The French projector manufacturer Heurtier was responsible for some of the most audacious—and brilliant—engineering “madness” in the history of small-gauge cinema.
When even Kodak, the very inventor of Super 8, had publicly declared that it was impossible to record sound on the balance stripe, Heurtier—much to the surprise of the industry—shattered that technical barrier in 1972. That year, they unveiled their first stereophonic projector, beating every major Japanese competitor to the punch by a full five years.
Not every Heurtier brainwave was a commercial triumph. One curious idea involved embedding rubies in the pressure plates—right in the middle of the frame—to keep the film perfectly flat in the gate. Ingenious? Perhaps. Successful? Not quite.
Among Heurtier’s most remarkable creations, my personal favorite is the Superson 60 triple-format projector, capable of screening films in 16 mm, 9.5 mm, and 8 mm, with sound on all three gauges. While other companies built dual-format or even triple-format silent machines, only Heurtier ever brought to market a projector that could reproduce audio in all three formats.
This beauty rolled off the production line from the early 1950s until the 1970s. Heurtier ceased operations just in time—in 1981, before the video revolution struck like a hammer. The reason was strategic: once their patents expired, Japanese manufacturers could legally copy the designs and sell similar machines at 40% less. By closing the business in an orderly way, the Heurtier family avoided the financial ruin that swallowed so many other film equipment makers.
Maravilla.
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