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Post by alexwdmn on Feb 20, 2012 7:14:28 GMT
Is there a thread on here somewhere where I can read more detail about the skip company who allegedly retained some of the 16mm films junked from Villiers House in the 70s?
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Post by Dave Wood on Feb 20, 2012 8:19:34 GMT
I'm not sure about there being any thread but I can give you a bit of background.
At least 11+ years ago I noticed an entry in a local free ads paper from a guy in Sussex claiming to be selling some original 16mm BBC film prints. I tried to get hold of the guy over a couple of days without success and I sent an email to the Restoration Team website.
I heard back from Paul V a few days later to say that he had contacted the guy but he had already sold his prints, which he claimed to be a Steptoe and Son, Dad's Army, Oh Brother and a couple of others (nothing Who related and all already existing material). The guy had claimed that he was one of the contractors hired to clear out Villiers House back in the 1970s. He thought that his ex-boss had also retained some material in his loft but the boss had moved and had since died. Further
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Post by Dave Wood on Feb 20, 2012 8:20:07 GMT
Further enquires were made but the trail went cold.
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Post by Dave Wood on Feb 20, 2012 9:58:53 GMT
One thing to remember is that it's only hearsay that these film prints even existed, as the buyer wasn't traced and we only have the word of the guy who placed the advert. It might have all been just be another D.Gregory-type hoax.
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Post by alexwdmn on Feb 20, 2012 10:08:41 GMT
Thanks Dave.
I very much enjoyed reading your "Chasing Shadows" article earlier today.
I don't suppose BBC Enterprises kept any records of the contractors used to dispose of film prints?
Also wondered whether there are any film-trading websites worth keeping an eye on, just in case anything turns up on them?
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Post by Mikael Barnard on Feb 20, 2012 17:06:28 GMT
"Also wondered whether there are any film-trading websites worth keeping an eye on, just in case anything turns up on them?"
I think you'll find this is already done! ;-)
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Post by alexwdmn on Feb 21, 2012 6:11:02 GMT
I think you'll find this is already done! ;-) Not necessarily, "The Lion" was listed on Bruce Grenville's website for months before it was discovered, and no one noticed it! As Dave's article makes clear, there are just too many websites for them all to be monitored constantly. |
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Post by Brad Phipps on Feb 21, 2012 7:40:56 GMT
I think you'll find this is already done! ;-) Not necessarily, "The Lion" was listed on Bruce Grenville's website for months before it was discovered, and no one noticed it! To be fair, it was a website from 1999! |
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Post by Mikael Barnard on Feb 22, 2012 2:30:07 GMT
Yes, Bruce Grenville's site was hardly on the radar in the same way that, say, Independent 8 or Classic Home Cinema are! Good luck finding anything else so obscure!
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