Kodascope

By the spring of 1925, the Kodascope library, under the expert leadership of Willard Beach Cook, late of the Pathéscope 28mm library, was fully operative in both America and Britain. It was an instant success with the lucky owners of a 16mm outfit, and we find in the Kodak trade News of 1926 the following testimonial from a happy customer: " I would like to add that my first experience with the Kodascope exceeds anything I had anticipated. I Personally prefer the Kodascope to the ordinary cinema as the films are as good and steady as in an ordinary cinematographe theter. Being able to show pictures in one’s own home with incidental music provided by the BBC is better than anything you can get in a cinema theater." (Gerald McKee " Film Collecting" Tantivity Press 1978)

More than seventy years on with the advent of home video, this quote seems even more amazing. It must be difficult to appreciate the impact of the home film show. But the tribute stands as a testament to the Kodascope print quality. Many were amber or sepia tinted and because they were printed directly from 35mm negatives gave superb results. On a side by side comparison, the prints stand up very well to their 35mm contemporaries, in sharpeness, gray scale and steadiness.Today, Kodascope prints are a prized possession among film collectors. They rarely appear at movie fairs and when they do usually are passed among the vendors before the public arrive. Occasionally, one may find a treasured Kodascope print in orginal cans heaped amongst posters and other ephemera or the odd reel from a two reeler.

My earliest memories of Kodascope prints result from a lucky purchase my father made in 1951 while en route from England to Ceylon. Calling in at the local Kodak agent in Port Said to buy some 16mm Kodachrome film, he noticed that the dealer had some ex library prints for sale. Perusal of the titles revealed that among a the two reelers were Chaplin comedies "The Rink", "Shanghaied" and "In The Bank" -- all amber prints! There were also a number of other comedies and some general interest titles. So began the basis of the family film collection. The prints provide many hours of enjoyment when run on our Kodak model C projector. I was lucky enough to be given some small 50 foot sepia rolls to run on the hand-cranked Kodatoy.. in retrospect a rather brutal treatment for such valued film.

Having had our eyes opened to the quality and range of Kodascope titles, the family decided, on special occasions, to hire films from the Kodascope library in Australia where our family were now living. The Kodascope library in Britain had closed in 1941, but fortunately the libraries were still operating in Australia until the early 1960s. The Silent Catalogue listed some intriguing films. Titles that still come to mind after over 40 years are Charley Chase in "Mighty Like A Moose", Laurel & Hardy in "Do Detectives Think?", and Our Gang in "Official Officers". The Kodascope library was also my introduction to the world of animation. Many titles from Felix The Cat and the Fleischer "Out of the Inkwell" series was available and a title from the latter that I recall was "A Trip To Mars".

Looking at the Kodascope film hire catalogues, I remember wondering what joys would be presented by some of the feature titles " Trapped By The Mormons", "Lighthouse By The Sea", "Covered Wagon", "The Pony Express" and "The Lost World" .Fortunately in the intervening years I have had the pleasure of seeing most of the films and have been fortunate to acquire a number of them.

A few years later, my family acquired a 16mm Bell & Howell sound projector which opened up yet another vista on the Kodascope sound film catalogue, and I finally discovered what Laurel & Hardy sounded like. But that’s another story! 

Note: A CD version of the 1934 Kodascope Catalogue (and lots of rare books) can be purchased here.

The Cine Kodagraph series was available for purchase. This is a 200 foot amber print. 

This Ensignareel from 1934 is another example of home movies that could be purchased outright. Another amber print, this one is on a 100 foot spool and runs 4 minutes at 16 fps.

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Updated 28 April 2006