As friends and readers of brioux.tv may know, I’ve been collecting 16mm films for many years. Sixteen millimeter is the width of film shown on those large reels shown in classrooms in the 1960s and ’70s. Some boomers may remember this as “nap time.”
I have around two thousand films in my collection, which, believe me, was a pain in the ass when we moved to Orangeville early in 2024. Still, those of us with 16mm fever have it bad. We need our fix of clicket-y click, big screens that block out the Da-lite, and the constant search of the last of the exciter lamps.
Much of my collection comprises of TV shows from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, episodes which were originally shipped to TV stations across North America on film.
Among the titles in my collection are several sitcoms, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, I Love Lucy, The Bob Newhart Show, The Honeymooners, I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched, Leave it to Beaver, The Odd Couple, Green Acres, Phil Silvers’ Bilko, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Partridge Family.
Obscure or fogotten shows? How about It’s About Time, Love on a Rooftop, Good Morning World or He & She? Canadian shows? I have a couple of Littlest Hobo black and whites from the ’60s, right on up to a couple of Degrassi‘s.
I also have a black and white network print of You Bet Your Life from the ’50s (complete with a commercial featuring Chico and Harpo) as well as old episodes of Walter Cronkite’s late ’60s science series The 21st Century.
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I’ve also obtained several reels of animated shows more or less aimed at kids, including Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-right, The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour as well as Hanna Barbera gems The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, Valley of the Dinosaurs and Top Cat.
Many of these series can be streamed in their entirety today on Tubi, YouTube, MeTV, Antenna TV, CTV Throwback, and a few other places. I prefer to watch them the way Kodak and Bell & Howell intended them to be seen–projected, on a big screen. What also makes them fun are that many include commercials from the day they were first broadcast — some featuring stars from those shows smoking, eating cereal or doing dishes.
I also have close to two dozen network “Fall Preview” reels, These are half hour time capsules featuring clips from the new shows networks hoped viewers would embrace each September. These range from a 1960 black and white reel NBC sent to affiliates (featuring clips from Bonanza, Bachelor Father and others) to ABC’s “Still the One” half hour from 1977 promoting everything from The Love Boat to a long forgotten series called Operation Petticoat.
Sharing these films is what this site is all about. Postings will feature video clips from some of the rarer goodies. Check here, as well, for announcements about live screenings, with the first coming up very soon.
