1937-38 1946 Color Britain Helsinki Swiss Alps 8mm Home Movies

For sale is this lot of three 5-inch film reels of standard 8mm home movies. Two are in aluminum Bell and Howell cases (both dented), and the third is a generic steel case. In pencil or pen they are labeled "European Trip 1937 Reel I," "European Trip 1937-1938 Reel II," and "Europe 1946." The first two films are black and white Kodak Safety Film, while the 1946 reel is in color. The first two reels contain what appears to be a couple's extended visit to Europe, documenting sites, mixed with what may be some business meetings. Judging by the English manor they stay at, the quality of the clothing, playing badminton on the deck of a cruise ship, the several small plane flights documented, the Champaign bottle in a "bucket" made from a block of ice, the couple was affluent. In the first two films, the cameraman frequently turns to capture images of soldiers marching or on guard, possibly reflecting the building tension of pre-war Europe. (Germany would invade the Sudetenland in September 1938, the Soviet Union would bomb Helsinki in 1939, and Germany and the Soviet Union would invade and carve up Poland also in 1939.) In contrast, the last reel reflects a postwar return to Europe with a focus of families --children, parents, and grandparents. There are no scenes of wartime devastation. There are mere seconds of Paris streets including the base of the Eiffel Tower before returning to the much more important scenes of a mother and child that survived a world war.

The photos shown were screen grabs from a digital recording of the film projected on a sheet of paper using an old film projector that did not focus well, or that I had at an oblique angle. If the film is digitally scanned the film using a modern automated movie film scanner, the quality will be much better than shown here. Included are a few frames photographed with a Kodak film scanner to show the actual film quality. Generally the filming is of average quality and focus, with scenes often too brief.

Selected scenes Reel 1: London Horse Guards at Buckingham Palace (?), Harvington Hall, playing with a dog at an English or Scottish manor, Swiss Alps, Swiss village, Swiss soldiers wearing helmets riding in pairs on motorcycles, Swiss valley of the 72 waterfalls, walking a narrow ice trail, skiing, a recently married couple at Insel Park, a street performer with three dancing monkeys (really!), brief glimpse of a train trip with castle in a large river, appearing in Helsinki, the art deco Helsinki train station with giant human form columns, marching soldiers, Helsinki street scenes and people, views of a ferry ride along the Helsinki coats.

Selected scenes Reel 2 (smaller images in the mosaics of screen grabs because the project was closer to the screen): Possibly now in Holland based on dress and one sign, plane at airport, a soldier with gun and helmet in front of a building, everyone riding bicycles in the street, jump to what looks like Scotland, sheep, cliffs, bagpipes, then on a ship to America, badminton on deck, US warship leaving New York harbor, arrival in New York, statue of Liberty and Empire state building in background, strike up the band.

Selected scenes Reel 3 (some scenes have amazing vibrant colors): Presumably in Scotland judging from a bagpipe parade, relatives, parents playing with children, grandparents playing with children and babies, grown-ups playing with dogs, children playing with dogs, some sort of mock street parade or birthday celebration, some adults still in British uniforms, on a country farm, an elder couple with their Siamese cat, family, very brief Paris scenes including street, Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and Eiffel tower, before returning to a redheaded mother and child.

A 5-inch reel contains about 200 feet of 8mm film lasting about 12–14 minutes run time and generally consists of four 50-foot segments spliced together. Kodachrome 8mm color film was introduced in 1936, but color film and processing were expensive, and color home movies were not common until the 1950s.