Periscope Film LLC

08/04/2025

Dennis the Menace in mothballs! So -- a friend of ours dropped off a rare 16mm B&W print of an episode of "Social Security Today" featuring a circa 1964 interview with "Dennis the Menace" star Jay North. Unfortunately, the film is shrunken and would not go through our scanner without jitter. We're using a tried and true method to see if we can make the film more supple: exposing it to camphor crystals (which are often used as a moth repellant) for the next two months. Hopefully it will improve things enough to get a good scan. (If it doesn't, round #2 treatment will involve a chemical soak.)

07/28/2025

Fun to see this 16mm countdown leader on an educational film — offering helpful advice to the projectionist. Teachers were notorious film wreckers — because they weren’t properly trained on how to care for celluloid or load and rewind films.

07/14/2025

We reached a milestone last week. We are so grateful to all the people who have supported and shared our passion for old films, and who have made our YouTube channel what it is today!

06/23/2025

Just scanned and posted this rare PSA from the 1970s, an era when tractor rollover accidents killed or seriously injured over 1000 people per year. The short film advises farmers to invest in newfangled "roll cages" for protection. Quite a time capsule, back to an era when safety was not job #1!

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06/10/2025

Some things never changed ... just scanned and posted "The Riot Makers", a 1972 film made by the International Organization of Chiefs of Police. This "documentary" agitprop movie attempts to connect the campus upheavals and race riots of the 1960s to Leftist agitators, Lenin's Russia and Hitler's Germany.

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06/05/2025

Sometimes we open a vintage 16mm film can and find a historically interesting insert or study guide. This one is particularly cool - it was found inside "Silent Alarm Response" (https://youtu.be/N8RZt27An00), a 1971 film about bank robberies. Check out #2 under "Prepare": Install concealed air vent and telephone in vault and other tools and equipment which may be needed such as flashlights, screw drivers, etc.

04/26/2025

Our friend Greg Tillman's new documentary, "Oklahoma City Bombing / American Terror" just cracked the Top 10 list on Netflix! This gripping film re-examines the tragic 1995 attack, which remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history. Incidentally, Greg is also the director of the "Reel Discoveries" series on our channel -- see them at this link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqqqqZrD37h6YuwdnTRjOMtGy0tfxXFPk

04/12/2025

Proud to have helped (in a tiny way — with some stock doobage errr footage!) with “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie”!

03/29/2025

We’ve been watching and logging lots of old 16mm home movies this week — out of stacks of hundreds. Sometimes a frame is so precious we just have to stop and stare.

03/06/2025

Public media is so important. It educates our children, connects communities, and celebrates who we are as Americans. Sign the petition and let Congress know you support public media, and consider donating to your local station.
https://bit.ly/4k51fv7

Commit to protect your local public media stations on March 6!

01/15/2025

Periscope Film has always been based in Los Angeles, the epicenter of the movie business, and one of the greatest cities on Earth. This past week has been full of terrible developments, and great tragedy. In addition to the loss of human life and property, we've heard of multiple archives that were destroyed. Fortunately, none of our staff were affected by the fires, and our archive remains out of danger. We're grateful to everyone who checked in with us this week, and to a bunch of you who supported our fundraiser for fire victims on YouTube (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_53sZJ6rLw) We're raised over $3700 and hope to do much more, as the need is so great.

12/14/2024

This year we scanned and published over 700 vintage films on . Many of them are rare. Some of them completely unique and in danger of being lost forever. Our paid supporters made an enormous difference in 2024. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm