Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cinema-l
Date:         Thu, 23 Jul 1992 12:42:55 EDT
From:         "George V. Chastain" <U0E53@WVNVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Cuts on TNT; CITY FOR CONQUEST; 1935 version of SHE

On 07/22/92 at 22:58:00 Peter.Giordano@WILLIAMS.EDU said:
>I thought that the movies on TNT were supposes to be "uncut" -
>One of my favorite movies (CITY OF CONQUEST, which I mentioned last
>week) had the opening segment cut off, turning a great movie into
>a pretty good movie - sigh

  Pete -- I watched CITY FOR CONQUEST last week after reading your
glowing review, and enjoyed it a lot, in spite of the cutting.
What was missing?  Cagney is almost always terrific.  Thanks to
TNT, I've now got almost all of Jimmy's early films on tape --
though there may be some good scenes cut out of my copies.
A few years ago (as Andrew Bergman notes in his book on Cagney),
a lot of these films were impossible to see; some hadn't been
shown anywhere since they first played the theatre circuits in
the '30's!

But I've noticed cut scenes in some films on TNT too -- pretty
irritating, considering the excessive amount of genuinely
obnoxious commercials sprinkled throughout everything Ted shows.
Maybe he's holding out on cable viewers so he can encourage us
to buy his videotapes of the same films? I wouldn't mind so much
if the prices would come down a bit on the tapes -- $20 (and up)
is usually more than I'm willing to spend for a few extra scenes.

In at least one film on TNT, the Weissmuller TARZAN THE APE MAN,
I noticed that one scene was cut sometimes, and sometimes not,
depending on when it was shown. This is one of the Tarzan films Ted
currently offers on videotape.  The other two, TARZAN AND HIS MATE
and TARZAN ESCAPES, haven't aired on TNT yet but I hope they will.
I'll be interested in seeing if the restored nude swimming sequence
in TARZAN AND HIS MATE is included in any broadcast; it's on the
videotape and is one of the most amazing things I've seen in any
'30's film.

Another film that I hope Ted will unearth in his RKO archives
and release A.S.A.P. is the 1935 SHE, the classic H.Rider Haggard
adventure story about an immortal queen who rules over a lost city,
waiting for the lover she jealously killed to be born again.   I
ordered a dupey copy from a mail order company, and was pleasantly
surprised at how great this film is.  Gorgeous Art Deco sets and
costumes, a stunning performance by Helen Gahagan (her only film;
she later married actor Melvyn Douglas and went into politics) as
"She Who Must Be Obeyed," good roles for Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson
in the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series), Randolph Scott, Helen
Mack, Gustav Von Seyfertitz (!) and Noble Johnson, one of Max
Steiner's most stirring scores, and fabulous special effects.
Produced by Merian C. Cooper, one of the adventurous brains
behind KING KONG, and directed by Irving Pichel (also a fine
actor, regrettably not in this film). MUCH better than the '60's
Hammer version with Ursula Andress, which I enjoyed when it first
came out.  A terrific story; someone really should try it again
today with a huge budget and a first rate cast.  Forget Catwoman
-- SHE would be a real challenge for any actress...

George Chastain -- WVNET, Morgantown, West Virginia
U0E53@WVNVM or U0E53@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU
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