I thought it would be interesting to hear from members as to what they consider to be the gems of their collection, and why. So , I'll start the ball rolling. Most of my films are special to me, but the real gem of the collection has to be a British comedy from 1956, starring Ronald Shiner and Ted Ray , in 'My Wife's Family'. This was last seen on UK television in 1969; and even then as a 15 to 16 year old, I thought how wonderful it would be if I could own this print just watched on BBC, so that I could see it again any time I chose. Never in all my wildest dreams could I have thought than one day I would own a copy. I'd been a fan of Ronald Shiner ever since I saw him in 'Reluctant Heroes' and 'Worm's Eye View'. DCR brought out two of his films 'Not Wanted on Voyage' and 'Carry on Admiral', and I bought these early on in my film collecting.

Once I moved up into 16mm I never came across any of his films, and would Google regularly. Then one day, a copy of 'My Wife's Family' came up in the U.S, and I bought it without delay; strangely, after waiting about 11 years to find one, a second Shiner film came up in Phil Sheard's list, it was 'Keep it Clean'. It's been shown a few times on the Talking Pictures channel. An added bonus was that this print has the BBFC Certificate at the front. Both are very rare. When I got my first, something that I had last seen 48 years ago, I thought 'This is the cherry on the icing'. It's a rare print, even in the US, as the distributor Seven Arts, was only distributing for about two years, before they went into partnership with Warner Brothers for film production. Actually a 3rd film showed up about the same time from a seller in Canada, another Ronald Shiner film that I had not seen before , 'See How they Run', but unfortunately I had missed it, as I'd missed looking on Ebay for a week or two, and it was just my luck that it appeared during that time.

'My wife's Family' was originally shot in Eastmancolor; my print is B&W, which suits me. I only ever saw it on TV in B&W. I enclose some publicity stills, the mother in law from Hell is played by Fabia Drake, who seemed to have made a career playing this type of role.

Gems as in favorite films or best quality

Still I think my Super 8 The Adventures of Robin Hood is most likely my best looking print, but I love Alien as a film more, though that print has a slight darkness to it.

Hello Vidar, I was actually thinking of something extra special; it doesn't have to be top quality. I'd waited 48 years to see that film again, it's the realisation of a dream. It's a film that no amount of money could induce me to part with it.

Thats a hard one as all the films we have are sort of special but if i had to choose a couple off the top of my head i think i would say the following,
The Texas chainsaw massacre as this film was banned at the time of purchase and i was very proud to be able to show it off, also, it was purchased only because my Grandfather lent me the money, he was dismayed at what i wanted the money for but said as long as i pay back weekly he was happy for me to loan. So this one is sentimental as well,
Grease is another gem solely for what it is, a top notch print , stereo re-recorded by the previous owner, (thankfully as i was unaware of how poor the original recording was), and also because this is one film you can watch for pure escapism. Not to mention a lot of the music is associated with better times in my adult life. I tried for 10 years before i found this one.
The Fog is also a gem for the the fact it was a time when movieland international here in Plymouth was at its peak and as it was only £80 due to it being against Rogers wishes not to put it up on his lists.This one, again, is quite sentimental as when Roger passed away we also lost a friend as well as a dealer. Every time this one gets viewed i always say, "this was one we got from Roger for next to nothing".
T2, again a superb print and a bargain that i know will never be repeated.

But two more, ()
Gone with the wind full feature, an absolute gem for my Brother for two reasons, he saw this over 30 times in the cinema, has two full size posters from 1979, and i saw his face when he opened this from his them Mrs on Christmas day, unfortunately, i did not have a camera to capture that moment.
Cross of Iron on 16mm. My Brothers favourite war film along with the Longest day, (one i must buy if it comes our way),
This movie for some reason seems to stand with him, i do like this movie but never in a month of Sundays expected to have this perfect colour print come up for sale, again, his face upon opening it was a picture in itself.

Thanks for your input Tom, a lovely story about your brother and Gone with the Wind. I remember seeing this advertised outside a cinema in Hastings in the early 60s; every few years it used to do the rounds, and one time it was said that it would never appear on TV. Persistence from the BBC paid off.
A lot of our films are special, but some more than others, I'll post about some of my others over the coming days.
Vidar; if your Star Wars Trilogy in that beautiful colour was in a smaller guage, the price to buy them would go through the roof, and the buyer would think he'd just got the Crown Jewels.

Agree on that one, i cant believe how cheap they were and on that ultimate gauge.

And still got the colour Tom.

As many have said, they are all special for various different reasons.
Sometimes just because of sentiment influencing matters.

My Sister surprised me on my 50th by winning for me two short films she knew I wanted. That was special and so are the films.
Finding Disney's Greatest Chases a few years back just as I remembered it all of those years previously was a special moment also as this was the very first sound film I ever screened at home.
The home movies I have which capture my family in sound as well as vision, many of which are no longer with us sadly, are of course very dear to my heart.

Ultimately, of course on the commercial feature length front, my Disney collection is special to me but dependent on mood, so are many other titles from all of the different genres
From action/ adventure to Horror and drama and then some classic Rogers & Hammerstein musicals also.

Two others that I regard as very special films to me now are The Magic Box and The Smallest Show On Earth, just due to my own fascination for film and film projection.

In fact depending on mood, any single film I own can be special to me on a given day.

I have many gems in my collection some films I sell and some I will keep as long as I can as my sons have no interest and keep telling me to sell the lot as they say they don't want the hassle of selling them .maybe start to sell of a few in about 10 years time and let some one else have the pleasure I have had .hear is something of an interesting story which is true .I was about 16 at the time and my school pals said were go to the flicks tomorrow do you fancy coming I said what on james bond dr no my answer was seen that last week my friends said its the first showing I said don't care already seen it they never believed me but I had seen it .I watched many films with my dad well before they were on the cinema mas dad was a big collector collecting films from his teens right up to him passing away at the age pf 89 so he did have plenty which I inherited when he passed away and joined all mine making me have a very large and very very rare titles you never seen on 16mm .he never liked 8mm although he did buy me one years ago but I was not impressed especially when I look in the back as it looked liked it had been made at woolworhs

It's a real shame your sons don't share the passion of their father and grandfather David.
Considering you've cherished much of your late fathers collection, it would be fantastic if they could stay in tact for future generations of your family to enjoy.

Quite often interests in different things skip a generation but then return somewhere down the line.

I know Paul Adsett over in the States has featured his own grandson positively beaming and completely memorized by cranking the handle and watching the resulting images from his modified Pathe Baby.
My sons have never really had any particular interest in any aspect of home cinema, be it traditional or modern day, but I'm holding out hope that I can instil a little of what Paul has managed into my own grandson fingers crossed.
Here's hoping anyhow.

my sons do like the dvd video projector especially with my bose surround sound may bee my grandson might show some interest

I sincerely hope so David just as I do for my own.

My father was as interested in films as I am, but I think I already mentioned elsewhere, that he couldn't afford it as it was the same price then as a TV, and you need a fresh film to watch another night, so they went for the TV. It would have been great if he'd had a cine camera, and maybe filmed my maternal grandparents, who I barely remember.

This is one that I would consider a gem of my Super 8 collection, and the only Super 8 film I bought secondhand. It's 'The Sword of Villon', starring Errol Flynn. I'd wanted this ever since I saw it in the Blackhawk catalogue I received from Regent Films in the 70s. I bought a few films from them, but always found it a long winded affair, having to write for the current price, waiting to hear what the exchange rate was, then sending a deposit, waiting weeks for the film to arrive in Blackpool, then sending off the balance and waiting for the film to arrive. I thought there would be plenty of time to get around to buying it, but I never did, and never thought I would get the chance. One day, something made me look at the Super 8 pages of Paul Foster, and to my surprise, there it was. The condition is as good as if I had bought it new. The review of the film from Movie Maker was pasted on by a previous owner. The film is complete. It is 600ft, and was made for television. It was the first film that Flynn made for television in 1954, and it was also I think, his last swashbuckling role. Quality is not as good as I expected , some TV show prints are sharper than features on the same guage, as Tom could testify. Being Blackhawk, they remove some of the original titles and use their own, something I never liked about them and Walton. However, I'm very grateful to have this little known film with Errol Flynn.

For me my gem would be North by Northwest on Super 8. I just love that film, and in addition being my absolute best copy of any film makes it special. This film is stored separately :-) Another film that means a lot to me is my first 400': Mickey and His Pals that I bought when I was young and kept for many years before I took up again the film interest. It is not difficult to get a copy of this, so it has no special market value, but for me it is important :-)

North by Northwest is a very good film; only seen it on TV. Probably a lot of my 16mm features wouldn't be that sought after, but I love them, and wouldn't part with the majority of them. Maybe not much value to anyone else, but special to me.

But as you say Robert, to you they are priceless.

Here is something that you won't see very often I would think; my first two feature film purchases, still kept in the boxes they arrived in from Mailmaster Films in 1975. I hadn't long had my Sound projector, and it was coming up to Xmas, My father got me L&H in 'Chumps at Oxford'; it's an excellent print, complete with BBFC Certificate. It was actually my second choice, as I had wanted 'Way Out West', but that had been deleted, and Walton took over this title. About the same time, I got L&H in 'The Flying Deuces', another excellent print, and much better than the two copies I have on the dreaded disc. I kept both of these films in their original protective box. Later films started arriving in Jiffy bags, and often the boxes would get knocked about, courtesey of Royal Mail. I do think that for the money we had to pay out, which was almost double my weekly wage, that they should have been sent out in boxes as before. You can see from the photos, that the individual film boxes are as new, and I wonder how many people have kept their films in this condition all these years.

Pristine Robert!

Now that's what you call looking after your stuff!!

The top gem in my collection is a trailer on 16mm for the Paul Naschy film, "The Mummy's Revenge." The existence of an English trailer for this title was unknown due to it being sent directly to TV in the US and for it not showing up anywhere.


Next is some 16mm footage on cores directly from Technicolor, complete with the original order paperwork! Someone apparently ordered the credit sequence (complete with Universal-International logo) and the last 800 feet to "Horror of Dracula." The beautiful footage, box, and paperwork combined make it of historical value to me. I have the full feature on 35mm as well, but this is something else.


And finally, a full feature on 16mm from my favorite film maker, Paul Naschy. A TV print of the US version of "La Marca Del Hombre Lobo."

Real gems there Don.

That's proper collecting Robert, well done, I'd be proud of that myself.

My latest Gem, and this is something i never ever thought i would own, is the recent purchase of Dances With Wolves, until i bought this i had never ever watched the film on any format. I heard so much talk about it and thought, i cant sit through a three hour western. When the chance to buy it arose i bought it with the intention of a present for Brother but it was a little more money than i normally spend on a present, (with exception of special Birthdays, 60th, 21st 18th etc), so i bought it as a pressy to me.
I knew it had some cinch marks and for the price i wasn't expecting anything perfect but my word what a film to own and what a print, It is a Gem simply because i am proud to own this multi award winning movie. For those who have not seen the screenshots they are here, I will not mess about joining it up on fewer reels, i want to leave it as it is and in its original box.
Dances With Wolves theatrical version.

That really is an astounding print Tom, a definite gem.

Here is one that I consider a Gem of my collection; it's the penultimate film of Alan Ladd, and his last starring role, '13 West Street' (1962). made for his own company, Ladd Enterprises, and distributed by Columbia. From what I can learn, this has only been shown in the US a couple of times or so, then never seen again. Ladd plays the part of a rocket scientist, who going home late one night runs out of petrol. While walking to find a gas station, he narrowly misses being run over by a car filled with teenagers or early 20 somethings, driven by Michael Callan. Ladd shouts out 'You stupid idiots', and they hear him and reverse the car, jump out and corner him. The rob him of his wallet, and beat him unconscious. The detective assigned to the case is Rod Steiger, who received praise for his performance from the critics. Ladd is not satisfied with the progress being made and decides to take matters into his own hands, despite being warned to let the police handle it. He starts asking questions outside of schools and colleges to see if anyone matches the description he gives. His wife, played by Sandra Dorne, receives a threatening phone call, telling her husband to drop the investigation, and later, when that doesn't happen, they get a brick through the window. He learns the identity of one member of the gang, who, frightened, goes home and hangs himself, then Ladd hire a private detective, who follows the gang in their car, but he's spotted in the rear view mirror, and a high speed chase ensues, with them leading him around a dangerous bend in the dark, and the detective loses control of the car and it goes out of control, bursting into flames. Michael Callan gets hold of a gun and holds Ladds wife hostage, with the intention of killing Ladd, but runs off when he hears sirens approaching. Alan Ladd surprises him in the dark, beats him with his walking stick, and Callan falls into the swimming pool, where Ladd holds his head under water, but has second thoughts about drowning him, and the police arrive as Alan Ladd is pulling Callan out of the swimming pool.

Alan Ladd made only one more appearance after this, a bit part in 'The Carpetbaggers', and committed suicide before the film was released.

Most of you will recognise Mark Slade in the publicity photograph; he is best know for his character 'Blue', in 'The High Chaparral'. I got this film from the US, and surprisingly, it had a BIN price of only £23; even with shipping and tax, it came to no more that £56, which is below what I would have expected to find in the UK. Picture and sound quality are well above average, I would give 10 out of 10 in both departments.