Page 26 - RD_2021-03

UNWANTED FILMS - and what to do with them

Somehow over the years, most of us have ended up with some films that nobody
wants to own, and they are impossible to move on. If you are like me, coming into
collecting at a time when it was near impossible to obtain films, every film you were
able to obtain became quite an achievement and of course, whether it was of interest
or not, as long as it went through a projector and put an image on the screen, then it
went into the “collection”.

A similar situation arises when you buy a collection of films, you sometimes end up
with odd reels and / or films that are of little interest and nobody wants.

The latter was the way I ended up with six episodes of an early American TV series Fine
Arts Quartet plays Beethoven. The series was made by WTTW-TV Chicago in the early
1950s.

I had advertised them in RD
a few times at give-away
prices, but there was no
interest.
Over time I had donated a
number of early Australian
TV programs to the
National Film and Sound
Archive, each time dealing
with Simon Smith in the
Melbourne office. So,
rather than see the films go
in the junk bin, I thought I
would ask Simon for his advice.

Surprisingly, the Fine Arts Quartet is still performing, and through Simon’s contacts, he
was able to track down the repository for the Fine Arts Quartet. Their items are held
at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Archives, and the university indicated they
would be interested in taking the films.
So, a few emails back and forth and they were on their way to a good home via FedEx.

I consider that to be a good outcome for all concerned, as my only alternative was to
junk them - something I am always reluctant to do.
My thanks to Simon Smith for his efforts in finding a home for the films.

26 REEL DEALS March 2021