Tag Archives: movie

keeping an eye out for Hirohito and Adolf

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When I was a little kid, WW2 was still active. I remember one little toy made of wooden pieces. When the strings were pulled, Tojo (Japanese PM in WW2) and Hitler took swings at each other. While America considered … Continue reading →

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1940’s creme de la creme

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. 1940. America was a year away from being pushed into WW2 by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Color movies were very possible but very costly. That year, critic’s poll happened to choose black and white titles for the ‘top … Continue reading →

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Sonochrome, oh Sonochrome, where are you?

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Silent movies used colour tints to evoke moods – indoors, outdoors, creepy, fire, etc. When talkies came along, tints affected the sound recording. A solution by Kodak was their Sonochrome black and white film with a tinted base that … Continue reading →

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lessons from the movies

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Just picture the late 1920s. Movies were well established as silent entertainment media complete with musical accompaniment from piano to orchestra and all in-between. In 1928, the silents used body language and text slides to convey meaning. Actors could … Continue reading →

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silent movies and colour!

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Robert

Toronto.  I usually think black and white when I think silent movies but it was not so! The movie, “Ben-Hur” released in 1925 was the most expensive silent movie ever made. Much of it was shot “on location” in Rome … Continue reading →

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how to fail without really trying …

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. “What the heck is a photon, anyway?”, you may ask. Actually, it is a measure of light. In 1948, Bell & Howell misspelt the word to create a unique name for its still camera, as is often the case … Continue reading →

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one born every minute …

Posted on August 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. … or so Barnum is supposed to have said.  The Bolex was the Leica or Contax of the amateur movie crowd. It was a high end camera made in Switzerland by Paillard. Interestingly, Bolex was originally not a Paillard … Continue reading →

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Never Let the Truth Get In the Way of a Good Story

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The other morning, I idly wondered if there was a photo of Clementine. If so, I thought a post called, “the colour orange” could introduce her photo and give a touch of history. Unfortunately, she was apparently a fiction, … Continue reading →

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February 2021 Toronto Speaker Information

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Robert
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PHSC News for February 2021 (Vol 20-08)

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In the upper right of page 1 in this issue is the Spartus Press camera – believed to be the first with built-in flash! But Press? A box camera and rudimentary lens? As the second month of 2021 is … Continue reading →

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