Follies Girl

When I started collecting 16mm films about 1970 FOLLIES GIRL was the first feature I bought. It cost me $25. I later sold it for $40 and thought I had scored a tremendous coup. I have regretted that move ever since. The film stinks on oh so many levels; independently made in the Bronx, released by P.R.C.....what more need be said? Back then however I did speak with one of the people who had appeared in it. I will not identify this person (Ray Heatherton) but I was told that should I ever choose to show the film publicly he/she would give me $100 not to do so. Facetious yes, but clearly an indication of the embarrassment that was felt for having appeared in it. My desire to again own or at least see this epic is borne strictly of melancholy and nostalgia as it was one of the first films in my collection. Curiously, the A.F.I. Catalogue (1941-1950) lists a "print viewed" notation by this entry. Just as intriguing to me are the 4 stars and 9 votes accorded this film by the IMDb which is a strong indication that someone has either seen it or knows where it is. Despite the film's obvious shortcomings it boasts a marginally interesting cast including Wendy Barrie, Ray (Merry Mailman) Heatherton, Johnny Long and their respective orchestras as well as everyone's favorite Cora Witherspoon (I never miss a Cora Witherspoon picture). I'll take any reasonably good copy either in 16mm, VHS or DVD. Someone must have a handle on this since the IMDb has rated it. Any leads would be sincerely appreciated.

Addendum, 12/13/11-Since first posting my comments on this film almost one year ago I now have in my collection two DVD copies originating from different sources. One very kind reader sent me a copy which was obtained from a private source. Another thoughtful user alerted me to the current commercial availability of this item. Unfortunately the purveyor of this DVD is Alpha Video which should likewise alert prospective purchasers as well as seasoned DVD collectors as to precisely what to expect. While I've not screened the entire disc at this juncture I can report that both this title as well as the other film on the DVD (CAREER GIRL, P.R.C., 1944) are both lacking original studio logos (which most certainly do exist) and adding insult to injury they are unnecessarily burdened with Alpha Video's logo throughout the totality of both the opening and ending credits of each film. This is a nasty little habit that Alpha Video has and something which has been in evidence on every item I've ever seen emanating from them. Given the overall quality of their arcane public domain offerings with respect to both their movie choices as well as the general print quality of the films from which their DVD's are struck, it's astonishing to me that they are so eager to display their logo with such pride and for so long. The other side of the coin is that Alpha Video offers a great number of items which despite varying quality are unavailable elsewhere. Thus, even though the P.R.C. logos are presumably missing from the prints they used for their transfers FOLLIES GIRL is now available in what a cursory examination reveals to be a reasonably good copy from an acceptable print. In short, it will have to suffice pending the unearthing of a better copy. Oh well, any old port in a storm. I realize that the issue of missing studio logos seems to be niggling and trivial and probably of interest to no one but myself but as both a historian and enthusiast with respect to Hollywood's lower echelon studios I find this omission to be a bit unsatisfying. I'm nonetheless glad to have this film despite the negligible imperfections in the DVD. Now if anyone has a line on the whereabouts of my 16mm print.....

addendum to 12/13/11 addendum, 12/24/11

I am unhappy to report that while the material used for the FOLLIES GIRL transfer is fairly good as far as picture and sound quality are concerned, the print used is at least 12 minutes short of the 16mm print I had as well as the DVD copy (derived from a private source) which was sent to me by a fellow collector. Sort of makes my lament of the missing P.R.C. logo seem rather trivial. Since I'm evidently the only person who has any interest in this movie my hope is that someone on the Alpha Video staff will read these remarks. Why did they use an altered print? Surely it's not the only one available as is evidenced by the source material of my "other" copy. Did they think this would go unnoticed? As I said in my original remarks this is a lousy film and my presumption therefore is that anyone purchasing it must have some knowledge of it, a fairly compelling reason for buying it and would thus have no difficulty in recognizing an incomplete copy. I'm not suggesting Alpha Video did this knowingly and deliberately misrepresented the film. I do feel however that the presumption that the purchaser will be receiving a complete copy of the film in question is not too much to be expected. I will carefully consider any future purchases of DVDs offered by Alpha Video.