A look at some of the numerous meetings that we undertook in order to issue 8mm films to our customers, or obtain 16mm for our library.
Contracts & Rights Chapter 5
Before the advent of our first contract with Rank Film Distributors, many of the titles that Derek picked up for 8mm and 16mm distribution/rental, were from the likes of Grand National, Butchers, New Realm, Ember, Renown and Monarch, if you keep your eyes open for the posts looking at the 8mm hire catalogue, you’ll see an abundence of films from these small distributors, who all had small and crowded offices in the many streets and alleys around Wardour Street. Derek had already amassed a good many contacts from these small, but busy distributors when I first joined and this would only have been achieved through perseverance and lots of legwork. We would still visit them, but now it was mainly for 16mm rights, for the growing Derann 16mm library. But Derek also had a contact of many years standing in Wardour Street by the of name of Norman Salter. He presided over a small, one man business, called Viscom which consisted of just two small rooms. He was frequently to be found in his sub-office, the “Blue Posts” Pub in Berwick Street. Rosalie, his secretary, a former continuity girl, would always phone the pub first, if she needed him. We very rarely needed to look at the product we signed for, as we normally knew most of the films on offer. If we did need to view them we would borrow a 16mm print and it was one of my jobs to view possible new acquisitions. It was a hard job, but someone had to it.
We had a number of titles from Norman, including ‘In Search of Dracula’, (which we released as ‘Legend of Dracula’). ‘Brutes and Savages’, ‘Victor Frankenstein/Terror of Frankenstein’, which we never released and ‘Antonio’, a light hearted comedy starring the late Trini Lopez and Larry Hagman, which was the slowest seller we ever issued. One of Norman’s was the beautiful 1973 Russian 30 minute animated short ‘Shchelkunchik’ better known to you as ‘The Nutcracker’, which we released full length and as a short called ‘The Waltz of the Flowers’…. this was still selling when we closed. Derek had snapped up the 16mm rights to many of Normans films before I came into the picture, who stored his 16mm prints on the stairs leading off Wardour Street up to his office!
….. to be continued
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