NitrateVille.com

I know this film has been shown here and there. Has anyone ever seen it? Has it ever been released on tape, and if not, why not? Are there rights issues? Since it's both Galsworthy and Whale, it's been on my list for years, but I've not yet managed to see it.

Fred

It just played U of Chicago's Doc Films, I know that. Alas, I couldn't make it to that or A Kiss Before the Mirror, the two I'd really like to see.

I've seen it, though i confess i only vaguely remember it. It was at the PFA, probably 20 years ago or more. It was ok, i'd be happy to see it again. I don't remember anything special about it, though.

greta

WKE thought very highly of it, even going so far as to call it Whale's best film. I, personally, would have to disagree. It's very long, exceptionally talky, and doesn't contain a shread of emotion. Loads of wonderful British character actors, all keeping VERY stiff upper lips. It's just disappointing to see the Clives, C. Aubrey Smith, Mowbray, Atwill, et al... all downplaying their roles in what should have been a very intense courtroom drama. I get the impression that Whale was trying to give this story a "British" treatment, as opposed to the typical "Hollywood" treatment. Maybe it worked for viewers in the U.K., but it sure makes for one snoozy movie! If you can imagine the action level of THE OLD DARK HOUSE without Karloff, Thesiger and any of the horror elements, then you have something akin to ONE MORE RIVER. The film also appears to have undergone some post-preview cuts. I'm sure the rape scene was deleted, and there are a number of other scenes which seem to be missing something.
The last copy of the Broadcast Information Bureau's Movies for TV catalog that I saw (pre-1990) stated the film was only available for syndication in Canada.
That all said, we tried to get OMR for this year's Capitolfest in Rome, NY, but were unsuccessful in obtaining a print.

greta de groat wrote:I've seen it, though i confess i only vaguely remember it. It was at the PFA, probably 20 years ago or more. It was ok, i'd be happy to see it again. I don't remember anything special about it, though.

greta

It played at Cinecon in the early 1990s. It was a treat to see Mrs. Patrick Campbell. She provided some much needed comic relief bits amidst the soapier main plot.

I recall Mrs PC getting off some oddly amusing complaints about her problems with flatulence but that's pretty much all I remember about the film.

Bob, do you recall any rights issues that would keep this title from being as well circulated as one would expect? For that matter, one would suspect that all of the films of a director as popular as Whale would be available, yet virtually nothing aside from the horror entries (and, at times, SHOW BOAT) show up with any frequency.

I have to agree with Jay. I found it quite dull, without the imagination and wit of most of his other films. Give me BY CANDLELIGHT or the first 5 minutes (!) of KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR anytime...

Danny Burk wrote:I have to agree with Jay. I found it quite dull, without the imagination and wit of most of his other films. Give me BY CANDLELIGHT or the first 5 minutes (!) of KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR anytime...

Oh dear. This doesn't sound good. OK, I'll keep it on my list but I won't hold out any hopes for it.

Might the release holdup be due to underlying Galsworthy estate rights? Dull or not, it's still Galsworthy and James Whale.

Fred

I only have a trailer. Never saw the feature.

I don't know if there are any rights issues with the film. What I do know is that Universal has never been overly exploitative with their James Whale films. With the exception of the horror movies (which, admittedly, remain to this day Universal's stock-in-trade), the studio has never pushed their classic library. Although I do have a vague memory of the non-horror Whales being available from Universal-16 back in the day, I've never run across a decent copy on video. Outside of the rare archival showing, THE IMPATIENT MAIDEN, THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR, BY CANDLELIGHT and ONE MORE RIVER pretty much exist only as 5th generation VHS dupes from early '80s broadcasts.

I saw it years ago on TCM but don't recall much about it except that Jane Wyatt was reasonably lively as Dinny Charwell (Cherrell). The film seemed to work hard at bringing in all of Galsworthy's characters, which may account for the dullness that some have mentioned.

Donna C.

I found One More River quite interesting. Saw it at Cinecon with Wild Bill Everson.

My recollection is that this is one of those films that's public domain.

The print of King of the Kongo is my print, and it's a typical bad Mascot serial of the era. Whether it's the sound version or not is up for debate. Despite the history given at the show, there are two versions of this serial that survive. My print is missing the credit for the sound and the credit for the song Love Thoughts of You. They were not printed into my copy (not just spliced out).

It has been speculated that this really IS the silent version but that Nat Levine was too cheap to spring for extra titles required to add explanation to the talking sequences. Whether or not that's true is hard to say.

Many of you may say that this is hard to swallow (Nat being cheap), but seeing some of his other serials, I'd say it's easy to believe.

If someone ever digs up a disc we can put the controversy to bed by seeing if it syncs up to the print I've got (I have the whole serial).

Eric

A 16mm print was shown this year at Cinefest, but I couldn't for the life of me stay awake through it. I think I was just past the point of no return for the night, and would give it another chance someday.

Nancy

Nancy Lorraine wrote:A 16mm print was shown this year at Cinefest, but I couldn't for the life of me stay awake through it. I think I was just past the point of no return for the night, and would give it another chance someday.

Nancy

I finally saw the film through the kindness of a NitrateVillain. Unhappily it was something of a disappointment, but I'm glad to have seen it. It's stagy and veddy stiff uppah lip. Diana Wynyard is just plain matronly, especially when compared to that spiffy little Jane Wyatt who was playing her older (!) sister. The best part was Colin Clive, who does a bangup job as the sadistic husband (no pun intended there).

It's worth seeing, so try to catch it the next time it comes around.

Fred