Before The VCR: Castle Films, 16mm, Super 8, audio taping, soundtrack LPs, etc.

Video 4 in the 31 Days of FredFlix

[@davidholman48]

In 1978 I had the very first release of a Star Wars digest. It was 20 minutes long, in Super-8 format, in color with sound. Friends came from all over to see it. We even had parties around it. But what made it special was that we could project it on a big screen made out of a bed sheet. Short as it was, there was something really special about the whole thing. Ah, memories!

[@1959blantz]

I'll never forget the excitement of going to my local camera store and buying a 50ft (4 minute), Black and White, silent version of "Frankenstein Meets The Wolf man" and others.When I started collecting films I didn't even own a Projector yet and was so fascinated with just holding the film up to the light and the thought of the frames actually made movement. A few months later I finally got a projector and I have been hooked ever since. The 60s and 70s were the best time to be alive.

[@FredFlix]

Kids today have no idea.

[@davidkarkosky866]

In the Houston area around 1973 the Texas Department of Safety had a program where the students could make a color drawing and it would be turned into a film strip. The theme was traffic safety and I did a drawing about stop signs. I was so excited when the film strip came back and they showed it in school. I was in elementary school at the time.

[@AI4QT]

I remember that educational 16 mm films for schools in the 60s and 70s held my attention much better than video tapes would do when they became wide spread in the late 70s and 80s. Watching a video tape was too much like watching tv at home.... but man-oh-man, watching a 16 mm film was like going to the "picture show."

[@FredFlix]

It had a certain charm and simplicity.

[@Juliaflo]

@@FredFlix Do you remember seeing filmstrips in school assemblies from time to time?

[@FredFlix]

@@Juliaflo I not only remember them but I ran them in high school and college.

[@Juliaflo]

@@FredFlix The glory days of being a projectionist, right?

[@FredFlix]

@@Juliaflo Glory is not the word I would use. But I would go back just to get that sensation again. Now it's just mouse clicks.

[@cynthiapickett5017]

My father would get his photography developed at a nearby shop that sold the Super 8 movies (typically cartoons). I was a little kid in the mid-1970's, and I remembered this era already fading.

[@unevenspleener]

Yeah I used to do that too... Read and study the album covers while listening to the album. Fact is, it was hugely educational! There was a wealth of information about who played what, who produced the album, who designed the album cover, etc. And back in the days of vinyl albums, cover art was beautiful. Thanks for posting and for throwing in a little of your personal experience, Fred. That was great.

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, uneven. CDs came and ruined the album art and text experience.

[@heygetoffmylawn1572]

Yesterday we watched family vids of our kids doing all the kid stuff from 20years ago. It was great...just point and vid. Instant memories. A snapshot in time. Wish they were that age again. We are really lucky to live in this age of technology.

[@TooLooze]

What great memories. On special occasions, my dad used to bring out the old home 8mm movies. We also had an Abbott and Costello movie and I think a Betty Boop cartoon. The smell of the oil and the heat from the bulbs is almost tangible. Thanks, FreddFlix.

[@sapphire13579]

I took a tape recorder into a movie theater and recorded a movie so I could listen to it at work. It was the only way back then.

[@FredFlix]

Do you remember which movie, Janet?

[@sapphire13579]

@@FredFlix The Big Chill

[@FredFlix]

@@sapphire13579 Good movie to listen to. A lot of great dialog and not action.

[@sapphire13579]

@John Bold I believe I did.

[@colinroose42]

As a millennial I always wondered what the movie options were back then. Thanks Fred!

[@FredFlix]

We also had our cave drawings, Colin.

[@janupczak1643]

More great memories! I remember having the old clunky projector, and the "whoosh" sound the screen made when you pulled it up and hooked it in place. Thanks for another great trip!

[@FredFlix]

You're welcome, Jan. The whir of the projector and the cigarette smoke drifting through the light and still pleasant memories.

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

In 1969, I bought a Disney copy of "Trick or Treat," put a mag stripe on it, and waited until the short in b/w came on TV, and taped the sound, then dubbed it onto my "Trick or Treat." Great memories. 😊 In 1954 I bought a b/w 50ft version of Mickey's Steam Roller. Today it has the dreaded Vinegar Syndrome. Phew! 😢

[@lja6214]

Such simple times!☺❤ I recorded the audio from a new Norelco cassette recorder(using a handheld mic) I got for Xmas '72. Recorded TV shows & songs off LPS or 45's. Great memories!! Thanks for your awesome vids, Fred!!! 😃👏👏

[@FredFlix]

You're welcome, L J A.

[@memories1004]

Nostalgia is just priceless. Sure, it's convenient to simply download movies or music but "memories" just isn't there where there's tangible things to touch, feel, smell, experience of what you had to do to go buy them saving money or work to obtain them, etc...

[@josephhassett6505]

Great job Fred. If you had told us back then that someday we would own movies or a tv episode, or an entire tv series, we would never have believed it. When it comes to modern entertainment technology, THESE are the good old days.

[@FredFlix]

Yeah, I have 1,000 movies, all my favorites, on one external hard drive that is smaller than ONE VHS tape

[@zoppie]

While Letterman was still on NBC, I remember him disparaging CBS for running the so-called "Late Movie" up against him, which was, at that point in time, just a couple of TV show reruns.

[@Richardofdanbury]

My friends dad worked for Universal in NYC and he brought home all the classic "monster" movies for the neighborhood kids to watch for free; even supplying popcorn and soda. It was great.

[@FredFlix]

Did he bring home 16mm prints?

[@Richardofdanbury]

Yes, and a 16mm camera as well, it belonged to the studio. In addition when our parochial school had the Christmas pageant he would supply the headdress for the shepherds. @@FredFlix

[@JettBlast]

Great memories thanks for sharing sounds like a blast!

[@speedracer1945]

We had home movies but didnt have a projector . We had to wait till out Uncle visited twice a year to watch um . I gotba tape recorder as a gift when I was 11 yrs old . Recorded TV shows themes and burps and farts and my friends saying hello an stuff .

[@23pamolson]

I remember my brother introducing the cassette to my mom, he included a tape of orchestral music conducted by Herbert Von Karajan

[@danielcruz8347]

FREDFLIX..Cinematic masterpiece!! Passing lightyears in time..luv images and music. Simple times and pleasures..every picture tells a story!! With this presentation I can even smell the popcorn!!! thank you so much!!! 11221

[@1disney100]

You sure captured it! I did absolutely everything on here! Taping the drive-in speakers, filming the tv, filming it on super 8, finally getting to buy the films.... soundtracks, everything! And don't forget, waiting a year to find a Ray Harryhausen movie that was aired in another city and you watch it through a snowy TV reception with rabbit ears! That was it for the year!

[@FredFlix]

I watched Monolith Monsters that way.

[@Bloodshotguy]

What a great trip down memory lane, Fred! I wouldn't have had to change a thing to make it apply to my own misspent youth. Thank you!

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Bloodshotguy. We did what we HAD to do!

[@angelosantaniello4113]

Johnny Quest was my favorite growing up

[@rcobb5081]

Really great video. I recall seeing a vcr for the first time. It was at a church in Lubbock, TX. It was the size of a large suitcase. Amazing.

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Ron.

[@JettBlast]

And it was mechanical and loud and you could hear the motor running inside when a tape was being played.

[@edreid7872]

My earliest memory of trying to tape music from the t.v. was the music from Casino Royale, and a Levi's commercial...with a weird stop motion thing going, and a catchy tune starting with Good morning, world, I'm waiting for you....😁

[@stanleyjedrzejczyk2966]

Oh yes! I'm 50 and I used to audio-cassette tape TV shows and movies back in the mid-late seventies as a young kid. I used a telephone pick-up type recorder microphone that had a suction cup which was supposed to be attached to a phone handset's earpiece to record the two-way phone conversation on a cassette recorder. I "modified" it, with Duct tape, to stick to our 25" RCA Chromacolor's external speaker/amp. 'Lee-hee-hee-hee-hee vi's!'. 😜!

[@michealridenoour5320]

The Levis commercial is one of my favorites and its on youtube!

[@alg11297]

I used to tape the little mike to the tv speaker mostly for movie themes. Great vid. I also taped the mike to the radio and tried my best to tape my favorite songs in between the d.j. gong on and on. Oh these kids. They'll never know what a mixed tape is.

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, alg.

[@michellebutler5039]

Omg same for me! I still have mine. Horrible quality, but still blast from the past!

[@cyndisue8877]

I remember those Camera"s , and recorders very well. Thanks for the up load Fred !👍👍☺️

[@FredFlix]

You're welcome, Cindy.

[@RusstheTroubadour]

Thanks for the memories Fred. Remember doing the audio taping on a cassette recorder. Enjoyed hearing those snippets of The NBC Mystery Movie Theme ( Henry Mancini) and The CBS Movie Opening Theme ( Mort Stevens). Much simpler times.

[@FredFlix]

That they were, Russ.

[@ChrisMaxfieldActs]

I love this! Good history for our youth. I got a portable cassette recorder with a great condenser mic for Xmas back in 1970, and I used it to record STAR TREK and MONTY PYTHON episodes, as well as my family and my brother improvising comedy. I recorded music and radio shows also, of course. I started making home movies in Super 8 when I was 13 or so, and I did buy a few Castle Films, like Claude Rains in The Invisible Man (with sound!) and Harryhausen's Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers. I made my own Super 8 special effects and animations, too. I enjoy all of your posts!

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Chris, I made my own Super 8 productions as well and one day I might spotlight one on this channel.

[@mikegrossberg8624]

@@FredFlix I bought a Super 8 camera which had a cable release jack. Used it to make some stop-motion films(I was, and still am, a Ray Harryhausen freak). Even did my own editing and splicing

[@FredFlix]

@@mikegrossberg8624 My best friend did the same. We are both Harryhausen fans.

[@markastor9413]

I did everything except taping the movie at a drive in. I had a vast Castle Films collection, plus Columbia Films and Ken Films. When I tried taping sound off TV to synchronize to a movie I would edit the tape so it would match the film. I would say it was in sync 90%. Of course it could never be perfect but it was close. Thanks for this trip down memory lane.

[@BlaineBinkerd]

I had the same bizarre hobby as a teenager. I had reels and reels of tape with TV themes. Fortunately, my dad encouraged geekiness (he was a tech wizard for the Air Force and a ham operator) and added a headphone jack to our TV so that what I got was very good high fidelity recordings. The sad part is that after I went in the Army, my mom found my tapes, decided that I was a kook for having an unapproved hobby and dumped them. Sadness

[@FredFlix]

At least hey had no monetary value, such as your mom throwing out your complete X-Men comic book set.

[@BlaineBinkerd]

@@FredFlix It wasn't X-Men. I checked the value of the comics she BURNED and current market value is $250K or more. I had some real good ones. Mint condition.

[@FredFlix]

@@BlaineBinkerd Yikes! Did you let her know?

[@BlaineBinkerd]

@@FredFlix [Bending head in cowardice] No. The words "comic book" wood start an episode of mouth-frothing scriptural quotes. My sisters know. And I told my dad 20 years later, but it doesn't bring my books back.

[@jeffreysnow2640]

I have over 100 of these movies !!! Silent, sound b/w and color sound. It's a great hobby !!

[@mikeaball2142]

Woody Woodpecker on Castle Films...remember it well.Also on my portable recorder taped AT40 each week & listened to it all week,until the next Sat.when I'd erase it & record it again!

[@blondeblythe]

Wonderful video! Brings back many great memories! My brother and I would record the soundtracks of our favorite T.V. shows such as I Dream of Jeannie and Happy Days! He had a cassette recorder, and I had a reel-to-reel tape recorder (and still do). In 1965, my grandmother gave me $5.00 for my eighth birthday. With it, I purchased a Kenner Easy Show Movie Projector. I still have it and the film cartridges, too! I loved the cartoons on them, and you could even make them go backwards by turning the crank in the opposite direction. I also still have the Blackhawk 8 mm films I purchased in the early '70s, all silent movies. Another fun thing I purchased in the '70s were old radio shows on reels, sold by Golden Age Radio. They feature popular old radio programs such as Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lone Ranger, Jack Benny, and more! I still have those, too! I desperately wanted a Show 'N Tell phono viewer in the '60s, but never got one!

[@FredFlix]

I'm glad you kept all those things, B.B.

[@emilysantoyo918]

This is a very interesting history behind tape recorders & entertainment you would usually watch back then! Very nicely done Fred!!

[@FredFlix]

I appreciate that, Emily.

[@Onteo1]

I too used my little 3” reel to reel to record things. Andy Griffiths theme was one. I had several Hanna Barbara lps with complete audio from cartoons like Yogi an Huckleberry. In the early 70s we had A b/w reel to reel video recorder in a broadcasting class. Not sure if it had sound. Great video!!!

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Onteo.

[@hankgolfer1]

I remember back in 1970 or around there I bought the full silent film Phantom of the Opera on 8mm for $100 from Blackhawk Films. And yes I had many 8 mm "movie" all of the 10 minute or so version. Borrowed my Aunt's 8mm movie camera untill I bought my own and shot those 3 minute color home movies mailed with a Kodak mailer and the joy of getting them in the mail. As the saying goes "Thise were the days" Another gem, Fred. Thank you for the memories. Hank

[@FredFlix]

You're welcome Hank. Wow, 100 bucks...

[@hankgolfer1]

@@FredFlix Yes $100. Why did I do it, young and stupid, I guess. Still have it.

[@elifoust7664]

AIWA TAPE RECORDED TOP 40......1969....FIRE.....SEALED WITH A KISS ,SON OF PREACHER MAN.

[@Zarkovision]

In the 1970s you could buy whole movies on Super 8 with sound, usually in a slightly cut version of 3 or 4 reels, each 22 minutes (120 metres). But that would have cost you about 200 US $ here for roughly 90 minutes. Black and white was significantly cheaper. Colours wearing off is a problem, luckily it takes severaly decades. I have some Elvis Presley movies, which are still in an excellent shape, and other films, which are now almost red. The quality of Super 8 wasn't so bad, you can easily compare it with a DVD. (Many cheap copies were rubbish, indeed.) But of course in the 1970s I had only cheap short films, mostly Laurel & Hardy, The 3 Stooges, Charlie Chaplin and cartoons. In the 1980s, when video came up, it was possible to buy whole movies on Super 8 for discount prices. Most films from my collection are indeed from fmore recent lea-markets. Recording TV was for me, like for most other boys, just on cassette-tapes.

[@FredFlix]

My friend and I were buying 16mm even in the '90s, because we like the format.

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

My Dad had it all - the screen, the slide projector and the massive 8mm movie projector. The 2 projectors matched each other with their brown fake alligator covering. They were rarely used. That 8mm was big and heavy; the cover was the speaker; it had a tube amplifier and a mic. In school, we had the grey Kodak Pageant 16mm projector - when I was in AV Club, i could thread it faster than everyone else and it always worked the 1st time!! In Junior High, I got into Super 8. Made a few movies, and yes, splicing was a pain!! Our teachers made us splice "like a pro." No splice tape for us, we had to trim, scrape off the emulsion, then glue the film together with special cement. Those splices were not sturdy!! AS always, Fred, thanks. Thanks for the "Brain Refresh" of Sept 1968 - June 1971 I've just experienced!!!

[@FredFlix]

I was also running projectors in class, Jeff, though it was in college.

[@Curtiz2008]

I still have projectors and films. I think we tended to appreciate these movies more when they were hard to get. Now with movies coming out on disc within six months of release it feels like we have lost something. Thanks for the memories.

[@tomkat5626]

4:40 The comic books were OUR video tapes back in the days.

[@1950Grendel]

Yeah, but you had to read them - would never catch on today.

[@saintmichael1779]

That was very, very good. I had a 5" reel-to-reel tape recorder (Aiwa) which I also recorded TV shows. The only thing was, it always made a buzzing sound. If I put the microphone far enough away from the speaker, I couldn't hear it. I wish I still had those tapes. One in particular was a taping of a special on Artur Rubenstein the pianist. I have looked for it on YT to no avail. Looking forward to tomorrow's special treat.

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Michael.

[@saintmichael1779]

@@FredFlix I look forward to FredFlix posts the way I look forward to a jelly donut. The only thing is, when I am through with my donut, it's gone. But your videos last forever!

[@jamesgrassia844]

I do remember that. Miss them believe it or not.

[@merce10554]

Yes to taping tv themes, performances or commercial jingles with my Norelco cassette recorder. Yes to listening to soundtracks and reliving the film. Yes to even taking photos to a tv screen to capture a sometimes blurry image. Yes to the music, the music... Count me in on the geek club. :)

[@FredFlix]

You're a valued member, merce. I also took pics of Mad World when it was shown on TV. So we played the soundtrack and showed the photos with a slideshow projector. Boy, were we desperate!

[@merce10554]

@@FredFlix LOL Appreciate it. :)

[@fgrady1]

I had 2 reel to reel recorders, a small cassette recorder and later, an 8-track recorder/player. Not forgetting my super-8 mm film camera and projector to play the films once they came back from the local developer. Talk about early tech! I’d record tv shows and Music off radio. I taped Lennon and McCartney off the Tonight Show in 1968 and made cassette copies for friends. Years later, I heard my tape show up on a Beatles bootleg album.

[@FredFlix]

Too bad you couldn't sue.

[@stendec-dd3he]

Geeze Louise, Fred. You just tapped into so many of our moments. The cassettes, LP's, magazines; anything to retain just a bit of the show. As with you, I probably have boxes of cassettes from T.V. shows and movies made with the portable tape recorder sitting by the T.V. set in the 70's. Our big foray was sneaking a tape recorder into a cinema to tape this space movie when it came out in '77, then make copies for the three of us. Yeah, it may look quaint and primitive to someone now, but it wasn't the case for us, right boss?

[@FredFlix]

Not at all. I even took a camera, without a flash bulb, into the theater and from the front row took photos of The Exorcist.

[@stendec-dd3he]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAA, cut from the same cloth ! You're good people, Fred.

[@FredFlix]

@@stendec-dd3he Ditto, stendec. I took photos because I had a crush on Ellen Burstyn, who played the mother. I wrote her a fan letter. To my surprise, she wrote me back. Within a year, I was backstage with her during her Broadway run of Same Time Next Year. I was 20. I don't know how that happened. It was an odd moment in my life and seems rather embarrassing now but she still remembers me.

[@stendec-dd3he]

What a great memory to have. There are times when a simple twist of fate came place good fortune before you. You obviously made the impression on here; probably honest sincerity on your part. She's still an attractive woman in her 80's. I am sure it means a lot to her, as well as so many others, to know that they did make a difference and are remembered, to their fan base. Letting them know as much, is good medicine for both. There are so many I wished I had written to, just to let them know. Getting a reply is still a magical moment. It's a good reminiscence. Thank you, Fred, for sharing that.

[@tarkushead]

Thanks! Brought back a lot of fun memories - we did just about all of these tricks. I'd tape record Seymour from Fright Night in Los Angeles every Friday night just to get through the week until next Friday....Great times!

[@hiramlofton9464]

Der Freder Flixen! Fred, you are getting better and better. I enjoy your work. Thank you so much. Sincerely: Sonny Lofton Walg, Wgpc, Wkak, Wjad, Wjaz, Wwcw, Wikx, etc. etc. All real radio I worked at in the past 50 years. I left out cable and TV to keep the list small enough to fit on 8mm if you choose to record it! God bless you my friend!

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, Sonny. You've made the rounds on radio!

[@DrumWild]

In sixth grade [1976], we had a Sex Ed class. They had to break out a projector for it. There was an audio record that was included. They would have to start the movie, and then the movie would signal when to start the record. Of course, the record was very old, so it had scratches. More memorable, the platter was warped, and so the voices would go up and down in pitch. Nobody could help but laugh when hearing "peeEEEEEeenis."

[@FredFlix]

I'm laughing now.

[@GlenHallstrom]

Back then I had two places I revered for Super * film: Castle Films and Blackhawk Films.

[@bethdibartolomeo2042]

Thank goodness there were ways to record things before the VCR was invented. If it hadn't been for alternate means of recording, most of the first years of Doctor Who (1963-1969) would not exist in any form beyond pictures because of the cold-hearted BBC exec who took a hatchet job to many of the first two Doctors' serials. We have to thank someone who had the foresight to record audio from every episode that aired.

[@ensabahnur7657]

Great memories!

[@sixtoes2313]

Back in the early 70s. We had a "Bachelor Party" for a friend. Of course someone brought 8mm Stag Films. The White curtains worked great for a screen. Little did we know, There was a huge crowd of people outside watching the show. 🎬

[@stevehall383]

In some ways, we didn't have much back in those days, but in many ways we had so much more. I miss the 50's, 60's and 70's.

[@stratocasterguy]

Ah yes, the ol' Super 8 projector and "home movies" when I was a kid. Pull the curtains closed and turn out the lights while Dad set up the projector pointed at a bare wall! In addition to our own home-made movies of birthdays and outdoor activities, we had actual purchased movies: Heckle & Jeckle, Popeye, and dad's football fave "Bone Crunchers". Life was magical and fun back then!

[@Mr22thou]

Thank you for being a geek. BTW, when ABC or CBS would show a full color theatrically released film that was a mere 3 or 4 years old when first broadcast, it was a real big deal. Mom would pop popcorn and we'd put on our pj's & bring our pillows & blankets out. It was a big event. VHS & better technologies gave many more options & made it easier to watch great stuff, yet it soon became no big deal...less exciting. I wouldn't say I want to go back, but I remember those days fondly.

[@FredFlix]

Yes, the problem now is we have so much, in terms of media access, that nothing seems precious anymore.

[@Mr22thou]

@@FredFlix Exactly!

[@hearttoheart4me]

Even if you weren't alive, which I was then, you can just feel the fun and nostalgia of that time and the "cutting edge technology". Good times looking back now.

[@sheriheffner2098]

My grandfather did that, he would aim his video camera at the television. One time he gave us Driving Miss Daisy and you could see him and my grandma Betty on the sofa and talking during the movie.

[@tomasgeffen345]

Ah, those were the days!!

[@MrLikecats]

In the late70s and early 80s I taped to shows on audio cassette tapes like The Love Boat, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Flintstones, part of Race For you Life, Charlie Brown, Bugs Bunny cartoons, and even audio recorded It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. In 1980 I started my Old Time Radio collecting getting many Old time Radio shows on cassette thanks to Radio Reruns. Ended up with over 1000 cassettes of radio shows by 2002 before changing to mp3s of radio shows. Also recorded off the radio and got many airchecks of local stations.

[@schallrd1]

For me it all started with the Kenner Give a Show projector. It was neat to watch those short film strips on the wall or ceiling over and over. I also loved the Viewmaster device where you watched the film wheels of cartoons and TV show clips in 3D. No sound of course. I later became infatuated with my small reel to reel tape recorder and taped TV shows and songs.

[@markjones8983]

And I thought I was the only one to film Star Trek off the TV! I actually still have a super 8, 50' reel of an excerpt from "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The scene where the Enterprise crosses the intergalactic barrier. It even has sound! Crude, but fun times!

[@1950Grendel]

I had a copy of the "Frankenstein Meets the Woflman" 8mm that you showed. I still have some of them from the 1960's in a metal box, but the film has turned ooey-gooey.

[@elc1960]

We weren't wealthy, but we had our own version of "Saturday Night at the Movies," thanks to ViewMaster and the ViewMaster projector. We used the "wall screen" technique, in our kitchen (because it had white walls). Ah, the 1960s...

[@elliotrothchild7949]

I remember my family having Castle films in the early fifties. Hopalong Cassidy, Laurel and Hardy, Popeye and others. I would watch them over and over. Didn’t mind repeats back in those dats.

[@johnlysle]

I had a few of these when I was a kid back in the stone age. Lion and Tiger fight was one of the stranger ones

[@shibolinemress8913]

Great video! Back then I'd tape episodes of Star Trek with my first little cassette recorder. If there were a film I loved, I bought the sound track and the novelisation, if there was one. Sometimes there were simplified book-and-record sets or ViewMaster slideshows. Really the only "home cinema" I had was in my head 😊.

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, SM.

[@brendaproffitt4807]

Wild kingdom was one my favorite show.way back when awesome i love❤❤❤❤it thank you fred

[@FredFlix]

I remember watching it before I even knew what insurance was. So when they said, "Mutual of Omaha, the people who pay," I said, "Pay what?"

[@brendaproffitt4807]

@@FredFlix yes remember them in black in white tv too my dad had one of those things to put in front of ths t.v. to have color hey fred i need some cheering up i even added up all the yrs I've been a Widow 17 to 18 yrs would like to be remarried one day my anniversary would be in two days these are so wonderful and amazing thank you fred excellent channel too

[@FredFlix]

@@brendaproffitt4807 I've been divorced 12 years. I'm looking for a sweet woman like you.

[@pharflo]

Any teenager (present day) can go on the Internet and see these photos, BUT thank you for explaining what the experience was like of having this technology and using it. That makes all the difference in their understanding of living in the past. Things are almost too easy now, and they lose appreciation for the work involved (or take everything for granted).

[@FredFlix]

Thanks, pharflo.

[@ChristopherUSSmith]

6:00 Unless the projector break was caused by a burned out lamp. ;) lol

[@hankaustin7091]

LOL!! Oh man, I used to tape shows off the tv all the time with my little tape recorder! Mostly the Carol Burnett shows, and As The World Turns for my mother, so she'd have something to listen to when she got home from work and wanted to relax before Dad got home and got her all wound up again LOL!!

[@FredFlix]

It was a rite of passage for TV geeks, Hank.

[@heywoodjablome8409]

i still have some old castle films

[@moonbeam7702]

I love the videos you make about nostalgia and what used to be!! Keep them coming 🙂

[@FredFlix]

I plan to, Heather. Thank you.

[@johnverley388]

thanks fred it brings back memories i would take my tape recorder and hold the mike up to the tv speaker and record tv intros saturday mornings and network shows until vcrs came in and made tapes of tv intros when cable came in done that for years until cellphones came in which now have video cameras built in hold the camera up to you tube and record about every tv show and music video past and present its a cool feeling knowing when carrying your cell phone in your pocket the videos are along for the ride watch them anytime anywhere 24/7 except when im working.

[@FredFlix]

Unfortunately, such easy access to everything makes them less precious to us. When I finally got every episode of The Adv. of Superman, I lost a lot of interest in the show.

[@zoppie]

If I look for it, I probably can still find that audio cassette full of TV themes. There was only one disappointment on that recording. I wanted to get the theme from Tarzan, but by the time I was ready to record it, some Hollywood numnutz changed it into a completely different melody (which I hated).

[@FredFlix]

I remember that change. I recorded it before the change.

[@lindaeasley4336]

I remember my dad had a Laurel an Hardy and an Abbot and Costello film on reel as part of our home movie collection

[@inkey2]

when I was in Junior High a friend of mine was always getting out of classes because it seemed he was the only person in the entire school who could fix the projectors when they went haywire. He would actually get called out of class over the school classroom intercoms. He had it made from grade 7 through grade 9.

[@FawleyJude]

Fred, you hit pretty close to home with a couple of these. I had a 3" reel-to-reel recorder and I used to tape theme songs for shows, including--as you showed--Johnny Quest. And later I used to relive Easy Rider by listening to the soundtrack album. I even found a paperback version of the screenplay for the film that had lots of pictures of the film and I read it till it was ragged. Otherwise we had to hope for re-run engagements of the films at the dollar movie houses. The other thing was that a lot of TV broadcast time was taken up with playing movies that had run in the theaters--NBC Saturday Night at the Movies was the first, I think, then there were movies almost every night on all the networks, and then there were always the local channels that showed older movies on their "movie matinee" afternoon shows.

[@FredFlix]

Jude, I had a Bruce Lee book that you could "flip" the corner and watch several pictures zoom by to form a "movie" for 2 seconds.

[@FawleyJude]

@@FredFlix Cool.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

Touch of Evil Mystery Theater Still have many of my recordings I made on cassette too (had a portable Panasonic so I could take it into the theater) My copy of Empire Strikes Back despite a full theater has almost NO crowd reaction yes even during NO I AM your father Least you could watch MAD MAD MAD MAD World to end (was not oldenough to stay up late in 1974) then Finally they showed it on weekend afternoons in the eighties did not have a tape deck in car till 1986. My current car one of the last to have one (2005)

[@FredFlix]

I actually took a still camera into the theater without a flash and took photos of The Exorcist. They turned out awful, of course.

[@cbdebill4]

This was my teen years and beyond. True geek here.

[@russellcrawford7453]

My brother had a few minute clip of The Munsters back around 1966 and it was seen on a little red plastic projector that you could buy through a comic book

[@rafaelramirez3180]

I'm proud to say that I still have a few of these gems in my collection 🤗👌

[@kmjeffels]

My husband really misses the sound 16 mm projectors made. They played movies in school at special times of the year in school! He really misses the 1970’s!

[@FredFlix]

I love that sound too and still own a 16mm projector but it's broken.

[@rixx46]

I can relate to all of this - and now we can have an entire film library on a thumb drive

[@paulchristman2456]

I would use a portable cassette player to record stuff off of the TV. I'd hold the microphone close to the television's sound output grille and it would pick up a bizarre buzzing noise that couldn't ordinarily be heard, but which was always evident when playing the cassette tape of the recording. We were fortunate enough to have a Bell & Howell 16mm sound projector. One evening after dinner, without having first watched it himself and knowing nothing about the movie, my dad showed "Salt and Pepper", a moderately successful crime drama about two businessmen/racketeers (same difference, huh) who co-owned a popular nightclub; one of them was played by Sammy Davis Jr. At any rate, it had some violent scenes. But it was a brief shot of a topless young woman, nipples and all, that really impressed yours truly. I was seven, and utterly DAZZLED!!! I can always count on you for a great nostalgia trip, Fred. As usual, thanx!

[@FredFlix]

You're welcome, Paul. That must have been some evening for you.

[@Murrlin27]

Oh man, this makes me feel like I was part of a culture! Heck I was even doing the audio capturing in the 90s!

[@sheriheffner2098]

I used to do that too. Record episodes of Family Affair and Gilligan's Island. I even recorded the movie Rescue From Gilligan's Island and an episode of Petticoat Junction. I also recorded singing to help me sleep at night. Rrmember the episode of The Flintstones when Ann Margret was Ann Margrock in Ann Margrock Presents? I recorded the song she sang to Pebbles and learned it word for word and sang it to my niece and nephews when they were babies.

[@FredFlix]

I know how you felt, Sheri.

[@johnalanelson]

3:50 Not to mention the black lines that would appear because of the difference in the FPS running speed between TV and 8/super 8

[@FredFlix]

I didn't mention it, but the lines are in the image of the TV.

[@gregggoss2210]

Sorry if I repeat my stories Fred, but first of all, this was an excellent video and it really hit a nerve. I still have a regular 8mm projector and screen and movie camera. Occasionally I will break out the projector and show some old home movies. At one point, my brother and I had ( 2 ) 16mm projectors and a " portable " 35mm projector. He and I were both big time film fanatics. I could tell you some stories Fred. Thanks for the upload.

[@FredFlix]

Gregg, my friend and I were buying 16mm even into the '90s and we last showed movies in his front yard on a bedsheet in 1993. People got out their cars. Then the projector starting messing up and we couldn't understand why. Finally, we realized it was humidity. Water had gotten into the reels of film and the projector.

[@gregggoss2210]

@@FredFlix , we had a fairly decent size screen to show them on, but that wasn't good enough for my brother, so he went out and got a 70"x70" screen. My dad also had some of the old 8mm cartoons. Some day Fred maybe I could share some old movie stories with you on the quiet. Just because some of the stories are a little controversial.

[@janupczak1643]

Hi Greg. Can you explain to me why I associate watching those movies with the smell of something "hot" or burning? Just a weird olfactory memory! Thanks...❤

[@gregggoss2210]

@@janupczak1643 , could be the hot bulb in the projector. And as strange as it may sound, the screen had an odd smell too.

[@janupczak5059]

@@gregggoss2210 Thanks Greg. A hot bulb makes sense. Isn't it funny how our memories incorporate all of our senses...✌

[@Forcemaster2000]

Those were the days... No copy right crap, or at least we didn't care!

[@humbleevidenceaccepter7712]

Just seen _It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World_ on TCM a few weeks ago. I still laugh like a fool at the "kicking the bucket" scene.

[@spectral6978]

And I thought I was the only one in the world who held a microphone to a cassette recorder up to the speaker on the T.V. to record a movie or commercial!

[@sheriheffner2098]

I would buy the LP'S too. I had The Sound Of Music and I listened to Lady And The Tramp and The Aristocats when I was little at my Aunt's house with my sister and cousin Bryan. Later on I listened to West Side Story and on my 16th birthday I bought my own LP; Grease.

[@wesleyhackney]

I used to record tv shows when I got my Sony cassette recorder. My favorite show to record was Dean Martin Show and laughin

[@tellemomma9780]

Thank u again Fred! Loving the dailies!

[@FredFlix]

Me too, Chantelle!

[@5argetech56]

We had to get a Projection Screen............. Our Living room had wood paneling. Sadly we lost all of our films in a fire :(

[@FredFlix]

Was the whole house destroyed?

[@5argetech56]

@@FredFlix No, It happened in a room we used for storage... Space heater Accident. Many photos were saved But all the film melted! Thanks for asking :)

[@cancel1913]

I remember watching our family 8mm films when they would get stuck in the projector and burn up nicely on the screen. My brother and I would laugh our heads off wishing for another event while our Dad would get mad at us for enjoying the destruction of the film while he was trying to fix it! Boy were we stupid.

[@DennisMorrison1955]

Just yesterday I bought two 1940s 16mm Castle films for my collection. The original sticker price on one was $8.95. Pretty pricey for the day!

[@FlamingoKicker]

I can vividly remember as a kid of about 8 wanting to record Saturday morning cartoons (around 1969 or so) and setting up a reel-to-reel tape recorder and then trying to photograph images off the screen with a box camera. The hissing from the tv speakers back then made everything sound like you were listening to bacon sizzle behind a box fan and of course when I sent the film off to be developed and then weeks later the prints returned everything looked like you took the pictures thru venitian blinds because the speed of the film wasn't fast enough and I was thinking when is someone going to invent something so we can capture these shows and rewatch them over and over at our leisure? Only took about another decade.

[@FredFlix]

Yeah, I was waiting for VCRs for many years.

[@FlamingoKicker]

@@FredFlix I think Elvis had them before anybody else. He had three tvs set up with three vcrs (one for each channel...LOL)

[@FredFlix]

@@FlamingoKicker He could certainly afford it.