The Rotoscope film technology, originally the Smith-Carney System, was a camera and projector-attachment system that allowed for the filming and projection of a 180-degree view, using a single reel of 35mm film. The work of inventors Rowe Carney, Jr. and Tom Smith, the invention drew attention to Rolla, Missouri in the 1960s, but did not have a wide impact. 

Rowe Carney, Jr. was born in 1924 in Rolla, Missouri. Carney’s father was a self-made millionaire, and part of that wealth included ownership of several movie theaters in Rolla, St. James and Lebanon, Missouri. Rowe grew up in and around the theaters, and later took over management of several of his fathers’ businesses, including the movie theaters. Rowe also worked as a film projectionist during his service in World War II (Carney, 2018).

Tom Fields Smith was born in 1914 in Kansas City, Kansas. He began his work in theaters in Humansville, Missouri where he worked as a projectionist. A natural engineer with a gift for tinkering with the projector systems used by movie theaters, he debuted his ‘multiscope’ drive-in theatre design in 1953, in Urbana, Missouri, with a 55-car capacity. A year later he began construction of the Buffalo Autoscope Theatre north of Buffalo, Missouri on Highway 65 (The Index, 1954). Consisting of a single projector, the design boasted multiple screens arranged in a circle around the projector. Each car would have its own screen, with the film being back projected – the setup could serve about 122 cars at a time. Smith would go on to design and build another larger Autoscope theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Looney, 1963: p. B2).

Carney, at that time the manager of the family’s theaters in central Missouri, sought to keep up with current cinematographic developments and traveled to New York City in 1952. There he was inspired by This Is Cinerama. Though Carney was impressed by the Cinerama film technology – which used three strips of film projected in synchronization to create an extra-wide image on a curved screen – he realized that the process was expensive and inefficient. He became convinced that he could create a similar film experience that was cheaper to produce and avoided the need for multiple projectors, and eliminated (or, at least, greatly reduced) any gaps between the composite sections. Returning to Rolla, Carney brought on Smith to help him run tests and experiments. The two worked together to create a system of lenses, mirrors and other equipment that could capture a 180-degree view and then project it seamlessly from one reel of 35mm film onto a specially designed curved screen.

Carney purchased a Mitchell NC 35mm camera from his father in 1953, which, along with spare projection parts foraged from the family’s theaters, the pair were able to use to begin researching and experimenting in 1954, and were shooting test shots by 1959. They tried out various types of lenses, focal lengths and angles of the camera attachment, B/W versus color film, and moving the camera versus a stationary tripod. They worked on different ways to add movement to enhance the immersive effect. Their test scenes included shots in front of the Uptown Theatre in Rolla, a roller coaster ride in St. Louis and aerial views from a plane ride over Vichy, MO. Carney also attached a camera to the hood of his car and filmed scenes in Rolla, Phelps County, St. Louis and Jefferson City.

Each test reel had to be sent to Kodak to be developed, delaying the process as they waited to see the outcome of each test before making adjustments to any mirrors or lenses. To cut costs they initially shot only negatives. If any reels were deemed worthy, they were sent back to the lab for a print copy to be made. The pair took clips from each of their most successful tests splicing them together for a demonstration reel, to which they added a separate, synchronized soundtrack, voiced by KCLU radio station owner, Roy Stanley (Carney, 2018).

In 1957 the pair applied for patents on a textured curved screen, camera and projector attachments. The applications were approved by the US Patent Office in 1962, and patents were later granted by Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, France and Italy. A demonstration film was shown to industry insiders, on a few occasions in late 1958 and early 1959. The Rotoscope demo film was first shown publicly in May 1961, at the Rollamo Theatre in Rolla, Missouri, and then at the Rowe Theater in St. James, Missouri. Newspapers and critics from the time judged the technology fantastic and sensational. Despite the industry’s initial curiosity and the local public interest, Carney and Smith were unable to convince film companies to adopt the technology. As a result, the Rotoscope never caught on, outside of Phelps County.