Castle Films - Universal 8 Digests

[Eye of Kharis]

I know the box art was drastically different, but does anyone out there know if the film content of the later 50' and 200" Universal 8 digests was different than the earlier Castle Films versions? Thanks!

[BijouBob8mm]

I know the box art was drastically different, but does anyone out there know if the film content of the later 50' and 200" Universal 8 digests was different than the earlier Castle Films versions? Thanks!

Kharis, no; no difference in content.  When Castle became Universal 8, the titles they continued in the 200' editions were the same digests.  They dropped the 50' for the most part, but some of them found new life in 400' silent compilations.  There were two 400' silent volumes of The Best of Abbott & Costello, and two 400' silent volumes of horror/sci-fi.  Each of those reels was a compilation of eight 50' digests from the old Castle catalog.  It seemed like an odd move, but these tend to be sought after by collectors...even today.

[BijouBob8mm]

So, it's becoming common to include transfers of the old Super 8 digests as a bonus feature on a lot of Blu-rays in the horror and sci-fi genre.  I was reading a review of the UK Blu-ray for Christopher Lee's FACE OF FU MANCHU earlier today.  It actually includes both of the Americom extracts from that film with "synchronized vinyl record."  If they actually got the sound to match the picture, you have to wonder how much computer technology it took to get THAT to work out!  Trying to get those Americom films and records to line up was a nightmare.