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veritable clandestine ethos surrounding the I said, 'I've got a few machines, some Kalees,
hobby. The practitioners are few and the degree Edisons and Super Dreadnoughts. He looked me
of self-indulgence demands both a nose for over again and then he said, 'I'm Dukeson! You
business as well as the skill of a diplomat. and I talk the same language, mate!' and he put
Initially collectors can be wary and suspicious of his hand out and smiled, and I said, 'Look, I've
each other, as Davidson explained in describing got a letter of introduction here too, from Jim
a meeting with a 'film nut' in Burnie, Tasmania. Davis. It might make things look a bit mare
formal.' He took it and read it over. Then he said,
I'd heard about this chap from a fellow who 'Well, any friend of Jim's is a friend of mine!'
collected film machinery. He gave me his It was open go from then on. I went back to his
address, described him, and gave me a letter of place that night and saw his old machines,
introduction. He also warned me about him, showed the films he had, and saw how he
saying that he was - well what's the word? - collected them. 'I gave up films when sound
Eccentric to the point of rudeness. 'If you get on came in,' he said, sound's no good, a film's got to
the right side of him it will be all right.' So I went he silent.' He was a projectionist right up until
down there and knocked on the door. There was sound came in he then gave it away. Now he just
no sign of life, except for a couple of dozen bird runs the silent films to himself. He sits up having
cages made out of banana boxes with pigeons a meal with the machine running, projecting
and crows and I don't know what in them - he through his living room, out the window, across
collected birds too! And looking through his front the veranda, and onto the screen behind the
window into his lounge room I could see a hedge. When I saw that, I had a funny feeling
projector. It was aimed through the window out and I wondered if this was going to be my
onto his front hedge, and I could see the frame destiny, sitting there forever watching old films.
where he hung the screen! Well I hung around Once collected much needs to he done. It is at
there for a while but there was still no sign of this point that the film collector needs finance to
him. I asked the fellow who lived next door where organise, preserve and store his collection for
he was and he said, he wears a tweed coat and screening. Davidson is particularly interested in
should he sitting down outside the post office. this aspect of "the collection business" as he
He's generally down there in the morning talking phrases it. Although his home is indeed "a house
to his old cronies.' So I went down and there's a full of film and movie antiquity" a closer
couple of chaps sitting there and I asked them if inspection reveals that there is a large amount of
they were him and they said `No.' So I drove organization. Yet he emphasises that the state of
round for an hour or so, then I saw a chap his collection at the moment is not at all
walking down towards that area and I thought, desirable. With adequate finances he could
'Well, he's got a tweed coat.' He didn't look quite pursue a far more systematic course:
as old as I imagined him to he, judging by the The best thing to do to improve my set-up would
way the other people hall described him. He he to look round for the right location, preferably
went down and sat outside the post office. I went a disused factory built of brick where there's
up to him and said, 'I'm looking for Mr. Dukeson, plenty of space. I could set up racks, go through
would you happen to he him?' He looked up and the films and put them in each particular
said, `would you know him if you saw him?' and I category: Australian Silent, Australian Sound,
said, 'No, I've had him described to me. I know Overseas Silent, Overseas Sound. Then Shorts,
he'll be wearing a tweed coat and be sitting down Cartoons, different subjects like that. Put them all
here around about this time. If you are him we've down, go through them and repair them. When I
gut something in common.' He said, 'Well, what repair a silent film I always make a half-splice
could you have in common?' join rather than overlap the sprocket holes. I find
I said, 'I happen to he a collector of silent films.' that when you put a halfway mark it halves the
'Silent films?' he said, 'Oh yeah I happen to have shrinkage on the sprockets when it goes through
heard of those.' I said, 'Oh well, if you're Mr. the machine, so that you don't have any trouble
Dukeson and since we have something in with it. I would isolate them like that so I could
common we can talk it over.' He said, 'What put my hand on each particular thing, and then
would you know about silent films?' I said,' I start to contact other film archives throughout the
know a fair bit about them, I've been showing world, tell them what I've got, find out what
them for years and I've collected a lot of them. I they've got of ours and try and work a swapping
believe this chap has got a lot too. Maybe we arrangement where everyone's satisfied. If a
can talk it over and swap a few.' He looked me film's made in France or England in 1910 and
over and said, 'Know anything about projectors?' they haven't got a copy, well we could work an
arrangement where they did get a copy of it.
6 REEL DEALS September 2006