I quite often see this film available to buy on the 'net. (Obviously, it's a b**tleg.) I'm interested in it because I like Clara Bow and Charles Buddy Rogers, and it's their only teaming apart from Wings. Also, I think it would be fascinating to see Clara directed by Dorothy Arzner.
As I understand it, there is only one source for this film in existence, and that all copies are derived from this (first-hand, second-hand, whatever). Apparently, some footage is missing, and there is some evidence of decomposition in other parts.
For those of you who've seen it, I'd be grateful if you could comment on:
- the quality of the print you watched
- the film itself; does it disappoint as a frothy romantic comedy?
The print I have is about one hour and the missing reel or so is early in the film. It starts fine then jumps ahead and is a bit disorienting, but after a few moments you can easily fill in what was missed.
The quality of the print is pretty good to good, with the expected decomposition, dirt, etc., but rarely to the point of distraction.
The film itself is terrific. Bow, as usual, is entirely genuine in her performance and she and Rogers have wonderful chemistry. Probably one of the best Bow films, in my opinion.
Didn't Dorothy Arzner direct Clara in the early talkie, "The Wild Party?" I'll have to check imdb. I'm saving up my nickles to get a couple titles from Sunrise Silents, Hula and Mantrap. From what I read on the site, they do restoration as well as distribution. Has anyone had any experience with them?
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
I haven't but I'm tempted. I bought Hula off ebay and wasn't impressed with the copy. I've seen a amateur restoration of Mantrap, the story is good, I'd be interested in buying a better version of both these movies.
Where's Gagman? he's got a lot knowledge about silents.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
I'm here. The quality of the of the prints of MANTRAP and HULA from Sunrise Silents is very good. If you got a copy of HULA from Prowlin' Films those are horrible. The Sunrise print and transfer is like night and day of those. Rich Oliver spent allot of time on the transfer. As for GET YOUR MAN, the only source seems to be Prowlin' films, and the first thing you notice is the film was transferred at the much to slow rate for 1927 of 16 frames per second. Hopefully, someone else will put out a better version. I can't recommend this.
Here is a clip from HULA.
[youtube][/youtube]
Buddy Rogers and Clara Bow-"Devoted" from GET YOUR MAN (1927)
I had to wait until I was at work to watch (surreptitiously) the video clip because I'm on a dial-up at home. Actually, where I work is a pretty relaxed atmosphere with a lot of twenty-somethings who are quite casual about goofing off from time to time. An "old movie" to many of them might be ET or Back to the Future. It was funny also how perfectly natural it is to watch Clara cavort on my TV at home, but experiencing her performance at work was like channeling a communication from another planet.
I took the time to read all of Rich Oliver's essays on his website, and felt a lot of affinity towards his portrait of himself as a kid, straining to watch snowy prints of silent movies on UHF, with no support or encouragement. Why are we drawn to these cultural artifacts from ages gone by?
I overheard a conversation, again at the office, where a young woman said "Warren Beatty is hot." And a young guy from another cube said, "Isn't he like really old?" I wonder what he would make of our collective relish of deceased persons?
Thanks for the visuals. I'm definitely getting those Sunrise Silents once the paychecks start rolling in.
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
I wonder what he would make of our collective relish of deceased persons?
I think the same myself, I'm not clued in at all to the celebrity culture of today, I just nod now and again in agreement. Don't they know there are proper stars far more worthy of worship.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Well, since it looks like nobody's going to be able to help you get a better copy of Get Your Man, we might as well enjoy some of this tangientia!
One of the first few films I recorded when I got my DVD-R was "The Red Kimona." I watched it, archived it, and didn't think much about it. More recently, while I was out of work, the cable guy having taken my box away, I worked my way back through my collection for my "TV time." I pulled out that film and had a much, much deeper appreciation of it.
The heroine is played by Priscilla Bonner, Clara's unwed-mother roommate in "It." I liked her look in that film, although her character was rather one-dimensional. [Clara makes everyone seem like a prop when she's on screen, anyway]. And the screen adaptation was by....wait for it, Dorothy Arzner.
The film makes no secret of its intention to humanize and evoke compassion for "fallen women," and it gets the job done without being preachy. I wondered while I was watching it how much influence Arzner had during the shooting of it,
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
Thanks everyone for all the feedback on Get Your Man. I'm looking forward to seeing it
charliechaplinfan wrote:I bought Hula off ebay and wasn't impressed with the copy.
I think I might have bought the same version! - it was just about watchable once, but the quality was pretty atrocious.
intothenitrate wrote:An "old movie" to many of them might be ET or Back to the Future... Why are we drawn to these cultural artifacts from ages gone by?
I know, it's peculiar, isn't it? The other weekend I was visiting my mother, and we were watching one of her Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers DVDs, and wondering, How long are people going to be watching these films for? In a hundred years time will people still be laughing at Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore? Will people still be discovering Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell? Or excited because a silent film long thought lost has been rediscovered?
What's even stranger is that, to my two younger kids--who are 9 and 11--the world has always had a full compliment of silent films at its fingertips.
When I was their age, you might be able to catch a snowy, washed out print on UFH with a grating Wurlitzer music track--and once in a blue moon at that. It would be a rare sighting indeed.
"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."
Goodnight Basington
I'm here. The quality of the of the prints of MANTRAP and HULA from Sunrise Silents is very good. If you got a copy of HULA from Prowlin' Films those are horrible. The Sunrise print and transfer is like night and day of those. Rich Oliver spent allot of time on the transfer. As for GET YOUR MAN, the only source seems to be Prowlin' films, and the first thing you notice is the film was transferred at the much to slow rate for 1927 of 16 frames per second. Hopefully, someone else will put out a better version. I can't recommend this. 
