ThelmaTodd

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I would like to see Federal law discourage the deliberate supression of very old films in some way. A "carrot" approach would be to offer tax incentives for the release and distribution of historic property. I would also support a special penalty tax on old and unreleased film. I would then also make it a federal crime to deliberately destroy these films. If the Federal govt can protect spotted owls, then I insist they protect 1920's films! There is a perception that these films are rubbish with no mass market potential, and that is hard to overcome in some quarters. Paramount turns down an offer of purchase, but then does nothing to make the property generate revenue for them. They are then left with nothing to show for this senseless hoarding. I'll go offline with you and work out the picture issue. Much thanks! Thelma

I do like ending on a more optimistic and upbeat note. I believe that someday, most of these "restricted" films (wherever they are) will come to light, one way or the other, provided the hands of time have not destroyed the film itself through decomposition. Thelma

Hello tara, I have been thinking about what we as a society can do about deliberately limboed classic films. I would support a Federal law that prohibits the owners of films made before say, 1940, from imposing covenants restricting distribution of said properties upon successive owners. What that means is let the old coot hold on to the film while he is alive, but prohibit him from keeping a successive owner or heir from releasing the film in any will, contract or trust. Note that I am not requiring the successors to release, I just don't want them KEPT from releasing by the whims of the original owner. I would also release any buyer from any such restrictive covenant. I especially would like to see institutions that have had films donated to them to not be held to any such donor restrictions- and these provisos can be overturned by an act of Congress. The dead should have no right to take such properties to the grave with them. Thelma

I believe Roberto got ripped off! He got ripped off because the rule of law has never existed in his country; politicians and judges respond only to bribery. He must not have had enough clout to keep himself from getting taken for a ride. The problem here is not just one man, but a whole society. Argentina is a wrong, very wrong place for such historically valuable material to be sitting in limbo. Thelma

Hi gagman, The background info you have furnished does not surprise me in the least, although it makes me want to heave. Of course this stuff was uncatalogued, of course nobody ever did anything with it, because the person in charge of it was unsupervised. There was no managerial oversight and no leadership, and as is typical over there, no accountability. No doubt the person in question kept their post through "contacts" rather than by good job performance. Nice way to while away your life. What can we expect from a society where the politicians can clean out the bank accounts of private citizens, pocket the money and face no legal recourse? That's Argentina for you, one of the most corrupt and disorganized countries on earth. Getting at this collection is both easy and hard. It's hard if you go about it in a formal way. It's very very easy if you just bribe the right people, and that is all you would have to do! Maybe I should fly down to Buenos Aires with some cash and come back with the whole schmeer! We'd really be able to liven up this thread! Thelma

Thank you for an excellent post! I laughed when I read: "Fearing that the discovery would not be taken seriously in Argentina, she flew with the footage to Germany..." Serious matters are never taken seriously in Argentina! This discovery reinforces what I have been repeatedly saying on another thread where we talk a lot about lost films, "Seeking Copy of Hollywood Revue of 1929". My position is that a lot of "lost" film is not really lost at all; they are sitting in places where the owners don't care or feel that there is not enough money or market in it to make it worthwhile. A lot of vintage film is also sitting in institutions where there is no incentive to develop the property, and much bureaucratic inertia. I would never donate such property to a not-for profit institution, at least not without provisions that they preserve AND disseminate the film through TV and video. Rotting in the can does nobody any good. Thelma

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It seems we are speculating about her racial ancestry based upon no more evidence than her entertainment abilities. West did like what then was considered hot orchestral jazz, "Harlem style". She had it included in all of her early Paramount films, even bringing in Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. It was typified by high pitched and sassy sounding horns, with and without cups. It reinforced her "bad girl" image. West also exhibited a level of womanly camaraderie with her black maids in films like "I'm No Angel" that has been appreciated by some. Mae West was just one of many people who came to film from the live stage, which included others like The Three Stooges, the Marx Bros, WC Fields etc. People in the live stage copied one another, followed each others fads and kept their ears to the ground about anything that was hot and which sold with audiences. Blacks were a potent and influential force in the entertainment business back then, and often set the tone for what was considered contemporary and hip in music and dance. That West allowed herself to be influenced by this was a matter of her cleverness and sense of professional survival. And she wasn't the only one. Like Madonna in a later time, West also was much influenced by gays in the entertainment business. They taught her more than anyone else about show business, and she acknowledges this in her autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It. She felt that gays had a special genius for being at the cutting edge of fashion and fads in almost everything from stage shows to whatever. I believe she even wrote a play about gays inthe 1920's. She really dug them, and felt that they helped her to become what she eventually became, To this day, Mae West (along with Judy Garland) is much venerated as an idol among gays. Thelma

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