MITCHELL
BI-PACK 35MM MAGAZINE
Mitchell
Camera Corporation, West Hollywood, California Late 1920's to mid-1930's
This
a somewhat earlier example of a 400' Mitchell
Bi-Pack 35mm magazine for
the Mitchell Standard 35mm motion picture camera. Bi-Pack
magazines came into use around the early 1930's as experimentation began with
2-strip color processes. This unit is comprised of two magazines mounted
together, with the bottom magazine being of later manufacture and having Serial
No. 7505, Model BI-400, and the upper magazine being of an earlier style, but unmarked.
Lower Magazine
Having
a "West Hollywood" address on the maker's tag, the lower magazine could
date to somewhere between 1929 and 1945.
However, if the 8-hole pulleys it's equipped with are original, it would
probably place its manufacture closer to the mid-1930's. The magazine is
equipped with heavily ribbed chamber cover rims (or magazine lids) along with
four grips making them easier to open. The chambers and doors are felt-lined. In contrast to Mitchell's earlier three-piece
magazines, this magazine's shell is a single casting.
By
November, 1929, Mitchell's 1000' magazines were being produced with the heavily
ribbed rim design on the film chamber doors, like those seen here on this lower
400' magazine.
:
Upper Magazine
The
upper magazine is equipped with early-style 6-hole pulleys and with smooth casing
and film chamber cover rims, the covers having tiny ribbing on the inside and
outside edges of the rim to facilitate removal. The chambers and doors are ribbed inside to
reduce friction. These early style magazines are said to be three-piece, having
the two circular film chambers bolted to the base. They were constructed in
this manner until Mitchell was able to produce a single casting.
This
early style magazine's characteristics are in contrast to later magazines having
spoke pulleys, solid (or rimless) casings and heavily-ribbed film chamber
covers with grip aids that are seen on most Mitchell magazines beginning in the
early to mid-1930's.
This
magazine style is seen in Mitchell advertisements in The American Cinematographer as early as January, 1922 and
continues to be reflected in their ads into August, 1923.
Mitchell
No. 5, originally sold in 1922 and now residing in the ASC Museum in Los
Angeles, is equipped with this same style three-piece magazine having 8-hole
pulleys.
As
seen in the photo below, Rudolph Valentino is cranking a Mitchell Camera
equipped with an early magazine. With
Valentino's passing on August 23, 1926, this style of magazine was firmly in
use by the mid-1920's. I haven't
determined when production of this style ceased, but they were still being used
on some bi-pack work in the early to mid-1930's based upon the combination
shown here and another photograph found dating to about 1931 showing an
early-style Mitchell Bi-Pack.
It
should also be noted, that identification and dating of magazines can be somewhat
difficult and often imprecise. Given
that magazines from a different timeline (or era) could be matched up as in the
case of the bi-pack featured here, and that pulleys, spindles, covers and rollers
could be (and were) replaced over time, it's a wonder that a number of them have
survived unmodified from their original manufacture.
Article from The International
Photographer, July, 1929, with a photo taken June, 1919 showing the early style
rimmed magazine
Ad from The American Cinematographer
January 1, 1922
Ad from The American Cinematographer April,
1923
Ad from The American Cinematographer August,1923
Rudolph Valentino behind the Mitchell Camera,
probably taken between 1922 and 1924