to get the Bole x Striper . I have heard t hi s
str iper is c apable of s tr i ping th e p olye st er base
films as wel l, a l t hough no mention was made i n y our
art~cle of t hi s! "
NOTE TO BOLEX FROM THE BUFF EDI TOR: I s thi s t rue
about s't ri ping the polyester base fi lms ?
Buff . In fa ct , I i mmedia t ely s ub scrib e d. (Hint:
try that t o get peop le t o s ubscribe) . I wro t e that
I didn't have a sound proj e ct or , t o whic h you sug ­
gested t hat I should buy one a s soon a s pos sib l e .
As much as I would like to, Mr .Muro , I am ( sur pr ise )
only th i rt een, and at that age I am l ucky t o scra pe
up the money fo r a Film Buff subscription.
"But all i s not lost without a sound pro j ect or . I
buy 'sound' films f r om Ame r icom 8 films (availab l e
through Blackhawk or Int e rnational Films) . They
fea ture si lent reg. 8 and Super 8 prints of s ound
movi es and include an or igi nal soundtrack r ecor d
with it f re e. I ha ve purchase d many of t hem, and
f ound them a l l worth the pri ce. Her e are some r e ­
views fo r all persons interest e d:
Horror of Dracula : This is a one - r eel excerpt of
t he terrific Hammer f ilm with Chris t ophe r Lee a nd
Pete r Cushing. It starts with the s cene whe r e Dra-
( CO NTINUED ON PAGE 9 )
July 197.3 ' FILM BUFF
-- -- ---- -------- - --- - -- - ------------ ~ ----- --- ------- - - - - ----------
THUNDERB IRD ' RO~LS ' WI TH
SUPER 8
Aft e r encoun t er ing Super 8mm film
stock delivery del ay s, Thunderb
F ilms has an·nounced that i t no w
has sil~ nt Su per 8mm i n the wo r ks
an d isr~shing pr oduct~on of the
Supe ~8 si le n t li n e. Super 8mm
sound wi ll a ppa r e nt l y come along
short l y wi th Ea st ma n Kodak being
needle d t o speed delive r y of a
sta ll ed order f r om Thunderbird
for t h e special stock needed for
pr in ti ng in magneti c sound.
Asked abou t pricing of the Super
8 li ne, Dunn a hoo explained that
th e tre mend ous cost of equipping
and the t e chnical problems in­
volv~d will fo r ce him to make his
Sup e.r 8 'p ric e sin 1 in e wit h t h os e
c har~ed by o t her Super 8 distri­
butors. Dunn a h o o (Tom Dunnahoo,
pri ncipal of Thunde rb i r d) has
promis e d t o keep pr ic ing a s low
a s humanly p o ss i ble be c ause he
r e co gn izes the d a n ger of p ricing
hi s excellent line out of the
range of the many collectors who
ar e a n xious to get h o ld of Super
8 prin ts of the many silent and
sound subJects now o ffered.
Thund e rbi r d' s 1 6mm sound ca t alog
is o f special in t e r est t o th e
Supe r B s ound f an. Th e lat te r
s ees th e poss ibi l ity of getting
su ch films a s James C ag n e y'~
' Gre at Guy', some o f the 'B'
'a l l t a l king ' westerns her e to­
for e the private domain of the
16mm co lle ct or .
Dunnah oo hastens to reassure the
1 6mm customer that he will con­
tin ue t o expand hi s 16 titles
so that th is import an t category
is not n eg lect ed while Super 8
ta ke s a spotligh t .
The exac t availability d ate o f
the fi rst Supe r 8mm magnetic
sound s u bjects was no t s e t at
p r ess t ime and so 'Santa Fe
Tr ai l' a nd other juic y relea ses
ar e s t ill waitin g in the wings.
The Buff pr edi cts vi g oro u s re­
sponse from th e Supe r 8 c ollec­
tors to both t he s il e n t and
soun d lines.
P. 5
CINE ' SERVIC E VINTAGE
OFFERS EXPANDED 16MM AND
8MM LINE· IN NEW CATALOG
With a new booklet catalog format,
Bill Bissonette's Cine Servic e ­
Vintage Films of Bridg epor t,Conn.,
has announced some additions to
its listings of 16mm and 8mm.
In addition to 16mm silents , like
Alfred Hitchcoc k 's ilThe Lodg er l!
and 11My Boy li s tarring Jackie Coogan,
the firm offers "His Double Li fe"
with Lillian Gish a nd Roland Young
in l6rrun optical sound. No sign
of Sta ndard 8 or Super 8 sound as
yet f or this title.
Pola Negri is represented in
"Spanish Dancer if , available . in
16mm and 8rrun sil ent a long with
the Richard Ba rthe lmess vehicle
'Soul Fire ' which i s a vailable
only in 8 n~ (silent) .
l6mm sound a nd 8rrun s ound versions
of lIIVAN THE TERRIBLE Ii , Pa rt s I .
and II, t he spe c t acle dir e cted by
Serge i Eisenstein are included in
the current catalog.
16IT~ sound and 8mm sound as well
as 8mm silent prints of lI ALEXANDER
NEVSKYII, "another Sergei Eis e nstein
film, ar e among the highlight ed
r e lea ses. Carl Dreyer' s VAMPYR
is a lso purchaseable in 16mm or
8rrunsound.
For the collector who buys only
16rrun, there is Reginald Owen in
"A Study in Scarlet '\ a She rlock
Holmes adventure (sound ) . Erich
Von Stroheim is the star of i1The
Crime of Dr. Crespi li , another 1 6mm
sound title.
Avai lable in 16mm a nd 8mm sound
is th e trail er for Hitch-c oc k~ ' s
PSYCHO .
We do wi s h that, whoev er i s re ­
sponsible fo r copy on Bi l i's cata­
log would l e arn to spel l "ro le" .
Whe n referring t o someone 's role
in a given film, the catalog mis ­
spell s it as "rollll. Well, per­
haps we ought t o l earn to roll
with the punches ~nd stop being
editors interminably!
Mis-spellings or not, th e new
c ata log is an interes t ing on~ .
 Ju l y 1973 FILM BUFF
TWO MORE LEAVE THE SCENE
Thos e of us with c l ear memories of
the World Wa r II era a n d t h e decade
preceding the War we re distressed
this past month at the news of the
p assin g of two gr e at star s •.•
JOE E.BROWN and BETTY GRABLE.
Brown , who was 80, gave so much
joy a n d happiness fo r most of his
life to so many people in films
su c h a s 'Earthworm Tractors',
'Elme r The Great' and o t hers.
Be t ty Grable earned millions for
20th Centur y Fox for whic h s h e
made a se r ies of v e ry s ucces s ful
Tec h n~colo r musicals.
Jo e E. Brown, who lost his n a tural
son in a plane crash, is survived
by tw o adopt e d sons, one of whom
i s a bi g league basebal l manager.
Bro wn h imsel f played pr o ba l l in
h i s y o uth an d carr i ed his ability
into h i s pe rformance fo r the films
notably in 'Elmer The Great'.
Ironically, after spending his
"'"l ir e maR ~ng - o~ers appy-~ he spe nt
th e l a s t y ear s o f hi s o wn life
be d r id d e n an d ne a rly forgot ten
by f i lmgo e rs . . . b ut n o t c omp le t e ly
f orgott e n b y any means a s far as
ded i cated film bu ff s go. Most of
us were overjoyed to learn that
Blac k hawk Films will be releasing
a vintage musi c al to collectors
and Joe E.Brown is featured in
it ('Lo t tery Bride'). Early r e­
ports indicate that ,Brown, along
with Zasu Pit t s , sav e that film
f r om the disaster c a tegory and
this is not surprising. Br own (and
Miss Pitts as we ll ) saved ma n y a
pi c tur e .
Be t ty Grable's f i lms were n ot the
subject of critical raves . On ly
the gen e ral pub lic liked he r .
Sh e usually downgrad e d her own
ability and s a id at one time,
' I hav e o n ly one thing going for
me a nd I am standin g on them.'
We disagr e e. Hers was a sincere l y
·effer v esc e nt pe r sona l ity wh ich
lit tip t he screen and we d id n ' t
c are whether she sang or da nced
a l l th a t well . Act u al l y , s h e was
n o t l acking in talen t.
P.6
HONO e ' GREAT GUY' CAGNEY
James Ca g ne y , t he star of so
many Warner Brothers g ang ster
films and possibl y indel i bl y
impressed on the public's mind
a s the image of a tough guy,
will · be honored by the Americ a n
Film Institute. The I n stit u t e
will present its Second Annua l
Life Achievement Award i n 19 7 4
to Mr. Cagney a t a Los Ang e l e s
banquet in Ma rc h.
The ' Awa r ds Dinner, under t h e co­
chairm a nshi p of Ted Ashley and
Mrs.No r ma n Taurog, will be te l e­
\
cast nationally by CBS.
The AF I Life Achievement Award
is given each yea r by the I n s t i­
tute ' s Board of Trustees to a n
individ u al " wh o s e talent has in
a fundamental way cont r i b uted
to the filmmaking arts; whose
accomplishments h ave been ack­
nowledged by scholars, critics,
professional peers and th e gene - ~
ral pub lic ; a nd who se bo dy o f
work has stood the t est o f t i me ."
Cagney cert a inly merit s this
ho n or and we can only wish him
good health and happiness. We
c an al s o wish tha t th e public
will see this great star not only
as the portrayer of g a ngste rs
on the sc r een but as a gifted
actor who gave his talent to
performances in such non-gangster
films as "Yanke e Doodle Dand y" .
Late in hi s career, Cagney por­
trayed Admi r al Hal s ey on screen.
In both cases he gave superb
performances.
Retired for over ten years, Cag n ey
now raises ho r ses in upstat e Ne w
Yo r k
THUNDERB IRD OFFERS CAGNEY FI LM
One of th e few films James Cagney
made away from Warner Brothe r s,
' Great Guy', is available from
Thunderbird Films of Los Angeles.
16mm sound. Su p er 8 sound planned.
July 1973 ---- - -------------- FILM BUFF ----------------- - - --------7
- --- - ---- -- - - - ----------- --- --------------- - ---------- -- - ---- ~- - ------
FILM BUFF REVIEWS 'PHANTOM OF THE OPERA' LON .CHANEY
The Buff studies the part-COLOR version released by Blackhawk Films.
From the first day that your reviewer learned that Blackhawk Films had
laid hands on the original color footage for the Bal Masque sequence
in Chaney's 1925 blockbuster, 'Phantom of the Opera', he has been on
pins and needles waiting to s ee it. Well, the great day arrived a
while back and we can report without qua lification that we are delighted.
The color is far better than we expected. In 1925 the 'natural color'
process was primitive to say th e l e ast. It was based on a two-color
syst e m that omitted many hues in the spectrum and seemed to emphasize
red and ora ng e .. This idea was reinforced by our having view e d the color
scene in DeMille's silent, 'King of Kings· where we saw 'color' that was
largely an exercise in r e ds.
In the 'Phantom' co~ .o r s e que nce you have a lot of red and orange, to be
sure, but there is a sug g estion of blue or blue green too. Yo u will
spot blue a t the lower right in the main shots of the st a ircased ball
room, representin g som e kind of special lighting. Th e flesh tones are
excellent. And, of cours e , Lon Chaney descending th a t staircas e as the
Phantom - cloak e d in red and masked - is something els e ag a in. What a
terrific high point.
One problem . The screen goes back to black and white for th e r emaind e r
of the pictur e and it is a letdown despite the fact that the black and
white is smooth and sharp. Solution: project the balance through color
filters!
Th e original PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has never been equalled. As Bl ac k ha wk
explai n ed in a r ei ea se, i t wa s always the most reques t ed o f f ilms but
the company r efused to r e lease it unt1 ~ could f ind good pre-prin t
material. Most copi e s to date have been scratchy, patched and downright
fuzzy in spots. WE CAN REPORT CANDIDLY THAT THE BLACKHAWK PRINT IS
EXCELLENT IN QUALITY. There is a minimum of scr a tches and we spotted
practically no jumps in continuity. It appears to b e complete. And
what a joy to see this classic in a sharp print!
Blackh a wk appended its usual explanatory titles at the star t , something
some collectors resent. We personally do not r e sent thos e titl e s be­
cause they tend to purvey needed background for the benefit o f your
audience which 'may not be a s familiar with this film's p lac e i n history
as you are.
The story is too familiar to detail here. And it is not necessary to
point to Chaney's s uperb performance as the demented Erik (the Phan t om).
He played the p a rt with style and flourish never . quite duplicat e d.
Most prints to date have had very blurry porti o ns wher e you have the
famous unmasking scene. Alas, the unmasking scene in Bl a ckhawk's ver­
sion is also fuzzy and grainy and not up to the high qua lity· of the
rest of the picture. Indeed, was this scen e in color ori g inally? This
might account for poor black and whit e reproduction.
We reviewed th e SUPER 8 print. If this is typical of th e quality in
all gauges, the l6mm version must be terrific.
Proper projection speed is 18 frames (silent). We tri e d it at 24 fps
and it wa s a bit too unnatural. Since the film cries out for sound,
it would have been wonderful if 24-frame sp e ed could be used. But we
shall have to content ourselves with sound on film a t 18 frames. In
fact, Film Buff has releas e d a soundtrack for this p icture which is
timed for silent sp e ed projection..
If you have a poor print of PHANTOM, dump it. Get yourself this new
v ersion. We would rate its quality as theatrical, suit e d to big screen
pr ojec t io n which is most effective for its presentation.
 ..

8 FILM BUFF July 1973

FI LM BUFF -REVI EWS I CAMPUS VAMP I

We have often wondered why film distributors did not place hea~ie~ em- ,

phasis on two-reel comedies and, possibly, dramatic shorts from the

silent era. Whil e some of the companies have done this very t~ing,

some of our distributors feel that these lower-priced rele a ses are not

worth the trouble. We can understand the economics of this reasoning

but we believe that the btiyer who restricts himself (for monetary rea­

sons) to 2-reel subjects now wiil lat~r go to the more costly f ea t~re

length films. Puttin g some emphasis i ,n catalogs on a vTider ' s e lection

of the many 2-re e lers a vailable might be an investment , in future busi­

ness~ And so we l ooked at 'Campus Vamp' in that light.

This pleasant littl e two-reeler released by Thunderbird h a s been avail-,

able £rom other sourc es for some time but we had never seen it. The
comedy is a Mack Sennett production released through Pa th e a nd the Thun­
derbird print include s the good old Pathe rooste~ crowin g at the e nd.
It stars Carol e Lombard and Sally Eilers in early screen appearance s
and it is a joy t o see them. Miss Lombard, who play s a blond e flirt
and man-killer, is very recognizable and ,looks not a whit diff e rent
from her later days in such talkies as "My Man Godfreyll. Miss Eiler~
changed a bit in talkies but she is recognizable. Both s tars are very
attractive ind ee d in 'Campus Vamp'.

The comedy is dated but very 'camp'. It is typical of Hollywood's ver­

sion of college and campus life---having little or no r e latibnship to

the real thing! In these college comedi e s one gets the impressi,on that

- <eo>l"l:~~i- aJ:;l <ia-nc-elS , good~-1:'i Tlle~ and ' gi:I'l chasing. But i t 's fun.

You g e t the original titles in this film and the dialogue is the crisp,

jazz-age stuff replet e with wisecracks. All titles are well centered

and sh~rp. The opening titles include a referenc e to 'color scenes'

having been filmed in 'Technicolor' which is a surpr ise to this writer.

We did not know tha t Technicolor, as a trade name, wa s in u se for color

in the twenties. We learned somethin g . We were 'disappoint e d, though,

to find that th e color scene was not included in c o lor. You ge t it in

black and white. Thunderbird would score a scoop if it made the color

sequence available to buyers of its black and white print.

~rint quality is superb, equal to the best of U.A., Castl e or Blackhawk.

We were astonish e d by the clarity and detail a nd, if all prints off the
line are this good, Thunderbir4 will have established a hi gh standard
indeed. We viewed the ~mm veri ion which screens lik e 16. The ,16mm
edition must be a knockout.
, , '

----------------------~-----------------~-------------------~-------

LATE NEWS GOLDEN HERITAGE FILM GROUP '

After completing an item pointing
to the lamentable loss of Betty
Grable and Joe E. Brown, we '-lere ,
confronted with the pas$ing of two
more stars - Veronica Lake and
Robert Ryan. While Miss 'Lake was
off the screen for some time, she ,
is fondly remembered as the blonde
with the 'peekaboo' hair style.
Robert Ryan ~Tas active to his end.
Sponsored by Film Buff, the Golden
Heritage Film Group (form e rly Cine­
ma Antique) is offering full member­
ships and subsc~iption arrangements
to Long Island, New York and near­
by film buffs. Activities include
private showings with emph a si~ on
the rare silent classics, seminars
' and other a~tivities. If you are
interested , write to Film Buff.
 JULY ;1.97 3 FI LM BUFF P .9
THE READERSPEAKS -( C ont ~ )
Ste ve Dhuey le tter~--
cula puts t he bite on Ho l mwood's wife and cont inue s
wi thout c ut of the orig inal fea t ure ' to .the end,
whe r e Lee (as Dr.acula) ·i s expos ed to sunligh t and
s lowly disint e grates in~o ash e s (in a sc ene 'y ou' l l
never forget). The picture is o f v e ry high contrast,
unfort unat ely, ' but it is v ery c lear and s ha r p.
The sound record is what y ou woul d call 'low f i'
but it adds a lot t o t he movie . ' I worked my way UP t o 16mm ( pi c ture and sound quality
Dancing Mast e r s : This i s an a bridgemen t of the fea-
ture o f th e same title s tarring Laure l and Hardy,
wi th Robe rt Mi t c hum i n a:' s mal l part. By the way,
t he Ame ri c om fi lms are des igne d to be shown at 18
f. p .s. e ven tho u gh they a r e soun d movies . This tends
t o slow down ac ti on a bit , a nd the soun d too. So
t hat make s Stan and Ollie look and s ound o lder th an
t h e y r eal l y we re . Al th ough th is i s one of their later buy ing 'used' 16mm f ilms . I' ve lost a lot of money
p ict ur es (and certa inly not one of their best) it's
h il ar i ous to se e , Stan do the Pelic an Dance and Ollie
do th e Hula (they're da ncing i n structors). I sugges t
tha t Americom rel e ase s ome earlier Laurel and Har dy
s ub ject s.
Whe n Come dy Was King : Th is one 's a real treat.
It featur e s Charlie Ch aplin i n an early two reeler
(p rese nted as a one reel a b ridgement her e ) wi th Mabel
Normand; and Buster Ke aton in Cops. As y ou know, if
y ou have seen any o f many Robe r t Youngs on p roduc t ions,
the y are selections of silent comedies'with sound ef-
fec ts and a musi cal score and narrat i on a d ded . This
i s a two r eeler. Th e pi cture qual ity is very good and
the so und is better than average . This i s wel l worth
the mone y .
Boy oh boy , when I start t o t a lk I n e ver s top . I
s t ill want to say t wo more th:ings.First - I'm
planning to buy a feature film, but I don 't know
whom to buy it from, because many p l a ces are sell-
ing it , but I want the l ongest one a n ni g est ~~-----I·--The Great Divide' . 'Lil Abner' i s a ge nerally p1~u s-
picture quality. How can I find out which distri-
butor has the longest version?
Last: horror fans, ha ve you ever heard of the Edi-
son version of Frankens te in ? Back in 1910 the
Edi s on company produced a one reel version of
Frankenstein starring Charle s Ogle as t he monst e r.
Ever sin ce 1910 nob ody co uld fi nd heads or tails
(or t he in-between ) of the fi l m. Sad s tory f or
hor r or f ans . BUT - re ce n t l y a man bJ(' the name o f
Dave Butler (whom I 've p e r s ona lly met) found a
35mm p r int of the fil m in a theate r her e i n Wis -
cons in. You c an i ma g i ne t h e value . Well, a s soon
as I was str iki ng u p a friendship with him, he
move d away to a di ff e rent ci ty in Wi s. But I d o
know t hat Kent Eas ti n, Pre sident o f Blackhawk Films,
might have his a ddr es s sin ce Mr.Butler once men-
t i on ed t h a t he r e ceived a letter from him. -If I
hear any more a b out it I'll write. . $40 0 y ou could do what I di d, buy chapt ers 1 ,2,6,7,
"I sur e h ave wr it ten a l ot h e re, s o I 'll stop now
until I th i n k of a nything els e to write you
about. Pleas e ex cuse al l my typing mistakes but
I' m t yping th is i n a lmo st tot al darkness because
we ' re ha ving a n e le ctric al st or m ne a r he re and
some wire s f e ll ."
Edit or' s repl y: Ho nestly, would y ou thi nk Steve
is only 137 How can a guy that a g e know so muc h
a b out f i lms ? Tha nk you , St eve , for your letter s. BOB GROMMES o f Box 36 4, Paw Paw, 111. writ es asking
RANDA LL WM.LAI NG of Los Ange les, Calif. writes :
"Some months a go, I received a sample copy of FILM
BUFF and liked what I s aw . Recently, I ' ve sent in
my subs cripti on and a lso had the compulsi on to
write this letter in hopes my experiences with fi lm
c ollecting mi ght be of s ome i n tere st a n d/or help
to some ot her collectors (i f you shou l d happen to
u se some of this letter in t he "Buff") .
"I ' ve been 'co l lectin g~ movies ( 8mm at f i r s t,then
Super 8 , t hen 16mm siIe nt and s ound ) f or about
five or so years now, lind I 1.ove t h e hobby e ven
tho it's so exp ens;l.ve. Eve r since I can . r~ me mb e r,
movie s have always been a b ig t h ing with me , n ot s o
much the star s as the f i lms themse lve s , and n ot so
much t he artistic points of t hem a s th eir ent ertain-
me nt value . I began, ac t ual l y, by maki n g my own home
movies wi t h a r egu lar 8 c amera (was n' t any Super 8
a t that time) and at t hat time d isco ve r e d Bl ackhawk
Fi lms of I owa. Th.e Laure l and Hardy come di es attrac­
ted my attention fir s t, s inc e I ' d wa tched them on
television for years and develope d a n unque nchable
thirst for more and more of their comedy . Silent films
are fine, bu t I tend toward sound as my preference,s o
are most import a nt to me , so 1 6mm wa s th e nat ural
direction) even t ho t he co s t is hard to handle at
times.
"With 16mm, I e nt ered into the .used' film ' rat
race', and I use the t erm ' ra t race ' with great
feeli n g. Unless a pe r s on has some goo d (and person-
all connections i n t hat fiel d, I don't r ecommend
sending f or what I though t would be great fi 1ms,and
ending up wi th broke n-d own,bad1y spliced up junk
print s .
"Get ting bac k to Blackhawk Fi lms, le t me s a y t hat
I've ne ver had any troubl e with t he m and t hei r
print s are great . All the Laure l and Hardy films
I bough t ar e in e xc ell e n t c ondition (s harp pic tur e,
clean wi t h go od con tras t and go od so und, even t he
ear ly sound sho rts h ave been re - re corded and come
t hru fine) a nd are well wor th th e r at her high pric es.
Almost a ll the shorts a va i lable from Blackhawk are
go od (L &H shorts , that is, haven' t tried the ot h ers
yet) and the Laure l and Har dy f eatures : 'Way Out
West', ' Son s of the Desert', ' Boh emian Girl',
'Bloc khe ads' , 'Our Rela tions ' ar e all tops .
"Lately, I've disco v e r ed Cine Service Vintage Films
and Thunderbird Films . Both offer excellent print
quality and some very interesting subjects. From
Cine Servi ce I 've acauired ' Lil Abner' and ' Dawn On
ing film comedy similar to TV's 'Beverly Hillbill ies'
in content. It is very 'talky' til th e finale, the n
al l h-- breaks lo ose duri ng Sadie Hawkins day. Print
q uali t y is prett y g ood . Yo u can edi t s ome o f t he slow
spots out i f you don 't like the p a c e . ' Dawn on the
Great Divide ' is a go od litt le 'B ' wes tern starring
Buck Jones i n h is l as t picture be for e his untimely
death. There i sn ' t much acti on but the st ory is g oo d .
Prin t quality is e xc ellent .
"From Thunderb ird Films I' ve bo ught the Republic
serial, 'Zorro' s Fighting Legion '. For those who
like a ction serials, thi s one is among the be st .
Large Gqst (for a se ri al ) and g ood pr odu cti on val ues
with t h e usual top not ch a ct i on seq uences Repub l ic
always provided, (at l e as t dur ing th e y ear's 1939-19 4 2).
Print qual ity is e xcelle nt (exce pt for nigh t s cenes
in chap t er t wo, a b i t too da rk ) a nd tho it c o st s
8 ,1 0,11 ,1 2 a nd caref ul l y e d i t t hem i nto one h eck of
an ac t io n feat ure r unning about ninety minutes.
Le aving out four chapt ers c ut s t he pric e down a bi t.
For t hos e inter e st e d in. getti ng a se r ia l for the ir
co l l ect i on (and a r en 't up on t hem ) may I s ugges t
one of Rep ub lic' s produ c tions mad e i n th e la t e 30 s
and e ar l y 40s? All ot h er se rials a re dis appointi ng
in one way or another . "
how in the world anyone c an ge t a print of the 19 26
MGM "Be n Hur" . Anyb ody got an ans we r?
(His zi p code is: 6135 3)
"--on page 16 (Vol. 2 #9, May 1973 i s sue o f Fi lm Buff-)
you mentioned the poss i bility o f 8mm sound prints with
optical tracks. Accor-ding to my i nformat ion, Eumig ' s
S-7 1 0 O/ M pro jector handle s only Sup e r 8 , bO c h optical
and magneti c sound. You might a l so be i n te r ested to
know that t hi s pro jector gets onl y 80-5 00 Hz frequency
r e sponse with op ti cal t r ac ks , a s compared to 75-1 0 ,0 00
Hz with magnetic trac ks . What t hat me ans , in plain
English , is tha t o ptic al s ound in 8mm has comparative­
ly poor sound qual ity , e specia lly whe r e music i s con-
(CONTI NUED ON PAGE 1 0 )
 P . 10 FILM BUFI!' JULY 197 j

THE READER SPEAKS

Conti nued from page 9- ---­
c erned. Additionally, such e xtreme pre cision is re ­
qui red in the manufacture of opt i cal sound print s in
BUY OR RENT
Super 8 that any s avings over magnetic sound a re minor
at be s t. If you or your re ade r s a re intere s ted in
op tical vs magnetic sound , wri te to: The Socie ty of
Motion Picture and Televi s ion Engi ne ers , 862 Scars da l e
Avenue, Scar sdale, N.Y. 10 583 . Encl os e $2.00 and ask
SOUNDTRACK
them f or publication MP-8, ent itl ed "Pro ce edings of
the Symp osium on Super 8 Production Technique s." &OTHER SPECIALTY

TAPES!

It's a fas cinating little volumn and well wor th the

pric e . Many di fferent subjects whi ch a re of indi rect
interest to film collectors are dis c ussed.
"Also, your reade rs probably would be i nt erested in
a film I just bought from Blackhawk in Super 8 sound,
entitled 'Mack Sennett's Fun Fac tory' . Anyone even TURN YO UR SILENTS
mildly intere sted in Sennett will love this film.I t
contai ns, in 2 1/2 r eel s, a most comprehensive history IN TO SOUNDI ES'
of Sennett's studi o wit h clips from 'The Extra Gi rl ' (S TANDA RD TAPE RE EL S OR CASS ETT ES)
starring Mabel Normand, 'The Dare devil' starring Ben TAPES TO MA TCH OUTS TAN DING SIL ENT COMEDIES
Turpin + a host of other very funny sequences. Also, AND FEATU RES .. .
the f ilm is mostly 's tep printed ' so that it projects TAPE S TO MATCH SOME EAR LY SOUND FI LMS
at normal pac e when yo u 're showi ng t he film at 24 RELEASED IN S I LEN T PRI NT FORM SUCH AS
frame s per second. Sound and picture qua lity are ab­ "VAMPY R"
solut ely superb and the narrator is no less than Paul ORIG INAL THE AT RICA L TRACKS AN D SOME
Kill iam himself. (Silent versions in 8mm and Super 8 PRO DUCED ES PEC IAL LY BY FILM BUF F.....
are a ls o available but project them at 24 frames per
second! No s tandard 8mm or l6mm sound versions). Fantast i c new t rac ks avai la b l e Inclu de
"PH ANTOM OF TH E OP ERA" - ma tchin g the new
Bl a ck hawk Films e di t i on ­
SETS US STRAIGHT "SERIAL TR AILERS" - ma tch i ng the Thunderbird
re lea s e
Ralph Celentano of Palmer, Mass., rec e nt ly de mon­ "F LA SH GOR DON CON QUERS THE UNI VE RSE"
strated his tremendous de d ic a tion to films a nd the Cha p l in's EASY STREET
facts conc erning t hem by calling us lo ng di s t ance 'TILLIE ' S PUNCTURED ROMANCE' --­
primarily to call our attention to an error made 'CAMPUS VAMP' -- and many, many others.
In our review of the Laurel & Hard y feature,"Swiss
Miss" (May FILM BUFF) . We ha d Indi cat e d that "Way WR ITE: SO UN DT RACK DEPA RTMENi ~
Ou t Wes t" was an L&H featu r e f ollow in g "S wi ss Miss" Impact Promotion & Publ ishlng
whereas It is the othe r way around. "Way Out West " P.O. Box 352
preceded "Swiss Miss" and the latter marks the pro­ Bel.lmore, New York 11710
bable beginning of t he decline of the fam ed c ome dy
pair. We stand correc t ed. Enclos e a n 8 ¢ s tamp fo r l i sts .

SUPER 8 FILMS
SOUND & SILENT
Silent

sound
•••
$1,5
We are making a very special introductory offer only to the readers of

FILM BUFF. We are offering SUPER 8 silent & sound fil ms at BELOW our

Usually LOW PRICES . Our speci al s for this month ar e:

#C-l Marx Br os . i n Pigskin Capers (Castle) One reel. From "Horsefeathers"

# C- 2·Marx Bros . in This is War? (Castle) One reel. From "Duck Soup"

# C-3 Marx Br os . i n The incredible Jewel Robbery (Castle) One reel From TV

# C-4 John Wayne in The Cowboy & The Girl (Castle) One reel. "Lady takes Chance"

# C-5 Bori s Kar lo ff in Fra nkenste i n (Castle) One reel

~ - ~~ --- - - - ----~--~ -- - - -~~ -,

LIe
II . -. *FREE*FREE*FREE*FRBE*FREE*FREE*FREE*
.

J -=-==-:~:::::"'''='':'=:'''''::'=::::''''';::'':''::=-'''=''';=:-::'==:-
I'DISTRIBUTORS
I . .
.. 1I When you make a purchase of $15.00
or more, you will r ec e ive ab sol ut el y
P.O. BOX 575 GARDEN GROVE ,CALIFORNIA 926421\ :mM a delightf ul B/W s ho rt s ubj ect

CIRCLE APPROPRIATELY . :! o~ ~ur choice. Act no w. Suppl ie s are

. Sil ent or Sound I 11m1ted.

C-l C- 2 G-3 C- 4 C-5 I

name _ __ _-'--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
add!ess _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _---'
I Castle, Columbia, Unite d
I·
I Artists and much more .
I
: With every ord: r,. we wil l r u s h

c.ll'f~ Add 25 ' o'~~ZI. • our c ompl ete I l st1ngs of "super 8

__ ';' ___ ';'-,__oii_.l_~;; _r!;'~ ..._ __ __ ..1 f ilm s . Send check or money order. '
 ,

-
J uly _19 7 3 - - --- - - -~- ---- -- --- ---- - FILM BUFF-- - ---------------- - ---- - - · 11

FI LM BUFF REVIEWS
'LAUREL & HARDY ON TOUR' - Thunderbird Films (8mm and l6mm silent).
This short subject was not submitted by Thunderbird but by a Buff reader
who thought we ought to see it. It is an interesting log of the famous
comedy team's tour of the British Isl e s and the Harm reception accorded
them. Print quality is quite good although the photography (no fault of
Thunderbird's) is somewhat ama teurish in spots. However, this subject
is interesting and important hist orically, especially to Laurel & Hardy
devotees of whom this writer is one.
Tacked , on to t he above reel Nas a color reel our friend had procur ed f r om
some ot her source apparently. This reel is one of the most heartbrea king
of all films any L & H fan could view. It shows the pair in the twilight
years . Laurel is s een as an aged man with dyed red hair, his face show­
ing ravages of illness. Hardy is seen worn and shrunken from his disa ­
bi l i t ies. We almost cried at the sight of our beloved pair and the film
per forme d. , in our opinion, a disservice to the memory of Laurel and Hardy .
Our a dvice would be to stick with the Thunderbird reel and forget about
f inding the sickening color reel.
We understand that the fami l ies of Laurel & Hardy have moved to stop th ~
d istribution of that color reel and we hope they succeed . '

PUBLICATIONS
To say we we re surprised by FINDERS KEEPERS, the quarterly put together
b y i ma g i n a tive Donald G.Jackson (1043 Vine St. , Adri a n, Mich.4922l), is
unde rs t a t i n g th ing s a bit. We h ad to give this u n u s ual p ubl i ca tion a ca re ­
ful look-s e e j u st to get it sl..aa t f ips t e could not dec ide if it
was designed for rock fans or was editorially tilted toward us classic
film collectors. In fact, it tilts both ways. Physically it is nearly an
unique production both in printing and makeup. It is, in fact,uncommonly
attr a c t ive and convenient. It is not conventional in any sense but,then,
neither is 'Film Buff' which is neither magazine or newspaper! 'Finders
Keepers' seem s to cater to the avante g a rde and to people who consider
themselves culturally and intellectually a bit more advanced than the
r est o f us. There is evident in its makeup just a wee bit of elitist snob­
b i s h ness--but e ver s o little. We'd sug g est that this be played down.
At t he same time, there is a laudable emphasis on cultural aspects of
films a nd music.
I r onically. while the publication puts a s p otlight on things cultural,
g i vi n g the imp r ession that its readers might be inclined to visit our
better museums and collect objets d la~t including recordings, it also
play s with the 'camp' stuff like vinta g e horror films and serials. There
is much space devoted to happenin g s where s e rial a nd horror fans gather
in costumes. Sort of 'way out' you mi g ht say .
A half b uck will get you a sample copy of this unusual and interesting
publica t io n. We couldn't find a subscription r a te stated in it ... but
isn' t mo n ey too crass a subject for t pe editorial orientation of the
magazine? We ask it good-naturedly because we g ive t he 'Finders Keepers'
publication a n 'A' for originality. Ther e isn't enough of that commodity
toda y and we are happy to see the initiative and inventivenes s displayed
in this periodical. Our only advic e would b e : don't forget the economic
side of things. Your shunning of advertisin g and lack of push in sub­
scriP t ions may prove damaging when the printing bills for your luxurious
publication come around. Our advice to Buff read e rs: get a copy and see
something really different.
12-------------------------
---------------------------------
EQUIPMENT CARE -----------------------------------­
A family phar macist came up with
what may be one answer to humidi­
ty damage to certain of the me­
chanical or electro-mechanical
parts of the magnetic sound pro­
jectors, esp e cially the Eumigs.
You will recall that Film Buff
ran an article some time back
about the jamming of the speed
change mechanism on the various
Eumig dual 8 projectors. A solu­
tion was suggested by Eumig it­
self involving the use of a sili­
con liquid to keep the shaft
working properly. Evidently the
storage of a projector in a con­
sistently damp or humid environ­
ment will cause corrosion that
impedes the normal movement of
the speed changer. Eventually it
jams entirely and can be severe­
ly damaged if forc e d. A family
pharmacist heard about this and
said that projector owners living
on Long Island, in parts of Fla.
an Q....in other ~laces _ wher a d a mp ­
ness can be significant, can go
a lon g way towar d cutting down
humidity and moisture in equip­
ment by using something called a
"Humi-Cap" commonly found in cer­
t ain vitamin and medicinal jars.
This little plastic cap is als o
used by some people ,to keep salt
or sugar from caking.
Most pharmacists will give you
these caps free of charge because
they usually throw them out after
opening their wholesale lots of
pills.
The cap is barely larger than a
12-hour cold capsule a nd contains
a moisture absorbent. You could
conceivabl y tuck a couple of them
inside a projector near or under
the shaft or other moving parts
(being careful ~o tape them down
to prevent their rolling into
moving parts!). Periodically,
check the capsules. When their
contents have turned brown, they
are no longer worki~g. They are
then replaced .
While films need a somewhat humid
environment, excessive moisture
FILM BUFF ----------------- July 1973
cap accomplish the opposite result
of keeping films pliable. Too much
water can damage film and soften
emulsion. When films a r e stored
in basements where there is any
flooding at times or where there
is a constant high level of humidi­
ty, you might use a humi-cap to
offset. the excessive dampness in
a film container. On the other
hand, if your films are in a ver y
dry situation, you do the opposite.
Add a moistened blotter to the
containers.
FILM BUFF REVIEWS
'SERIAL TRAILERS' - Thunderbird
Films release.
There have been some c omplaints
about quality of this release but
Thunderbird itself is frank to say
that the collector who wants a rare
title like this has to settle for
less than the quality the firm is
known to deliver.
Thund erbird is making a new nega­
tive but warns that quality cannot
be optimum from the preRrint ma­
terials available.
We reviewed a 8mm print of this
title and were excited with the
content. You have a half dozen or
so actual trailers, mostly from
Republic serials, with a trailer
for a rare Mascot serial tacked
on at the end. Trailers used the
most exciting scenes, of course,
to advertise films and so you get
what amounts to the cream of each.
Such serials as 'Captain Marvel'
are included. Really quite a show.
As to quality, this ranges from
only fair for such sequences as
'The Purple Monster' trailer to
good on others. In total, and
considering the rarity of this
trailer compilation, print quality
is acceptable. If you are a purist
on quality, you can delste the
'Purple Monster' segment and what
remains will be fairly good though
certainly not the finest quality.
The l6mm optical sound version is
availab~e and you can get a sound­
track for the 8mm silent print.
-,
JULY 1973
THUNDERBIRD MEANS QUALITY
IN 16MM 8MM & NOW SUPER 8 I• I•
OUR FIRST SUPER 8 MAGNETIC
ERROL FLYrm
I~ANTA FE TRAIL'
Warner Bros . a
Comp l e te.: $1 44.
VITAFI LM
F a bulo us p ro c essing fluid
t hat i s bo t h a preservative
an d cleanp.r for black and
wh i te or color films.
* Cu r tails dryness and
COLOR. Lyman H.Howe's
brittleness
"some sense and some non­
* Le n gthens perforation
sense" short in Hodge Podge
li f e
series. Wonderful plays on
* Prevents warping &
color. Novelty release.
b uckling
1 reel - COLOR - Bmm $12.
* Cures new "green" film
* Set s color more firmly
* Gives new life to old
or scratc h ed prints
YOU CAN GET IT FROM US.
$12 GA L. POSTPAID IN U.S.
Francisco earthquake and fire destroy
"D e alers In Death" -how
Dil l inger , Bonnie & Clyde
and other notorious crimi­
nals met their ends!
2 reels. Bmm: $12.
THUN DERBIRD FILMS
P. O. BOX 4081
lOS ANGElES. CALIF. 90054
FILM BUFF P.13
ABOUT SUPER 8 SILENT AND SOUND,
We are fully equipped for the con­
version and printing of both silent
and Super 8mm sound! Delivery delays
of the special film stock needed
have caused us to be put behind our
schedule. We hope to be ready to
ship both silent and sound Super B
by the time you read this!
Our first release in Super 8 magnetic
sound is the l2-reel blockbuster,
"Santa Fe Trail" starring Errol Flynn
and Olivia DeHavilland.
Are there any of our l6mm sound
releases that interest you? If so,
tell us. If enough of you want cer­
tain titles and will buy them, we will
convert some of them to Super 8 sound.
Write and tell us which titles you
would buy if they were available in
Super B.
12
terrific
We have already tentatively schedu l ed
"Movie Struck", the Hal Roach comedy
reels
long!
. . ""
i OTl~...._~~n...-- ....._ --1-
feature, "Auld Lang Syne" as well as
the COMPLETE "FLASH GORDON CONQUERS
,IVE1\SE " SERIAL (to be ~O"ld b"y
chapter) .
ASK TO BE PUT ON OUR SUPER 8 SIL EN T
OR SOUND LIST! Mention "Film Buff"
when you write.
"A Cluster of Kings"(927)
CAROLE
LOMBARD
SALLY
Black & white 8mm: $6. EILERS
in the Mack Sennett 2-reel
college comedy , "CAMPUS
8mm FEATURES! (order direct from this
ad) ..... VAMP". 1 Super-sharp pr i nt.
l6mm: $35 . Bmm: $12.
LON CHANEY - "THE SHOCK" - (1923). San
the evil plans of an underworld leader.
Chaney great as a crippled emissary. WE LIKE THE LITTLE GUY
8mm - $25. --because little guys
"TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD" - (1927) get to be big guys.
(USSR). Directed by Sergei Eisenstein ­ We're just as anxious
one of the most distinguished films of to please you whether
all time. 8mm - $40. you order a one reeler
"THE LOST WORLD" - first great pre­ or a sound feature •..
historic monster film (1925) with Wal­ whether you're Bmm,
lace Beery, Lewis Stone, Bessie Love. Super 8 or l6mm --­
Print quality hailed by Film Buff. Every order is treated
5 reeler. 8mm - $25. as important by us--­
"SPARROWS" - Mary Pickford classic and QUALITY is our aim.
melodrama. 9 reels. Our price in
standard Bmm: $45.
YES, you can use your Bank Americard. Just give your
name as it appears on the card, your account number
and expiration date!
Or, remit in full with order.
California residents: add sales tax.
 ..

1'.14 FILM BUFF JULY 1973

JACK MAGUIRE'S CORNER "OUR HERO - WILLIAM S. HART"

Over the past few years, many movie autobiographies have appeared.
Mary Pickford, Frank rapra, Colleen Moore, Charlie Chaplin, Lillian
CINE 5¢ per word
payable in
advance.
Canadians:
Gish and Buster Keaton have all had their stories published. Too,
Mrs. D.W.Griffith' s and Harold Loyd's books have been reissued. It
seems all of Hollywood is ego tripping. And now, W.S. Hart's auto­

biography, ~ Life East and ~~, has been republished by Benjamin

MART add SO¢ to
remittance.

Cine Mart ads should be sent with remit­

Blom.
tance to: Imp act Promotion & Publishing,
Written in 1929, its 363 pages trace his youth, his acting career P.O.Box 352, Bellmore, N.Y. 11710.
and his relationships with his family, Tom Ince, Will Rogers and Films For Sale
Fritz. l6mm Famous Classics. Finest quality.

Hart's views on creative film making are touched upon as he dis­ Sound/Silent. Illustrated catalog 2SC.

cusses many of his screen efforts (THE TOLL GATE, HELL'S HINGES, ~anbeck Pictures, 3621-1 Wakonda Drive,

TUMBLEWEEDS, etc . . . ); and as he recounts the events leading to his Des Moines, Iowa 50321.

demise in films.

SAVE! DISCOUNT PRICES ON NEW SUPER

His anecdotes include such notables as Lon Chaney, John Gilbert,
EIGHT FILMS! LAUREL AND HARDY, POP­
William Farnum, Madame Modjeska, Bat Masterson and others. (Note:
EYE, FRANKENSTEIN, WESTERN HEROES,
When Buster Keaton satirized Hart's image in THE FROZEN NORTH, Hart
AND MUCH MORE! SEND 25¢ FOR CATALOGS.
took offense and refused to speak to the comic. As a result, in his
L/C DISTRIBUTORS, DEPARTMENT FB, BOX
autobiography, he ignores Keaton by referring to him as the fiance
575, GARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA 92642.
of Natalie Talmadge!) Hart'also writes about his brief flirtation
with a Hollywood scandal that might have ruined him.
VINTAQJ~RADIO.
At times, one gets the impression Hart did not write this book and BASIL RATHBONE & NIGEL BRUCE in "New
that it was written by his screen image, i.e., one reads about a
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (Case
prouJ he-man whose eyes fill with tears as his reminiscenes barely of the Speckled Hand) PLUS ROBERT
kiss the cheek of maudlin sentimentality.
TAYLOR in a "Suspense" segment,"The
However, if one does not mind Hart's penchant to take himself too House in Cypress Canyon." BOTH on a
seriously, MLE & W can be an enjoyable experience for those inte­ 5" monophonic tape, two tracks.$6.95.
rested in one-of the outstanding artists of the teens. Cassette: $5.95. Order from IMPACT
PROMOTION & PUBLISHING, Box 352,
Bellmore, N.Y. 11710. Add sales tax
PUBLICATIONS YOU CAN ORDER RIGHT FROM THIS AD: if you are a N.Y.resident. Add SOC if
ordering from Canada.
"Collecting and Enjoying Old Movies" by Fred Muro, editor of
FILM BUFF. Pages and pages of tips on home showmanship, add­
ing R~und L~ si~ent firms r finding filmsy Includes scores of
reviews of films (silent and sound) available to you and tells
you how good the print quality is in most cases. Attractively SUBSCRIBE TO 'FIU1 BUFF' - ENJOY THIS
illustrated. $5.95. PUBLICATION EVERY MONTH --­
Use the order blank below to subscribe
"Film Buff Scrapbook No.1" - an informal collection of articles to FILM BUFF or to order any of the
from the first seven issues of FILM BUFF. A collector's item. three publications described at the
$3.50. left.

"Film Buff Scrapbook No.2" - takes up where No.1 left off and

gives you articles and film reviews from the second seven is­

sues of Film Buff. $3.50.

FAST ACTION ORDER & SUBSCRIPTION FORM

To: Impact Promotion & Publishing, P.O. Box 352, Bellmore, N.Y.
11710
Please enter my order at once as checked below. Remittance
is enclosed.
• AN OFFER YOU CAN 'T REFUSE­ ONE FULL YEAR OF "FILM BUFF" (U.S.) $4.50
• RENT CLASS I C FI L~1S YOU'RE DY I NG TWO FULL YEARS OF "FILM BUFF" (U.S.) 8.00
TO SEE ONE FULL YEAR OF "FILM BUFF" (CANADA) $5.00
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FOR BROCHURE -- SEND STAMPED ENVELOPE
ONE FULL YEAR OF "FILM BUFF" (Europe,Asia) 8.00
(Subscriptions for South Amer.,Mexico, also $ 8. )
1 copy of COLLECTING & ENJOYING OLD MOVIES $5.95
WILL BUY YOUR UNWANTED FILMS
1 copy of FILM BUFF SCRAPBOOK NO. 1 3.50
* * * * * * * * * * * * 1 copy of FILM BUFF SCRAPBOOK NO.2 3.50

gMlJL
8
CINEf1A REtJTALS
(Canadians: add 50¢ to overall order for manuals. Orders
destined for Europe, Asia, South America,etc., add $1 to
overall order for manuals). Add sales tax if in N.Y.

NAME: _____________________________________________

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