Three film reels consisting of only 43 minutes of footage have been discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive and to the jubilation of Hitchcock fans around the world THE WHITE SHADOW (1924) will be available to watch over the next two months on The National Film Preservation’s website. It is generously being hosted by Fandor absolutely free with a polite notice to donate so they can keep doing great things for free like this, until the next cinematic holy grail is found.
The reels of the 1920s Parisian melodrama were reportedly found last year but since then have been restored and have received a new musical score to accompany a very early performance by Betty Compson who plays twin sisters; one who is angelic and the other “without a soul”. After it was unearthed, it was played before audiences at special screenings in New York, Washington and at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles last year. David Sterritt, chairman of the National Society of Film Critics had this to say at an exclusive screening:
“Watching the surviving reels of THE WHITE SHADOW with an audience vividly illustrates the natural gifts of the young Hitchcock as well as the enduring power of silent cinema.”
The film has been released at a poignant time given that it was almost certainly the first film Hitchcock and his future wife Alma Reville collaborated on. Alma is to be played by Helen Mirren in the upcoming release of the biographical film HITCHCOCK directed by Sacha Gervasi alongside Anthony Hopkins, (Released on 23rd November 2012 in the USA and 8th February 2012 in the UK). Alma would go on to play an enormous part in the legendary body of Hitchcock’s work that has become iconic in cinema for its pioneering style and macabre plots.
As Sterritt, the author of 1993’s The Films of Alfred Hitchcock, said the discovery is:
“One of the most significant developments in memory for scholars, critics and admirers of Hitchcock’s extraordinary body of work.”
Though an amazing find, the film is incomplete and in typical Hitchcock style, the last frames end (quite ironically) on a cliff hanger after 43 minutes. Annoying yes, but in-keeping at least!
Source: NationalFilmPreservation
