This was a neat birthday gift from the Missus this Christmas just gone.
Right up my cobwebbed alley, it's a 1965 Americom cinefilm reel and record of the Curse of Frankenstein, an early Hammer horror from 1957.
Americom specialized in these reel and record sets - there's a list of titles they released in the 1960's on
the back of the sleeve.
The concept was simple. The record provided the sound as both record and film played at the same speed. Very clever.
As is often the case, one or the other is missing. I have the film reel but the record is AWOL.
I have tidied up the sleeve a little and stiffened the film 'box'.
A lovely thing all round.
You can get a feel for how it looked and sounded on You Tube here:
A mint one would look like this factory fresh example on Worthpoint.
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Another example has the instructions, which were presumably tucked in somewhere. I don't have these either.
Americom released lots of titles in this format. I love the artwork.
A favourite is this Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea set. What an illustration!
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Have you got any Americom or did you?
That is a really neat idea, although I do wonder how it actually worked out. Still, a piece of home entertainment history from the pre-video era.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I was chuffed to get it Paul.
DeleteI recall these Americom sets distinctly. A friend had one of them, maybe the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? The trick of course was getting the record and the film in sync. No projector or record player ever played at exactly the same speed, and even starting both at the same time was a challenge. But even "out of sync," it was a thrilling experience!
ReplyDeleteMy pal Jon and I did something sort of similar in the 1960s. We invited neighborhood kids over to Jon's basement for a "Monster Movie Show" and we would show silent 8mm monster movies, and at the same time play spooky library music records! The effect worked surprisingly well, sort of like watching a silent film in a theater with an orchestra accompanying. SFZ
How fab SF, you were a pioneer! I would have loved your shows!
DeleteIn the 70s, I used to make soundtracks for short black and white super 8 films I'd bought, such as Stingray or Fireball XL5, on my old reel to reel tape recorder.
ReplyDeleteI'd use music from Century 21 EPs and sound effects from BBC Sound Effects records, recorded from our record player's speaker to the tape recorder via the latter's microphone.
I'd sync them by starting the film running on the S8 projector, and then start playing the tape recorder at a certain marked point on the film leader.
I'd keep them in sync by briefly stopping the tape, or the film, as they played, depending which had got ahead. It was crude, but it sort of worked.
Sounds amazing Mish! The seed of film work was in you at an early age! When did you decide you wanted to make a go of it as a job?
DeleteIn my mid teens, I suppose, as soon as I realised how sci fi and fantasy films and TV shows were made (although I also thought I'd like to be an actor, or maybe a director, at that age).
ReplyDeleteAnd why not! The optimism of youth. Well done on getting where you wanted to go Mish.
DeleteCheers Woodsy.
ReplyDeleteThat last comment was from me.
ReplyDelete