CrownGrading Pro
Ready to grade your cards? Submit Cards →
Crown Grading

National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000000358 Tap to enlarge
MOVIESpaceballs
SCENECharlene & Marlene
FILM FORMAT35MM
YEAR1987
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000000358
Film Record Public record
Directed by
Mel Brooks
Studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer · Brooksfilms · 96 min
Scholarship
Named in the title of 1 peer-reviewed work
Examples
Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.

FILM NOTES

Spaceballs arrived in 1987 from MGM, Mel Brooks's send-up of the science fiction blockbuster era ushered in by Star Wars and its imitators. Released as the genre's grip on popular culture had fully taken hold, it stands as one of the defining Hollywood parodies of the decade, poking fun at Lucas, Roddenberry, and the merchandising machine alike with Brooks's familiar mix of broad gags and sharp send-ups. It remains a touchstone for collectors of both comedy and sci-fi memorabilia from the period.

This cell carries the names Charlene and Marlene, characters whose pairing suggests a shared scene or exchange within the film, a small but distinct beat collectors seek out for its novelty value among the picture's ensemble moments. A 35mm cell bearing character names together often comes from a print struck for theatrical release or promotional use, preserved here as a physical fragment of that reel. For enthusiasts of Spaceballs, isolating a lesser-spotlighted pairing like this one offers a way to hold a specific, nameable sliver of the film's larger comic tapestry.

This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000059668