This was the scene of the crime. In our book, it's murder.
Same old story to begin with.
Victim young, good looking, wanted to get on television. Had everything it takes
for a great career. Someplace along the line got mixed up with the wrong guy. You
know, wound up dead.
We don't know who did it or how. That's what we're trying to find out.
About the body, not pretty. Beat up, mutilated, pretty bad. Hard to believe
anybody would do a thing like that. But if you've got a strong stomach, take a
look. Alive and healthy a month ago.
Now, she's dead. Couldn't get her through a projector. If you
could, nobody could stand to look.
Yes?
Speaking? Tomorrow?
But you told me next week. But you got it!
Oh, Mr. Quill! No, Mr. Quill, please! Take him to the
[...] Department! He won't survive!
Who did it? We don't know. All we got are suspects. There's a guy named of Jones,
lab man. He makes prints of films. He handled this print. That
print was perfect when she left me.
I had nothing to do with Kilvenor. And there's Smith. He's a film distributor. He
sent the print to the station. Why would I do anything to hurt her? I loved her.
And Brown. He's film director at the station. I know. You're trying to make me
the fall guy. It won't work. She was with me a lot, sure. But I was taking care
of her. And Harris. Projectionist at the station. I only had that print long
enough to thread her up. I couldn't have done her any harm. Somebody did.
Somebody murdered her. My job? Find out who. We questioned the suspects. Got
their stories. First, this man Jones from the film laboratory. What do you pick
on me for? I never hurt that print. How do you figure that? I know the kind of
treatment film gets here. That's my business. Protecting film.
Turning out perfect prints. Why ask me all these questions? Just routine. Well, I
got nothing to hide. I'll tell you how it was. That print. Here's where she came
from. First I saw her. She was coming off this processing machine. Brand new and
perfect. And we kept her that way too. How? Well, figure it out.
What's the biggest danger to film? Dirt. All right. Look around. No dirt in here.
Even the air is filtered. Not a chance for any dust or dirt or stuff to get to
her. Go on. Another thing.
Before she ever left the machine. Before I ever touched her. She was
lubricated. You oiled her?
No, no wax solution. Here, film goes over this glass cylinder that rotates and
puts the lubricant on the emulsion side. Lubricant? Yeah. We make it up
ourselves. About a tenth of a gram of Hercules B16 synthetic wax to a hundred
grams of solvent applied here. Drives almost instantly. What's the idea?
Protection against scratches, abrasion. Keeps the film from sticking in a
projector gate. For instance, you ever hear of people having trouble with green
prints? Green prints? Yeah. That's a print that hasn't been lubricated. That
fresh emulsion gelatin is always soft. A little tacky.
Sticky. Unless you lubricate that surface the first few times you try to project
it, you can have trouble. You get sticking. Little tiny particles of that soft
emulsion come off and pile up in the gate. Result is jittery picture, not steady.
Not only that, if it sticks bad, the cloth puts too
much tension on the perforations.
May even tear them. Or you can lose a loop, break the film. Or the film runs off
and the sprockets punch new holes. A green print will do that? Right. Another
thing. Where that soft emulsion piles up, dirt gets in. It drags against the film
and you get abrasion. Sounds like what happened to this print. Nope. Couldn't
have. Because like I said, she was lubricated like all our prints.
That wax coating prevents print sticking. So don't blame
me for what happened to that print.
Guy you're looking for must be... Never mind anybody
else. What else did you do with her?
What else? Well, took the reel off the machine, made a regular visual inspection.
We'd have caught any defects if there had been any. And we're still working in
clean filtered air remember.
Put her on a core, labeled her, packaged her up and shipped her off. That's all?
Yeah. So if I did all that, took all that care, how could I have hurt her? I
wonder. Huh? If you did all that.
Next guy we talked to was Smith. Works for this film distribution
outfit. His story was sure, I remember. She came to us from the lab on a core. We
inspected her while rewinding her onto a reel.
Careful, were you? Sure. Brand new reel, like always. Side straight, no burrs.
Was she in good shape then? Perfect. And then? Well, she went out to two or three
stations. I could tell you which ones. No names. Okay. Anyway, the next I saw
of her, she was still in A1 condition.
That was one morning when I got her out of the rack for timing and
inspection. Hold it.
This sign. This film of fire hazard? What's that? Oh no, it's all safety film.
The point of no smoking is it helps keep the place clean. That's the first rule
in handling film. Don't let dirt and stuff get to it. So they tell me. You can
see for yourself how clean we keep it around here.
There's no windows to let dirt and grime in from the outside. Tables? Nothing on
them except what we need to work with. No chance for dirt or abrasive material to
get to our film. This is the way it always is? Sure. Film's our business. You
know how much it costs us when a print gets scratched up and has to be junked?
Plenty. Plenty is right. That's why I keep my place looking like this. You never
catch me doing like some people, letting my table turn into a junk pile. That's
murder on film. I got more sense than that. I'll tell you something about
film. What's that?
Whenever film's being handled, moved, other words wound and rewound, it
builds up static electricity.
It gets just like a magnet. It attracts particles of dirt. Stuff from the air,
cigarette ashes, dirt on the table. That stuff gets ground into the film and
you've got scratches. But about this murder. You took this print to your table?
Yeah, for timing and inspection. Meaning what? Well, to measure the footage first
using this counter. But that can't hurt film, providing you don't pull it through
too fast. Did you? No. Took it slow. Thing is, while I was timing her, I was
checking for any damage. Any abrasions or scratches. How? How'd I check? Held her
so the light reflects off the film.
Any scratches, I'd see them. Did you see any? No. What else you checked
for? Any splices in the print.
If there had been any bad ones, I'd have repaired them. But there weren't. Look
for any damage to the perforations. Any torn ones. They were all okay. Anything
else? Yeah, I made sure that the last station hadn't left any commercials in the
film and I checked for improper cue marks. What marks?
Cue marks. You know, the little marks we put at certain points in the film to
signal a director or projectionist when to switch over or when the film's about
over or when to bring in a commercial. You know. I get you. The reason I checked
that, well you should see some of the films we get back.
Brother the cue marks. These jokers all think they've got to have their own
special cue marks at their own special places and make them good and big so they
can't miss them. Looks awful.
Ruins a print. I can understand why they don't use a standard cue system. Believe
me. Okay, but this print. Any cue marks on her? Only the right ones. That's all.
Any other injuries? No.
Like I say, she was in beautiful shape. Sure of that?
Sure. Anything wrong had reported it.
But there wasn't. Condition A1. No scratches, no perforation damage. Everything
okay. You wear gloves?
Always. Don't catch me getting fingerprints on any of them. Clean gloves? Yeah,
clean gloves. Change them every day. Maybe oftener. Look, I know what you're
getting at. Gloves pick up dirt particles while you work. Run film over the cloth
and it acts just like sandpaper. Only thing is, I
didn't I held it by the edges like
always. So then what? Well, after inspection we rewound her and cleaned her at
the same time. Cleaned her how? With wax and
solvent. The same thing they use in the labs.
Lubricant, is it? Yeah. Anytime you clean film you ought to use a lubricant to do
it. Just makes sense to give it that protection. This machine. It's safe? Sure.
Film runs through these strips of rayon plush. Solution drips onto the material.
Keeps it moist. The plush is chained so no dirt gets a chance to pile up and
scratch the film. Takes up on a reel and that's it. No, you still say.
That I couldn't have hurt that print. She went right into the can and the
shipping case and left here. Like I say, condition A1. I swear it. Anything that
happened to her later, I had nothing to do with it. I pass. Yeah, I see you.
What? Passin'. The buck that is. We followed the thing a little farther.
Talked to this man, Brown, film director at the TV station. He admitted he'd had
a lot to do with the victim. Naturally I did. I'm responsible for all the film
here at the station. Our own prints and the ones we lease are rent. I make up the
programs. See that the film's timed and cleaned.
Put in commercials. Make repairs. All that. But I didn't hurt that
film. What did you do to her?
Well, the day she came in, I got her out of the rack to
take her in for timing and inspection.
Science says no smoking. I didn't smoke. We don't allow smoking
where film's being handled because...
I know. Then what? Took her in, put her on the table and started
timing. Table pretty clean?
Yeah, clean. Sure. Look at it anytime. I know what dirt does to film.
We're careful. Any place we're handling film, it's clean. Air conditioned. That's
all we do there. Just handle film.
Don't get touchy. You project this print? No. Why not? Why, I
haven't got time to project all the film we get in here hundreds of feet a day.
Some stuff I project. Sure, if there's a question about it. But not this one. I
don't think. You're not sure? No, but if I had, that wouldn't have hurt her. You
can see our preview projectors in real good shape. Why, we clean the gate every
other day. I know what a dirty projector can do to film.
And I know what happens if you don't thread a projector right. So?
So, I'm careful about threading every time. But like I say, this print, I didn't
project. All I did was timer and specter and put in the commercials. Take it a
step at a time. Well, what I did was run her through the footage counter at a
good safe speed too. Some guys pull them through so fast they scream. Not me.
I've seen what that can do to film. So have you.
So I went slow. Meantime, I checked for scratches and damaged preparations. The
usual things. And then? Find any damage? No, it didn't. Anyhow, I figured a
distributor had made a real thorough check and cleaned it. So there was no reason
to think anything was wrong. He claims there was nothing wrong with it. Okay,
well, I couldn't have heard it either. Then what'd you do? Spiced in the
commercials. How? Like I always do. Listen, I know how to make a splice,
mister. You can watch me anytime right by the book. Put the film in carefully.
Don't jam it on the pins. Never use scotch tape or masking tape to back up a
splice. I know that stuff gets caught in the projector gate.
Oh, then I scrape the emulsion and I use a scraper that's made for scraping. Wet
the emulsion to soften it. Take it all off without cutting down into the base.
Then the cement. Put it on, close her up, give it
10 or 15 seconds to dry well, and I've got a perfect splice.
But that's how I always do it. And I keep my splicer adjusted too, so there's no
chance of the splices being crooked. Okay, after inspection what? You clean it?
No, it didn't need it. The distributor always. .. Ever clean film here? Sure,
sure. Our own library prints or any prints that need it. Use a machine? No, no,
we clean it by hand. We run it through soft cotton pads moistened with cleaning
fluid. I say clean. We keep changing the cloth so dirt can't pile up and scratch
the film. Cleaning fluid? Yeah, solvent with a little synthetic wax in it to
lubricate the film. Makes it move through the projector nice and smooth. Right.
Now about this print. After inspection you rewound it. Yeah, and I was careful
there too. First place, my rewinds no way film can
drag against the sides. Then I kept the constant tension on the film. I'm not one
of these wise guys when it comes to rewind and film. Wise guys? Yeah, you've seen
them showing off, building up speed, then then coasting, letting the film drag
over the table so it gets scratched, or cranking it through with a jerky motion
so you won't get a good snug roll. And none of that stuff for me, steady speed,
constant tension when I rewind. Yeah. Something else. I've seen guys do a sloppy
job so the film's loose on the reel. Then they'll yank on the end of the film
till it's tight. Worst thing you can do. Any dirt particles on the film just get
grounded along against the grooves. Cinch marks. You've seen them look
like this. Yeah, I've seen them. That's why I didn't cinch the film.
Never do. Rewind are good and snug on a good reel. No bent sides, no burrs.
Put her in with the next day's programs. That's all I did. I didn't hurt that
print and you can't prove I did. I'm innocent, so help me. Funny thing. Huh? If
you're innocent, why would you want help?
That left us with one more suspect, Harris, projectionist at the TV station. Had
an answer to everything. Oh, I grant you a film can get ruined in projection. It
happens. But not if the film is in good shape and the projector is working right.
Now that's my job. No bent reels and I never spin the take up reel after I'm
threaded up. And I'll tell you now, my projector never harmed that print. Sure of
that. Figure it out. I'm supposed to get a good picture on the screen. Only way I
can do that is to keep that projected clean. If I, the gate gets dirty and the
picture starts jumping around like this.
Or the sound scanning system gets dirty and the sound goes haywire like this
noisy. You see? Yes, friends. Feed your pooch. Doggy drops. You'll
go for that yummy flavor.
And remember, doggy drops are double enriched. Now twice as effective. Get the
handy 50 pound economy size at your neighborhood. So I don't let those things
happen. I work on that projector.
Work on it. How? Well, take the gate. Every chance I
get, I pull it out and clean it.
Especially along these rails. Let emulsion or dirt pile up here and it's liable
to scratch the film, particularly on the soundtrack area. Then you've got a noisy
track. Go on. Another thing. If the gate's dirty, the film can't move through
freely. Tends to stick when the intermittent pulls down on the perforation. Now
that extra strain can scar those perforations. May even tear them.
Then you lose your loop, get run off, really chew up the film. That's what
happened here to the victim? Nope. That's what didn't happen. Because I cleaned
that gate, got the dust out of it.
And that isn't all. I checked every film contact point. Made sure the rollers
were all really rolling. Not stuck so the film was dragging over them. Now that
could happen. Did it? No, I told you I checked it. Part of my normal maintenance.
Like checking the sound system all the time.
Cleaning all the film contact points to make sure we get the best sound quality.
And also, make sure the film doesn't get scratched when it goes over the drum.
Main thing with a projector is to keep it clean and lubricated right. Then it'll
never damage film. Not if the film's okay to begin with. How about threading?
Well, what about it? Listen, I know my job. I thread that projector 50 times a
day and I do it right. Ask anybody. They'll tell you. Or you can watch me
yourself. Anything goes wrong during projection. It's because there are bad
splices in the print or torn preparations or dirt on the film. I take care of
this projector and I thread it up the right way. Now that's all I can do. I
projected that print and I put her in the rack. That's the last I saw of her. Not
quite. What do you mean? You see her now.
So there it's a murder that everybody says couldn't have happened.
We don't know who did it. All we know is this. If all the suspects had treated
the victim like they be alive today, only she's not. Somebody's guilty.
Maybe all of them together. What if they stick to their stories? We're stuck with
a perfect crime. It happens more than you think.
As for you, we figure you're innocent. This case,
you can go. Just one thing. You want to stay in the clear and get this straight.
Every time you handle film, better figure it's a matter of life or death because
it is. Get a little careless and we may be after you for murder on the screen.