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developed by the late Sam Buncher of the after which date SOME would have been filmed
Vacuumate Corporation and Arnold Schieman on 28mm camera stock. Most of the films listed
are documentary / educational such as "Making
of the NFB).
Pig Iron" to "The Hermit Crab". Activities in
Thus the wheel has turned full circle in Canada; foreign countries are also covered such as
material originally filmed on 35mm and printed "Vintage in Burgundy" and "Salt Industry in
Sicily". A section entitled Movies lists various
down to 28mm is now being printed back up to
entertainment films such as "The Gambler" and
35mm in order to project it on modern "That Model from Paris". Chaplin is much in
equipment. (Fig 1 1). evidence.
I had the good fortune to visit the National Film In the UK our National Film Archives,
Archives in Ottawa in 1983 by kind courtesy of originally at Aston Clinton, but now relocated
Georde Bova, the then Head of the Film
Services Unit and saw the thousands of tins of at Berkhamstead has a copy of the American
28mm films which were still being inspected Pathescope Film Catalogue the original of
and catalogued. In addition to the collection which is held at their London Office of the
described above the National Film Institute was British Film Institute; currently they have some
still receiving a steady trickle of 28mm films, 200 films on 28rnm including several Max
which were being handed in by both Linder comedies.
professional organisations and private
individuals as they came to light. While this is 28mm in the UK today.
an excellent situation for Canadian archivists
and historians it has the unfortunate effect of In February 1983 I tried to discover how many
locking away from the private collector all of 28mm owners there were in the UK, other than
the duplicate professional institutions. (Ref 18). Additional to
copies being myself there were at that time only twelve. In
handed in. One addition I had four replies from abroad. From
case cited in Ref
16 concerns seven Australia, one (Mike Trickett), and from the
copies of the same Netherlands three. All of these had KOK
film handed in to projectors nearly all with the rewind gear
the Archives. Once missing. The number of 400ft reels of film (or
handed to the equivalent short lengths) in the UK totalled 48,
Archives they of which I have five and one person had thirty!
become national
property and Of that 30, half were loose coils without reels
unavailable and so I arranged for a number of 400ft 16mm
although this is reels to be converted to 28mm by fitting new
done with the best specially made brass cores so that the films
possible motives. could be projected.
Above: 28mm positive. Note perforations
Although most of the 28mm films in the UK are
I have managed to acquire a copy of Ref 17, black and white I have seen one film tinted
which consists of 99 pages. The introduction sepia, overall, and another tinted salmon pink.
carries the misleading statement "The originals Subject matter varies widely from the Pyramids
are 28mm black and white silent and are on
safety film stock". Remembering that 28mm did of Egypt and Salmon Fishing to such slapstick
not come into general use until 1914 and the comedies as "No More Bald Men". There
catalogue covers the period 1907 to 1930 the appears to be no communication between
28mm films can not all be originals but are 28mrn owners and so no opportunity to see
printed down from 35mm at least up to 1914