Listening to an interview Richard Lamparski conducted with Reginald Owen shortly before Owen died in 1972, reminds me of how difficult it then was to see rare films.
Lamparski had long wanted to see the first, 1929 filming of The Letter, starring Jeanne Eagels and featuring Owen. . . Eventually he received a call: ““Now, if you don’t tell a soul, I’ll give you an address of where to come tonight at eight o’clock.”
“It was in the San Fernando Valley,” Lamparski explained, “ a great big house with a wonderful projection room in the basement, and a big, wonderful old organ from a silent film house. The man stood up–I don’t even know the host’s name–and he said “We’re going to show this film, if it can be shown. It was found in one of the lower vaults in Paramount. No one knew anything about it. It wasn’t even labeled We don’t even know if it will run and we’re not even sure there’s going to be sound to it. Keep your fingers crossed. Here we go: The Letter!”
Today you can purchase that Letter—and it’s a live one—on DVD!