Rental #1

When I joined Derann in 1975 the Super/Standard 8mm and 16mm libraries were a very important part of the business, possibly more so than the sales. Only a new Walt Disney title like ‘I Wanna’ Be Like You’ could generate much interest and get the sales line ringing, in those days. The bookings were handled by Ron, an elderly gent who came in every weekday afternoon to go through the booking forms and take the telephone bookings. Colin (Malin) would spend every morning preparing the days rental titles for despatch, 20 – 40 or more features a day would be put into packing cases and addressed ready for the post. This wasn’t as simple as it sounds, as at least one booking a day would turn into a complicated game of hide and seek just because a film hadn’t been returned on time, and there would be a great deal of juggling around of bookings and substitution of films. Luckily 171 Stourbridge Road was next door to the local Post Office, so we just dropped them next door and left Mary and her staff to bag them up, however when we moved to 99 High Street we had to organise a pick up service for all our mail. At around 1.30pm each afternoon the mail van would roll up with two or three dozen packing cases filled with returned rental films, along with a good many fresh bookings. The films would be rewound, checked and put back on the shelves, awaiting their next rental date. There were at least two copies of every feature in the library, with popular titles having as many as six or more. Cartoon reels of two or three on a 400′ reel were always in demand, and not just at Christmas. At Christmas and other busy periods other staff, including myself, would give Colin a much needed hand in getting the films into transit cases and ready for despatch. My part in all of the standard running of the library was as the Derann debt collector! I was notified of any film(s) not being returned, bounced cheques or films that had been very badly damaged and start by sending out a simple and courteous letter and an invoice to cover the cost(s). If there was no reply I would send a second, with a warning, and finally a ‘red letter’ that would notify them that the matter would be placed in the hands of our solicitors Attwood and Son, which usually had the desired effect, but it was a slow and at times expensive process. Of course some people just enjoy ripping off companies, both large and small, and make it their lot in life to take everyone for a ride, they would move from one address to another with frightening regularity and often our solicitors would need to employ agents to discover their whereabouts. As I’ve said it was an expensive process and we would only forge ahead with the cases where there was a large amount involved! Meanwhile in the 16mm library Steve Wellings would also pack and despatch to his regulars, although in his case to a smaller number than the 8mm. The 16mm was mainly University/College film societies and the like. This continued for many years, with the occasional hiatus with films being so badly damaged by a careless renter, as to be worthless or returned to late for their next booking. It could be very costly, in the 16mm the print of ‘Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell’ was damaged beyond repair after less than half a dozen bookings, the print had cost almost £700.00! Damaged rental films were always a problem, many films were returned with severe sprocket strain and/or deep scratching.