We conduct regular inspections of our nitrate motion picture collections. This week the list included a wonderful 13-part silent serial preserved in 2001 by the Eastman House, titled THE CHINATOWN MYSTERY. 

What is a serial film?  Basically it is a series of films telling a continuing story where the audience needs to return to the cinema week after week in order to see the entire plot.  In order for this to work, producers of these films knew they had to create enough suspense and drama in their plots to keep the public interested. If someone in the audience missed a week, a foreword was usually added to remind the audience of the previous action.  In modern terms, think of such television shows as Lost or Flash Forward. Both shows start each episode with a summary of the show plot, and ends with a twist, making the public demand more and more from the creators, and extending from season to season. 

But what makes a successful serial?  According to In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials by William C. Cline, “The basic ingredients of a good serial-already clearly ordained in the silent form-consisted of a Hero, a Heroine, a Villain, his Henchmen, a Prize, and the Perils. ….Optional additives were to make the Hero or the Villain-or both-a mystery figure whose identity was revealed only in the final episode, to give the Hero an able and compatible Assistant, to place in jeopardy a likable Pawn, and to surround the protagonists with a substantial cast of believable solid characters.”  

What makes THE CHINATOWN MYSTERY a good serial is that it has all these characteristics.  A strong Hero (played by Joe Bonomo) who finds himself in the center of the action: 

A lovely heroine (played by Ruth Hyatt [sp]) whom is vulnerable, but anxious and willing to help our hero: 

Our Villain (Francis Ford) who is attempting to make a formula to create diamonds: 

And our case of believe side characters to help move the story along:

What will happen next?  Will our Hero save the Day?  What, or who is the Mysterious Figure in the Chinatown Mystery?  I won’t give it away, but I will mention that in its heyday, audiences were definitely in for an on-the-edge-of-your seat ‘to be continued…’ thrill ride. See you next week!

Last fall, we blogged about planting the bulbs to get them ready for February (Tulips and Hyacinths and Daffodils, Oh My!, Oct. 19, 2009). Now in just over a week, spring comes early to the Eastman House when over 2,000 tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, freesias, and amaryllis will be on display for the annual Dutch Connection exhibit. It’s a welcome escape from the Rochester snow each year (especially now that Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 6 MORE weeks of winter).

For those of you in the deep freeze like us in Western NY, we invite you to enjoy this moment of spring color:

a glimpse at last year's display

The 2010 arrangement is based on George Eastman’s own selection from 100 years ago.  He ordered the bulbs from a Dutch company a year early in 1909 and grew them to maturity in his greenhouses.  Once they were organized, he would invite his friends and family to his home to enjoy the colorful display. 

The bulbs will be here February 12-28. A small exhibit will also be presented on the second floor of the house showing Mr. Eastman’s activities throughout 2010.

For  more info,visit http://www.eastmanhouse.org/Main/exhibitions/detail.php?title=dutch-connection-2010

At the Golden Globe Awards last week, Martin Scorsese was honored with the Cecil B DeMille Award by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is given for Lifetime Achievement in Film, and for Martin Scorsese that includes not only his Oscar-winning directing career, but also his dedication, support, and pursuit of film preservation. 

Scorsese's "Raging Bull," screening at the Dryden Theatre Jan. 27, is held in the collections along with home-movie footage taken during filming.

Mr. Scorsese has a long-standing relationship with George Eastman House. For almost twenty years now, he has been depositing his personal collections of 16mm and 35mm film in the state-of-the-art temperature- and humidity-controlled vaults on the East Avenue campus. The ever-growing collection now stands at over 3500 elements and represents the broad range of American film history over the last 90 years, as well as important international works from Italy, Japan, France, India and other countries. His collection has even been accessed for preservation purposes. BORN TO BE BAD (1950) with Joan Fontaine and Robert Ryan, a George Eastman House preservation project from 2005, and one of its most popular, started with an element from Scorsese’s collection. 

But Mr. Scorsese’s support of George Eastman House goes back even farther. In 1990 he spearheaded the formation of The Film Foundation, the leading entity dedicated to the advocacy and support of film preservation. Its founders include not only Scorsese, but legendary filmmakers Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg. The Board of Directors was expanded in 2006 to accommodate filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Curtis Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee and Alexander Payne. The Foundation provides generous financial assistance to the nation’s leading archives for preservation activities, and with its support George Eastman House has been able to preserve 133 film titles for future generations to appreciate and enjoy on the big screen. As of 2007, the films owned by The Film Foundation have also been deposited at George Eastman House. 

The legendary director that the award is named after, Cecil B. DeMille, a master showman, as Scorsese pointed out in his acceptance speech, also has a GEH connection. In 1968 the estate of the late director made a deposit of all DeMille’s personal collection of silent nitrate stock. This includes material on classics such as 1925’s THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, 1927’s THE KING OF KINGS, and 1929’s THE GODLESS GIRL, which was recently featured on the National Film Preservation Foundation’s DVD release “Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film.” This material is still held by GEH at the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center in Chili, NY. 

One award. Three historic collections. All held at George Eastman House. 

To see Martin Scorsese’s tribute and acceptance speech: http://www.hulu.com/watch/121224/golden-globes-cecil-b-demille-award#x-4,vclip,4,0 

To learn more about The Film Foundation: http://www.film-foundation.org/common/11004/default.cfm?clientID=11004&homepage=1 

To learn more about Cecil B. DeMille: http://www.cecilbdemille.com/ 

To learn more about the National Film Preservation Foundation and its DVD releases: http://www.filmpreservation.org/ 

To learn more about the Dryden Theatre’s series of Scorsese/DeNiro screenings: http://dryden.eastmanhouse.org/program-highlights/eight-portraits-of-the-obsessive-the-films-of-robert-deniro-and-martin-scorsese/ 

To learn more about the Dryden Theatre’s series of Film Noir screenings, including Robert Ryan and Joan Fontaine double features:http://dryden.eastmanhouse.org/program-highlights/essential-film-noir-2010-edition/

This week, the students of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation had a lesson in working with reels affected with mold and water damage.  This material had been previously stored in a wet basement, causing the emulsion to swell, the image to distort, and mold to grow on the reel of nitrate film.  Unfortunately, the material had dried out too quickly, causing it to become brittle and the emulsion to remain stuck together in a solid mass. 

After donning the appropriate gear (approved mask, gloves, goggles, overcoat, and pulling their hair back) students Karin Carlson and Amanda Honeyman first wiped down all exposed areas of the reel with a mixture of approved cleaning solution and projector oil.  The cleaner is used to help remove the dirt and mold spores on the film, and the oil will assist in lubricating the film for gentle hand winding.  Working in the well ventilated area, Karin started by using a dull ex-acto knife blade to gently separate the layers of film.  With plenty of time and patience, Karin was able to separate the layers, while Amanda gathered the film for closer inspection.  Working together and trading off duties, the layers of film were slowly separated.  They found that some areas of the reel were harder to separate than others: perhaps water dripped on the reel?  

Brittle film can be one the hardest materials to inspect by an archivist.  Light pressure on the material can cause it to break in many pieces.  Handling should be done with extreme care.  Quite often, the emulsion will crack, causing permanent damage to the image.  The sprocket holes are no longer able to support any equipment use.  Luckily, the title of this film was already preserved by the Eastman House, and this reel is kept for long term conservation and research purposes.  It is films such as this one that teaches new students, and reminds older archivists the importance of archival storage conditions-cool and dry.   

One of the most important subjects we teach in the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation nitrate vaults is how to identify, inspect, and treat decomposing nitrate film.  The students in this year’s class took to this task willingly, learning not only WHAT causes decay, but how to treat films within the various stages of decomposition.

Take, for instance, a small reel of FRANKENSTEIN, (1931) donated to Eastman House in 2002.  This material belonged to a collector who had a small portion of the feature film, mainly, the ending sequence.  When Selznick student Ken Fox took on the task of inspection and reporting the condition of the reel, he was able to capture some of the famous monster’s face, with the signs of the decaying film around him.

Working together, Ken and I talked about what was happening with this film as it was decaying, and how the cold temperatures and humidity’s used at the Conservation Center help slow down this process.  While no one likes to see these materials disappear, it is important to keep these films as a learning tool for hands-on knowledge, and hopefully prevent other reels from the same fate. (Photos taken by Ken Fox and Holly Foster.)

Ken and Deb inspecting the reel