8mm Forum: Mighty Joe Young

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Topic: Mighty Joe Young

Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted April 18, 2012 06:19 PM

While browsing the Internet, I saw a Super 8 Sound digest of the original version of "Mighty Joe Young". Who released this in Super 8 Sound? Was it also available full length?

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted April 18, 2012 08:40 PM

Hi Joe,"Mighty Joe" was first released by Ken Films in a nice 200'
b/w silent,a 400' and also a 4x400 from Mountain and
a full length version from the USA, I'll have to check my print to see who it was.All of the versions were very good print wise, but
the one that had the edge was the little 200'from Ken which was
and still is outstanding.

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted April 18, 2012 11:45 PM

So Mountain's 4x400' is abridged? Does Mountain have the RKO logo on their prints of RKO Radio films? The USA full length version probably was a Nostalgia Merchant release. I know that some of the Nostalgia Merchant releases had issues like low sound.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted April 19, 2012 02:39 PM

Hi Joe,I've checked the leads and tails on the film and can find no clue as to who released this film and you're probably right in your
saying Nostalgia.The print and sound are very good,I got it from
CHC some years ago and Phil informed me it was his own copy.
The Mountain 4x400 was abridged by about 20mins but was
nicely done and had all the key scenes.Also the RKO logo's were
intact,as any I've come across from Mountain retained all the
intro's.A feature you might want to look out for is the feature of
"Son of Kong",which because of it's short running time,had the
minimum of cuts which was a few minutes off the beginning
and the rest of the movie was intact and print and sound were excellent too.

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted April 19, 2012 04:14 PM

Thanks for checking Hugh; I have always been fond of Mr. Joseph Young [Smile]

Nice to know that the logo and titles were not cut by Mountain even in their 1 reel versions. I am glad they did an excellent job of cutting out about 20 minutes. It must pick up the pace of the film. In case you didn't know, when in theaters the orphanage fire scenes were tinted red. Don't know if the UK 35mm prints were tinted though.

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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted August 27, 2012 07:54 PM

Don't know how I missed this thread. I have a 6x400' version with original leads and tails, no splices. All six reels are in individual white boxes. There is text on each box, for example, the box for the first reel reads, "Mighty Joe 1 Sound Super 8 B/W".

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted August 27, 2012 08:13 PM

You must have the Nostalgia Merchant release which is uncut. Some NM prints had sound issues. Don't know if their Mighty Joe Young release was problematic or not. I do know that not many NM prints were sold though the titles were desirable, due to issues caused by the printing lab(s) that were used. I recall that JEF was at one time selling it, but I cannot remember if it was 16mm only. And I don't know if they had their own Negative, but I doubt it as the film is protected by Copyright.

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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted August 27, 2012 08:43 PM

Weren't the Nostalgia prints five 400' reels, Joe?

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted August 27, 2012 09:13 PM

You said your print is 6 400' reels. 5 sounds more correct if its unabridged. I do not know for sure how many reels a NM print should have as I have never seen one.
Regarding the Mountain Films release:
According to Hugh who owns a print, its 4 400' reels. That sounds right because almost all the RKO Mountain Features were slightly abridged. There are a few exceptions, but I can't be more specific. Being UK releases, they were not sold here unless a Dealer chose to import them. I know a Dealer in Canada distributed them. But I suspect most of the prints here in the U.S.A. were purchased directly from Mountain which must have been somewhat cumbersome and expensive to do.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 28, 2012 05:51 AM

Hi Joe & Akshay,the majority of the Mountain releases were cut
and abridged to the regulation 4x400', although there were
exceptions to the rule, like "King Kong","Top Hat" "Citizen Kane"
The MJY 4x400 was very good printwise and had a good track,
the only reason I parted with it was for the intact American
release.If you are after this specific title Joe,I can ask around and
see whats available with some of the dealers over here, it's
suprising what can be lurking on their shelves.

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted August 28, 2012 08:09 AM

I managed to obtain the 400' (1 reel Digest) UK cutdown. It is typical for a Mountain Films Digest: a bit too Dark at times and a few Clicks on the Soundtrack. They did do a nice editing job however. Some Mountain Films cutdowns are badly edited. It will do for the time being. What is interesting is that there is no RKO Logo at the start and the abridged credits do not show a copyright notice. Since the original end title is there, one cannot tell that it is a RKO film at all! Hugh, feel free to check with Dealers for a print. If you now have a NM print, then that means that you were fortunate enough to find one with no issues. Because of the issues with the NM releases, I never bothered to purchase any of them. And I do not have the necessary sync equipment to re-record a low volume soundtrack.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 28, 2012 10:45 AM

Consider it done Joe,I have a little list of titles that some members
want, and I'll try my best to locate MJY 4x400 for you.

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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted August 28, 2012 11:09 AM

Hugh, did you read my reply to your PM? Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 28, 2012 12:06 PM

I did receive your email Akshay thankyou,I hope you were successful in nailing your film.I try to keep a weather eye open
for films folk are looking for and let them know if I come across them.

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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted August 29, 2012 02:16 AM

Well, we just watched this feature. The image is best I have seen, not one line, not one scratch, the best contrast. Makes me want to give away some of the other B&W features I have.

Sound quality? Surprise! Surprise! It is very good! Did the bad press lower my expectations? Who knows.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 29, 2012 05:38 AM

I hate to say this Akshay, I have the very same film, but the
Mountain 4x400 had the edge regarding definition & contrast.
The only reason for passing it on was for the more complete copy.
Like I have said before, the best print on Mighty Joe was the
little 200' clip which was a perfect b/w print.

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted August 29, 2012 05:43 AM

At 6 reels, you have the American Nostalgia Merchant release. Its fortunate that it has a good soundtrack. Many NM prints had issues which were widely discussed years ago upon their release.

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Akshay Nanjangud
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 637
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2011

posted August 29, 2012 10:36 AM

Thanks guys. Both of you have been helpful.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 29, 2012 04:24 PM

Joe, I might have a lead.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 30, 2012 12:52 PM

Hi Joe, I've struck oil! A copy has been found.Check your emails.

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted August 30, 2012 01:04 PM

Wasn't "Joe Young" originally released with color tinting to the climax of the film?

I always thought that was a quite novel touch as, of course, the technicolor era was already there and tinting pretty much went out with the silent era.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted August 30, 2012 01:37 PM

It was Osi, but I don't think on the S/8 releases,it was during the
fire sequence on the orphanage,the same thing was done in the
silent "Lost World",where tints were used for jungle and volcano
sequences.There were even special prints done in sepia tone
for the "Beast From 20,000 Fathoms"

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Joe Balitzki
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 529
From: Charleston, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2005

posted August 30, 2012 04:40 PM

Only the fire sequences at the Orphanage are tinted. Its a pale red/orange. Because the tint is pale it doesn't mask the special effects. Its quite effective in enhancing the excitement of the sequence. When it was released to television, the sequence was in B&W. To my knowledge, no S8S prints are tinted. When it was restored for DVD, the tint was put back in. Its arguable whether the sequence would have been as effective in full color. Besides being expensive, it would have made it more difficult to photograph the special effects at that time. RKO rarely used any color processes as they were considered too expensive. The few films that did use it didn't warrant the cost and either lost money at the box office or made such a small profit that it discouraged further films being photographed in color. I personally find RKO's 3 Ape films more atmospheric and enjoyable because they were photographed in B&W.

Unfortunately, on quite a few DVD restorations with tinted sequences the color saturation is too high and masks subtle details of the images. One reason tinting and toning was phased out is with the coming of sound the tinted print stock made it more difficult to get an acceptable optical soundtrack on the release print.

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Bill Phelps
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1482
From: USA
Registered: Jan 2009

posted September 01, 2012 08:50 AM

I only have the Ken silent 200' version and I have to agree with Hugh that it is a stunning print. I get asked what's the best looking B&W print in your collection and I often state this little silent digest.

Those screen shots do look awesome Akshay!

Bill [Smile]

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