RKO Two-Reelers

[Jim Reid]

We had a discussion tonight at our movie night. We were talking about the short subject collections that the Warner Archive is releasing. Someone asked if they would be releasing the Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy RKO two-reelers. I said I didn't think Warners had any rights or material on these films. Was I right? I know most of them are PD, but were they sold off long ago or were the shorts' rights together with the feature's?

[Richard M Roberts]

We had a discussion tonight at our movie night. We were talking about the short subject collections that the Warner Archive is releasing. Someone asked if they would be releasing the Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy RKO two-reelers. I said I didn't think Warners had any rights or material on these films. Was I right? I know most of them are PD, but were they sold off long ago or were the shorts' rights together with the feature's?

The RKO shorts were sold off in the 50's to an outfit called Guild Films who distributed them to television (most of the nice 16mm originals you find on these shorts usually have a Guild title at the end). Although various titles in each series did fall through the cracks copyright-wise, the majority of the RKO shorts are still under copyright, and I think Guild was bought out or absorbed into other companies over the years. I'm not sure who the owner is now, but neither Turner nor Warners hold any rights to them currently.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Frank Flood]

About ten years ago, I tracked down the ownership of the RKO comedy shorts. They are lowned by business interests controlled by a family named Saltzman out of New York City - or at least they were in the late 1990s. For those interested in reading that sort of thing, there was a Tax Court case appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that discusses the controversies surrounding ownership of the RKO library that you can read about at http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-app ... /87/514297 (legal cite: Saltzman v Commissioner, 131 F 3d 87 (1997)).

I talked to these folks about making available the films and what appears to be supporting paper material (press releases? production documents?), at a time when I was thinking about doing an RKO book like the Okuda/Watz Columbia book. I got nowhere. So, if nothing has changed, they still all sit in the greater New York area.

Frank

[Ed Watz]

Boy, do I have lots of catching up to do...a few years' back someone from this family reached out to me, inquiring if I could help them secure 16mm prints on certain RKO titles. (I later learned that a certain movie buff, who is not a member of this site, pointed the Saltzmans in my direction.) The most interesting thing I recall from the email was that the person stated that only the final 11 two-reelers in the Edgar Kennedy series (from 1947-48) had their copyrights renewed. I had to wonder what became of all the 35mm RKO shorts that were stored at the LOC...if they owned the rights, why not secure the best available materials? My hunch is that they were looking to acquire 16mm copies cheaply to decide from which of the source material -- if any -- they would strike new prints.

[Robert Arkus]

Interesting you should re-visit this thread, Ed. TCM is finishing up New Year's Day showing "Gasoloons." That's this Sunday at 11:43pm ET. I'm hoping this is the start of their showing the RKO two reelers and wonder if this might answer some questions re:who holds the rights now.

[Richard Finegan]

TCM is finishing up New Year's Day showing "Gasoloons." That's this Sunday at 11:43pm ET. I'm hoping this is the start of their showing the RKO two reelers and wonder if this might answer some questions re:who holds the rights now.

Hi Robert!

Unfortunately it's doubtful that the Jan. 1st broadcast of that Edgar Kennedy short signals the start of something new. TCM has been running RKO shorts occasionally for years as fillers, but only a small number of them, not any entire series. Mostly of course they have been Edgar Kennedys and Leon Errols, but rarely even a random "Radio Flash" comedy such as THE STUPOR-VISOR (1938). And the prints haven't always been very good.

But, like all of us (I'm sure), I'd certainly like to see TCM running more RKO comedy shorts.

[Ed Watz]

TCM is finishing up New Year's Day showing "Gasoloons." That's this Sunday at 11:43pm ET. I'm hoping this is the start of their showing the RKO two reelers and wonder if this might answer some questions re:who holds the rights now.

Hi Robert!

Unfortunately it's doubtful that the Jan. 1st broadcast of that Edgar Kennedy short signals the start of something new. TCM has been running RKO shorts occasionally for years as fillers, but only a small number of them, not any entire series. Mostly of course they have been Edgar Kennedys and Leon Errols, but rarely even a random "Radio Flash" comedy such as THE STUPOR-VISOR (1938). And the prints haven't always been very good.

But, like all of us (I'm sure), I'd certainly like to see TCM running more RKO comedy shorts.

Hello Robert and Richard,

Quick explanation for my Johnny-come-lately postings. This Fall I retired from my job of 30-plus years...which for some time now involved a two-hour commute in each direction...apart from sleeping and doing "Average Man" style home repairs, I've had personal time for next-to-nothing. So I'm finally catching up, and enjoying the SiCom site enormously. There are incredible scholars here - Steve M, Ben, Brent, Steve R, Paul, Louie, yourselves, the two Jims, Richard R of course and many other amazing folk...if you can pardon this momentary "Langdon-on-limburger" high, I promise to assume a more subdued Ned Sparks demeanor once this "Sponduliks forever" mentality wears off.

[ralph celentano]

As a collector of comedy shorts, I have some RKO/Pathes from the 1929-1936 period. With Harry Sweet in charge, there was always something of interest being released. The Masquers Club, Louis John Bartels, Chick Chandler, Blondes & Redheads, Benny Rubin, Tom Kennedy, Edgar Kennedy, and Clark & McCullough are a few examples. I wish TCM would acquire them from the current owners.

Clark & McCullough are favorites even if some people don't appreciate them today. When their 1931 shorts were announced in a 2 page Boxoffice ad, It was a big deal.
One of my rarest is a 1929 Fox (not RKO) 2 reeler THE BELLE OF SAMOA with Lois Moran. It is a possible recreation of what their stage shows might have been like.

[Ed Watz]

Clark & McCullough are favorites even if some people don't appreciate them today. When their 1931 shorts were announced in a 2 page Boxoffice ad, It was a big deal.

I don't enjoy Clark & McCullough's films for C & McC themselves, but I would never turn down an opportunity to catch the ones I've missed.

It surprised me when I read that Paul McCullough was originally the "star comic" of the team and Bobby Clark only assumed the top spot when audiences began to laugh at his adlibs. If that story is true it makes McCullough's subsequent demotion to chuckling at his partner and an occasional "okay!" sound like a real life BLUE ANGEL story.

[Gary Johnson]

It's not too surprising that McCullough was the dominant partner at first. They were boyhood friends and Paul was 5 years older than Bobby. That's a big age difference when one is young. But I bet it didn't take long for them to realize who had the most talent, which may be what helped drive McCullough to that fateful barber's chair eventually....