Steve Crook

When they had to stand outside in the rain they did.
They eventually realised it was easier to sit in the back of an old van - like they do in The Sweeney

Steve

penfold

Did you notice Mabel makes her brief appearance after a crane shot from a neon sign saying 'Palais De Dance', the title of one of her best silent films?? Coincidence or not I wonder???

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

penfold

Isn't Laura La Plante great in The Church Mouse??

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

orpheum

Watched Man of The Moment starring laura La Plante and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.La plante was a big silent star,but retired just after the coming of sound.She married Irving Asher the head of production at Teddington and made a few films for him.She is very good in this film.However the fil;m itself is pretty mundane.There is a brief uncredited appearance by Charles Hawtry at the begining and Monty Banks also appears uncredited as a Doctor.There are 2 exterior scenes one on the Embankment and the other at Piccadilly Circus.There is also a whole sequence that takes place in Monte Carlo.so must have been much more than a standard quota quickie budget.

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JohnB_Toronto

TCM in the States and Canada are re-broadcasting their lineup of Teddington films again in early 2008. They're showing the first 4 films in January and I'm guessing that means they'll show the remaining 4 in February. This is the same way they screened them in October ... 4 films followed by a break of a few weeks and then the other 4. I'm delighted - I missed one of them the last time around.

penfold

Do try and get 'Father takes a Walk', it's a little gem, really affecting, lovely location work in Surrey, and some outstanding character performances....

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

penfold

I know how much you like to bash the Bfi, but no, that isn't what happened. According to the Robert Osborne introductions, the BFI were offered the surviving films in the early sixties, whereupon they preserved and stored them for forty years (Gratis, natch) until TCM (Who own the Warners back catalogue) decided they could now make commercial use of them and had them restored, and the results are what are now being broadcast.

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

orpheum

Well i dont like to bash the bfi.However the story that i have about the Warner films has been verified by a number of sources.After all Robert Osbourne is hardly going to tell his viewers why the BFI failed to preserve them all.So unless i am told by an authoratitive source that the story is not true i will stick with it.

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MrT

A major reason why many of the UK Warners films have not survived was the extensive damage to the Teddington Studios caused by a flying bomb in 1944. This, coupled with the fact that most of Warners UK output was designed for the home market, meant that many of the films were never aired in the US at the time they were made as confirmed by TCM's Robert Osbourne. Those that have survived include those that may have had a screening in the US, with Hollywood stars in the lead such as Laura La Plante and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr

Mike (MrT)

orpheum

If you look at the IMD entry for Man of The Moment for example it only gives a UK release date.The implication therefore is that there was no US release.Given that Warners were churning out lots of B features,Westerns etc in the 1930s i would have thought that it would have been extremely unlikely that they would have thought it worth while to bring these films over to the States to show in the bottom half of a double bill.Remember bringing films into the States would have incurred some expense.Then there is the question of whether the UK fiilms would have been acceptable to the Hays office.For example in Man of The Moment Fairbanks and La Plante have a suicide pact.Suicide was strictly against the American code.So the film would have been unshowable in its present form>It would hardly have been worth while making a further version.Many UK producers submitted their scripts to the Hays Office to see if the film would be passed.

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JamesM

Someone else from TCM:-

Charlie Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for TCM, advises, “Similar to the lost RKO films we premiered earlier this year, these six films had also quietly slipped through the cracks of film history. Warner Bros deposited the original nitrate camera negatives at the BFI in 1963 and, over the years, the BFI had restored and preserved them. As curators of film history, TCM is proud to take the lead in showcasing these rare and historically important films and airing them for classic movie fans of all ages.”

Source: Twitch - TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES: LOST & FOUND—The Teddington Studios

JohnB_Toronto

That's the one I'm missed and the only one I'm still waiting for. I'm hoping it'll be in the second batch to be shown in February (assuming they will indeed be showing the complete set over the course of two months). Looks like Turner is screening it under its alternate title "MR COHEN TAKES A WALK"

orpheum

I do have this and it is very good and worth watching.First saw it many years ago at the NFT.

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orpheum

I watched The Dark Tower last night.Very good cast,Farrer,Ann Crawford,Hartnell,Ben Lyon and Herbert Lom.Lom in one of his early performances here is simply stunning.Incidentally he recently celebrated his 90th birthday.A birthday party was recently held for him and pictures appeared of thei in last weeks Ham & High.Ben Lyon was a bit of an odd choice for the lead.However he was supported by the ever reliable David Farrer.Well worth a viewing a sort of a take off of Svengali.

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orpheum

I watched "Illegal" last night.It is a true quota quickie.You can literally see the corners being cut.It is 65 minutes long but looks as if it was rather longer.All the plot threads seem to be coming together and then all of a sudden within a couple of minutes the film ends.The cutting looks extremely awkward as if a lot of scenes have been cut out.Really quite strange.Anyway still worth a view and it is available on AMAZON.

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