Additional 3-D Films from the Golden Age

Richard's excellent studio-by-studio breakdown of vintage 3-D product is a valuable tool. Please allow me to fill in some gaps. The following are the remaining titles from the Golden Age: 1952-1955

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY - Lippert short narrated by Joe Besser - 1953 - Preserved.

COLLEGE CAPERS - Lippert short with Dolores Fuller - 1953 - ditto

BANDIT ISLAND - Lippert short with Lon Chaney and Glenn Langan - 1953 - LOST. One side of the 3-D negative was cut for inclusion in the 1954 feature THE BIG CHASE.

ROBOT MONSTER - Astor - 1953 - Survives. Condition of elements unknown.

CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON - Astor - 1954 - ditto

HANNAH LEE - Jack Broder Productions - 1953 - ditto

BOO MOON - Paramount Casper cartoon, 1953 - Preserved

THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPACE - Filmed by Volcano Productions in 1953, released as SPACE ATTACK in 1960 by 20th Century Fox - Preserved.

M.L. GUNZBERG PRESENTS THIRD DIMENSION - Arch Oboler - 1952 - Prologue to BWANA DEVIL - Preserved.

ROCKY MARCIANO VS. JERSEY JOE WALCOTT - United Artists boxing newsreel, 1953 - Preserved.

DOOM TOWN - 3-D Productions - Atomic bomb short - 1953 - Preserved.

MOTOR RHYTHM - RKO 1953 (originally NEW DIMENSIONS - 1940) Preserved.

STARDUST IN YOUR EYES - Al Zimbalist - 1953. Companion short to ROBOT MONSTER. Preserved.

LOVE FOR SALE - Dan Sonney Productions burlesque short - 1953 - Preserved.

I was founder of the 3-D Film Archive in 1991 and have been doing research and preservation work on the Golden Age material for over 25 years. While I don't have any information on the current status of elements at the various studios, I'll be happy to share any information or answer any questions that you may have.

Bob Furmanek
Vice President
3-D Film Preservation Fund
http://www.3dfilmpf.org/

Thank you for the nice words, it was truly a labor of love!

Horror stories? So far as something that was lost, or something that I worked on?

Thanks, Greg! I was sick as a dog the day we did those interviews for the CREATURE set. I'm glad it didn't show!

Yes, I thought displaying the filters would make the point. I'm sorry to hear that the red/blue myth was repeated on the DIAL M set.

Another myth on DIAL M is that it never played in 3-D in 1954. Not true, I've documented two play dates. I know that's not many, but one was the world premiere.

There are several horror stories regarding restorations. The most tedious would have to be HANNAH LEE. Everything that could possibly be wrong happened with those prints with the worst sin being incorrect edge codes. Every 3-D feature of the 1950's had a set of numbers every 16 frames on the side of the print to indicate the side and footage point. For instance, L2549 would identify the left side, reel 2, 549 feet from the first frame. This was VERY useful if a print got damaged and the operator had to slug it with black film to keep it in sync. On HANNAH LEE, they not only got the numbers wrong between eyes, sometimes they marked left as right and visa versa. In that case, the only way to properly identify the reel was by eye, hunched over a light box comparing the parallax between prints with a magnifying loop. I had at least a dozen unidentified prints in my possession and still had trouble creating a complete left/right match.

After screening the results at Expo 1 in 2003, Bob Burns commented that I had spent more time on syncing the prints than they did making the movie. He was probably right!

Unfortunately, that's one film that will probably never see a full restoration. The current distributor has nearly 30 boxes of elements, mostly trims and separation masters. The only thing they could say for certain is they only have one camera negative. The copyright is in question and it's doubtful anybody would ever spend the money on a full blown preservation.

Yes, MELODY is completely preserved in the Disney vaults. The same with WORKING FOR PEANUTS. I'm not sure about 3-D JAMBOREE. The new print we struck in 2006 was from a fading negative. I don't know if they've done preservation on that one.

Here is a rare photo of Lon Chaney from the lost 3-D short, BANDIT ISLAND. Released by Lippert in September 1953, it was available in both dual-strip Polaroid or single strip anaglyph.



In 1954, most of the short was edited into the flat feature, THE BIG CHASE. We believe that one side of the original 3-D negative was cut and utilized for the feature. It has not been seen since its original release and no 3-D elements are known to exist.
Edited by Bob Furmanek - 9/4/11 at 1:07am

The flat feature survives and was released on DVD by VCI/Kit Parker Films.

INFERNO is fully restored visually but the stereo audio is gone.

Of the 50 domestic "Golden Age" features, approximately 20 are photographed and intended for 1.37. The rest were all composed for widescreen, ranging in aspect ratios from 1.66 up to 2.1.

HOUSE OF WAX was not intended for widescreen so 1.37 is the correct ratio. DIAL M was intended for 1.85 and that is the way it should be seen.

Most studios switched to widescreen cinematography in April/May of 1953. However, the films were all protected for 1.37 and that's the way they've been (incorrectly) presented ever since.

Don't go by the way these films have been shown in revivals over the past 30 years. They've always been run 1.37 which is wrong.

We ran some titles widescreen at Expo 2, including TAZA, SON OF COCHISE, DIAL M FOR MURDER, KISS ME KATE and REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. We would have run more but didn't have the correct documentation.

This is not opinion. We have original, primary studio documentation and source materials to back up this information.

Bob Furmanek
3-D FILM PRESERVATION FUND

Thank you very much for the kind words. We're just trying to honor the intent of the craftsmen who made the films and have them look their very best. One point that is often overlooked is that the films were conceived and designed for 3-D. Watching them flat is not how they were meant to be seen. Hopefully the new HD Blu Ray format will allow these films to come back to life in true third-dimension.


Edited by Bob Furmanek - 9/25/11 at 11:33am

You'll note that films in production prior to WB going all widescreen in May, 1953 are designated 1.66. Paramount was the first to recommend and implement that ratio for catalog titles on March 24, 1953.

The important point to remember is that most studios were experimenting and planning for some form of non-anamorphic widescreen in March. After the first test showings of CinemaScope at 20th Century Fox on March 18 to nearly 1000 industry executives and theater owners, the widescreen race was on.

The common mis-conception is that widescreen exhibition began with the September premiere of THE ROBE.

It did not.

My pleasure Matt, always happy to share!

Bob

Yes, I have widescreen documentation from all the studios covering the 1953-1956 period.