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Outtakes from old movies-where are they?

post #1 of 14
5/5/05 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
After watching "The Sea Hawk" with Errol Flynn, I started thinking of the tons of feet of film that must've been shot for that and all other movies that wasn't used in the final edit. Where did all this footage go? Is some of it in the studio's vaults or was it discarded years ago? Does anyone have answers? It would be fascinating to see any bloopers or first shot footage of any of the old time actors and actresses.
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post #2 of 14
5/5/05 at 12:34pm
For most of the classics, either incinerated (for silver content), stock footage, or landfill.

Very, very few outtakes exist (at least for most studios). Although, you never know... outtakes for the silent films The Thief of Bagdad and Sunrise exist. Outtakes for Casablanca and The Adventures of Robin Hood exist in almost perfect condition.
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post #3 of 14
5/5/05 at 12:36pm
There once was a VHS title called Hollywood Outtakes that collected some classic stuff.
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post #4 of 14
5/5/05 at 3:31pm
Fox has a neat set of DVDs called Hidden Hollywood with excised scenes and musical numbers. There are 2 vols in the series that I know of.
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post #5 of 14
5/5/05 at 3:47pm
Like Mark said, Image released 2 discs of Fox's outtakes in Hidden Hollywood. There're some outakes on Criterion's My Man Godfrey with swearing and all. Warner's DVD of The Adventures Of Robin Hood included a studio's annual year-end blooper reel. I wonder why they stopped including it for other years.
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post #6 of 14
5/5/05 at 5:50pm
MGM didn't actively throw out outtakes, so their films often have deleted scenes on some of the DVDs (Warners has, thankfully, kept these around, too). They seem to be the exception.

It wasn't until the 1980s that studios realized these were of value to anyone.
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post #7 of 14
5/6/05 at 10:04am
The LD box set of "Abbott & Costello's Comedy Collection" has fantastic outtakes from "Buck Privates Come Home and Hit the Ice."

It would be great to have those, but I'm sure we never will!

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post #8 of 14
5/6/05 at 1:19pm
When I produced that box set for MCA, I got the outtakes directly from the Estates. Lou had gag reels printed in 16mm from many of the forties Universal features.

I also included outtakes from AFRICA SCREAMS on the laser disc which I produced for Image Entertainment.

The only reason that material survived was because Lou asked for it personally, and he was a huge star at the studio. If it had been up to Universal, that footage would have never survived.
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post #9 of 14
5/6/05 at 2:16pm
Bob,

Has Universal expressed any interest in using any of these outtakes for their (hopefully) upcoming Volume 4 of their A&C Franchise Collection? Hopefully they are aware of the great input you could offer in this regard.

Steve
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post #10 of 14
5/6/05 at 4:37pm
A lot of outtakes, such as those from Casablanca, are missing their audio tracks. Same with Around the World in 80 Days.
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post #11 of 14
5/9/05 at 7:04am
Steve, we had to take legal action against MCA Home Video several years ago when they blatantly lifted text out of our Abbott and Costello book for one of their laser box sets. Ironically, Ron Palumbo and I were supposed to write the liner notes, but they figured they could just steal material from our book instead of paying us. Boy, were they mistaken!

Since then, I've had no contact with them whatsoever.
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post #12 of 14
5/9/05 at 10:04am
Quote:
Steve, we had to take legal action against MCA Home Video several years ago when they blatantly lifted text out of our Abbott and Costello book for one of their laser box sets. Ironically, Ron Palumbo and I were supposed to write the liner notes, but they figured they could just steal material from our book instead of paying us. Boy, were they mistaken!


Thanks for the response Bob. I'm sorry to hear that they plagiarized your text. What cheapskates!

Steve
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post #13 of 14
5/9/05 at 11:04pm
Again, thanks Bob for all your hard work in making those LD's the gems they are!!!

They will always be a part of our collection!
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post #14 of 14
5/9/05 at 11:31pm
I took the studio tour of Warner Bros last year. They started the tour with a presentation film which included a number of outtakes from older films mixed in with more famous scenes. It was a joy to watch.

-paul
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