"Grueling" might not be the word for the film itself, but the experience
certainly was.
It's 1968; I'm 13 and living in central Kansas. Forry Ackerman's Famous
Monsters magazine has fostered my infatuation with the great Lon Chaney but
I've never seen one of his films. Lo, the heavens open and I learn that a
local college will be running "Hunchback of Notre Dame." My dad finally agrees
to drop me off at the college for the 8 pm showing and I'm to call him when
it's over.
Unfortunately, they are showing an 8mm print on 400 foot reels using a single
projector. After every reel, they turn on the lights and rewind before showing
the next one. Naturally, old splices periodically fail and the film breaks or
burns multiple times. Each incident requires immediate repair; lights on;
another delay. The Hunchback will take about 3 1/2 hours to run.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the finish.
You see, I didn't realize that "Hunchback" was to be the second feature of the
night ... after "Birth of a Nation." Dad showed up around 1 in the morning,
mad as a hornet that I hadn't called. Well, the film wasn't over! The judge
refused to let me off on that technicality and it would be a couple more years
before I saw the rest of the film.
On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 10:38:11 AM EDT, Tony Calvert
<[email protected]> wrote:
I just had to check a print of "A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT." It seemed
to drag on forever. I like good character studies, but this seemed to never
end. The only good thing is that it was a shorter version, the bad part is the
collection has 2 more prints. If I ever hear a fog horn I will go into a deep
depression.
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