New 35 mm prints of six films that have remained unseen for 50 years!
Now, after diligent legal work and a thorough search of the world's archives by Turner Classic Movies, these newly-unearthed 30’s classics — four of them made in the Pre-Code era — are finally available for theatrical booking and home video/DVD licensing. Five of the six RKO Radio pictures in this series — all produced by the legendary Merian C. Cooper (King Kong ) — have been unseen in any medium since 1959, and, one, not since its 1938 premiere...
DOUBLE HARNESS
1933, JOHN CROMWELL, 75 minutes)
“Marriage is the business of women.” Matrimony ensues when Ann Harding lets herself get caught at spendthrift playboy William Powell’s pad (“Oops!”) by old-school dad Henry Stephenson — but as she turns Powell into a successful businessman, does love...? A Pre- Code romantic comedy highlighted by top star teamwork and cuckoo Dinner-Party-from-Hell climax.
"SMART AND SOPHISTICATED... Ann Harding, with her waist-length golden hair she always wore in a classic chignon, possessed a beauty so patrician she made Grace Kelly look like trailer trash... The way in which she and William Powell deftly navigate their way through these sexy, martini-and-temptation-laden shoals make this a particularly engaging Pre-Code charmer."– David Noh, Gay City News
"A snappy romantic comedy complete with millionaire playboys, stern business magnates and falsified marriages!" – Nate Jones, Washington Square News
ONE MAN’S JOURNEY
(1933, JOHN ROBERTSON, 72 minutes)
Busted back home, doc Lionel Barrymore (in a rare low-key performance) adopts a baby whose mother he couldn’t save — then saves the now-adult child twice more, once at the cost of his own chance at the medical big-time; almost single-handedly prevents a smallpox epidemic; and finally straightens out son Joel McCrea in time for marriage with Frances Dee (the two began a real-life, 57-year union that same year). Remade as A Man to Remember
“This one has a stellar cast.” – Marilyn Moss, Hollywood Reporter
“For old-movie buffs, the discovery of lost films is like finding treasure at a yard sale.” – Tim Purtell, Entertainment Weekly
LIVING ON LOVE
(1937, LEW LANDERS, 60 minutes)
Forced by their landlord to time share the same apartment, day resident artist James Dunn and night resident electric shaver saleswoman Whitney Bourne each pile up the practical jokes on the unseen, while unknowingly falling for each other outside the building. Screwy remake of Rafter Romance
“This is history unfolding before our eyes: These films are movie gems that finally see the light of day.”
– Marilyn Ross, Hollywood Reporter
A MAN TO REMEMBER
(1938, GARSON KANIN, 80 minutes)
After Dr. Edward Ellis’s big public funeral, the local banker, newspaper editor and store owner open his strong box and the flashbacks begin: his adoption of a baby (who grows up to be Anne Shirley) whose mother he couldn’t save; his acceptance of food as payment from the poor; his prevention of a polio epidemic. This has been unseen since its original release — anywhere — despite making the New York Times’ Top Ten Movies of 1938 list. This Dutch-subtitled version is all that exists!
“… a splendid melodrama and a rare opportunity to see two giants in collaboration, with director Garson Kanin teaming up with Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.” – Marilyn Moss, Hollywood Reporter
RAFTER ROMANCE
(1933, WILLIAM SEITER, 70 minutes)
Their rent late again, artist/night watchman Norman Foster (then Mr. Claudette Colbert, later director of the Wellesian Journey into Fear) and telemarketer [sic] Ginger Rogers get an ultimatum: time share the attic or out. But as the war of notes on the fridge escalates between the strangers, guess who meets cute outside the building, even as each suffers from admirer overload? Remade as Living on Love.
"… a crackerjack Pre-Code comedy!" – Bruce Bennett, New York Sun
"… an enjoyable romantic comedy!" – Dave Kehr, New York Times
STINGAREE
(1934, WILLIAM A. WELLMAN, 75 minutes)
A Down-Under “Western,” as Richard Dix’s Aussie out-law Stingaree masquerades as an importer, London composer, and as the governor general, while aiding maid Irene Dunne’s rise to international opera stardom.
“… one of the more unbelievable musicals ever to emanate from RKO - not to mention one of Wellman’s stranger directorial efforts.” – All Movie Guide.
"For anyone with the slightest feeling for the cinematic past, the series is highly recommended."
– Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
“The marvelous thing about a program of films this rare reborn in such pristine condition is that they can be viewed not as fossils but as products of the industry and the times that created them."
– Bruce Bennett, New York Sun.
“…vastly entertaining.” – Susan King, Los Angeles Times
“Restored, these RKO films fill in a sorely needed gap in the history not only of a great movie studio but of our film legacy as well.” – Marilyn Moss, Hollywood Reporter
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