Missing Interlude Film

[emitron]

For fun (and it is a fun filler film), I've written up a short piece on a missing ATV Interlude film on my blog. These forgotten films were once as much a part of TV schedules as the adverts!

[Simon Mclean]

Interesting stuff, as always - I recall on something like '1001 Nights of Television' they showed a film of a fish processing factory accompanied by a swinging jazz soundtrack, was this Operation Sprats?

On the subject of ATV interludes, do you have any idea what ATV Interplay was? I've got one on VHS (from the undertaker's collection that turned up in the vintage magazine shop in London a while back) and it seems to be a selection of film trailers bookended by an animated title sequence - what it's for and why it was made I have no idea! Can you shed any light?

[emitron]

Simon said:

Interesting stuff, as always - I recall on something like '1001 Nights of Television' they showed a film of a fish processing factory accompanied by a swinging jazz soundtrack, was this Operation Sprats?

On the subject of ATV interludes, do you have any idea what ATV Interplay was? I've got one on VHS (from the undertaker's collection that turned up in the vintage magazine shop in London a while back) and it seems to be a selection of film trailers bookended by an animated title sequence - what it's for and why it was made I have no idea! Can you shed any light?

There was an infamous BBC Saturday Night Out which was said to have been a visit to a fish processing factory and has been cited as a reason why the BBC were a bit out of touch with viwers wishes at the time! Though from memory the clip shown wasn't that or the Operation Sprat, which turned up years later.

I will see if I can dig up some info on ATV Interplay. I forgot about that Undertaker collection. I gather he worked odd shifts at a mortuary and used to tape masses of material from early C4. Then very ironically, he died prematurely and the collection was sold off at £5 a tape.

There was some good stuff, but it'd cost a fortune to buy it up.

[Simon Mclean]

Yes, there was quite a bit of early C4 in the undertaker's collection, plus a few Hammer Houses of Mystery and Suspense, a Blankety Blank......the ATV Interplay bit is odd, though, as it seems to be taken from a film print, rather than recorded off-air.

[emitron]

Do you know what the films are? (year etc)

[LanceM]

Andy,

You forgot to mention how this bit of film was recovered. Could you possibly enlighten us ?

Lance.

[emitron]

The Operation Sprat film? It was bought from a now defunct movie dealer.