Pardon Our Sound Quality

[Frank J. Lhota]

I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning. Don't worry if you missed it.
The sound was really way off in the last few reels. I've never heard
anything like it. It sounded like the film was dubbed for an audience of
robots!
--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"

"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"

[Hal Erickson]

I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning. Don't worry if you missed it. The
sound was really way off in the last few reels. I've never heard anything
like it. It sounded like the film was dubbed for an audience of robots!

Curiously, they ran the original 56 minute release version instead of the
padded British release.

Right now, they're running the same re-edited print of PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES
that
appeared on the "Laurel and Hardy Show" back in the 1980s: The one that
retains the scenes cut from the reissue (the wife-and-child beating, etc.),
while making pointless slices elsewhere, such as removing the establishing
expository scene between the boys and Eddie Smith. I KNOW that a complete
68-minute print of this one exists, since I recorded it off AMC back in
1994. Why can't TCM get that one?

As far as I know, they also still haven't upgraded their copy of SWISS MISS,
which remains the abbreviated Laurel and Hardy Show version instead of the
full 73-minute release print.


--Hal E

--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"
"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"

[Ken Doyle]

I saw the end of Way Out West last night, what an awful print. I thought my
16mm Blackhawk prink was just ok, but my print blows what TCM showed right
out of the water.

Ken D.

Post by Hal Erickson

Post by Frank J. Lhota
I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning. Don't worry if you missed it.
The sound was really way off in the last few reels. I've never heard
anything like it. It sounded like the film was dubbed for an audience of
robots!

Curiously, they ran the original 56 minute release version instead of the
padded British release.
Right now, they're running the same re-edited print of PACK UP YOUR
TROUBLES that
appeared on the "Laurel and Hardy Show" back in the 1980s: The one that
retains the scenes cut from the reissue (the wife-and-child beating,
etc.), while making pointless slices elsewhere, such as removing the
establishing expository scene between the boys and Eddie Smith. I KNOW
that a complete 68-minute print of this one exists, since I recorded it
off AMC back in 1994. Why can't TCM get that one?
As far as I know, they also still haven't upgraded their copy of SWISS
MISS, which remains the abbreviated Laurel and Hardy Show version instead
of the full 73-minute release print.
--Hal E

Post by Frank J. Lhota
--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"
"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"

[p***@gmail.com]

Post by Frank J. Lhota
I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning. Don't worry if you missed it.
The sound was really way off in the last few reels.

I recently watched PARDON US on the UK-released dvd produced by
Universal. The Universal releases are generally very good, based on
the latest masters from the 1990s (so-called "restored versions"). The
British set provides the computer-colorized versions along with the
original black-and-white versions. The black-and-white versions are
generally to be preferred, although -- oddly -- they run a tad too
fast. This must have been caused by scanning the original material at
25 frames per second instead of 24. The colorized versions run at the
correct speed, but their image and sound quality is generally
inferior.

Re: PARDON US -- the black-and-white version is the so-called
"extended" version with several unknown bits restored -- the film runs
1:07:12 (even at the fast speed!). What I found shocking is that this
"restoration" included the adding new music to these unknown bits of
film. I like The Beau Hunks, but to add their 1994 recreations to a
1930 original seems like blasphemy.
It first occurs at about 06:48 ("Rocking Chair") and also frequently
during the frantic scenes towards the end:
at 50:34, in the middle of the original "Perilous Pursuit" music, the
Beau Hunks' "Miser" and "Cascadia" were inserted.
At 51:19, between two original music cues, someone inserted "Cascadia"
for 10 seconds.
At 57:42, after Zamecnik's "Evil Plotter", follows The Beau Hunks'
"Hurry", "Fliver Flops" and "Sliding".

It was probably done with the best of intentions but the result is a
mishmash of styles and sound qualities -- so now I find myself rather
watching the colorized version...

[Ray Faiola]

Are you sure they are the Beau Hunks' recordings? Roach Studios
(modern, now defunct) added Ronnie Hazelhurst tracks to a bunch of
films for THE LAUREL AND HARDY SHOW. One of these was the extended
PARDON US. Is this a different version? I have the DVD set at home,
I just haven't gotten to PARDON US yet.

[p***@gmail.com]

Are you sure they are the Beau Hunks' recordings?  

Yes, I'm sure, if only because Hazlehurst never recorded tracks such
as "Miser", "Fliver Flops", "Sliding" or "Cascadia".

--Piet

[John]

Post by Frank J. Lhota
I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning. Don't worry if you missed it.
The sound was really way off in the last few reels. I've never heard
anything like it. It sounded like the film was dubbed for an audience of
robots!

This isn't the first time TCM has had sound problems during a Laurel and
Hardy event. Did anyone notice sound problems in any of the other films
shown on August 23?

John

[John]

Post by Frank J. Lhota
I caught "Pardon Us" on TCM this morning.
Don't worry if you missed it. The sound was
really way off in the last few reels. I've never
heard anything like it. It sounded like the film
was dubbed for an audience of robots!

I was watching it at the same time and noticed the sound changing
suddenly to a strange out-of-phase effect that almost sounded like fake
stereo would sound like in the earlier days of sound processing for TV
broadcasting once stereo was introduced.