Tweet Fly Air Canada, Support Classic Movies!

I hate flying Air Canada, but sometimes I have no choice. It happens to be the only airline with flights between Ottawa and Fredericton, New Brunswick, so I was saddled up and prodded into my stall in economy class twice last week in order to attend a conference in the latter city.

One reason I hate them is because, unlike their Canadian rival WestJet, Air Canada's in-flight entertainment doesn't include "live" TV programming, so I couldn't watch Blue Jays baseball or even Euro soccer (not that I'm interested in soccer, but I'd finished my book with 2 hours to kill before the landing). Instead, they offer so-called "classic" TV, movies, and old documentaries.

I clicked on "Movies" and was presented with a menu of genres. Oh, I see "Classic Movies" is one genre... Okay, let's click on that one. Hmm, another menu... And ... what the hell???!!!

A 1930s Flash Gordon serial, Chapter 12?????

And similarly, Chapter 12 of the 1930s serial SOS Coast Guard??!!!!

And three Charlie Chaplin silents from 1914?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Hades!!!

The Chaplins were 3 of his worst: Recreation, His New Job, and one of the segments from Tango Tangles. They were poor quality cut-downs from Export Films. They certainly wouldn't convert any know-nothing to silent comedies. But there they were, in-flight entertainment almost 100 years after they were made!

Oh, by the way, the other films in the Classic Movies menu were some piddly things called Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, and Best Years of Our Lives. Loooooosers!

Jim

I can usually count on finding some vintage PD title like Royal Wedding, My Man Godfrey or maybe even those W.C. Fields shorts.

Keep hoping for the original The Front Page, but so far no dice.

Everything I've seen on the 1931 THE FRONT PAGE is in such poor condition to be almost unwatchable, especially the sound. If better elements exist, it needs a major benefactor to do a restoration job.
The same applies to OUR TOWN (1940).

I picked up a gorgeous 16mm print of OUR TOWN on eBay a few years ago. It wasn't cheap, but it was from an original negative with a superbly re-recorded soundtrack. I used to have a late-40's composite dupe, which was the only official print I had seen up until that time. I've actually gone through about 5 prints til this one turned up. I recently scored a similar print of OF HUMAN BONDAGE (though this was taken from a 35mm nitrate positive as evidenced by the end-of-reels wear). Again - I have no idea who had these things struck but there certainly aren't a lot of them around. At least BONDAGE survives in 35mm and has been released on DVD.

Now if I can just find an original WINTERSET (which, I believe, UCLA has restored).

I've only seen The Front Page on EP-speed PD VHS tapes, so anything would be an improvement at this stage, but it's a shame there aren't better elements out there for it.

And I'm with Jim on Air Canada, usually not one of my favourite travel experiences, although getting to fly in one of those futuristic pod seats to Australia was pretty swell.