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We held the film by the edges between the solved. My friends in a Melbourne film
thumb and fingers of the left hand while lab. were so impressed with the cement
the film was being rewound (usually at that they made up large quantities for
rather high speed). It always surprised me their own use and for their customers.
how, even at high speed, you could pick They called it ‘Franweld’ - that was nice.
up (feel) a single broken sprocket hole or
a bad splice. Yes, we did get cut and burnt It is not my intention to become a
fingers and eventually calluses across the collector of film splicers. However, in
area where the film was held. Today, with almost every box of vintage equipment
safety film and machine rewinds, this and film that arrives on my doorstep I find
checking does not happen. a splicer. I have them now in all shapes
and sizes and will illustrate this article
Tri-acetate safety film started to appear in with a few unusual or significant
1951/52, bringing with it a nasty problem. examples. They all operate on the same
The special film cement supplied to the basic principle but some are more
theatres for use on safety film simply did efficient that others.
not work and splice after splice came
apart when winding or screening the film. Sadly most amateur type film splicers
Some cements were almost pure ether and were fiddly and difficult to use and I’m
would knock your head off in the confines sure this contributed to the reluctance of
of the Bio Box, but would not join safety many amateur filmmakers to edit their
film. Numerous brands were tried with films. But that is no longer relevant, as
varying degrees of failure. Some video and the computer age claim another
concoctions seemed to evaporate through victim and the makers of an amazing
the cork, so the cement bottle was always range of film splicers “bite the dust”.
empty. Surely there was some solvent that
would work? Perhaps the one exception is Dr. Leo’s
I was glancing through the latest 35mm CIR tape splicer that still joins up
International Projectionist magazine the reels in many a modem cinema com-
when this caught my eye - “Having plex - but it may be just a brief reprieve.
trouble joining safety film? Try this.” The rest go to the dump, with a lucky few
(Two solvents were named.) “Make up a ending up in some enthusiast’s collection
50/50 mix. Dissolve 6 inches of safety or to become perhaps a future artefact in the
nitrate film base in every 8 ounces of archaeology of the twentieth century.
solution to thicken.” And that was it.
(In the average suburban theatre double
Wow! I rushed off to Selbys (chemical feature programme of that era 22,000 feet
suppliers) to buy the solvents and made of film would pass through the Assistant’s
up the first batch. It was a perfect hands in one night. This could include two
universal film cement for safety or nitrate features, two newsreels, a cartoon, trail-
film, and for either 16mm or 35mm. It was ers and a one or two reel short subject. In
clean working, fast drying, with slow “making up” the show, or preparing a
evaporation and it would not distort the Saturday matinee and Friday night seri-
film. I sold small bottles of the brew to all als, this footage total could double.)
my mates and for us the problem was

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