FROM THE VAULT-SOME ORIGINAL XXX THEATER FLAGS

For the past 5 years we have been slowly moving our archives from various locations in order to bring them all together. Since July we have moved 6 truckloads of “golden age elements”, out of NYC, Queens and NJ. We transported the remaining 12 pallets of original elements that remained in our NYC location, this past Monday. The only material that is still in storage are theatrical prints. The majority of the material from this last move was OCN trims and out takes, lots of sound tapes,M/E, Mag track, hundreds of trailers, radio spots, 6 crates of miscellaneous 16 mm X rated reels, and assorted ephemera, as well as some very kool mainstream material. It has been so overwhelming, and the cleaning of these old boxes, some which have been collecting dust for 30 plus years, is nasty. It is long, hard work , with lots of sneezing from the dust, etc. But in the end it is all worth it. We have saved an archive from being destroyed and separated. The work we have done over the summer has truly brought all of the elements of this 40 year legacy, into one space……and it is amazing. With all that said, I found something today that I thought was certainly worth sharing, as this stuff does not come along everyday……I was getting ready to call it quits for the day, after killing myself all week to get this stuff put away and cleaned, as space is a premium, and it is hard to work with pallets towering around you, Just as I was ready to remove the shrink wrap from the last pallet, I saw a large cardboard box that was marked MATURE FLAGS with red marker. I stopped what I was doing and anxiously pulled the box from the pallet. Off the top of my head, I figured it was a flag that used to hang off the exterior of the MATURE PICTURES BUILDING in NYC………Right??? Well, I had to confirm my thoughts and I dove right in. I used my razor like a surgeon and very cautiously sliced the packing tape that held together the bloated box, as to not damage the cloth inside. At first it just looked like a huge tarp was thrown in a box, but after closer inspection, I realized that I had discovered a real piece of Times Square….. I was so very surprised and excited to make the discovery of 3 original theatrical banner flags, that were actually used! They originally belonged to Sam Lake, as he was a huge theatrical distributor, back in the day. Needless to say, in the early 80′s, Distribpix acquired the entire Sam Lake Enterprises collection and everything was saved, nothing was ever thrown away. Lots of stuff that one might never use, but it is all worth preserving. Enjoy!

The first flag is Radley Metzger’s NAKED CAME THE STRANGER, it measures approximately 8 feet x 10 feet. I felt the immediate urge to temporarily mount it to the ceiling of our warehouse, to see how it looked, as well as to let it air out.

The second flag is from Armond Weston’s, “Expose Me Lovely”. It measures about the same and it is also temporarily hanging.

The third is  from Claude Mulot’s Pussy Talk, the cabinet is in the way, but you can get the idea!!

I will take some better shots in the future. Have a great day.