ATLAS FILMS 8MM COLLECTING FOR THE FINANCIALLY IMPAIRED

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Richard M Roberts
Godfather
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Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

ATLAS FILMS 8MM COLLECTING FOR THE FINANCIALLY IMPAIRED

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sat May 30, 2020 5:57 pm

Michael J. Hayde has put together a wonderful little history of this long-living fly-by-night little collector company:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhC4eKL ... e=youtu.be

Two things Michael: first, the Barney Google comedy with Slim Summerville is, in fact, A HORSE ON BARNEY (Standard-FBO released April 21, 1929), I have a beautiful 16mm original on it.

Second, that Atlas Films print of Roscoe Arbuckle's THE WAITERS BALL (1916) had another edge on the Blackhawk print of the same title, the Atlas Films print was actually complete. Blackhawk's derived from Paul Killiam's MOVIE MUSEUM version, which was trimmed by several minutes. I have one of these Atlas prints as well, and it was what we used as the road map to reassemble Killiam's trims to his original fine grain.

My memories of Atlas was that there was always a rack of their product for sale at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, this was where I discovered them in the 1960's, and though I would then get their listings and purchase from mail order from them, I would find interesting things of theirs I didn't have on their lists when I went to Knotts.

And once more, another lab working both the porno and collector end of the home movie business (this was far from a seldom thing).

Well done Michael, bravo.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Michael J Hayde
Associate
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Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:33 pm

Re: ATLAS FILMS 8MM COLLECTING FOR THE FINANCIALLY IMPAIRED

Postby Michael J Hayde » Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:34 pm

Thank you very much, Richard, for both the kind words and the identification.

And with that, all three of the under-identifieds have been ID'd:

1) A HORSE ON BARNEY (Darmour, 1929)
2) THIS WAY OUT (Arrow-Mirthquake, 1924). Available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80W_leIffEM
3) RESTLESS BACHELORS (Darmour, 1928).

Michael

William Ferry
Cugine
Posts: 124
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:37 pm

Re: ATLAS FILMS 8MM COLLECTING FOR THE FINANCIALLY IMPAIRED

Postby William Ferry » Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:59 pm

This was fascinating! I spent many an hour in the mid-'70s in the camera department of Two Guys in North Bergen, NJ, perusing the Castle Films and Columbia 50- and 200-foot selections. For years, the prices were $1.99 and $4.99, respectively. Carnival and Atlas were, perhaps, a bit before my time, although a friend of the family have me an old copy of LUCKY HORSESHOES (a clip from Chaplin's THE CHAMPION). I think I still have all those films!

Maurice Terenzio
Associate
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Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:51 am

Re: ATLAS FILMS 8MM COLLECTING FOR THE FINANCIALLY IMPAIRED

Postby Maurice Terenzio » Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:33 am

Apropos of very little, I would like to share this story involving Atlas Films "cousin", Carnival Films, which may be of interest...provided you interest easily. When I was a child in the early '60s, my father, who worked at a large department store, would occasionally purchase an 8mm movie from their camera department. Usually it was a Castle Film but sometimes it would be a Coast Film or a Carnival Film. One of these Carnival Film purchases was a Charlie Chaplin double feature. It consisted of an abridgment of Getting Acquainted (1914) followed by an abridgment of His Prehistoric Past (1914), both on one 200' reel. As a child, I loved the Getting Acquainted portion. As to the His Prehistoric Past portion...not so much. Years later, once I discovered Blackhawk Films, I purchased Getting Acquainted to upgrade to a complete print. Once it arrived, I received two surprises. The first being that the Blackhawk Films version wasn't that much longer than my Carnival Films print. The second surprise was that my Carnival Films version was a sharper, clearer print than the Blackhawk version. Who could have seen that coming? Not I.


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