Old films I've never seen

[locomad]

Thanks to this forum few years ago I was introduced to old railway bfi films however noticed the clever software kept probing me to watch never heard of and never watched full length old feature films.

 

I've really enjoyed them so much so rarely bother with the TV now, nor any of the sky, Netflix packages etc, just wired the TV to watch full screen and enjoy looking for brilliant classics which I have never seen before, often never been on TV, video or DVD, ones just lost until someone puts them on utube, real pleasure

 

Here's one via YouTube, "Agitator" 1944, William Hartnell,

[Arthur]

 

I love those old films myself so I'll give that a watch. Reading a synopsis it seems to have at least a little in common with the 1950's drama, 'Chance of a Lifetime' in which the boss, Basil Radford, fed up with running his company and the whinging workers, walks out challenging them to do it better.

[locomad]

I love those old films myself so I'll give that a watch. Reading a synopsis it seems to have at least a little in common with the 1950's drama, 'Chance of a Lifetime' in which the boss, Basil Radford, fed up with running his company and the whinging workers, walks out challenging them to do it better.

Yes it's a good film thanks for reminding us of the name saw it about 20 years ago I think on then channel 4 when they showed a different film every afternoon something which most useless channels can't seem to do and show same films over and over.

 

One I saw tonight thanks to you tube was "Secret place" 1956, the "sudsriber" claims it's never been shown on TV video or DVD, I think I've seen it before but not sure I've seen too many of these "bombed London" films from the 50's still a good film though.

 

Others this weekend include "John & Julie" 1955, lovely 35mm colour good train sences, lady friend really enjoyed that too just don't make them like that anymore, watch out for Sid James. Other was "Phantom light" 1936, first 10 minutes filmed on a well known railway before the view was lost due to trees.

 

I also watch those modern Russian ww2 films with subs, those include "white tiger" "road to Berlin" & "the star" unlike modern American films they tend to be filmed in day light and not so silly plots.

 

I've also noticed that the quality of the pictures tend to be better, that is the sharpest, 720 dpi etc, unlike DVD's which tend to skip, freeze, or sometimes refuse to even play

[Arthur]

 

Yes, these days the afternoon film slots seem to be filled with modern, lightweight made for TV movies from the US. Trouble with watching these things on YouTube is that you then find three others to watch, and then another five....

 

I'll have a look at some of the others you mention, thanks.

[Mike Storey]

Those of you with dodgy internet connections (like me), may want to look up the Talking Pictures channel, which is free to view. It has only been going about a year but only shows old films, many from the 1930's through to the 1950's, with a few occasionally from the 1960's to 1980's. Lots of Jack Warner films for example. Mostly obscure (at least, obscure these days), and mostly digitally remastered. I do not recall having seen any before on more mainstream channels. Some absolute gems in there.

 

On Sky FreeView, it is towards the end of the films category, after the ones you have to have a Sky subscription for, which is probably why many people have never seen it yet.

[bertiedog]

The nuisance of old films is TCM, who hold rights to many films but stubbornly will not allow them to be shown outside the US.

Most Hollywood films of prior to about 1952 are in the Public domain, out of copyright due to the industry failing to renew the rights. But TCM persist with claims on films, and bring about claims about the music used,, which has stopped many musical films being released outside the US.

 

Renown films in the UK have issued lots of older British films from the 50's back to 1929, but sadly many are still missing or partly found, all due to the bad housekeeping by the old distributors and film makers, who had lost or badly stored many a famous film.

In the 1970's they discovered the Denham Film vault had been abandoned for over 30 years and the losses where heartbreaking for film enthusiasts. Often famous films survive in the cinema  copies, and the negatives are lost.

 

Some collectors hoard films and collections have been the saviour of several important films, both Hollywood and the UK.

 

One film I would like to see would be Cain and Mabel, the comedy musical with Clark Gable, but Warners TCM ban it outside the States, they even try to stop US DVD's being sold here.

 

At present on the BBC the older films are mainly RKO, as the BBC bought the rights a few years ago to the lot. You Tube is great for older films but they get pulled even when older than copyright years. I had a list of films I wanted to see in mind from School days, and bar a couple, have succeeded in viewing them, and I admit I have never seen Bambi.........

[bertiedog]

Those of you with dodgy internet connections (like me), may want to look up the Talking Pictures channel, which is free to view. It has only been going about a year but only shows old films, many from the 1930's through to the 1950's, with a few occasionally from the 1960's to 1980's. Lots of Jack Warner films for example. Mostly obscure (at least, obscure these days), and mostly digitally remastered. I do not recall having seen any before on more mainstream channels. Some absolute gems in there.

 

On Sky FreeView, it is towards the end of the films category, after the ones you have to have a Sky subscription for, which is probably why many people have never seen it yet.

Talking Pictures is not on Freeview, it is on Freeview+, which meant buying a new set top box to go with a TV with built in Freeview. So far after two years Virgin will not take it on cable, citing very low demand. A great pity, as the quality is much better on cable, and the Tivo box can record the film.

[Coppercap]

I admit I have never seen Bambi.........

It's very sad. Get a box of Kleenex - Mother gets killed.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Coppercap

[wombatofludham]

It's very sad. Get a box of Kleenex - Mother gets killed.

 

***Spoilers!***

 

Squawking Pictures is very good and there's often quite a bit of railway interest in the old British movies.  It's also fun when you see some big stars in some of their earliest works!

[bertiedog]

Bambi was one of the films never seen due to my age, not born when it came out, and the re releases, very few in the 1950's and 60's, meant I was then to old to see such a film! Disney were very tight in controlling access to films, and this affected not seeing the Laurel and Hardy film, Babes in Toyland, as Disney re-made it with Ray Bolger and bought all the rights to the older version to suppress it.

 

Fortunately the general lapse of the copyright on Hollywood films brought back access, and the film can be seen again, a bit of a curious period piece really.

 

Films not seen but famous include "Lost Horizon" the famous film set in Shangri la, an Oscar winning hit for Frank Capra just before the war. But in the war period the film was paired with other films for distribution and edited by an idiot! The film and book are famous for being a flashback, which was was edited out and the end put at the beginning, with an entire middle section removed, which contained the vital plot elements!

 

It was realised that the negs were lost in a fire, and by the time they tried to put the film right it was very incomplete, but after 4o years of searching all the missing bits have been found and put back, bar a few seconds.

 

The very same sort of thing affected The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, the Archers Production from WW2. When the producer , Powell saw the film in the 1970's he realised that the whole thing had been swapped around and shortened, making the film nonsense. It had been done to send the film out with "Lady Hamilton", another full length film, so was shortened.  Fortunately the negatives still existed and the whole film now makes sense!

 

Other films are lost due to neglect, like most Silent Films, or in the case of British films the closure of the smaller distributors involved, without safeguarding the film assets.

 

Most of Max Miller's films are lost, for many years Stanley Lupino's musical comedies of the 1930's were missing, but these did turn up, stored by his daughter Ida Lupino until her death.

 

The passing of Jack Warner( no not Dixon!) in the States revealed a treasure trove of missing films, held by him in a private collection, and not all made by Warner Bros. He obviously liked to view his rivals work!

 

Mention was made of the film "Chance of a lifetime" with Basil Radford, this film nearly suffered suppression, as it was government sponsored by the Atlee Socialist Administration, but came out as the Conservatives got back in, and the film got shelved for many years. Several of the Group 3 and ACT comedy films were union sponsored or given grants, which annoyed Ealing Studios who got no grants, being owned by J Arthur Rank. Fortunately no Ealing films were ever lost.

 

A Basil Radford comedy film that has re-surfaced is "The Galloping Major" from the early 1950's from Group 3, made with the usual stars from Ealing Studios, directed by Henry Cornelius, who had made "Genevieve"and was an ex Ealing studios director.

 

Ohh and with Bambi, I never saw Snow White until the late 1990's when I got it on DVD.....

[Kylestrome]

Sadly, BFI Player is not available outside the UK . I can't understand why, considering one has to pay for a subscription. 

Edited February 14, 2017 by Kylestrome

[Enterprisingwestern]

It's very sad. Get a box of Kleenex - Mother gets killed.

 

As do parents in quite a few Disney films, and the ones that live aren't very nice, Walt must have had an unhappy childhood!

 

Mike.

 

Just to get it out of the way;

 

What's the difference between Frank Sinatra and Walt Disney?

 

Frank sings but Walt Disney.

 

Mike.

[Mike Storey]

Talking Pictures is not on Freeview, it is on Freeview+, which meant buying a new set top box to go with a TV with built in Freeview. So far after two years Virgin will not take it on cable, citing very low demand. A great pity, as the quality is much better on cable, and the Tivo box can record the film.

 

I can only say I get it on  a fairly old TV with no built in Freeview, using an old Sky box.

[BlackRat]

It's very sad. Get a box of Kleenex - Mother gets killed.

But she did taste delicious..........

 

I'll get me coat.........

[bertiedog]

 

 

Squawking Pictures is very good and there's often quite a bit of railway interest in the old British movies.  It's also fun when you see some big stars in some of their earliest works!

Try "Trottie True", the J Arthur Rank Technicolor Musical comedy with Jean Kent as an Ex Gaiety girl, with her line up of "Stage Door Johnnies" including a very sheepish looking and typically wooden actor .. one Roger Moore!!, his first day in front of a camera.

 

One other game is to spot actors out of their usual characters in minor parts in films, and one of the difficult ones was Moore Marriot who played Harbottle in "Oh Mr Porter". The shot below shows the reason, he looked completely different out of make up, and was proud of the fact that nobody recognised him off stage. He appeared in dozens of films in minor parts without being recognised.

 

[Mike Storey]

One I keeping looking out for has Jack Warner (of Dock Green) playing an engine driver. I saw it years ago and loved it, but have never come across it since, and I just cannot remember the title. I am sure at least twenty seven of you will know? Please?

[Arthur]

Train of Events, Mike.

 

An Ealing drama starring Jack Warner as a Camden based driver struggling with the decision to come off the road and become shed foreman.

 

It consists of three other cameo stories which culminate with the protagonists, including Jack Warner, being on a northbound train which is involved in a level crossing accident.

 

The other star was his locomotive, a Rebuilt Royal Scot, 46126, Royal Army Service Corp.

 

Here's the Wiki link.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_of_Events

 

 

 

.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Arthur

[Rugd1022]

Train of Events, Mike.

 

An Ealing drama starring Jack Warner as a Camden based driver struggling with the decision to come off the road and become shed foreman.

 

It consists of three other cameo stories which culminate with the protagonists, including Jack Warner, being on a northbound train which is involved in a level crossing accident.

 

The other star was his locomotive, a Rebuilt Royal Scot, 46126, Royal Army Service Corp.

 

Here's the Wiki link.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_of_Events

 

 

 

.

 

Poor old Jack Warner fell into the turntable pit inside Willesden Roundhouse during the making of the film and had a limp afterwards. Great film by the way, a really nice period piece.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Rugd1022

[Pacific231G]

My favourite restoration is the colour version of Jacques Tati's 1949 film Jour de Fete.

Tati shot his first feature film on a new Thomson system intending it to be the first French feature film in colour but, as a back-up, had a second camera shooting in black and white. In the event the colour system didn't work properly so the film was cut and released from the black and white negative though with some hand colouring on one or two shots.

 

Eventually Tati's younger daughter, the director and editor  Sophie Tatischeff (Tati's real surname), was able to return to the original colour negatives thanks to new digital technology. In 1995, thirteen years after his death, she released Jour de Fete as the colour film that Tati had oriignally intended . There was more to this than just replacing each shot in turn as the cutting rhythms for black and white are often different from those for colour, but Tatischeff had been the editor on two of her father's films so her edit can be regarded as true to his intentions. Seeing what had long been one of my favourite films in colour for the first time- albeit from  a DVD-  was brilliant so if you've not seen the film I'd go for the colour rather than the more widely known monochrome version.

 

There are two short railway scenes in the movie, one of them involving some wagons being shunted by a steam tank loco on the metre gauge S.E Centre system a couple of years before it closed and the other a standard gauge level crossing and some bicycles (a visual gag used by Tati in his previous short film l'ecole des facteurs (school for postmen) 

Edited February 14, 2017 by Pacific231G

[wombatofludham]

Train of Events is available on DVD.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Train-Events-DVD-Jack-Warner/dp/B001KWHOII

 

Other retailers are available.

 

The Ghost Train, starring Arthur Askey, Barmouth Bridge and with Barmouth Junction in the supporting artists category, is also available on DVD. 

 

Another great, classic railway interest filled film is of course "Brief Encounter" and would make the ideal movie for today, you could sit down with 'er indoors, say "I've bought you a lovely romantic Classic British movie to watch", and while she gets all dewy eyed over the tonsil tennis in the subway, you can be watching all the LMS action equally dewy eyed, and she'll be none the wiser.

That piece of marriage guidance bought to you by Cupid Wombat.

[Pacific231G]

Sadly, BFI Player is not available outside the UK . I can't understand why, considering one has to pay for a subscription. 

They've probably only got the rights for UK distribution of many of their films so would be breaching copyright if they made it available more widely.

[Arthur]

 

And they say romance is dead,

 

you can be watching all the LMS action equally dewy eyed, and she'll be none the wiser.

That piece of marriage guidance bought to you by Cupid Wombat.

You old romantic you, and this on Valentines day too!

 

.

[bertiedog]

Cannot be a film enthusiast without loving Tati's films, the mess up on the colour haunted Tati for the rest of his life. The ridiculous thing was he knew the colour would not work at the time, the B/W was more than insurance, it was intended to be the main film edit, with a vague chance the colour system would function, which was based on an old US system, Multicolor. They had solved their print problem by using Technicolor to do the printing, and this could have worked with the French system, but Tati and the inventors were determined to keep the lot "French",, besides which he could not afford technicolor. His later colour films used Kodak negative and commercial printing.

Tati was a perfectionist, take for example the bike he rides in the film, it took him six months to have it built to his specification, so that it would "look funny", everything on it was custom made down to the rims sizes and tyres, pedal stroke, and gearing, so that he, with his six foot plus height looked awkward but purposeful at speed on the machine.......

[APOLLO]

1950's black & white science fiction for me - quite a few here, free to view.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x4s1qj_jeffrey-watson-129_1950-s-science-fiction-movies/3#video=x2qi5p3

 

Brit15

[Southerner]

Interesting topic, does anyone remember Arthur Askey as a LMS/BR locoman in charge of (I believe) a Fowler 4F watching a championship football match from his loco footplate overlooking the football ground?

 

How about something more obscure; French b&w film from the 1950s about a logging gang in France using a narrow gauge railway who's efforts to move a train of logs are sabotaged by a rival group using motor lorries for transport. The film sported a love interest sub plot with gorgeous Madamoiselle and also some gorgeous typically quirky French vehicles. Seen briefly on French tv in a Formule Une hotel whilst channel hopping and preparing to leave, don't know the title but well worth a look.