Two Norelco AAII 70mm Projectors on Display |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written and photographed by: Ben Kehe, Motion Picture Projection Services, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A. | Date: 23.07.2018 |
 The
surrey with the fringe on the top on display is the original surrey utilized
during the filming of "Oklahoma!". The dress in the display case is the
dress Shirley Jones wore during filming.On July 16, 2018 I had the honor and privilege of assembling my two Norelco AAII, 35/70mm projectors, serial #'s 2257 & 2258 for a display to commemorate the original stage and motion picture releases of "Oklahoma!" at the Claremore Museum of History at Claremore, Oklahoma. A big "thank you" goes out to several Claremore firemen who helped with moving the heavy parts and pieces in to the museum. The two attached pictures show serial #2258 on display with its magazine and film compartment doors removed to show the mechanism and the film path. The reel of film on the machine is an original 70mm reel one of "Oklahoma!" that was personally presented by Shirley Jones to the principal persons who planned and executed the original premiere at the Rialto Theatre in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 7, 1956 at 8:00 P.M. This reel of film was found in a rusty 70mm film can in the basement of the museum. This reel has no magnetic sound tracks and research has shown that the premiere at the Rialto was shown in 70mm with two Norelco Todd-AO projectors and a separate 35mm magnetic film playback system synchronized to the Norelco's. I have threaded the film through serial #2258 through the magnetic sound head to simply show the film path that the final release prints would have run. |
More in 70mm reading: 55th Anniversary of the DP70 Academy Award Fred Zinnemann's "Oklahoma!" in Todd-AO News About the DP70, The Todd-AO Projector DP70s in Oklahoma (OK) Internet link: claremoremoh.org
|
 Two
Norelco AAII, 35/70mm projectors, serial #'s 2257 & 2258 for a display to
commemorate the original stage and motion picture releases of "Oklahoma!" at
the Claremore Museum of History at Claremore, Oklahoma.This reel of film is badly deteriorated but still has recognizable images although shrunken and faded from being trapped in the film can and suffering the vinegar syndrome. When threading, I pulled the film down through the prologue music and threaded through the Norelco with the title "Oklahoma!" showing in the aperture of the projector. The Strong Ultra 80 xenon lamp house was utilized for display with serial #2258 because the pair of Super Corelite carbon arc lamps that I originally planned to utilize for display were destroyed in a fire a few years ago. Serial #2257 is displayed with its magazine doors and film compartment door to show the distinct beauty of this most magnificent motion picture projector. |
|
 #2258
on display with its magazine and film compartment doors removed to show the
mechanism and the film path. The reel of film on the machine is an original
70mm reel one of "Oklahoma!"Andy Couch, Executive Director/Curator of the museum is putting together a beautiful collection of artifacts relating to "Oklahoma!". The surrey with the fringe on the top on display is the original surrey utilized during the filming of "Oklahoma!". The dress in the display case is the dress Shirley Jones wore during filming as well. There will also be many pictures and other pieces that were present during the premiere at the Rialto on that June evening in 1956. There will also be many dignitaries present at the two gala events and ribbon cutting ceremonies at the end of July and again at the end of August. As this event unfolds, if you would be interested in more information and pictures, please let me know and I will provide what I can. There should be an abundance of information at the museum's web site Here's a link to the newspaper article (US only) |
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