Kinescope projector and films......need a bit of help here

[NOLA_Ken]

The neighbor at my jobsite asked if he could toss a few bags in our dumpster today, he said he was clearing out the last of his fathers estate. I said SURE THING! And proceeded to dig through all the bags as they came out. I'm still sorting what I got, there's a lot of stuff taking up the dining room table right now, and I'll be posting more soon.

This one is a Keystone Kinescope projector. Hand cranked operation, it's a model E-26, I'm trying to get manufacturing dates for these but no luck as of yet. With it are three films. One looks like film of a horse race, I'm going to try to watch it later. The other two are just killing me though.

One is "KEYSTONE KINESCOPE PICTURES MOLLY MOUSE in Tale of a Skunk" I can't find it anywhere online. If anyone knows ANYTHING about it, please let me know.

The other is two short reels spliced together, "Mutt and Jeff in The Fireman" and a reel called "Animal Cartoons Willie's Dream" The title frames feature a mouse that looks suspiciously like an EARLY Mickey, but I can't find any info on this one either.

I really want to know what these are and when they were made, I've narrowed the Mutt and Jeff to between 1916 and 1927 so far, but the other two are nowhere to be found

Again....please help if you can, and hopefully they are worth a few bucks to justify my cluttering up the dining room with "all that junk'

 

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[NOLA_Ken]

well I found the projector anyway, not much info but it's a start.

http://www.agassiztrading.com/cameras-film/projectors/handcrank-projectors/handcrank.htm

 

[diggummup]

Keystone 16mm projectors models E-26 and E-28 were produced in 1930.
http://wichm.home.xs4all.nl/cinelisb.html
scroll down to Keystone.

I think you need to have that Molly mouse looked at by a pro in early animation. It could be a rare find if it predates the mention of Dolly, Polly and Molly from a comic book in the 1940's. I found it referenced here-

It is reported that another name is attributed in American comics giving Minnie's single niece the name of Molly. Another set of nieces appear in an early Mickey Mouse book from the 1940s as triplets calling themselves "Dolly, Polly & Molly," while a lone niece attributed to Mickey appears in the cartoon "Gulliver Mickey" (1934) named "Maisie" (listed in Mickey Mouse: His Life and Times (1986 - Harper & Row)).

The only known possible film appearance of any niece is in 1983's "Mickey's Christmas Carol," where Mickey Mouse, as Bob Cratchit, has a daughter. In this film Morty & Ferdie are said to have played Cratchit's two sons (including one as Tiny Tim), and since Melody seems to be the most consistent name used for any niece attributed to Minnie, it is quite probably that it was Melody who played the role of Bob Crachit's daughter.

However, in USA comics the naming is not nearly consistent enough to form a concrete character profile. The only fact that is really stable is that Minnie definitely has twin nieces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_family

PS- The horse race could be a famous one of the time too, have you researched it any yet? Good luck in your research and keep us posted. Hope this helped!

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I contacted the Museum of Modern Art in New York with the titles of the films, hopefully someone there can get me pointed the right direction.

diggumup, thanks for the info, this should be an interesting project to research.

 

[njnydigger]

I don't think diggummup could've gave you any better advice I know NOTHING about this sort of stuff, however, I'm a bit of a trivia nut & have a knack for remembering the oddest of things. I swear that I've heard of that cartoon character before. Indeed, it might be quite rare. Glad you contacted the museum. Hope it's the big one & your ship comes in. If so, can I take a ride on it with you?

 

[Tigger]

"Steamboat Willie" was the first Mickey Mouse movie. So your Willie may be Mickey. You could contact Disney, they must have their own museum or archives that could help you.
Good luck!
Tigger

 

[Breezie]

What a great find! It always amazing me what people throw away. This is most interesting, and I can't wait to read the results of your research. Breezie

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Very cool find

You should verify if the film is nitrocellulose or not, which isn't not likely for smaller film formats from that era, but it was used. It should say on the edge of the film what it was printed on. If it's nitrocellulose, just be careful with it as it's highly flammable, explosive even.

HH,
Brian

 

[NOLA_Ken]

What a great find! It always amazing me what people throw away. This is most interesting, and I can't wait to read the results of your research. Breezie

Haven't heard anything back yet, I'm going to fire off more e-mails this week though and see what I can turn up.

Very cool find

You should verify if the film is nitrocellulose or not, which isn't not likely for smaller film formats from that era, but it was used. It should say on the edge of the film what it was printed on. If it's nitrocellulose, just be careful with it as it's highly flammable, explosive even.

HH,
Brian

It's definitely old nitrate stock, I've got it put up in a safe place where the heat won't get it, so it should be fine. I'm just glad the images survived. I hear that's a real problem with film this old.

 

[Tigger]

History Detectives on PBS tonight are going to talk about early animation. You may be able to get some ideas from them. Or even contact them if your other emails don't pan out. Good luck, be sure to keep us posted on your progress!

 

[Ramitt]

Ver interesting, I look forward to what you discover.

 

[silverfinder]

The mouse resembling an early version of Mickey could well have been the creation of Ub Iwerks, Disney's partner, who first animated Mickey as Steamboat Willie. Before Steamboat Willie, Iwerks's mouse was used in silent cartoons. Your cartoon find may be an early, silent, pre-Mickey Disney/Iwerks co-production.