Jack Schwitz Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 I have a couple of Kodak films from WWI. I can only find limited info on the internet and nothing similar on ebay, as far as the age or format of these. Is there any interest in this kind of stuff, or is it better off or being donated to the military channel for everyone to check out? The technical stuff: -each reel is about 100' of Kodak Cinegraph safety film -both reels are "Official War Motion Pictures taken under action during the War in France." -one film is " THE ST. MIHIEL DRIVE No. 6502" -the other film is "FLASHES OF ACTION No. 6504" -both are on "KODASCOPE" reels -the format... around 16mm 2 perf?? -the packaging and printing is in excellent shape considering the age (i am guessing that these were released around the time of the battle?? almost pushing 100 years old!!) -upon curious unraveling of about 5' on each roll, both films have a lot of give and do not seem to have spoiled I think these are so cool and I am just curious to know if they are anything sought after, or just a nice center piece to my ever growing personal Kodak display. They were given to me by a family friend the last time I was back home in Rochester. I know they were in the families possession for a long while and am not sure if they are unseen originals that have not seen the light of day in a long long while, or something that was widely reproduced in its day. Anyways, these are pretty wild. Just holding them and unrolling a few feet up to the light to see through a couple of frames gives me such an intense sensation. I am probably just some kind of obsessed weirdo X-Rochestarian, but any info or interest would be appreciated. the pics probably speak louder than my lousy explanation: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Brad Grimmett Posted November 9, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted November 9, 2007 Sounds like you've got something really interesting. Have you projected them to see what the content is and how it looks? If not, I'm sure there are people on this forum that could help you by connecting you with a projector. I see you're in Arizona? You may be very close to someone that could help you figure out what you've got, but I'm not sure. If nothing else, there is probably some government department that would love to add this to their archives. Please keep us posted about what you've got when you figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby L Edwards Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 It could be 9.5mm You should have it transfered to video. WWI, I would love to see it. I think www.moviestuff.com can sell you a transfer unit or transfer it for you. Toby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Drysdale Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 (edited) 16mm was introduced in 1923, so it would be a print of wartime of film reduced to 16mm. You'd have to check the copyright on the films before screening on a channel. Perhaps you should check with a suitable archive to find out if there's any new material in there. However, I'd avoid running it though a projector. 9.5 has perfs in the centre, rather than down the sides. Edited November 10, 2007 by Brian Drysdale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Sprung Posted November 14, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted November 14, 2007 I have a couple of Kodak films from WWI. .... Check the PBS web site. They have a show called "History Detectives". This might be of interest to them. They ran some recently discovered 16mm that included some of Hitler's home movies. Definitely do not project it until you get expert advice on what it is. -- J.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schwitz Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 right on! thanks for the clues and direction. i will update if i get any news on these guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Stewart Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Based on the information you provided, what I think you have are Kodak produced "highlight" reels of film titles produced by the Army during WWI. The story goes that when Kodak began selling their newly invented 16mm film projectors during the early 1920's, customers wanted more content than just their own home movies. So Kodak started a film distribution service called the "Kodascope Library"...it was the "Netfilx" of its day. Thousands of title covering hundreds of topics became part of the library. It was such a success that Kodascope Library members demanded that they be allowed to own copies of their favorite films. Kodak bowed to the pressure (gladly I'll bet), and introduced Kodak Cinegraph 16mm films for sale in May 1927. When first introduced a 100 ft film cost $7.50 and a 400 ft. film cost $30.00. My guess is that your film are from the mid-1930's, but films like these were sold by Kodak well into the 1940's. Are your reels unique? No, the original footage is in the National Archives. Valuable? I'm not qualified to answer that one, but you might want to check out e-bay. Are they available on video or DVD? Some of them are. I suggest that you do a Google search on the title (minus the catalog number after the title) and see what pops up. Your other option is to have your films transferred to DVD. You probably have someone in your town that does that type of work. If not, you might want to check out Home Movie Depot on the web. Hope this helps. Phil Author BATTLEFILM: U.S. Army Signal Corps Motion Pictures of the Great War WAR WINGS: Films of the First Air War Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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