8mm Movie Film "Magi-Cartridge"

[rp2813]

A friend of mine has a bunch of his family home movies on Technicolor brand "Magi-Cartridge" cassettes. I'm attaching some photos here of what they look like.

Can anyone advise on the type of projector that's required to view these?

 

[rp2813]

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[rp2813]

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[circlew]

I vaguely remember these from when I was a kid, but knew of no one who had them. From what I could find out, this was a loop type system and could either be silent or have magnetic sound. The film was shot with a regular camera, and sent for processing. It was returned packaged in the cartridge. They were made between 1964 and 1971. Still looking for a pic of the projector

 

[whirlcool]

And here you have it!

Here is a photo of a projector and a link to an auction.

Technicolor 810 Super 8 Projector w/7 Films | Proxibid

Bid in a Proxibid online auction to acquire a Technicolor 810 Super 8 Projector w/7 Films from Golden State Auction Services.

www.proxibid.com

 

[maytagbear]

For some reason

these were very popular in my school district when I was going through elementary and junior high.

Haven't seen (or thought of) one in YEARS.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rp2813]

Wow, very interesting. If I read it correctly, that projector didn't sell. Thanks Allen. I'll send the link to my friend. His sister passed away a while back and he got a bunch of cartridges but no projector.

 

[tomturbomatic]

A company my father represented used this format (briefly) for training films. Since it was a film loop, you had to be careful to stop it when it reached the end or it would fly past the start and the next time you started it, it was like walking into the theater late. On the plus side, it did eliminate all of the threading necessary with a regular projector. On the minus side, you were kinda locked into (no pun) the company's processing. The projector and films arrived at our house in the early 60s. My father, brother and I sat down and watched them. It was the closest we got to home movies. The projector had a nice leather carrying case.

 

[davek]

I remember having a Fisher Price toy that showed 8mm cartridge movies when I was little. It cranked and you pointed it at a light to be able to see. Like a lot of F-P's stuff, it was a fantastic toy.

 

[cadman]

The non-sound version of these are surprisingly easy to find for not a lot of money....the sound version on the other hand was two to three times the size of the one pictured above, tough to find in working shape (brittle plastic gears) and commands a good sum today. Those cartridges have a 20+ min run time. If someone wants a non-sound version for the price of shipping let me know. - Cory

 

[rp2813]

Cory, if you have a working non-sound projector you're willing to part with, I'll advise my friend and arrange something with you. It could be shipped to me and I'll pay.

I figured these were loops, but was wondering if there was any way to identify the end, like the long white leader section on your standard film reel. Sounds like you just have to watch and remember.

I do like the concept. Even the self-threading types of projectors didn't always function properly in that regard. I have tons of old home movies I need to sort through. It would a lot easier with this Magi-Cartridge system, that's for sure.

Ralph

 

[circlew]

Kenner Easy-Show

When I was a kid, I got a Kenner Easy-Show projector for Christmas. It came with a couple cartoons; thinking one of them was "Mighty Mouse". Didn't use it but a few times - don't remember if it broke, or if I was old enough that I just thought it was hokey. I remember being disappointed that it didn't have sound.

I tried to convince my parents to buy a 16mm Bell & Howell Filmosound projector like the school had, but they refused saying they were very expensive and we didn't have that kind of money. They were several hundred dollars even back then. My very rich cousins had one, and had a wall-mounted screen to use with it. I did get to use one a lot after I got in HS, as I worked in the AV dept. I should have asked for one as my graduation present, but I decided on a stereo instead. I wanted to buy a 16mm projector when the local school had an auction, but had to leave for dental appt. before they got around to selling them. May still get one though, as I see them on E-bay often.

 

[dirtybuck]

circlew

YES! I remember the Easy Show projector all too well. I got one for Xmas in '65 (with much nagging, begging and pleading to Santa). The colors of the projectors were either red or blue. I also remember the one "reel" that I owned had "The Munsters" on one half and "Superman" (from the '50's series) on the other. My brother and friends laughed our asses off watching Superman fly backwards.

 

[whirlcool]

I have a friend that has quite a few 16mm Bell & Howell projectors he'd like to get rid of. If you are interested, I could ask him what he wants for one.

These projectors have been regularly maintained. He has the Bell & Howl turqoise & older gray models. These are the same ones that they used in schools. They are heavy duty.

BTW, there are companies out there that will convert your technicolor cartridges to DVD format for you. This may be cheaper than buying a Technicolor projector.

 

[rp2813]

Tom and Bill

I believe it was called the "Give a Show" projector. I guess it didn't interest me much because in our family we were already giving shows with the ancient Keystone my dad bought in 1949, and I knew how to thread and operate it.

Allen, it's sort of a Catch-22 situation. My friend sees no point in paying to convert the films to DVD unless what's on them is worth converting. So he kind of needs to run the actual cartridges through a projector and then decide.

 

[circlew]

Allen, I appreciate your offer. Please ask him how much he wants for one of the Autoload models. The shipping cost is usually the deal breaker for me - the things are rather heavy.

Ralph, my sister and I had the Kenner Give-a-Show also; several years before the Easy-Show. The Give-a-Show was a still strip projector. We had Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, etc. on that. I was always disappointed when things ran on batteries, instead of plugging in.

 

[cfz2882]

my elementery school had those 8mm cartrige projectors-they
were made by singer IIRC-haven't seen one in about 30yrs..
I do have a few 16 mm though:
-early 50s revere
-1955 BH
-1975,1980,1982 BH filmosounds

 

[rp2813]

Tom, I must have not been watching kids shows anymore by the time the "Easy Show" projector came on the market.

I guess I dated myself with that "Give-a-Show" remark.

Hmmmm . . . lately I'm dating myself way too often . . . but that's a topic for the DL forum

 

[dirtybuck]

Uh...I had a Give A Show projector too.