COLLECTING VINTAGE 8mm HORROR DIGEST FILMS
Prior to the home video revolution of the early-1980s, movie buffs were rather limited in the access they had to their favourite films. They either had to catch them at the cinema at the time of their release, or wait until they eventually showed up on television. The only real avenue which people had to enjoy films of their choosing (and at a time of their choosing) in the comfort of their own living room, was via 8mm film, a format that had been popularised in the 1950s when, thanks to its relative affordability and the fact that it was much less bulky than 16mm, home movie cameras became a common site at everything from backyard barbeques to family vacations and major sports events. With projectors and roll-up screens being a required part of the whole technical process of being able to view home shot films, it seemed a logical extension that 8mm prints of commercially produced films were made available for family lounge room viewing.
Of course, most commercially available 8mm produced between the 1950s to 1970s were merely digest releases, usually containing between 10 to 20 minute highlights from a particular film, depending on the length of the reel (200 and 400 foot reels were by far the most popular formats). While it was a different experience from watching the whole film, the great bonus about this truncated format was that, if properly edited, they condensed all of the most exciting moments from your favourite films into a fast paced thrill-ride. Most titles were released in both the Super and Standard 8mm formats and in a variety of versions (colour/B&W/sound/silent).
Horror movies in particular proved to be very popular with home cinema enthusiasts, and today that genre remains a favourite of those who collect these now-antiquated pieces of 8mm nostalgia. Universal Studios had great success with their home movie division, Castle Films, who released digest versions of all their classic horror hits, both past (Frankenstein, The Mummy, Dracula, The Invisible Man, etc) and then-recent (Psycho, Tarantula,The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels). Aside from the sheer quality of their productions, Castle Films distinguished themselves by their beautiful and dramatic box art, as well as the impressive editing jobs performed on their films. The company continued to thrive even into the late- 1970s, releasing 400’ editions of It Came from Outer Space and The Creature from the Black Lagoon in the 3D process, which included pairs of stereoscope glasses with which to view the films. Castle also seemed to cover every potential customer’s pocketbook, offering many of their films in 50’, 200’ and 400’ editions, as well as in both silent and the more expensive sound formats.
With the success of Castle Films, other studios such as United Artists, Columbia and 20th Century Fox set up their own 8mm sales divisions, while independent companies like United Arista and the prolific (and highly collected) Ken Films licensed films from the studios for home distribution. In the UK, Derann and Walton Films kept the creature feature flag flying, releasing a slew of gothic terror classics from England’s famed Hammer Studios. Some distributors, like Americom, compensated for people who didn’t have sound projectors by releasing several of their films (such as The Curse of Frankenstein and The Horror of Dracula) with accompanying floppy disc records containing narration and sound effects, which you could play along on your record player while watching the movie.
Today, vintage 8mm horror film releases are popular genre collectables, and are an important artefact of the explosion in popularity which anything remotely related to monster movies enjoyed in the mid-1960s. Most people collect them today because they look great propped up on display next to their old Aurora monster model kits and early issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine (from whose pages most of these 8mm digests were sold via the publication’s vast mail-order catalogue). However, there remains plenty of enthusiasts out there who still actually screen these films, both for themselves and their family or friends who are huddled around the lounge in darkness, or for strangers sitting in clubs and exotic cocktail bars, where retrospective screenings of 8mm films are held and enjoyed by patrons who are eager to recreate the fun and atmosphere of a simpler and more innocent time.
Fortunately, it is still quite easy, and relatively inexpensive, for the novice to start building a collection of 8mm horror film digests (or any other genre, for that matter). Considered a long obsolete format, most 8mm digests can be found at memorabilia fairs, backyard sales and on online auction sites for very modest amounts. Most sell for between 5 – 10 pounds, although as with anything there are exceptions (a Ken Films print of I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and a still-sealed 200’ silent reel of Castle’s The Deadly Mantis recently fetched over US $30 each at online auction), and it’s always easy to see prices soar if you get caught up in a bidding war over a particular item. Condition naturally plays a big part in desirability and value – those who collect these films with the intent to screen them are obviously more concerned with the quality of the film itself (and sound prints are more highly prized than the subtitled silent ones), while the person who collects them primarily to put on display is attracted more by the condition of the packaging and the box than any wear and tear the film print may have suffered. Original sales catalogues, insert pamphlets, store display racks and other promotional material are also sought out by some collectors looking to enhance their display.
Now, excuse me while I pop some corn and fire up the old Royal Sound 8mm projector which I have set up on my tiki bar…I have a newly acquired print of Bert I Gordon’s The Spider that I want to check out.
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