So how about this for going full circle? Last year, Malcolm Smith, an elderly gentleman in Sydney, discovered that he had a print of The Three Stooges short HELLO POP! (1933), which was one of the many shorts my uncle Jack Cummings made for MGM. This little film, and many like it, were lost in a huge fire at MGM decades ago. Malcolm contacted Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project, who arranged for it to come to the US. Paul Brennan facilitated this and even, at one point, carried the tin of nitrate film on his lap on a bus through the suburbs of Sydney! It was then shipped to Ron (no easy process at all), who arranged for its preservation and restoration. Fast forward 12 months and couple of weeks ago, the Warner Archive Collection (ably represented by Matt Patterson) actually released it on DVD/Blu-ray for everyone to appreciate once again - 81 years later! I was delighted to have Ron on the show last Saturday to share this story with our listeners. Now, Paul and I are planning to deliver a copy of the DVD in person to Malcolm, whose actions made this amazing little film history event possible. Hopefully, we can take pictures and possibly even some footage ourselves. Standby for more... (Photos below are copyright and courtesy Ron Hutchinson.)
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 01:17:45 +0000