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Cinema Product Reviews

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Christie Film Retainer
Manufacturer:  Christie Incorporated
Grade:  A-
Reviewed July 2000 by Joe Redifer

Suction cups.  You use them when you need to keep the print from sliding around or even when you’re just too lazy to tuck the tail.  But suction cups really do “suck”.  You must wet them and they tend to lose their suction part way through the show, rendering them useless.  Plus, they leave residue on the surface of the platter.  A brave company called Teco saw these flaws, and decided to invent the “Stick-A-Poo” which achieves the same result, but was much more reliable.  It was indeed the preferred method of securing prints for many years.

But then Christie rose up from the ranks, shouting to the world that the Stick-A-Poo could be even better.  Christie vowed to develop and market their very own version of the Stick-A-Poo.  After a decade and millions of dollars in research and development costs, the Christie version is complete.

Although they don’t have an official product name, Bevan Wright of Christie was kind enough to send us a few of these little marvels.   Since they came from Bevan, we just naturally assume that he designed them himself.  The Bevan-Poo’s are indeed better than the Teco Stick-A-Poo’s.  But how?  Well, for one, the Bevan-Poo covers a much larger surface area than the Teco product, meaning that it is even less likely to move.  The Bevan-Poo is much more sticky and clingy than the Teco.  Also, since the Bevan-Poo is not round, it covers more area of the print.  If you slap five or six of these babies around your loose print, it ain’t goin’ nowhere!  Of course, it only takes one to keep your tail from coming undone.

There certainly are many other uses for the Bevan-Poo than just retaining film.  Say your tech likes to time your Christie platters at 63 RPM at 100%, which results in many a thrown print, especially towards the end of the movie.  Not a problem!  Just toss a Bevan-Poo in the brain as pictured below after the first 20 minutes of the film has ran.  The Bevan-Poo will see to it that the platter never reaches 100% and the film will be safe!

Also, let’s say that your splicer is so old that the rubber feet on the bottom are wearing out.  The splicer slides all around and scratches your platter deck when you are changing out trailers.  Just superglue some Bevan-Poos to the bottom of the splicer and I guarantee that it will never move again!

Certain models of the Christie projector have a problem keeping the douser plate open, and it falls back down in the middle of the show.  Some projectionists have resorted to tying or taping it open and other extreme measures to keep the picture on the screen.  Well, the Bevan-Poo solves this problem as well.  Once the douser opens, just place one of these fun wonder toys underneath as shown.  Trust me, your douser will remain open until you decide to come along and close it!  The Bevan-Poo also beats out the Teco Stick-A-Poo in this manner as well.  Since the Teco Stick-A-Poo is round, it can easily roll off and your douser will fall shut.  That’s why you should always use Christie brand parts on Christie projectors.

You can use a Bevan-Poo in almost any situation life dishes out.  As I typed this review, I noticed that my keyboard was slipping across the smooth desktop.  One of the little rubber feet had worn away.  It's really hard to type when the keyboard keeps sliding away!  As always, the sticky Bevan-Poo saved the day.  Placing them right behind the little "legs" on the keyboard, I could hammer away and it never moved.

Is your emergency brake and clutch busted on your car?  It’s not a problem if you carry several Bevan-Poo’s around with you wherever you travel.  If you need to park on a steep incline, just slap a Bevan-Poo behind each wheel and your car will not move.  We have, however, found it necessary to put two Poos behind each tire if you have an SUV, and three Poos per tire for a semi.  Try using the Teco Stick-A-Poos for the same purpose, and when you come back to your car you will find that it has rolled across the entire parking lot!  They can also work as an anti-theft device if you put them in front of your tires as well as behind.  The car won’t be able to be driven in any direction!  And what thief will be smart enough to look for Bevan-Poos under the tires?  Make sure that you and everyone in your family always carries a bucket load of Bevan-Poos at all times.

Another good thing about the Bevan-Poo is that the entire operating instructions are printed on the surface of the actual item.  Following these instructions is very easy, ensures long life, and keeps your Poo sticky.  Christie has also come up with a complete manual.  We have made this into PDF format and you can download the Bevan-Poo manual from the Manuals Warehouse.

There are a couple of tiny flaws with the Bevan-Poo.  For one, it is only about half the height of 35mm film, so theoretically film could still fly over the unit, but I have not had that problem yet.   I guess you could always stack ‘em.  Also, there is no 70mm version available.  Oh well, just stack four of them.  If one was made that was 70mm tall, rest assured that you could park a 747 jet on a steep incline and it would not roll away.   Also, the Poo will lose its sticky after a couple of weeks, but this is not a problem if you follow the instructions and read the manual.  Preventive maintenance is the key.

The Bevan-Poo is made out of 100% rubber, although the gray rubber on top is much harder than the black sticky rubber on the bottom.  This seems to make it more durable and heavier than the Teco. The part number for the Bevan-Poo is 196363-001.  Every Christie part number ends in “-001”.  I have heard rumors from Christie (and these are only rumors) that you will be able to pick and choose from a variety of different iMac-esque colors in the future!  I can’t wait for the clear/invisible version.   The part numbers will escalate when this happens, meaning that Christie Blue will be part number 196363-002, and 196363-003 will be pink, etc.

Overall it seems like a small, inconsequential item.  But the Bevan-Poo is a high quality product that works perfectly and never lets you down.  I highly recommend that every theater equip themselves with six per platter system.  More is better.  And you can get creative and find other uses for them as well.  And unlike suction cups, you don’t have to spit on them every time you use one.

Bottom Line:  Nothing sticks like a Bevan-Poo.