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The
first 16 mm movie ever filmed was "A CHILDS BIRTHDAY
PARTY" in
1921 by J.G. Capstaff, Kodak research employee, to test the
potential of the new gauge & to show to
George Eastman.
[A segment of the film below]
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In
January Eastman Kodak announces to
the public, "that a new system of amateur film making based on
a new 16 mm film size will soon be available to buy".
After 8
years of research by J.G. Capstaff of the Eastman Kodak
Laboratories.
Kodak introduces 16 mm reversal film on acetate (safety) base and
the first 16 mm projector. In May the 16 mm film, the Kodascope 16 mm
projector & Cine-Kodak 16mm motion picture camera were shown
to the photographic trade and by July 5th the 16 mm equipment was being
advertised in the New York newspapers. with
the headlines "The Cine-Kodak Makes Motion Pictures."
The popularity of 16 mm movies
was immediate resulting in a chain of Kodak
processing laboratories
throughout the world. The Kodascope projector & the Cine-Kodak
camera, with a tripod included cost a very expensive $335.00. The average person couldn't afford the package, considering a basic
new Ford automobile cost $550.00 in 1923. Kodak was
originally going to use a 17.5 gauge, pioneered by the
French Pathe Company, which was
half of
35mm,
but 16 mm was finally chosen because of safety reasons, since 35
mm was on a nitratestock, making it flammable & dangerous
for home use. Kodak chose the uneven 16 mm, to discourage the
cutting of 16 mm film from the unstable 35 mm stock. After discussions with
researchers from Victor & Bell & Howell, Kodak
decided that 16 mm should be made only on a safety based stock called acetate.
An important decision Eastman Kodak made to
promote the newly available 16 mm film format,
was to not only agree to process film in their
own cameras, but film shot on rival cameras.
Bell & Howell,
a company formed in 1907, by theatre projectionists Donald J. Bell and Albert
S. Howell, on a investment of $5.000, making 35 mm equipment for the theatre industry, moves into
the non-theatrical field in 1922 when the company works on perfecting a
16mm projector & camera introduced
in late July, the "Filmo
57" 16mm projector. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Bell
& Howell was the leader in film equipment.
The
Victor
Animatograph
company,
founded in 1910 by Alexander F. Victor. Victor was always interested in developing film
equipment for non-theatrical use, actually introduced a 35mm home movie
projector and camera called the Animatograph in 1914. Then got involved
with the 28 mm film gauge in 1918, and a 28 mm home movie outfit called the
Victor Home Cinema in 1919 and finally in August 1923 was the 3rd company to get
into the 16mm Home movie market, with it's "Victor" 16 mm model.
The first feature film filmed in 16
mm for the home market was "THE BROWN MOUSE" produced by
Homestead films.
It was advertised in ads as “A
real feature for the Non-Theatrical
field” The film is considered
lost today.
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The
Film Prayer
by A.P.
Hollis was written in 1920. Hollis made the poem available to
all non-theatrical film distributors to promote better
handling of film. Hollis never copyrighted the poem.
I am celluloid, not steel, Oh God
of the machine, have mercy, I front dangers whenever I travel
the whirling wheels of the mechanism. Over the sprocket wheels,
held tight by the idlers, I am forced by the motor's might. If
a careless hand misthreads me, I have no alternative but
to go to my death. If the pull on the take-up reel is
too violent, I am torn to shreds. If dirt collects
in the aperture my film of beauty is streaked and marred,
and I must face my beholders-A thing shamed and be
spoiled. I travel many miles in tin cans, I am tossed on heavy
trucks, sideways and upside down. See that I don't
become bruised and wounded beyond the power to heal. I
am a delicate ribbon of film - misuse me and I disappoint
thousands; cherish me, and I delight and
instruct the world. A.P. Hollis 1920
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THE
KODASCOPE
LIBRARIES
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Formed in 1924 by William
Beach Cook. Kodak begins operating THE
KODASCOPE
LIBRARIES
in
the spring of 1925,
around various parts of the country in regional offices and local camera
stores. An early precursor to the video tape rental store,
Kodak leased negatives of fine grain prints from a variety of
Hollywood producers and made stunning amber and sepia tinted prints for
rental purposes. If a person wanted to join the library, there was a fee
of $25 which was refunded when the customer decided to end the
service. All the features used for Kodascope prints were professionally edited and ran no longer
than 5 reels, shorts and
cartoons were generally unedited. During the years the Kodascope
Libraries are in business, over 700 films are listed in the catalogs,
including the shorts of Larry Semon,
Charlie
Chase,
Laurel & Hardy, Felix the Cat cartoons, Fleischer's Out Inkwell series, & Charlie
Chaplin comedies. Many of the great
features of the 1920's could be rented including
THE LOST WORLD, THE COVERED WAGON & THE PONY
EXPRESS
The
first catalog is published in 1925 with new editions following in 1926,1928,1930,1932,
1936,& 1938. The catalogs cost 25 cents &
were over 100 pages. An interesting forward in the catalogs states; "Kodascope films are 16 m/m (5/8 inch) in width and are made on slow burning film, which is free from insurance restrictions and does
not require a fireproof booth".
By 1933 3 catagories were available-16 mm silent, 16 mm
sound & 8mm silent. As with most film libraries opening
in the next few years the Kodascope Library operated with the subtle intent of selling more of
Kodak's new 16 mm Kodascope projectors by making a
greater number of
films available for owners of home
projectors. In 1932 an 8 mm library is introduced.
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The
first group of features acquired by Kodak for the new
Kodascope Libraries in May 1926 were 5 features from
Warner Brothers:"HIS MAJESTY BUNKER BEAN",
"CLASH OF THE WOLVES", "LIGHTHOUSE
BY THE SEA","LADY WINDMERE'S FAN","
MAN ON THE BOX",
In June 1927 they
acquired the first group of Paramount releases.
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According to the Guinness book of
records, the first In Flight movie was
First National's production of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's
‘THE LOST WORLD
shown,
in 16 mm, on a Imperial Airways
Flight a WWI converted Handley-Page
bomber, during a 30-minute
flight from
London
to the
Continent in April of 1925
Universal,
the first major film
company to discover that old prints from their
vaults could be reduced to
16mm to make money, forms a company called SHOW-AT-HOME
MOVIE LIBRARY
INC. Universal
offered complete prints in 16 mm for rental thru camera stores and non
theatrical film libraries Their
1928 brochure proudly proclaimed:
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"A
New Era in Movies For the Home" Show-At-Home takes pride
in the quality of entertainment it will offer. The quality is
second to none. Show At Home looks forward with anticipation
to the many happy hours it will bring to American homes".
Variety mentions in a March 14th 1928 article that
Universal will yield a gravy profit of approximately $50
per reel, per year, per print, will result in a considerable
expansion in that field. At present Universal is only covering
10% of the country. In New York libraries have been
established at Gimbels & Macys.
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SHOW-AT-HOME MOVIE LIBRARY
was so successful that Universal received complaints from theatre exhibitors about unfair competition. Some theatre exhibitors actually went so far as to successfully sue Universal.
Some obscure Universal titles offered for rent were
"THE
AIR PATROL" 1928, "BARNUM
WAS RIGHT" 1929, "BEAUTIFUL
CHEAT"
1926,
"THECLEAN UP" 1923, "THE
GOOSE WOMAN" 1925, "COHENS & THE
KELLYS" 1926 "THE CAT & THE CANARY"
1925
Click
on the projector to take a look at the SHOW-AT-HOME
MOVIE LIBRARY INC.
Catalog-----------
THE
FIRST 16MM FILMS FOR SALE
With
increasing demand from Kodascope Library members
to make 16 mm films available for sale,
Kodak bows to pressure, and introduces Kodak Cinegraph
16mm films for both sale & rental In May 1927. When first introduced a 100 ft film
cost $7.50 and a 400 ft. film
cost $30.00, by the late 30's the prices actually
decreased, with a 100
ft. film at $5.00
and
a 400 ft. film at $20.00.
NEW ERA FILMS
a
35 mm religious film distributor formed in 1916 becomes
IDEAL
PICTURES
CORP.
in 1927 & discovers the newly popular
16 mm market. By the early 1940's
it is
the largest 16 mm
distributor in America, a position it held till the early 1960's when FILMS INC
takes
the throne.
NEW ERA FILMS
a
35 mm religious film distributor formed in 1916 becomes
IDEAL
PICTURES CORP.
in 1927 & discovers
the newly popular
16 mm market. By the early 1940's it was the largest 16 mm
distributor in America, a position it held till the early 1960's when
FILMS INC took
the throne.
DeVry
introduces their silent 16mm projector, The company founded by Herman DeVry in 1914, originally introduced a portable 35mm projector, that was
unique for it’s time, that it could be carried in it’s own suitcase,
making it easier for school use or for traveling sales men.
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After 2 years of
experimenting with 16 mm in schools
by the Eastman Kodak Company- Eastman
Teaching Films
is
incorporated by Kodak in 1928 with Dr. Thomas E. Finnegan as
president and general manager, and
16 mm films are part of the classroom and a regular part of
the educational curriculum, with hundreds of films being produced
yearly. By 1933 it is
absorbed by the parent company and becomes a part of Eastman Kodak.
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Color
film becomes a reality for amateur cinematographers with the
introduction of 16mm Kodacolor. Kodak bought
the rights to the old Keller-Dorian process in 1925 and
spent most of three years developing it. Initially
the Model B Cine Kodak was the only camera in
which Kodacolor could be used, but a short-lived Kodacolor version of the
Model
A appeared more than a year later at the end of 1929.
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July
THE LOST WORLD
In July
1929,
the Kodascope
Libraries acquired the 16mm rights to
THE LOST WORLD
from
First
National
. The original lavender protection positive itself was edited down to five reels,
about 55 minutes
to create the abridged 16mm Kodascope version. This abridged Kodascope version was the only one widely known to survive in the U.S. until a more extensive (but still incomplete) original tinted, toned and hand-colored 35mm print was found in 2003 in the hands of a private collector and purchased by Film Preservation Associates.
The first
AMERICAN
IN-FLIGHT MOVIE is on October 8 1929. Shown on a
transcontinental airline called "Ford Transport", in 16
mm, are several shorts including a Universal newsreel.
Ampro Corporation is
founded by Axel Monson
Click below to continue
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