gagman66

JonasEB, Compared to the score that *INTOLERANCE* had on Arte Network recently, Joseph Turrin's effort is actually pretty decent. I have so many different versions of this film that I have lost track. The Thames Silents version now owned by Photoplay Productions has only been released VHS. As far as I know it was never on Laser-disc let alone DVD. Not even in Europe. At least I have never found an LD copy anyplace. The Photoplay edition runs slightly faster. Probably processed at a projection speed of 18 to 20 frames per second. While the current Kino release seems to be 16 frames per second. To slow much of the time. The Thames/Photoplay print is more pristine looking, even from VHS. It doesn't have near the unsightly artifacts as Kino's does. Yet the Kino print looks quite good much of the time. Allot crisper than I had remembered. Visually the version that appeared on Arte Network is easily the best restoration ever. To bad it is spoiled by a horrible score. The current David Shepard and Film Preservation Associates edition is on DVD from Image Entertainment and it has a Theater Organ score. This used to be the one that TCM ran years ago. However, David has since restored the film further, and has a newer version with full orchestra pending release one of these days. Don't know how soon that might appear. Delta Entertainment released a good version. I actually like theirs better than Kino's. It has very good vintage music, and the print contains scattered footage all over the place that is not in the Kino version at all. The Delta version is tinted, but several of the tints are different than in the Kino print.

Good Golly Moses!!!! To bad this is a lost film I believe? And a big budget one too. The most expensive movie Fox had ever made up to the time. There is another still where Betty's err, "obstruction cups" are not so carefully placed. But I sort of hesitate to post that one. If I have seen Blythe at all, it would be in SHE? And I don't remember that movie at all. Will need to look it up. In the early 20's she was a top Star for awhile. *Betty Blythe-THE QUEEN OF SHEBA (1921)*

Wendy, Thanks for all those. Here is another rare Holiday photo. It is clearly from the same 1926 photo shoot as all those Clara Bow Christmas pics were. Some of the Swanson's too. A couple of the Bow's of which I am still looking for. Same background and everything. *Arlette Marchal-"All The Trimmings" (1926 Photoplay shoot)* Meantime, Norma and Constance are toasty warm for the Holidays. Boy, I sure could use one of these. It's been below zero weather here the past couple nights. Berrrrrrrr! *The Talmadge Sister in their 1920's Snuggies!*

Ed, Lo! Mayer was truly a first class Jerk! And here I thought he was such a strong proponent of family values too? Of course they wouldn't mention any of this business in *MOGULS AND MOVIE STARS.* After-all neither Anita or Esther got any mention. Among so many others.

Wendy, Here is another Page turning Holiday Pic. *Anita-"Well Sled"*

Ed, Scottman, After looking at the Arte Network broadcast of *INTOLERANCE* from 2007, I sure hope that this is NOT the version we will see on TCM tonight! While the print is beautiful, probably the very best I have ever seen of this film, unfortunately, the musical score is beyond terrible! It is Orchestral, but dreadfully downbeat throughout. The composers had no clue apparently? There is no levity, no joy, in the score at anytime. No variety! I mean it literally sounds like a bad requiem from start to finish. I do not understand the lack of anything cheerful or hopeful about the score of any kind? Even when the army of Angels intervene the somber mood of the music does not change in the slightest? What is up with that? I'll check the composer, but I'm praying for the Thames Silents Photoplay version and Carl Davis instead! If it is from Photoplay this will likely be a TCM premier, or at least not shown in well over a decade. On the plus side, the Arte Network presentation doesn't seem to have had any affiliation with David Shepard and Film Preservation Associates, so that is good news. Because I sure wouldn't buy the film with that morbid score.

I wonder the same thing about *Lisa Eichorn* in 1979's *YANKS.* She was a great actress, and a very beautiful woman.

The first two films that come to mind are the 1926 version of BEAU GESTE with Ronald Colman and William Powell, and CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927) with Clara Bow, Esther Ralston, and Gary Cooper. As Paramount Silents, neither of these will likely ever see the light of day on TCM.

Another reminder, TCM is running some version of Griffith's INTOLERANCE for the first time in at least 5 years on Sunday. Any idea where this is coming from? Could it actually be the Thames Silents version from Photoplay? To much to hope for? OK, maybe the new David Shepard restoration that debuted on Arte Network in 2007? I presume that was the Film Preservation Associates edition that David mentioned some months ago? The last time they aired the movie I'm pretty sure that TCM broadcast the current Kino DVD release. I expect to see something different. I have mentioned Photoplay to Chuck Tabesh a number of times. He never said that it would be impossible to show. This will also be a rare opportunity to see Mae Marsh and the great Constance Talmadge on TCM.

There is a Public Domain version from Delta Entertainment. It looks like a VHS copy of the Photoplay Productions restoration with the Tints muted to zero and a completely different musical score. Technically, FOUR HORSEMEN is Public Domain. But MGM re-released the film in 1926. That version is still under-copyright, and Kevin Brownlow used it as the basis for his restoration I believe. Actually the rights must be fairly complex, because Kevin when asked why the film wasn't on DVD indicated as much.

Rex Ingram's *THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1921),* James Cruz *THE COVERED WAGON (1923),* King Vidor's *THE BIG PARADE, (1925)*. Herbert Brenon's *BEAU GESTE (1926),* and William Wellman's *WINGS (1927),* are probably the top 5 glaring emissions from the Silent Era that survive.There is also *OVER THE HILL (1920),* but it is probably a lost film. Vidor's *HIS HOUR (1924)* is the the film that made John Gilbert a Mega-Star. So that has to be considered a Biggie. William Haines *BROWN OF HARVARD (1926),* Chaney's *TELL IT TO THE MARINES*, and Lubitsch *OLD HEIDELBERG* should be mentioned as well. I'll also include *WHAT PRICE GLORY? (1926), THE PATENT LEATHER KID (1927), LILAC TIME (1928),* and *RAMONA (1928).* Which is not lost. A print resides in a Czech archive. Warner's has by all indications showed very little interest in *THE PATENT LEATHER KID,* or *LILAC TIME* Same goes for Marion Davies *LITTLE OLD NEW YORK (1923)*, and *BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1926).* Fox has exhibited none in *WHAT PRICE GLORY?* Paramount was supposed to be preparing *WINGS,* but nothing has come of it so far. And that was a couple years ago. They probably are not even aware that they own *BEAU GESTE.* Al Jolson's *THE SINGING FOOL* was a much bigger hit than *THE JAZZ SINGER* had been. It is the film that really started to bring the Silent Era to a close. *WHOOPEE! (1931)* is an early Technicolor talkie with Eddie Cantor that must have made allot of Money back in the day.

Scottman, Thanks for clearing that up. Hey, read this thread on Nitrateville. In particular the following quote by Danny Burk who would certainly know what he is talking about regarding the lost footage of MARE NOSTRUM. Sadly, no longer appearing in the surviving reconstruction of the film is the intense sequence at the aquarium where by all indications the budding Romance between Ulysses (Antonio Moreno), and Freya (Alice Terry) first heats up. And there is vicious battle between to fighting Octopi in the Tank. This somehow convinces Ulysses all the more that Freya is in-fact the Greek Sea Goddess Amphitrite in mortal guise, who his Uncle had promised him He would meet one day as a boy.That would finally explain those rather confusing vintage posters and lobby-cards. Also some stills I have seen. *"There was a famous scene at the aquarium, now lost, filmed in front of a tank with fighting octopi"* http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=7780 *Mare Nostrum (1926)-"Peril At The Aquarium"*

Jonas, Which KING OF KINGS? I would go with JESUS OF NAZARETH. It is a hundreds times better than the 1961 KING OF KINGS. Although, it still insists on giving us yet another Blue eyed Christ.

This is just for starters. None of these films expect Keaton's SEVEN CHANCES, have been on DVD let alone Blu-ray. 1 and 2 most wanted are THE BIG PARADE and BEAU GESTE for me. Even over WINGS. HIS HOUR (1924) John Gilbert, Aileen Pringle, Written by Elinor Glyn. Directed by King Vidor. THE BIG PARADE (1925) John Gilbert, Renee Adoree, Directed by Vidor. SEVEN CHANCES (1925) Buster Keaton. A KISS FOR CINDERELLA (1925) Betty Bronson. Tom Moore. Directed by Herbert Brenon. BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1926) Marion Davies. Antonio Moreno. WHAT PRICE GLORY? (1926) Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Dolores Del Rio. Directed by Raoul Walsh. TELL IT TO THE MARINES (1926) Lon Chaney, William Haines, Eleanor Boardman. Directed by George Hill. FIG LEAVES (1926) Olive Borden, George O'Brien, Phyllis Haver. Directed by Howard Hawks. BEAU GESTE (1926) Ronald Colman, William Powell. Mary Brian. Directed by Brenon. WINGS (1927) Clara Bow, Richard Arlen, Buddy Rogers, Jobyna Ralston. Directed by William Wellman. First Best Picture Oscar Winner. CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927) Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, Esther Ralston. Directed by Frank Lloyd and Joseph Von Sternberg. OLD HEIDELBERG (1927) Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. LILAC TIME (1928) Colleen Moore, Gary Cooper. Directed by George Fitzmaurice. THE COSSACKS (1928) John Gilbert, Renee adoree, Nils Asther. Directed by George Hill, and Clarence Brown. A WOMAN DISPUTED (1928) Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland. WHOOPEE! (United Artists 1930) Eddie Cantor, early appearance by a Teen aged Betty Grable. GOOD NEWS (1930) Bessie Love, Penny Singleton.

thomas_meighan, Wow, great post. Yes, most Silent films made from 1923 to the the early 30's are still under copyright. Same with early talkies and so on. By the way Mister Meighan how I envy you! Getting to work with Renee Adoree twice in TIN GODS and THE MATING CALL. Besides the ridiculous copyright extensions on these Silents that keep Paramount films like A KISS FOR CINDERELLA, BEAU GESTE (1926) and CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1927) from seldom ever being seen, take a gander at this! It appears that copyright of vintage records and other audio recordings is even more complex and confusing! You gotta be kidding me. Is that old Piano roll sitting in Great Grandma's basement of Scott Joplin's "The Cascades" Public Domain? Surely it is right? Well, apparently not? http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=7587

wanderingchild, Well, I am gratified to learn that there is a complaint thread that I somehow missed. Still this is not enough. No way that all the TCM sites should be as poorly maintained as they are from a technical proficiency stand point. Very discouraging to say the least. Who knows when this will be fixed? I mean the forums had severe problems for months on end, and nothing was done. They still crop up from time to time.

Hello? Yoo Hoo, anyone there? Oh hum, again people TCM CFU has been down for the past couple nights. You can get into the site, but can't log in or go anywhere once you have reached it? All you get or a slew of error messages. Sure hope that something is being done to clear up the matter as soon as possible. I am rapidly losing patience. Thanks.

JonasEB, As Ingram films go *THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE, THE CONQUERING POWER, THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, SCARAMOUCHE,* and *THE THREE PASSIONS* are all much better with far grander photography. I've heard great things about *THE GARDEN OF ALLAH.* It's true that one of those guys in *Thames Hollywood* rated Rex as the greatest director of the Silent Era. I don't believe that it was Von Stroheim? I'm trying to think who it was? To me clearly the most underrated Director has to be Herbert Brenon. He made allot of outstanding films. *PETER PAN (1924), A KISS FOR CINDERELLA (1925),* and *BEAU GESTE (1926)* among them. Hard to beat those for skill and diversity.

Kelly125, Hey, Robert Osborne mentioned *THE GARDEN OF ALLAH (1927)* and described it as a Silent Classic? So maybe that is a good sign that we might see it on TCM sometime? Sure hope so. On the downside, I gotta be honest, I personally liked *THE MAGICIAN* better than I did *MARE NOSTRUM.* And *THE THREE PASSIONS* better than the both of them. Not to mention Victor Seastrom's *CONFESSIONS OF A QUEEN* and that isn't even complete. Although, allot of that might have had to do with what I consider to be an extremely lack-luster musical score That slow brooding Piano just didn't cut it for me. This film needed a much richer accompaniment in my estimation. It's to bad, because the print is stunning with very little ware and tare. Amazing for a film that was considered lost for 30 to 40 years at one point. They must have uncovered a near perfect nitrate. Although, I'm pretty sure that it is not the Road Show version, but the general release. I'd like to know what is missing? I just continue to find *Antonio Moreno* (R. O. seemingly mispronounced his last name?), with or without that Mustache, a crushing bore. Nowhere near the charisma of Valentino, Gilbert or even Novarro. I kept wondering what Alice Terry's character saw in Antonio's character in the first place to make her fall so hard for the guy??? I mean he was scarcely romantic! Certainly not worth being shot over I don't feel. Poor Alice!

What about BIllie Dove??? Actually, Michael Curtiz *NOAH'S ARK* is essentially a Silent bread from the success of his earlier *MOON OF ISRAEL* with some later ill-advised tacked on dialogue sequences sequences spliced in. It is not a Musical, or even close to one. These goat-gland scenes ultimately spoiled what would have been a great film. They dramatically disrupt the pace of the story and do not enhance the picture in the slightest. On the contrary, they serve only to compromise the artistic vision of the film. Costello and O'Brien, not to mention Noah Beery, sound ridiculous with their stagy Broadway coached voices. It's to bad that these high paid coach's ruined or should I say sabotaged many a fine career. What a shame.

MyFavoriteFilms, Hey, Where is *Dolores Costello* on your list? TCM has run *NOAH'S ARK* with Dolores and George O'Brien, but it has been since at least 2004 when it was last shown. Possibly 2003. It's ironic, since footage of O'Brien from the film is used in the Montage for Silent Sunday Nights, and in the TCM Fanatic Silent Films segment we see more footage from the film. A couple years ago TCM was set to premier *GLORIOUS BETSY,* but the broadcast was canceled when the programming department realized that the Vita-Phone score was lost and has never been found. You did not mention *Colleen Moore* at all either. Both *SYNTHETIC SIN* and *WHY BE GOOD?* were scheduled for restoration in 2006, but sadly nothing has come of it to date as far as I know. Gerr! these two films are still Nitrate only and could very well be lost again before funding is obtained to proceed with the projects! So completely frustrating and totally unfair!

Fred, It still doesn't work no matter what browser I use.

Wendy, Ha, Ha, ha! That is so funny! They even look allot alike! The expression is almost exactly the same! What was the dogs name do you know? As for the Clara Bow pic, actually I'm not happy with the tone of the legs, and I may have guessed wrong what is bare skin, and part of her bathing suite in one spot. Making her Gams looking fatter than they should be.

Karin, No, Nita isn't in *THE VIKING.* The portrait is from another film, probably lost? I'll see what information I can come up with. Wendy, The Stars sure loved their pets didn't they, and vice-versa. You can tell this guy feels that few things can compare with being hugged by a Redhead! *Bow on the Beach with Fury Friend*

Hey you people. In case no one has noticed, TCM Classic Film Union is almost completely down! You can't get to any of the pages beyond the first couple. No reading blogs, uploading photos what have you. What is being done about this? Anything? All you can see is a multiple error message. I tried to post this in the Technical difficulties section, but there is no notice there. Please be aware of the problem and do something to resolve the issue.