With the advent of 16mm sound film in 1932, Eastin moved his company to Davenport, Iowa, operating a rental library until 1957 when business slowed due to television.
Included in this "Collector Series" were Laurel and Hardy silents from Hal Roach Studios, authorized editions of Keystone comedies licensed by Sennett’s original backer, Roy Aitken, and a group of railroad films (Eastin was a lifelong rail fan).
Consumer interest grew, and soon Blackhawk was offering a wide variety of vintage comedies, dramas, westerns, musicals, documentaries, serials, and cartoons.
Fox Movietone News, silent-film revivalist Paul Killiam, and National Telefilm Associates joined Hal Roach as important sources for Blackhawk's releases.
In 1975, with business booming in the Super 8 and 16mm film formats, Eastin and Phelan sold Blackhawk to Lee Enterprises, a successful newspaper and broadcasting conglomerate also based in Davenport.
Lee Enterprises' decision to emphasize mail-order sales instead of a unique product line, and heavy investments in the Betamax and CED (RCA's mechanical video disc) formats, proved very costly.
Although the film-sales business had slowed dramatically, Shepard continued to serve serious hobbyists by selling new 16mm prints of Blackhawk subjects, made to order.