Here's what I've heard about this film:
For many years "Follow Thru" was considered a lost film. Then, several
years ago, a complete print showed up in someone's garage in California.It was taken to UCLA (who now has it in their archives), where it was
"restored" (though it's been said that the print that was found was in
"pristine" condition in the first place).
I have read that all of the early (1929-1930) technicolor features were
believed to have been literallly destroyed decades ago by their own
studios. (I imagine the thinking behind this was that the early "two
strip" technicolor process was deemed too primitive and unrealistic
compared to the improved color technology they had in the 1950's. This
may be why only black-and-white copies -- made for early television
broadcasts -- exist of some of them today)
So the discovery of "Follow Thru" in its original color format was
hailed as a major find, and was shown several times in theaters in Los
Angeles and New York in conjunction with fund-raising projects for film
restoration.
I have "talked" (by e-mail) to several people who have attended such
showings. In New York, the waiting line to get in for this film went
around the block so far, they had to show it twice! In L.A., when the
first close-up of Nancy Carroll flashed up on the screen, with her red
hair and green eyes, the audience gasped. Whether it was because of the
quality of the color or her beauty is hard to say.
I saw some snippets of this film several years ago on AMC when theywere
having a fundraiser for film restoration. My mouth dropped open atclips
from a production number of "I Want To Be Bad", sung by Zelma O'Neal at
a party, done as a fantasy sequence, complete with dancing devil chorus
girls and flames shooting out of the band members' trumpets!
After many frustrating attempts to locate this film, someone told me to
try MCA, since they now hold the rights to this property. But I'm afraid
they don't care, as the perceived interest in this film is very low in
their eyes, and would not offset the costs of putting it on video for
public sale or rental.
This, however, may be a moot point: I have also been told that MCA
properties are now "frozen", as the Menendez (brothers) estate has a
majority of the percent of holdings in this company, and it's all tied
up in the courts for who knows how long.
The author of the above letter is not sure how much of what he has related to me is true, since some of what he has learned about " Follow Thru " is heresay. Either way, it sounds very logical to me, and it is our hope by printing this letter, someone out there might read it and lead us to a copy of this movie. How about it ? If you can help, please " e-mail mehollybee66@yahoo.com
Click here to see Nancy in " Follow Thru " A beautiful color portrait by David Pearson at his Silent Ladies website.