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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 01, 2004
Two
Arabian Knights, The Racket, and The Mating Call Digitally Restored by
Flicker Alley on Turner Classic Movies December 15, 2004
Films Part of
Howard Hughes Collection at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Flicker Alley is
excited to announce the completion of one of its most ambitious projects
to date: The digital restoration of three previously unavailable silent
films produced by the legendary Howard Hughes. The films - Two Arabian
Knights (1927), The Racket (1928), and The Mating Call (1928) Ñ have not been seen since their initial releases and are the earliest
surviving examples of Hughes' work. Each new digital edition will feature
a state-of-the-art digital film transfer and a new orchestral score by
acclaimed silent film composer Robert Israel.
Flicker Alley initiated
a collaboration between Turner Entertainment Networks and the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where the films had been stored for nearly
a decade as part of the university's Howard Hughes Collection. Funding
for the project was provided by Turner Entertainment Networks, which plans
to air the films on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on December 15 beginning
at 5 p.m.(PDT) as part of its Howard Hughes festival. All proceeds from
the project will benefit UNLV Department of Film programs.
These three silents
offer great historic and cultural value. Two Arabian Knights is one of
only two Academy Award¨ winning films (Lewis Milestone - Best Comedy Direction
1927/1928) to have been considered lost or at least unavailable for viewing.
Likewise, The Racket is one of only three films nominated for Best Picture
also to have been considered unavailable for viewing. The Mating Call
is a rare surviving example of famed director James Cruze's silent film
work. The films were each profitable and well received upon their initial
releases and still entertain with their humor, originality and provocative
subject matter. The comedic buddy picture Two Arabian Knights features
Lewis Wolheim and William Boyd as roughnecks who escape a World War I
German prison camp and end up rescuing a princess played by Mary Astor.
One of the first modern gangster movies, The Racket deals graphically
with the inner city bootleg wars of 1920s Chicago and contains a character
based largely on Al Capone. The compelling story lines of The Mating Call
involve a returning World War I veteran (Thomas Meighan) who has been
abandoned by his wife (Evelyn Brent) and struggles to adjust to a new
life of farming in Florida with a Russian immigrant bride (Renee Adoree).
Due to the condition
of the original materials, the digital restoration proved to be a worthy
challenge for Flicker Alley. Not only were the films missing footage and
intertitles, each also suffered from normal wear and tear and scratches
and varying degrees of nitrate damage, which is typical of popular movies
this age. The digital film-to-tape transfers were created on a Spirit
Datacine by telecine colorist David Block at Ascent Media in Burbank,
CA. Intertitle reconstruction and thousands of instances of dirt, debris,
and scratches were corrected by the restoration team at Advanced Digital
Services in Hollywood, CA.
www.turnerclassicmovies.com
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