A few months ago, I had chance to talk to Jack Larson, immortalized as Jimmy Olsen in the "SUPERMAN" TV series, but also the longtime companion of the late filmmaker James Bridges (THE PAPER CHASE, THE CHINA SYNDROME). Since I have always been curious about Bridges' original edit of MIKE'S MURDER, which had an unsuual flashback structure that was scrapped in favor of a linear construction upon its actual release, I asked Mr. Larson if Bridges had managed to save any vestige of that original cut. To my pleasant surprise, Larson replied that yes, Bridges did save a print of his original edit of the film, which also contained some sexual material that reportedly made the studio brass quite nervous, and that moreover, to the best of his knowledge, all that rough footage still existed in the Warner vaults.
MIKE'S MURDER has frequently been mentioned by film buffs as one of the more intriguing "lost" films of modern times, and with the excellent track record WB has of restoring films like THE BIG RED ONE and CRUISING, I eagerly urge that this opportunity be taken to rescue another film from the clutches of an inferior release version. And I think it should be done very soon to take advantage of Jack Larson's life experience with Bridges, especially since WB DVD (albeit the TV division) has already had much contact with Larson during their production of the "SUPERMAN" series on DVD.
(moderators: could this thread be merged with this earlier thread to save space?
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...+james+bridges )
