Warbird Information Exchange

The Nat'l Aviation Hall of Fame has asked me to try and help them locate 2 films for their mid-march 2009 Reel Stuff film festival in Dayton Ohio.

http://www.nationalaviation.org

The first is the 1944 William Wyler MEMPHIS BELLE.

The NAHF says, "We are still having no joy in locating a high-quality copy of the William Wyler's 1944 documentary, MEMPHIS BELLE.

The folks at Air Force media locations cannot find it among their holdings, however USAF Public Affairs Pentagon DID provide a letter authorizing us to screen it. Go figure.

The two commercially obtained DVDs I have here are not suitable quality for projection on the big screen. Since this movie was so popular for so long, and in the public domain vs. studio control, I have to believe that someone, somewhere has already dubbed a high quality digital version direct from 16mm. Maybe folks you know can help locate it for us. I hate to keep buying copies, as they'd probably be no better than the two here now.

Thanks for any quidance on this! Note that our presenter, Catherine Wyler, does not have a source either, in spite of being the director's daughter!

The second is the 1980 THE PILOT (aka DANGER IN THE SKIES)

"And we are still tracking down whoever holds the rights and original to Cliff Robertson's THE PILOT."

Any leads on either of these would be greatly appreciated. Obviously film prints would be preferred, but high quality in any format will help.

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John Ellis
Steve Canyon On DVD/Milton Caniff Estate Releasing

Doesn't Cliff Robertson own the rights to The Pilot? I have it on VHS but I've never seen it on DVD.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

How about getting in touch with the People that made The Corsair Experience. A very nice Documentary, and some of the Corsair Pilots from WWII are still here and can be flown in for Question and Answer Stuff. Maybe some Autograph time and a Tour of the Air Force Museum. They may even Autographs some Books in the Gift Shop and leave a F4U Corsair Decals somewhere in the pages.... That would be a treat to pick up a "Cool" Corsair book to find out that it has a Famous F4U Corsair Pilots has left a Surprize...!!!
www.thecorsairexperience.com

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FLY SAFE--FLY FAST
F4U Corsair Historian
Mint Moore III

I recently watched a copy of The Dawn Patrol here in Melbourne, Australia, on the big screen, courtesy of the Smithsonian Archive, IIRC. They might hold a copy, or know who does.

http://airminded.org/?s=dawn+patrol

Then getting creative, secondly there's the British Film Institute. They would be worth a go.

Then maybe the Imperial War Museum - they have an extensive film archive. I'm sure they'll have a copy, but maybe not for loan.

Quick google for links. HTH!

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

This might be worth checking out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/16mm-WWII-MOVIE-MEM ... dZViewItem

Mike

I saw that to Mike. Original 16mm movie of the MB.
The bid is .99 cents so it doesn't seem overpriced

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Don't touch my junk!!

I've been collecting various versions of the Memphis Belle documentary since the 80's. I have probably about 15 versions on VHS and DVD. The absolute best version I've ever seen is the following made by the now defunct Aircraft-Films group:

http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Belle-60t ... 29&sr=8-38

They made a special 60th anniversary edition that utilized a direct transfer from the best 16mm Master copy in the National Archives or Smithsonian. This DVD set also has 2 versions - one, the original, unedited and unaltered version, as well as one that has been digitally cleaned up which is much clearer, and has much better color balance. They also have one version in Widescreen, and one in Full Screen. Unfortunately, this set may be kind of hard to find since it is out of production. I do know that this set was widely available in many aviation museum gift shops, so there are probably many still around, as it hasn't been out of production that long. If all else fails, try E-bay!

I think that's about as good as you're going to get, unless some otherwise forgotten version pops up in someone's basement or attic. I recall reading that the producers of the 60th anniversary edition spent several years trying to find the best master copy from which to transfer to DVD.

Good Luck!

I was at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland doing research in the film and video branch and I ran across the out takes from the Wyler film The Memphis Bell. I don't recall seeing the full film but I would bet it is there. The out takes were great and in full splendid color. I would think this would be your best bet as they would not only have the master but high quality duplicates all available to be copied.

NARA...a wonderful place!

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To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Every known outtake in existance from the National Archives are on the bonus disc of the 60th anniversary edition I linked to above. Also, on the bonus disc, it contains extensive color footage of the Belle's war bond tour across America. This footage is amazingly clear and pristine, much better quality than the original Documentary. Pretty amazing stuff, to say the least!

Thanks everyone, all of your comments have been passed along to Ron Kaplan at NAHF where they have been received with great interest.

He said to say hi to his associate Taigh Ramey, and that he is in touch with the National Archives who may have a solution. He also said that it sounds like warbird1's DVD suggestion could be the thing, and they are trying to find a copy right now.

Thanks to all and I'll keep your apprised.

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John Ellis
Steve Canyon On DVD/Milton Caniff Estate Releasing

Update from Ron Kaplan at the NAHP:

"FYI, National Archives came through, it appears. They found an Air Force copy of MEMPHIS BELLE in BetaSP that they claim is of high quality, and agreed to loan it to us for Reel Stuff.

Thus now THE PILOT is the only film we have an iffy copy of (an original VHS) with which to project."

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John Ellis
Steve Canyon On DVD/Milton Caniff Estate Releasing