Regarding the restoration of 'A Star is Born' (1954) (1 Viewer)

[Darren Gross]

Joe, by "long version" of Doolittle are you referring to the 152 min version or the pre-release cut?

Was Doolittle chopped down from its 152 after Roadshow release?

 

[MielR]

Yup, like the censored scenes from King Kong. We have a film collector to thank for those.

It's amazing how many films exist today in spite of the studios that made them. It turns my stomach when I think of how the studios once burned negatives and silver nitrate prints to recover a few dollars worth of silver, or to reclaim a few feet of shelf space. I'm sure many people would have volunteered storage space in their own homes rather than see classic films destroyed forever.

 

[Joe Caps]

The Auntie Mame LP was not released in 1959, but in 1958 at the time of the film.
in 1958, there werre many true stereo LPS released from film soundtracks, including Peyton Place, Sayonara, Auntie Mame, A Certain Smile and of course the musicals Gigi and South Pacific.
Auntie Mame was only one side of the lP and it was not the actual soundtrack but a rerecording with a smaller orchestra.
There is a print of Auntie Mame in Los Angeles with a private collector and it's in pretty good shape too.
the Dr. Dolittle is a widescreen print. IT probably could not be used to seemlessly put back scenes into the film. Remember Doolittle is 70mm todd AO which is 2.20 to 1 ratio and 16mm prints are 2.66 to 1 from that era.

 

[Darren Gross]

edited

 

[dillion stone]

Hope the guy who has the two uncut film prints of A Star Is Born will work with Warner Brothers or they work with him in obtaining them. Hope it can be done as soon as possible while there are still enough Judy Garland fans around to enjoy the movie. And very importantly hope it is done before the film seriously deteriorates beyond salvage. More than likely the guy who has the two prints knows how to store and take care of the film. Are there any updates on any progress being made to obtain the film?

 

[Stanton Heck]

If someone has all the missing footage then that person could make a copy on his print. He could then send part of the missing footage to Warner Brothers or the Academy. He/She could then just ask WB or the Academy to pay him/her the cost of the print. If you are the collector & you need a go between please e-mail me. I can help! I want to help

[email protected]

 

[stan heck]

HELLO IF SOMEONE KNOWS ANYBODY THAT HAS THE MISSING FOOTAGE em me [email protected]

 

[GVF25]

Wow, this is incredible news, has there been any developments since this thread was started?

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

They could zoom in a bit on the 16mm footage so the ratio would match.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

They could, but since the image is already cropped, it would be a MAR of a MAR. Hardly satisfactory.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Of course, duh, the 16mm is cropped on the top and bottom to start with. Well, it would be better than nothing...or leave it as is, and I can live with the picture strip getting a bit skinnier during those scenes. It would be just fine if a version with these scenes edited back in as well as possible could be included as my dream extra on the next video release.

 

[Stanton Heck]

A Digital recreation of missing footage could be done but it would be very costly!

 

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[Joe Caps]

Stan, Why email you ? Do you work for Warner Borthers or the Academy of anything like that?

 

See Below

 

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See below

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Methinks the beans have been spilled as to the identity of the collector...

http://www.thejudyroom.com/asib/asib-article.html

 

[Steve...O]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey Nelson

Methinks the beans have been spilled as to the identity of the collector...

Very interesting article; thanks, Jeff. I wonder if this was supposed to be an off the record conversation?? Even if it's true and if WHV knows of the gentleman, I doubt that said gentleman would want his name plastered over the internet. Who knows what kind of actions unstable people might do to get the print from him.

The personal vendetta he allegedly has with the current regime is puzzling. This is not the impression I get of the current leadership based on years of interviews, articles, etc.

An intereting follow up article would be to list films that are "known" to exist in the hands of private collectors but are unreachable. Let's see: Hats Off, Rogue Song, Charlie Chan's Chance, pristine 35mm nitrate prints of all Monogram films starring Leo Gorcey or Huntz Hall....

 

[BethHarrison]

This guy thinks he is punishing WHV by withholding this print, but what he is really doing is punishing film historians and fans of this film.