The Great Gabbo Film Prints

[Brad Moore]

I recently purchased from a England quite a rare super 8 print of The Great Gabbo. This print is quite good, but I'm filled with many questions about the print that I can't seem to answer. For starters being a black and white film, this print is on a low fade color stock, which gives it a palish blue tint. At the time I had bought this, the only distributor I had known to put this out, was Thunderbird. Just before the opening titles as the opening music starts, it says in red letters Cinegate Presents. Then to make matters more confusing at the end of some reels in clearly says Thunderbird Films in the tail leader, and in one reel that I've noticed so far hand written, but printed in the print reads Cinegate Presents. The Thunderbird Films looks like it normally wood on a leader.

Then there is the question of this being a public domain version print. I have read some prints seem to vary. Mine seems to run about 78 minutes or so, and is completely missing The Web Of Love, and the two numbers before hand. Some brief dialogue is missing too, when Stroheim places the food order over the phone, which is all in the same general area. Is this normal in some public domain prints, or am I missing a reel. I've tried to research this as best as I can, and I'm open to any ideas!

[Phototone]

There is a DVD available of the restored version. You could compare to see exactly what is missing. AFAIK, only the "Ga Ga Bird" musical number is missing from restored print, as this was in Multicolor.

Years ago, when Thunderbird was active, a deceased friend of mine purchased a 16mm print of this, and we watched it many times, and the dialog and musical numbers you say are missing from your print were present in his 16mm print. Only the Ga Ga Bird color sequence was missing.

[Brad Moore]

Nice to know that the 16mm Thunderbird print has the footage that mine is missing. I'm beginning to think I may be missing a reel. I would like to know more about what Cinegate Presents was, and why my print has a color stock. I was able to compare my print to The Kino Dvd, to know what was missing.

[earlytalkie]

I own the restored print of Gabbo on DVD as well as the Alpha version which is essentially the same print, but unrestored. Years ago I had a VHS copy of this film from a print of the same length, but with no music under the opening titles, and most of the film seemed to consist of alternate takes of many scenes. The vocal inflections and delivery are noticeably different, especially towards the end. The short version that plays on Archive.org has many of these alternate takes in it's print. I read that Eric Von Stroheim disliked this film so much that he attempted to buy all the exsisting prints to destroy, but he was beaten to this purchase by Edgar Bergen, who apparently admired the film. The Kino restoration version (by The Library of Congress) is excellent, missing only the multicolor from the revue sequences. Even the exit music is included.

[vitaphone]

I was told by a seasoned ventriloquist years ago that Bergen bought the rights, and prints, of GABBO in the early forties with the idea of one day remaking it. It never happened. In a bizarre twist, the purchase of the GABBO rights and materials allegedly included Von Stroheim's dummy Otto!

[earlytalkie]

Ooohhh! I wonder where Otto is today? What an artifact for a dedicated collector! Perhaps Candice Bergen should check her attic!

[Brianruns10]

Any idea why the color sequence of all things was excised, or not even preserved in black and white?

[earlytalkie]

All the revue sequences were filmed in Multicolor process. They have survived only in black-and-white. The Ga-Ga Bird sequence was one of them and it seems to have been excised from all copies of the film early on. A very brief snippet of this scene can be spotted in the montage sequence which occurs after Mary tells Gabbo that there can be nothing between them. The montage consists of Gabbo holding his head, imagining he's reliving the various numbers from the revue while realizing he means nothing to Mary. By the way, a couple of the revue sequences can be seen, underscored by new music, in The Girl From Calgary, a 1932 Monogram film. Part of "I'm In Love With You" can be briefly spotted in the 1940 Christmas classic "Beyond Tomorrow", in the scene following New Years. A montage of scenes and diary pages, it goes by very quickly and I had to view it several times to confirm this. In both The Girl From Calgary and Beyond Tomorrow, the sequences from Gabbo are in black-and-white. The Ga-Ga Bird, from what I've seen does not look like it was the greatest musical sequence ever filmed, which may be why it was cut. The Web of Love is my favorite. Truly bizarre, with chorus girls dreesed as insects. Many people don't like any of the numbers in this picture, feeling they take away from the dark story. I feel they add to the Ziegfeld-like atmosphere of the show Gabbo is supposed to be performing in. In addition to relieving the dark aspects of the story for 1929 audiences, they add to the late-20s atmosphere of the thing.

[Jayescott]

I agree. I love all of the incredible sets they came up with for these numbers… They were so Art Deco and so amazing to look at. I sometimes feel that of all of the musical films that I've seen from this particular point in time, "The Great Gabbo" numbers are the ones that really take me there. The dance numbers were actually pretty well done too... If you watch "The Broadway Melody" from the same year – the film that won best picture at the Academy Awards – the dancers were far more clumsy, and the choreography in many ways was inferior to the dance numbers in "The Great Gabbo."

[earlytalkie]

I agree. I love all of the incredible sets they came up with for these numbers… They were so Art Deco and so amazing to look at. I sometimes feel that of all of the musical films that I've seen from this particular point in time, "The Great Gabbo" numbers are the ones that really take me there. The dance numbers were actually pretty well done too... If you watch "The Broadway Melody" from the same year – the film that won best picture at the Academy Awards – the dancers were far more clumsy, and the choreography in many ways was inferior to the dance numbers in "The Great Gabbo."

The restored version, by Library of Congress is so sharp and clear, even in the color sequences, that they would seem a natural for colorization. The Multicolor process, which was two-color, favored red and blue rather than red and green from what I've heard. A good example of Multicolor can be seen in the 1936 Captain Calamity, a Grand National picture. The color is listed on the credits as Hirlicolor, as processed by Magnacolor (on the one version I've seen which has complete credits). Again, from what I've read, Hirlicolor/Magnacolor processes are most similar to Multicolor as to color schemes. Captain Calamity isn't much of a film, but while watching it on YouTube, my friend (who doesn't pay attention too much to these things) remarked "gee, that's pretty good color for such an old film".

[entredeuxguerres]

Many people don't like any of the numbers in this picture, feeling they take away from the dark story.

Rather, the "dark story" takes away from the numbers. How many times can one watch, with genuine interest & satisfaction, that same "dark story"? But my fascination with watching "Every Now and Then" seems to be insatiable. And Margie Kane's dancing? It's a drug to which I'm hopelessly addicted.

Actually, my fascination with this picture has declined substantially after learning (unfortunately) that Betty Compson had been dubbed; knowing that someone else's voice is flowing out of her beautiful mouth is an incongruity to which I can't be reconciled. Stunt-work? Well, no actor can be expected to be a gymnast; but singing is entirely different--that does come within an actor's compass; the actor, at any rate, who performs in a musical number.

[entredeuxguerres]

Captain Calamity isn't much of a film, but while watching it on YouTube, my friend (who doesn't pay attention too much to these things) remarked "gee, that's pretty good color for such an old film".

He should have been impressed...if it's anywhere near as gorgeous as the color in Rio Rita & Dixiana.

[earlytalkie]

Captain Calamity isn't much of a film, but while watching it on YouTube, my friend (who doesn't pay attention too much to these things) remarked "gee, that's pretty good color for such an old film".

He should have been impressed...if it's anywhere near as gorgeous as the color in Rio Rita & Dixiana.

The print of this is in good shape ( I believe it's 35mm) and the color really is lovely. The two-color process favoring blue is a big boost to the outdoor scenes showing the water and skies. I would go so far as to say this is one of the finest examples of how rich a two-color process can look. As far as Betty Compson's dubbing. I've read that Josephine Houston, who had a small role in On With The Show dubbed her singing voice in that film (as well as Sally O' Neil's in the same film!). Betty's singing in Gabbo sounds suspiciously like Ms. Houston was again dubbing her. I may be wrong, but it sure sounds like the same voice.

[Marr&Colton]

FYI, folks, Grapevine Video has an EXCELLENT quality DVD release of GABBO.....

[silentfilm]

Steve Zalusky posted this clipping on Facebook, from the Nov. 2, 1929. Baltimore Afro-American.

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Interesting info on CAPTAIN CALAMITY (1936). Knowing nothing about it I suspected it was a colorised b/w movie. Interesting that it was two-color, as the bit I saw looked like full color. Suspect it will be rather fun. On a similar tack, is THE DANCING PIRATE (1936) out there in a decent color print? I picked up a dvd a few years back and the color was AWFUL! Until I saw it, I'd had the impression it was a lost film, but the condition of this copy made it hard to watch. I have found nice copies of it on YouTube, but in b/w alas...

[BGM]

The Dancing Pirate is a charming film -an early Rodgers and Hart musical and the first full length 3 strip Technicolor musical -I don't think it still exists in full color since it was a Pioneer Film production and the film was sold (when Pioneer went out of business) and later reissued in Cinecolor as was their other Technicolor film Becky Sharp. Maybe some archive has a Technicolor print tucked away some where....... lets hope so!