Another Cartrivision title found

[Spiny Norman]

This (I realise it's been there for some time already) really brings Socrates words to life, doesn't it!

The following may seem like a silly question, but did those tapes have any product number on the back or spine?

(I'd like to include them on a list of literary sources and one likes to be precise with the 'metadata'.)

[Alan]

Surprisingly, Two Wise Men and American Heritage 1 have appeared over at the archive.org. Not watched them yet, but what a find!

[Le Chiffre]

We greatly appreciate it, Alan. Thanks!

TWO WISE MEN
(Socrates and Noah)
https://archive.org/details/socrates-noah

AMERICAN HERITAGE 1
(George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain)
https://archive.org/details/american-heritage-1

[Alan]

Ah thanks Le Chiffre. I was’t sure if posting links was still ok, but I will next time I find something interesting!

[RayKelly]

Six Orson Welles-directed programs shot for Cartrivision were copyrighted by Avco Broadcasting in 1971 and 1972.
In 1976, a few years after Cartrivision went bust, Avco Broadcasting was acquired by Multimedia Inc. of Greenville, South Carolina. It was folded two decades later into Universal Television, which is now part of NBC Universal.

In response to a copyright query by Wellesnet, a NBC Universal licensing executive said they were not in possession of the six titles Welles and Gary Graver made for Avco Broadcasting.

It is unclear as to whether the titles may have fallen into public domain.

[cinescot]

They have also been on You Tube for a while now. Posted by Reeder Brand Management who represent Welles estate. They were made available alongside Fountain of Youth and The Orson Welles Show.

[Alan]

Now that is fascinating! I had no idea.

Even though American Heritage is lower quality than the archive.org upload, the file is uncropped (full screen). So I consider that an upgrade. The Orson Welles Show is a higher quality than the one I had on file, but unfortunately The Fountain of Youth is lower that what is found elsewhere online (also unbranded).

I wonder if Reeder Brand Management thought these were 'private' videos?

[cinescot]

That sounds possible Alan. Who knows?

I think the quality across all these particular video and TV projects are generally quite poor. If a label does pick them up hopefully they can do some further tidy-up work and get them looking as good as possible. But I guess having them in any condition is better than not having them at all.

Additionally, it was revealed on Wellesnet back in June that American Heritage Vol. II had also turned up on eBay. No updates since, but hopefully that leads to another one being available in the future.

[RayKelly]

I wonder if Reeder Brand Management thought these were 'private' videos?

I was involved in efforts to find a streamer/label for the titles when RBM mistakenly posted them as "public" instead of "private."
They were notified in October 2024 of the mistake and supposed to fix it. They never did.

[Alan]

"Goodness, that's awkward." (to quote The Third Man).

It's a very lucky situation for us. However, I would still buy/stream if it ever does happen.