August 21, 1952 - The classic John Ford film, The Quiet Man was released on this date. When John Ford screened his final cut for the studios top brass they liked it, but it was 129 minutes. They reminded him they would not release a film over 120 minutes, citing the audiences could not/would not sit in a theater for over two hours. Ford staunchly objected claiming he already cut out all the fat and there was nothing left to cut. They stood their ground & sent him back to cut nine minutes. Ford did his level best to contain his ire as he collected his film and fume out the door. As the story goes, a few days later he called the brass and informed them the final print was ready for the screening. When the last man took his seat Ford signaled the projectionist to dim the lights and run it. Then, at exactly 120 minutes, right in the middle of the climactic fight, the screen goes white and the house lights came up. There followed by a deafening silence. Ford said something like, As you can plainly see there is nothing left to cut out. So, I give you The Quiet Man at exactly 120 minutes! Now, youre begging me for the last nine minutes! Do you honestly think the audience will be any different? Naturally, the studio relented. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:31:28 +0000
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