Before the video store, there was the catalog. In the 1960s and '70s, home-movie companies sold condensed Hollywood features and cartoons on Super 8, and families chose their evening's entertainment from brochures like the one included here.
This small collection shows how that business worked. Three reels come from Castle Films, Universal's home-movie arm: Abbott & Costello skating through Riot on Ice, Don Knotts in The Reluctant Astronaut, and Woody Woodpecker selling door to door. The fourth, a "Selected Scenes" cut of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H, comes from Ken Films, which licensed titles from Fox, Paramount, United Artists and others. Its catalog, with Mighty Mouse and the studio logos fanned across the cover, is the menu that tied it all together.
Four black-and-white silent reels in their original boxes, plus the catalog. The Woody Woodpecker box is stickered for color; the reel inside is black and white. A small history of Hollywood's first attempt to move into your house.
Before the video store, there was the catalog. In the 1960s and '70s, home-movie companies sold condensed Hollywood features and cartoons on Super 8, and families chose their evening's entertainment from brochures like the one included here.
This small collection shows how that business worked. Three reels come from Castle Films, Universal's home-movie arm: Abbott & Costello skating through Riot on Ice, Don Knotts in The Reluctant Astronaut, and Woody Woodpecker selling door to door. The fourth, a "Selected Scenes" cut of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H, comes from Ken Films, which licensed titles from Fox, Paramount, United Artists and others. Its catalog, with Mighty Mouse and the studio logos fanned across the cover, is the menu that tied it all together.
Four black-and-white silent reels in their original boxes, plus the catalog. The Woody Woodpecker box is stickered for color; the reel inside is black and white. A small history of Hollywood's first attempt to move into your house.
