Coming Back to a Theater Near You: A History of Hollywood Reissues, 1914-2014

by Brian Hannan

Overview

In the Silent Era, film reissues were a battle between rival studios--every Mary Pickford new release in 1914 was met with a Pickford re-release. For 50 years after the Silent Era, reissues were a battle between the studios, who considered old movies "found money," and cinema owners, who often saw audiences reject former box office hits. In the mid-1960s, the return of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)--the second biggest reissue of all time--altered industry perceptions, and James Bond double features pushed the revival market to new heights. In the digital age, reissues have continued to confound the critics.

This is the untold hundred-year story of how old movies saved new Hollywood. Covering the booms and busts of a recycling business that became its own industry, the author describes how the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart and Alfred Hitchcock won over new generations of audiences, and explores the lasting appeal of films like Napoleon (1927), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Rocky Horror Show (1975) and Blade Runner (1982).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476623894
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/05/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	492
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian Hannan writes a regular column for Cinema Retro magazine and gives lectures on film at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.
Brian Hannan writes a regular column for Cinema Retro magazine and gives lectures on film at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments deletevi
Preface
Introduction
1. The First Quarter Century: 1914–1939,
Let Battle Commence
Introduction • The Reissue Bandwagon Begins to Roll • 
The First Reissue Boom: Chaplin Fever • Deception: The Fraud Squad • Self-Destruction: The Reissue Threat • The Last Taboo: Valentino • Reissue Phenomenon: Birth of a Nation • How Reissues Fitted the New Business Model • Talkies: The Impossible Equation • 
The New Horizon: Remakes and Synchronization • Intermittent Demand • Shortage Turns the Tide • Into the Record Books • Unlikely Reissue King: Charles Laughton • Financial Crisis and Looming War • Conclusion
2. The 1940s: Reissue Bust and Boom
Introduction • Thumbs Down to War Revivals • Longer, Shorter:
New Versions of Old Movies • Reissues Unwanted Until the Shortage Bites • Drastic Action as Studios Curtail Reissues • The Growth of the Specialist Reissue Company • The Reissue Double Bill • 
“There’s Gold in Them Thar Reissues” (Variety, April 2, 1947, 9) • 
Unions Demand Action • Conclusion
3. The 1940s: Case Studies—Haphazard Reissue
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The W.C. Fields Cult Begins • Gone with the Wind • The Wizard of Oz and the Anniversary Invention
4. The 1950s: Television Haunts the Industry
Introduction • Television: Opportunity and Threat • The Optimists • 
The Deceivers • Reissue Comebacks—Garbo and Chaplin • Victorious Defeat • The Fallow Years • King Kong to the Rescue • The Quantity Dilemma • Stretched to the Limit: Widescreen Revamps • The Drought • The Decade Ends on a High • Conclusion
5. The 1950s: Case Studies—Building a Reissue Arsenal
Introduction • Building a Reissue Arsenal: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1952) • The Birth of the Hitchcock Reissue Legend: The Lady Vanishes (1952) • Creating a Reissue Phenomenon: Gone with the Wind (1954) • The Lesson of Tarzan
6. 1960–1963: The Jury Is Out
Introduction • The Second Tier Blockbuster: The Glenn Miller Story • The Exhibitor Knows Best: Friendly Persuasion • Roadshow Reinvention: The King and I • Oscars: The United Artists Rethink • Immunity: MGM and Disney • The Arthouse Hothouse • Blockbusters • Star Power • Conclusion
7. 1964–1966: The Turning Point
Introduction • Game Changer No. 1: Bridge on the River Kwai • 
Game Changer No. 2—The James Bond Double Bill • Oscar Revamp • Musicals Bounce Back • Directors Exert Star Power • 1966: From Famine to Domination • Four Little Films That Could: Lili, An Evening with Batman and Robin, Poor White Trash, La Dolce Vita • Conclusion
8. 1967–1969: Husbandry—The “Threeissue”: Reissuing the Reissue
Introduction • The MGM Legacy • Disney: Reissue Champ • United Artists: Play Them Till They Drop • The Bonnie and Clyde Phenomenon • A Reissue Star Is Born: Sidney Poitier • Endangered Species • Conclusion
9. The 1960s: Case Studies—Reissue Royalty, Old Retainers and Loyal Courtiers
Introduction • Queen Elizabeth • King Alfred • Old Masters: The Comedians • Rising from the Dead—Humphrey Bogart • The Workhorses: The Thomas Crown Affair, One Million Years B.C. • 
Unsung Hero: Darby O’Gill and the Little People • Conclusion
10. 1970–1973: Sentence Commuted
Introduction • Fox on Fire • Roadshow Re-Cycle • Disney Attracts a Rival • Comedy Classics Entrenched • The Great Garbo Revival • Chaplin Rides Again • New Reissue Stars and Studios • The Other Champ Returns • Conclusion
11. 1974–1979: The Rollercoaster Ride
Introduction • A Wall Too Far • Heavyweights Go Head–to-Head • 
Television Cuts the Big Four Down to Size • Tuning Up: That’s Entertainment • 1975: Sherlock Holmes Hits the Spot • The Classics Step Up • Fanboy Favorite: Sinbad • A New Era Beckons • Another Boom • 1977: Alive to Opportunity • Classic Revival—Again • Star Wars: The Reissue “Wind Up” • 1979: The “Threeissue” Epidemic • Conclusion
12. The 1970s: Case Studies—Slow Burners and Surprise Packets
Introduction • This Joint Is Smokin’: Reefer Madness • Marx Brothers Mania: Animal Crackers • Rescued from Rejection: King of Hearts • The Oddest Love Story: Harold and Maude • Midnight Rendezvous: The Rocky Horror Picture Show • Conclusion
13. 1980–1999: Brave New Goldmine
Introduction • Video Cassette and Paycable • Thwarted Vision: Close Encounters of the Third Kind • The Greatest Reissue Story Ever Told: Napoleon • Re-Strike and Reissue Fever: A Star Is Born •
Alfred Hitchcock: Reissue Poster Boy • Disney Domination • Atonement: Lawrence of Arabia, the Director’s Cut • Righting Wrongs: Blade Runner, the Director’s Cut • The Biggest Restoration of All Time: Star Wars • The French Are Coming (Back): Belle de Jour • The Resurrection of Orson Welles • Conclusion
14. 2000–2014: Bigger Than Ever—How Did That Happen?
Introduction • Roadshow Redux: Fantasia 2000 • Once Is Not Enough: Metropolis • The New Perennials: The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, The Polar Express and The Nightmare Before Christmas • All Join In: Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music • Reverse Reissue: It’s a Wonderful Life
Epilogue or Prologue? What Next for the Reissue?
Appendices
A: Top Reissues, 1940–1959
B: Top Reissues, 1970–1979
C: Disney Animated Feature Reissues, 1980–1989
D: Pattern of Reissue Release, 1963–1979
E: Reissues Reaching No. 1 in the Weekly Top Ten, 1960–1979
F: Reissues in the Weekly Top Ten, 1960–1974
G: Number of Entries Per Year in the Weekly Top Ten
H: British Cinema Circuit Reissues, 1939–1979
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

a lively look back, packed with scads of incredible ads and posters that illustrate a peculiar sort of Tinseltown ballyhoo”—Flick Attack.

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