Congo Bill

[quickman]

Very watery quicksand scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gveoZ_Hg46s

[quickman]

A still shot

[Duncan Edwards]

It might seem a little lame today but I still like this scene. I think it's because the babe in peril has a great figure, screams, and gets chin deep. I like seeing her legs as she is pulled out. I don't know. It just works on some level. Might be nostalgia as well because I remember rewinding and watching this over and over on Dave's clip tapes many years ago.

[mudmaiden]

I found it interesting that the girl stumbles in ahead of the guy, then the next shot she is behind him with the man trying to pull her up from behind! How did that happen??

[Duncan Edwards]

I found it interesting that the girl stumbles in ahead of the guy, then the next shot she is behind him with the man trying to pull her up from behind! How did that happen??

They wanted to pull her out first for purposes of chivalry and great leg shots. If she was in front of him that probably wasn't going to work.

[stuckdamselfan]

Even though the scene is silly, I still wish i could find a copy with better definition.

All the existing digital files appear to be second-hand transfers from tape or film.

[Fred588]

This film was released in 1948, which means it was actually filmed some time before that. Video tape was apparently invented in 1951, so the original was certainly shot on film. Also, according to the IMdB database it was filmed in black and white (although color film did exist then). Film of that era was actually capable of some pretty good resolution although there were no such thing as pixels on film, so if the original footage is still in existence then it could be digitized with fairly good result. Even if that footage exists, however, I doubt if any digitization would ever be attempted without some sort of economic incentive to do so.

Even though the scene is silly, I still wish i could find a copy with better definition.

All the existing digital files appear to be second-hand transfers from tape or film.

[Duncan Edwards]

Even though the scene is silly, I still wish i could find a copy with better definition.

All the existing digital files appear to be second-hand transfers from tape or film.

Let's look at this in some detail. First of all I want to know is there any more of that comic?

If you look at the original technical specs for this it was shot in an almost square format on the just about the most modest film stock/standard that you could get. Not surprising since it was a "B" grade Saturday Matinee serial for kids. Any copies to video were probably made from distribution prints of the film. Any transfer to DVD probably was as well. Now what most of us have forgotten if we ever knew it at all is that many of these YouTube clips we find of classic scenes were borrowed from the VHS clip tapes that Dave assembled years ago from other VHS copies. As mentioned before these likely came from distribution prints of the original not-so-great master. Not surprising that the image quality has suffered.

Depending on how good the transfer was done we might get some improvement with a late issue DVD release or it might just be the same crap. Let me check with Dave to see what is on his shelf. If he hasn't already done so it might be fun to play with an attempt at something better. I like the way Cleo Moore fills out her sarong.

[BogDog]

Comic appears to be strip-based... in this case a plug for the live action movie:



Sadly, and unlike our jungle queen comics, the hero here ends up in QS a lot. Why couldn't it be "Congo Belle"?


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e8/5f/86 ... 31b56d.png

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pEmdyfaAjcM/W ... RCO018.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j1oDlVXvXdM/W ... RCO029.jpg

[stuckdamselfan]

This film was released in 1948, which means it was actually filmed some time before that. Video tape was apparently invented in 1951, so the original was certainly shot on film. Also, according to the IMdB database it was filmed in black and white (although color film did exist then). Film of that era was actually capable of some pretty good resolution although there were no such thing as pixels on film, so if the original footage is still in existence then it could be digitized with fairly good result. Even if that footage exists, however, I doubt if any digitization would ever be attempted without some sort of economic incentive to do so.

True. Properly converting a motion picture to digital format is a very exacting process. So any distributor with a decent film print of Congo Bill would need a strong incentive to make the effort.

And Columbia serial pictures never quite had the same high status as the Republic ones. We're fortunate that good digital copies of the Batman and Superman serials are available.