The Days Before Beta Max

[RSS]

These bring me back, I can remember watching "Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan" on my neighbour's wall back in 1977. They had played with it so much that all three siblings were saying the dialogue in unison, kind of strange.

Two thoughts entered my mind, one was "Who is Charlie Chan?" and the other was "Wouldn't it be neat to be able to play cartoons any time you wanted?". On a recent car trip, my son got to watch the entire run of "Jason of Star Command", he doesn't know how good he has it.....

Three days until Megomeet!

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[Earth 2 Chris]

I had View-Master's flashlight-like projector. That was it. No "movies" for me until we got our first VHS in 1984. I remember the first tape I bought for it: it was a MOTU VHS tape,with an awesome Earl Norem cover. Turns out all it was was Golden books filmed and narrated on camera. Ugh. I was ticked off.

The Chan Clan plays on Boomerang on Sundays. One of HB's weirder shows for sure.

Chris

[Sweep Secondhand]

I remember my family getting a Bell & Howell dual 8mm projector from K-Mart back in the 70's. K-Mart also had a big selection of the 8mm condensed movie films. If I recall correctly, a 200ft (10 minute) film was about $6.00 which seemed like a fortune back then. I had a couple of the shorter films including a Godzilla, Mummy, and Frankenstein one. I probably wore the sprockets off those things.

Anyone remember Pocketflix? This was a later hand held veiwer that held a round film cartridge. I broke one of these open as a kid and discovered it was 8mm film i could play on a regular projector.

[HardyGirl]

As a kid, I had an Easy Show projector (B&W) but there was nothing easy about it. I always had to ask my older brother, (who got sick of me asking him), to open the machine, and thread the film thru it. But when we got it in there it was fun, we had The Archies, Harlem Globetrotters cartoon and some others. I always had a view master or talking view master. Today I have a large Give A Show collection, as well as those Fisher Price cartridges and projectors (one for the wall and a personal one), and of course, the view-masters (standard and talking). Visual film toys were lotsa of fun back in the day, and still hold up rather well today. My students love mine!

[lepage]

I loved the 8mm you could get in the bck of famous monsters of filmland.
We were probably the last family in the U.S. that got a vcr. I think back now on how much your average vhs film would cost you. I remember some being close to $100 each.

[The Toyroom]

I had the Show and Tell....lots of Disney stuff.

[jwyblejr]

Didn't Kenner put one out too? You would put it up to your eye and turn a crank to watch the movie. There was one for Star Wars if I'm not mistaken.

[Sweep Secondhand]

Yes, Kenner had there own version of the Easy-Show projector that took the standard rectangular cartridges. They put out movies for Star Wars, The Six Million Dollar Man, and supposedly one for Aliens.

- Sweep

[DavesWorld56]

I've been on a mission lately to buy my Grandkids a bunch of these vintage toys - many of which my parents never could afford for me or my two siblings. So far I've gotten them a Viewmaster Talking Projector, 6 Viewmaster Handheld Viewers, GE Show 'N Tell Phono Viewer & Record Sets (finding this was a headache), Fisher Price Movie Theater/Projector & Movie Cartridges, Fisher Price Handheld Movie Cartridge Viewer, Handheld Talking Viewmaster Viewer, Kenner Motorized Easy Show Projector Set, Disney Aristocats Record Player, a bunch of Disney See, Hear, Read Record/Book Sets, Table Top Pirates Of The Caribbean Pinball Game, Fisher Price Talk-To-Me Books & Player, and Mattel's Ringling Brothers Circus Playset. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY GRANDKIDS!!! LOL.

[cjefferys]

Yes, Kenner had there own version of the Easy-Show projector that took the standard rectangular cartridges. They put out movies for Star Wars, The Six Million Dollar Man, and supposedly one for Aliens.

- Sweep

I don't remember the Six Million Dollar Man one, but I vividly remember trying out the Star Wars and Alien ones in Kmart (the packaging allowed you to try them out while still in the box). I desperately wanted both of them, but never managed to get them.