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Clara Bow screenings at UCLA (1 Viewer)

revgen

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In January and February, UCLA's Billy Wilder theater will be showing Clara Bow films that are still unavailable on DVD or Blu-Ray. Go here to see to the schedule. http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/calendar/2013-01
 

bryan4999

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I see they are showing WINGS in 35mm. I wonder if this is a new print based on the recent restoration, or something older? I thought that there weren't any really viable prints.
 

Steve...O

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Originally Posted by bryan4999
I see they are showing WINGS in 35mm. I wonder if this is a new print based on the recent restoration, or something older? I thought that there weren't any really viable prints.
Most likely a new print. The Heights theater in Minneapolis ran a new 35mm of WINGS last year and it was touted as being from the restoration. Unfortunately I don't live there and didn't get to see the showing.
 

revgen

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I watched the special screening tonight of True to the Navy (1930) in both silent and sound versions. The wonderful contemporary silent film pianist Robert Israel played the silent film score in-person. The show was introduced by the author of the Clara Bow biography "Running Wild". Despite having the same storyline, they're both very different films. Some of the jokes and gags come off better in the silent version while some gags work better in sound. The silent version has far better picture quality since it came from the OCN that was sitting in the Library of Congress vault. The sound version's quality isn't terrible, but not quite a sharp as the silent version. According to the author, Clara Bow was terrified of the idea of singing in her own voice. Listening to her sing in the sound version, I didn't think she was that bad. Sure, she's not Ruth Etting or Annette Hanshaw, but she does an adequate job within her limitations and covers it up nicely with her performance. I hope these films can make their way to DVD or Blu-Ray..
 

philip*eric

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you are so lucky to be able to see these UCLA silent/sound screenings... they have done so many wonderful restorations - many if not most never seem to make it to dvd - Ive been hoping for years to see the technicolor print they have of THE VAGABOND KING - no luck ...
 

revgen

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^I agree. I'm very fortunate to go to these screenings, even if I have to drive on the 405 to get there. :D Yesterday, they showed a collection of clips from various sources, which included - - Rough House Rosie (1927) trailer - Fragments (including 2-strip Technicolor footage) from the lost film Red Hair (1928) - Fragments from the lost film Three Weekends (1928) - Her performance of the song "True to the Navy" from the film Paramount on Parade (1930) - A newsreel that showed Clara Bow and her husband Rex Bell at their ranch. The newsreel also showed Joe E Brown being inducted into the "Breakfast Club" in Beverly Hills. - Raw footage of them opening the "IT Club", a nightclub that Clara and her husband established. After the clips were shown, they presented the main feature, The Wild Party (1929), her first talkie. This is definitely precode material here. Clara plays a party girl who goes to a women's college but does absolutely nothing except mope around in her nightgown and underwear during the day with her girlfriends, go to parties to meet men at night (against college rules), and having forbidden dalliances with her male professor. Very fun film, which includes Jack Oakie in a small bit part as a drunk. And unlike many talkies from 1929, this wasn't quite as stilted and slow thanks to the direction of Dorothy Arzner. This is the best version of The Wild Party (1929) that I've ever seen. Nice print. Way better than any of the bootlegs floating around. Once again, I hope someday, that these films will make it officially to DVD or Blu-Ray. They shouldn't be relegated to repertory houses. The last day of the Clara Bow series will be on Sunday, February 10th. They will be showing Kick-In (1931) and Her Wedding Night (1930). They also will be showing a restored version of Mantrap (1926) as part of their Hollywood Preservation Festival on March 2nd.
 

revgen

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Tonight was the last night of the UCLA Clara Bow screenings. The first film is one of rarest of all the Clara Bow films since it only ran for one week in 1931 and was never shown outside of urban areas since it flopped so hard. Kick In (1931) is one of the darkest (visually and thematically) Clara Bow films ever made and her last with Paramount. Fans of film noir will appreciate it. It's never been shown on TV or released on home video partly because it was a flop and partially because it's screenplay had copyright issues that didn't go away until the mid 90's. Clara isn't even the star in the vehicle. She plays 2nd fiddle to Regis Toomey, who plays an ex-con who is released from prison and attempting to go straight. After 2 years of keeping himself clean, his old pal (James Murray) from his past gets shot robbing the house of the city's District Attorney and stealing the DA's wife's pricy necklace. Bow plays Toomey's loyal wife. While Bow and Toomey are out celebrating Toomey's promotion to a better position in the company, Murray is brought to Toomey's house by his girlfriend (Wynne Gibson) since they don't know anywhere else to go to hide from the cops who are looking for them. Bow does an excellent job in her part, as does Murray and the rest of the cast. The Kick In (1931) print shown was taken directly from the original camera negative that's currently being held by the Library of Congress. It's very sharp, with excellent black levels for a film this old. Since the negative was hardly ever touched since it was originally released, it was in great shape despite it's age. The 2nd feature, Her Wedding Night (1930), is a more typical Clara Bow faire. She plays a movie star who, by accident, is married to a famous composer. She initially wants a divorce right away, but is eventually convinced to stay married to him, but only after plenty of hilarious trials and errors along the way. Everybody in the theater was laughing at this one. Print wasn't as sharp as Kick In (1931), but was still very good and definitely worthy of a DVD/Blu-Ray release.
 

Michael Elliott

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About two years ago I bought around 13 of her films but have yet to watch any of them. I kept putting them off hoping that someone would step up and give them an official release but I'm about to just give in and watch what I've got. It seems Bow is very popular among silent film buffs so it's pretty weird to see that the majority of her films remain unreleased. Before buying these I tried to locate copies on VHS but didn't have any luck. I'm not certain why this is but I'm actually looking forward going through these films at some point in the near future.
 

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