Nord Process(1953–1954)

The Nord Company of Minneapolis made small-gauge movie gear for non-theatrical filmmakers and hobbyists. In late 1951, Nord introduced simple camera and projector attachments for those who wished to make their own 3-D films in 16mm format (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1951). (See 16mm Nord 3-D).

When Arch Oboler’s Bwana Devil (in Natural Vision 3-Dimension) became a box-office sensation in late 1952, exhibitors rushed to install the equipment needed to show 3-D films in dual-strip format using two synchronized projectors. They and their audiences soon discovered that loss of synchronism could easily derail dual-strip 3-D projection. Sensing an opportunity, Nord conceived a single-strip 35mm release print format and compatible projection attachments so theatres could show 3-D films using individual projectors and standard changeover techniques. Nord promised to make the format and necessary laboratory procedures available to the movie industry “without charge” (Variety, 1953a). 

Trade demonstrations of the Nord Process in New York in mid-June 1953 presented selected scenes from several contemporaneous 3-D features, plus sequences filmed using Nord’s proprietary 35mm camera attachment (Boxoffice, 1953; The Exhibitor, 1953). Harrison’s Reports said: “The images projected on the screen were equal to the best yet shown in any other 3-D process” (Harrison, 1953) – a view shared by The Hollywood Reporter (Hollywood Reporter, 1953a). Others felt the Nord system reduced 3-D-related eyestrain compared to dual-strip projection systems (The Exhibitor, 1953). 

Technical personnel from Universal, Paramount and unspecified companies saw demos in Los Angeles in August 1953 but offered no public reactions. The trade press, however, was openly critical this time around. According to one report, the first demo was “pretty trying stuff” – subsequently, inventor Roy Clapp made technical adjustments. Footage from the recent dual-strip release I, the Jury was reportedly unimpressive, having “the appearance of old film”. (Daily Variety, 1953a). Some scenes appeared “poorly aligned” (Hollywood Reporter, 1953b). However, scenes shot using Nord’s own camera device looked “flawless” (Weaver, 1953). 

Producer Victor Saville considered using the Nord Process for the general release of I, the Jury (Variety, 1953b), but distributor United Artists balked in the face of threatened lawsuits from a disgruntled Nord stockholder who wanted to take control of the enterprise (Handel, 1953) and from Natural Vision designer Friend Baker, who mistakenly believed the Nord Process infringed on his Stereo 16 patent (US 2,627,201) (Blumofe, 1953). 

Things were looking up in October 1953, when Columbia promised to make all its 3-D films, “past, present, and future”, available in the Nord format (Motion Picture Herald, 1953a). One reel of the studio’s Gun Fury (1953) was shown to industry observers in Los Angeles (Hollywood Reporter, 1953c), and sample frames from that film were printed in the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune in January 1954 (Flanagan, 1954). Film historian James Limbacher claimed that Nord-format prints were ultimately made of six Columbia releases (Limbacher, 1978), but this has not been confirmed elsewhere. Allied Artists and independent producers Hal Wallis, Edward Small and Bryan Foy expressed interest (Weekly Variety, 1953a), and Warner Bros. briefly delayed 2-D distribution of its 3-D hits House of Wax and The Charge at Feather River “pending study” of the Nord system (Daily Variety, 1953b).

Things went sideways again when Texas mega-exhibitor Bob O'Donnell forcefully refuted Nord’s claim that his theatre chain would soon replace its dual-strip 3-D equipment with the Nord system (Daily Variety, 1953c; Variety, 1953c). A proposed tie-in with Polacoat’s Magic-Vuer 3-D glasses somehow ran afoul of the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, which prohibits favoritism in pricing for “preferred” customers (Business Week, 1953). 

An incompatible rival, single-strip Pola-Lite, shouldered Nord aside in late 1953 and early 1954, in what the trade press dubbed a “local skirmish” in the overall “battle of the systems.” (Motion Picture Herald, 1953b). Both Nord and Pola-Lite found themselves caught in a “chicken-and-egg” situation, as theatres would not buy their equipment until studios made compatible prints available, but studios would not strike single-strip prints until enough theatres could play them (Variety, 1953d). There appears to have been little interest in Nord after the first quarter of 1954.