Help: Completed but never released films (thought extant)?

[Spiny Norman]

The recent 1913 Bert Williams films made me curious: How many other films are there that were completed, but never released, AND are known to still exist?
Apart from a few TV series and a weird 1970 Antony & Cleopatra version, I can't really think of (m)any.

[momsne]

The number of unreleased films made for the U.S. market must be in the hundreds, if not thousands. Nowadays, movies can be released straight to video or TV. The producers decide the cost of a theatrical release of their new movie is too much, why throw good money after bad for a probable flop. Betty Comden, the co-writer of the 1955 MGM movie "It's Always Fair Weather," looked to find out where it was showing in New York City where she lived. She found the movie playing at a string of New Jersey drive-ins. No Radio City Music Hall release for that movie, which lost money for MGM. The 2008 animated movie "Delgo," costing $40 million to produce, made less than $1 million at the box office. Look at some of the independent movie productions financed by Orson Welles. Years in production, negatives seized by creditors, the movies finally released on DVD reconstructed from the best print material remaining available. Thanks to the low cost of digital movie equipment, the number of unreleased films will be going up, now that the movie maker does not have the upfront costs of buying movie film, paying for dailies and final prints.

[Dave Pitts]

The most notorious example is The Day the Clown Cried, which Jerry Lewis filmed in around '71-'72. Notorious because of Lewis' star status and because he flares up when interviewers ask him to discuss it. It is a melodrama about the Holocaust -- reportedly, Lewis is the title figure, interacting with children in one of the death camps. At the end he and his friends are gassed. When he appeared on Dick Cavett's show (an appearance which is included in full in Cavett's box set of interviews with comedy legends) he announces that he is shortly to preview the film at Cannes (I think -- I know he references the film and talks about its release.) Perhaps he now intends to have it released posthumously, who knows.
There were several Peter Sellers films which were completed and then shelved in the 70s. They are discussed in an amazingly caustic biography of Sellers -- which I think is called The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. The book is amazing because the author has thorough contempt for his subject -- it's as if he's profiling Heinrich Himmler. I no longer remember the titles on those films. The author managed to see them in production archives.

[bobfells]

If the question is geared to vintage films, I understand that there were a couple of Roscoe Arbuckle features that remained unreleased due to the Rappe scandal. At least one is out there although that may have been due to its European release. Enrico Caruso made two films in 1918 but only the first was released, MY COUSIN. The second film never saw the light of day and I suspect is lost.

A few films were completed then after preview were substantially revised. Stroheim's last directorial effort, Fox's HELLO SISTER (1932), was completed on time and on budget. But Fox had Alfred Werker reshoot much of it and it was released as WALKING DOWN BROADWAY.

Same with THE CAPTURE OF TARZAN (1935) that MGM substantially refilmed and released as TARZAN ESCAPES (1936). It would be interesting to see both original versions of the Stroheim and Tarzan films.

[silentfilm]

Bob, you are thinking of Arbuckle's Leap Year, which was never released in the USA, but was released in Europe.

[bobfells]

Bob, you are thinking of Arbuckle's Leap Year, which was never released in the USA, but was released in Europe.

Thanks Bruce. I believe that LEAP YEAR is available on DVD these days.

[sepiatone]

A few of Fatty's unreleased Paramounts I think are at Gosfilmofond.

[sepiatone]

Here's a recent film that was sort of released but nobody has seen it. A mess of a story in which a movie was made just so a company could keep the film rights. Unbelievable!

Pimpin Pee Wee(2009) aka Porky's: The College Years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimpin'_Pee_Wee" target="_blank

[Jay Salsberg]

THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994)

[Harlowgold]

I'm not sure if it was completed but does anyone know anything about COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN, which MGM advertised in full page ads in movie magazines of 1934 but no such film was ever released. It's hard to imagine it wasn't at least near-completion for them advertise it and the fact that they did suggested it was indeed finished but apparently either set for never done retakes or just abandoned due to bad previews (????) According to the ads it starred May Robson and Polly Moran in what was clearly an attempt at a Moran-Marie Dressler type vehicle (Marie being recently deceased); Una Merkel is also credited with being in the film.

[Spiny Norman]

I'm not sure if it was completed but does anyone know anything about COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN, which MGM advertised in full page ads in movie magazines of 1934 but no such film was ever released. It's hard to imagine it wasn't at least near-completion for them advertise it and the fact that they did suggested it was indeed finished but apparently either set for never done retakes or just abandoned due to bad previews (????) According to the ads it starred May Robson and Polly Moran in what was clearly an attempt at a Moran-Marie Dressler type vehicle (Marie being recently deceased); Una Merkel is also credited with being in the film.

The trouble is, most films like that are likely to have been destroyed at some point.
I, Claudius (1937) is an exception, 37 minutes of the unfinished film still exist. There's also supposed to be half an hour of Errol Flynn's William Tell, but no-one knows where.

[moviepas]

Thanks Bruce. I believe that LEAP YEAR is available on DVD these days.

LEAP YEAR(1922) always comes to mind. This came out in 8mm by Australian Hartney Arthur's Milestone Films in the 1970s, in those yellow boxes. I sold Milestone's catalog in Australia on STD8(no Super8 he said, but he did. No sound pictures he said, but he did in Super8). Some of the stuff he released does not seem to be floating around since he ceased business.

[wich2]

The Marx silent short HUMOR RISK was evidently (somewhat) completed but not released (except for one possible screening?)

The 1990 CAPTAIN AMERICA feature with Matt (J.D.'s son!) Salinger was shot as a theatrical, but only released direct-to-vid/cable, U.S.-wise.

-Craig

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Correct me if I'm misinformed, but A DAY AT THE BEACH (1970) [of which I just bought a copy] was started by Roman Polanski and completed by Simon Hesera (yes, me neither) after Sharon Tate's (and her unborn baby's) murder. It was then shelved 'for fear of being seen to 'cash in' on Polanski's grief' [sleeve notes]. I would have thought if that was the case they would either have abandoned it or shelved it automatically after completion. In any case, Polanski turned out MACBETH a year or two later, so that excuse seems pretty thin. It seems to have been shown in Canada in 1990, but possibly that was all until the DVD release in 2007. Perhaps they thought "This is going to do no-one's career any good" or just didn't think it was worth releasing. We shall see...

[JFK]

Big Bug Man Wikipedia Excerpt
Mrs. Sour is only in three scenes, so it took only one day to record the voice of this character. According to the director Bob Bendetson, Brando wore a blond wig, a dress, white gloves, and full makeup while recording the voice of Mrs. Sour. Bendetson believes this was part humorous, and part wanting to get into character. Bendetson said "About halfway through he took off the wig because he was getting too hot." According to the film's executive producer Gabriel Grunfeld, Brando described the part as "the most fun I've had since playing Julius Caesar." Grunfeld said that even though Brando was frail, he was full of energy and invention. The recording took place in Marlon Brando's home, on June 10, 2004. Brando was on oxygen six hours a day. He died the next month, on July 1, 2004.

[sepiatone]

Wanda Hawley version of "Peg O'My Heart"(1919) - AFI has it listed under Hawley's bio , but it was never released
http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/Abbr ... ovie=17484" target="_blank

[coolcatdaddy]

Weren't there a number of incomplete RKO projects that Howard Hughes shelved when he took over the studio and some that were axed by General Tire when they bought RKO from Hughes later in the decade?