"The King Of Jazz" (1930), they have found Reel number 8...

[David Alp]

They have found reel number 8 of Universals "The King Of Jazz" 1930 according to The Vitaphone project, click here to read it and scroll down a bit http://www.vitaphoneproject.com/

I wonder what was on reel 8? Does anyone know? I am hoping it was the reel that included the number "I'd Like To Do Things For You" because that presently only exists in battered 16mm dupe format, so it'd be lovely to finally know they have found that number in pristine 35mm form. Other bits that only exist in 16mm format include "Oh How I'd Like To Own A Fish Stall", certain bits of "It Happened In Monterey", fragments of "The Melting Pot Of Music", quite a large chunk of the beginning to "A Bench In the Park", certain sections of "Rhapsody In Blue", all of the sketch "All Noisy On The Eastern Front", Bing Crosby and the Rythmn Boys singing a brief stanza of "Mississippi Mud", and all of "Has Anybody Seen Our Nellie?".

Other news from Vitaphone is that they are launching a brand new huge effort to find the lost film "Convention City" 1933; Whether they will find it remains to be seen as they've been searching now for years with no success, but at least they haven't given up. Oh, and also Bob Gitt has finally retired... they refer to him as "Retired film restorer Robert Gitt...." which is a shame as he was so integral to film restoration and performed miracles with "The Lost Horizon" 1937....

But I'm more excited about this Reel 8 to King Of Jazz?? Hmmmmm I'd love to know what is on it... I might get my DVD-R copy out tonight and see what is roughly on the DVD 75-80 minutes into the film as of course one reel was usually close to 9 or 10 minutes, but then with trims and the way King Of Jazz has been butchered over the years it's not a very reliable way to try to find out what is on that reel....

[stjn01]

Hi David,
To my knowledge King Of Jazz is more or less complete as we know it. There can't be many minutes missing in the existing print. However... The existing print is a patchwork of 35 and 16 mm film elements as you describe. My guess is that they might have found a 35mm print of reel 8 that can replace existing bits and pieces. This is splendid news indeed! Remember that King Of Jazz is the earliest surviving all color talkie.

[David Alp]

Exactly!! And if they have found reel 8 in pristine shape, it can just be simply spliced back into the movie... I have heard nothing else since my original thread last year regarding a DVD release of this film which irkes me incredbily, however "Universal" are now famous for NOT releasing their back catalogue of old films. It's a travesty... I have just been onto Wikipedia and learned a bit more about the film and three cut sections.

QUOTE:

The King Of Jazz premiered on April 20, 1930, at the Criterion Theater. Receipts from the film were below expectations within the first 2 weeks.

The grand premiere of the film was held on May 2, 1930 at the Roxy Theater in New York. At the Roxy Theater premiere, the Whiteman Orchestra, together with George Gershwin and the 125-piece Roxy Symphony Orchestra, put on a stage show. The show featured Rhapsody in Blue and Mildred Bailey, backed by the Roxy Chorus. The stage show was performed five times a day, between showings of the movie. The stage show ran for only one week, and the movie itself continued at the Roxy for only one additional week. There were at least nine different foreign language versions of the film. Reportedly, the Swedish version has at least some different music.

The movie was originally 105 minutes long. However, it was later shortened to 93 minutes for all re-releases after the Production Code went into effect in July 1934. The following production numbers were ordered by the censors to be cut from film before they allowed it to be re-released:

1; A sketch (William Kent) about a suicidal flute player, with the Whiteman Orchestra performing Caprice Viennois as background music.

2; A specialty number featuring Nell O'Day, with music unknown and set in a cabaret lobby.

3; A sketch featuring Grace Hayes singing "My Lover."

This re-release print was used on the VHS cassette release of the 1990s. Copies of the original uncut film, however, still survive.

Un-QUOTE.

So according to Wikipedia the three cut scenes, (above; cut due the Hays Code), still survive but have not, as yet, been put back into the movie. And we still do not have any evidence of a DVD release.. My VHS copy runs for the 93 minutes aforementioned, and not the 105 minutes as originally released back in 1930, so we are still missing 12 minutes.