In 1917 Movette Inc. of Rochester, New York launched their amateur movie camera system using a magazine loaded with 17.5 mm nitrate film. This was perforated with round holes on either side of each frame. It had 4 perforations per frame, 2 on each side.

This nitrate negative film was developed by Kodak and printed onto safety stock for projection. The experimental work on this format started in 1914 by John Capstaff. Capstaff, a photographic expert in the Kodak Research Laboratory was the father of the new Kodachrome two color motion picture film.

At launch the hand-cranked camera retailed for $30 and the projector for $55, a packet of film costing $1.50 with another $1.50 for a positive print.

Movette Inc.

The inventor of the system was a Mr. Frank L. Hough of Chicago. The Movette Camera Company was organized in Rochester in 1916, and was first located at 1155 University Avenue.

In November 1917 it was incorporated as Movette Inc., with a capital stock of $1,250,000, and the plant was moved to 545 West Avenue. In 1920 they moved again to 295 State Street. The chairman was then Homer Strong, the secretary W. F. Strang, and the president was Howard Strong. In 1921 Homer Strong took over as president. In 1922 the company moved to 101 North Water Street, and by 1927 it had disappeared.

The Movette system, introduced in 1917, was the first to solve many of the problems that had crippled the home movie market. The camera was a "point-and-shoot" model with fixed focus and shutter speed, and the film came pre-loaded in cassettes. The user simply inserted a film cartridge, shut the camera, and turned the crank. As with Eastman's Kodak, the exposed film was mailed to Rochester for printing and developing. The package price for both camera and projector by 1919 was around $125.

Despite all this, the Movette was not commercially successful. It was likely due in part to the nitrate film stock requiring a separate positive print combined with the awkward design of the camera that ultimately did the company in. The design of the body with the crank on the rear eliminated the ability to hand hold the camera, and the provided tripod didnt allow panning or tilting which severely limited the placement and movement of the camera and made it difficult to record the family events it was intended for. Certainly the release of Kodak’s 16mm reversal system (announced in June 1923) was the final blow.

It is not known how many cameras and projectors were produced, but since they are fairly hard to find today I believe not many were sold. Based on known serial numbers at least 1500 cameras were produced, whether or not they all sold is unknown. The Movette projector is extremely rare today and only a few are known to exist.

Variations

There are two variations of the Movette… The model on the left is the updated or improved variation. The model on the right is serial number 4297, the camera on the left is sn 5259. I have seen two others with similar revisions on the front plate, but both have B serial numbers (B30 and B73) indicating they were possibly revised later. Both contain the serial number/license restriction plate on the outside of the rear door. Note the film guides are in a different position and the later model has a different plate for the magazine.

The Movette was a great idea, but it was slightly early to market and hampered by a poor design. Kodak followed the lead and released their new Cine Kodak in 1923, and although not as simple to use the real innovation wasn’t the apparatus itself, but the the actual film it used. The new 16mm reversal films Kodak introduced dominated the American market until the release of 8mm in 1932…with its release the consumer market exploded.

A few years after Movette Inc. disappeared from the market…another player with a similar fate emerges. In 1929 an inventor from Chicago devises a camera that uses the new 16mm safety film from the Cine Kodak, yet it exposes 4 separate images in the space of a single 16mm frame…a revolutionary design that reduces the cost of movie making by 75%…and yet again Eastman Kodak puts an end to the competition with the introduction of 8mm film. I will tell the story of the Kemco Homovie in my next Blog post.

Movette 17.5mm Cine Camera Gallery: