1950s Film Projector Uncovered in the Memorial Hall Attic
By Sierra LaValley
On March 22, 1951, entertainment in the Bezanson community was forever changed when the Bezanson Community Hall bought the Filmosound Specialist Bell & Howell 16 mm projector. According to a list of assets, the projector and screen were worth $892.13; however, because they traded in their old projector it only cost the Hall $596.70. Over the years the Hall purchased films, bulbs and other supplies to maintain the projector from Sharp Theater Supplies Limited based in Calgary. According to word of mouth, the first movie ever played on the projector was The Wizard of Oz, but other films played included Father of the Bride, Lady Without Passport, Follow the Sun, and many others. What is now an old attic in the Memorial Hall used to be the balcony for kids viewing the movies on the Filmosound Specialist Bell & Howell projector. Show nights and dances alternated almost every weekend for many years and records of how much money was made from admission fees and canteen sales are in historical ledgers. Recently, tickets from 1967 were found that would have been used for movie admission! There is even still a location on site from where they used to place the projector to play the movies. When fondly reminiscing about attending the picture shows, one man said that he remembers how every so often the show would stop because the film broke and they would have to wait for someone to splice the film to continue the show. This projector brought joy to many Bezansonites by giving people the chance to come together through the novelty of watching a movie as a community. In 2017, the projector was recovered from where it sat in the balcony since the 50s to be a way for those who have many cherished memories that stem from the projector to reminisce about the days of the picture shows at the Bezanson Hall.
The first movie projector was the zoopraxiscope, made by Eadweard Maybridge, a pioneering British photographer, in 1879. The zoopraxiscope rapidly projected images from rotating glass disks. These rudimentary movies were significantly shorter than the blockbuster films we have today. The first movie ever made was only 2.11 seconds long! The specific projector the Bezanson Hall purchased was manufactured by Bell & Howell, which was an American based company. The original Bell & Howell company was founded in 1907 by two projectionists in Wheeling, Illinois. The Filmosound 16mm Projector was created in 1932 to be economical for amateurs to purchase and became a best seller for many years. The widespread of the projector in the hands of armatures was the beginning of all movies and television shows and the community of Bezanson was on the forefront of that technological revolution.
