How did the Latham loop reduce film breakage in early projectors?

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Zazu Pitts, Gibson Gowland, and Hughie Mack in a dramatic scene from the silent film Greed (1924); Gowland stands center, supported by Pitts and Mack on either side. — Silent film era (From left) Zasu Pitts, Gibson Gowland, and Hughie Mack in the silent film *Greed* (1924), directed by Erich von Stroheim.

In early motion-picture technology, the primary cause of film breakage was the tension placed on the film as it moved between the intermittent, stop-and-go mechanism at the aperture and the continuous movement of the supply and take-up reels.

The Latham loop solved this issue by introducing a slack-forming loop into the film path. By creating this buffer on either side of the shutter, the loop allowed the film to grow and shrink slightly, effectively isolating the intermittent movement at the aperture from the inertia of the continuous reels. This adjustment prevented the excessive strain that frequently caused the sprocket holes to tear, thereby significantly reducing film breakage during projection and filming.1