RED HAIR with Clara Bow: opening Technicolor reel survives?

[WaverBoy]

Someone mentioned at Home Theater Forum that the opening Technicolor reel of RED HAIR still survives, and that it was shown at a film festival within the last year or so. That was total news to this Bow fan, so I did some poking around and came up with this article, about the 2002 discovery of a cache of films found in a cabin on Cuffe Ranch in Lone Pine, apparently placed there by Clarence Badger:

http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/new ... 0902a1.asp

One of the cans contained what is labeled RED HAIR with Clara Bow and directed by Clarence Badger. Although the material is in bad shape, even if a few hundred feet of images can be recovered it would be quite a find. RED HAIR is one of those "missing, presumed lost" films. Mr. Badger worked with Clara Bow on three pictures and from stills found at the ranch, it can be demonstrated she spent a lot of time up there on vacation as did many other "superstars" of the silent era.

A color piece of Clara Bow, and other feature film clips appear to also be part of the collection. Here in Lone Pine news of what the films actually contain and the condition of the material is nervously being awaited. UCLA says it may take a long of time before they'll be sure.

An update to this story from 2003:

http://www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/news/news0604a1.asp

Inventorying of this film cache. Mr. Badger made three films with Clara Bow, two of which are missing: RED HAIR and THREE WEEKENDS. Since some of the cans of film were labeled with Miss Bow’s name or “Red Hair,” it was hoped that the movies had been found.

The first report was that there was no Bow material in the cans so labeled. A more thorough examination has led to a discovery of some material. But Jere Guildin wrote recently, "All that was in the collection from Clara Bow silent films were pieces from RED HAIR. Plus a reel from THREE WEEK ENDS, both of which were otherwise lost films. The reel from THREE WEEK ENDS was so deteriorated that only about 90 seconds of it could be salvaged. David Stenn, who wrote the biography on Bow, Running Wild, is funding preservation of the fragments. He's paid for preservation of several other Bow features at UCLA in the past."

And finally, I found a listing of a showing at UCLA's 2004 film festival:

Preservation funded by David Stenn
RED HAIR AND THREE WEEK ENDS (1928) - FRAGMENTS
(1928) Directed by Clarence Badger

Paramount. Based on stories by Elinor Glyn. Cast: Clara Bow. 35mm, silent, approx. 6 min.

Introduced by Jere Guldin

This program is presented by Hugh M. Hefner

So, around 4 and a half minutes of RED HAIR and 90 seconds of THREE WEEKENDS still survive. Did any of you Nitratevillians happen to attend that showing? If so, what's your take on what you saw? And, was Hef wearing his signature bathrobe?

(I realize of course that this is ancient news, but in case there are other Bow fans on the board as in the dark as I was, I thought they'd appreciate the heads up.)

[Chris Snowden]

This footage was screened at Cinecon in 2003. My memories have faded like Eastmancolor, but I was impressed at the time. From my Cinecon review that year:

CLARA BOW CLIPS: These were marvelous. RED HAIR looks to be as
quintessential a Clara Bow vehicle as IT, and THREE WEEK ENDS looked
fun too. She's just so lively and effervescent in her late silents,
yet so subdued in her talkies! Almost as if she was being impersonated
by somebody else after sound came in. I've seen most of her talkies,
and there isn't as much charm and excitement in all of them put
together as there were in the three minutes of RED HAIR we got to see.

It's especially sad that Red Hair is essentially lost to us, because exhibitor reviews at the time were very, very enthusiastic, much more so than for the typical Bow film.

[Danny Burk]

I seem to recall that the Tech clips from RED HAIR were either outtakes or test footage, no?

[Chris Snowden]

I seem to recall that the Tech clips from RED HAIR were either outtakes or test footage, no?

I think you're right, that it was all Technicolor test footage. All I really remember are lots of medium close-ups of Clara laughing and smiling. I'd have watched twelve reels of that, if we'd had them!

[WaverBoy]

The RED HAIR footage was only test footage? Aw nuts. I guess we wouldn't be able to tell from that if RED HAIR is a quintessential Bow vehicle, as we still wouldn't have seen any of the actual film. Oh well, more Clara is always good. At this point, ANY lost Clara Bow footage that turns up is quintessential, I guess. Thanks for the responses!

[Darren Nemeth]

The RED HAIR footage was only test footage? Aw nuts. I guess we wouldn't be able to tell from that if RED HAIR is a quintessential Bow vehicle, as we still wouldn't have seen any of the actual film. Oh well, more Clara is always good. At this point, ANY lost Clara Bow footage that turns up is quintessential, I guess. Thanks for the responses!

I actually spoke on the phone with the gentelman who found the footage and had it restored. There was much more footage but most of the reel had decomposed. What was preserved was just a section of it.

[Richard P. May]

According to my venerable list of Technicolor productions, RED HAIR is listed as "photographed prior to 1929", with a length of 57 feet. It is classified as an insert.

[Darren Nemeth]

According to my venerable list of Technicolor productions, RED HAIR is listed as "photographed prior to 1929", with a length of 57 feet. It is classified as an insert.

The Technicolor sequence was only 38 seconds long???

[FrankFay]

They showed these at Cinefest or Capitolfest. The RED HAIR footage was nice but the color was mostly faded into reddish brown. THREE WEEK ENDS looks as if it might have been pretty good.

[Richard P. May]

Responding to Darren's question about the Technicolor sequence being only 38 seconds long, I checked the list for other brief sections. No point listing the titles, but in the 2-color days there were quite a number of inserts that were under 100 feet.
Also, keep in mind the 3-color inserts in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1944), where two brief shots of the portrait getting more ugly were in color, and the final shot in PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1949), where the portrait itself is finally revealed in Technicolor.
These were probably more in the 15 second range of screen time.

[rudyfan]

Let me chime in as well, saw this at a past San Francisco Silent Film Fest (I can't remember which one, must have been in the last couple of years). Though it was short in length, Clara's charms were plainly evident in 2 strip technicolor.

[Richard P. May]

This is a bit off the Clara Bow subject, but a common error that will probably never go away.
2-color Technicolor was NEVER 2-strip. It was photographed on one strip of film, with a prism splitting the image, and sending it thru filters to create two frames next to each other. These were then separated optically in the printing process.
3-color Technicolor was actually shot on 3 rolls of film, so is correctly
3-strip.
For anyone more curious, excellent details with pictures can be found on www.widescreenmuseum.com.

[Darren Nemeth]

I have a two color Tech fragment, fitfully preserved by WB. No fade at all on it. 1929. Amazing stuff.

[Richard P. May]

What picture is it from? How was WB involved in its preservation?

[Darren Nemeth]

What picture is it from? How was WB involved in its preservation?

GOLD DIGGERS OF BROADWAY (WB/1929) and ON WITH THE SHOW! (WB/1929).

I shipped them to WB and they preserved both, sent me copies and returned the originals.

http://www.picking.com/vitaphone74.html

[rudyfan]

This is a bit off the Clara Bow subject, but a common error that will probably never go away.
2-color Technicolor was NEVER 2-strip. It was photographed on one strip of film, with a prism splitting the image, and sending it thru filters to create two frames next to each other. These were then separated optically in the printing process.
3-color Technicolor was actually shot on 3 rolls of film, so is correctly
3-strip.
For anyone more curious, excellent details with pictures can be found on www.widescreenmuseum.com.

Okay, my bad, I'm a low tech at heart who loves any technicolor