Robert Osborne, before becoming a household name thanks to his hosting Turner Classic Movies, wrote a daily column for The Hollywood Reporter.I received a call from him one day just prior to the film's theatrical release. After telling me how highly he regarded the film, he covered it in several of his columns and even pitched in to help promote awareness of THE GIANT. He became aware of the film after a friend of his, who was the projectionist for the Samuel Goldwyn Company, phoned him to tip him off that he had seen a film that astounded him while screening it as a possible pick-up for his bosses at Samuel Goldwyn.(Eventually, Samuel Goldwyn DID pick up the film for foreign sales.)
When Robert told me that his friend had no small role in convincing Goldwyn to take on LADY IN WHITE, I called him to thank him for his no small effort in helping LADY secure its financial success.Sadly, a few months later, Robert Osborne called me to say that his friend, the projectionist, had died from AIDS. Reminding me of how much his friend had loved LADY IN WHITE, Robert asked me if I would consider attending a private remembrance for him at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and say a few words.
I did.
And in doing so, stated that if it had not been for his friend, the "projectionist", LADY would probably not have been released in practically every country in the free world.
After I spoke, another mutual friend of Robert's and the "projectionist", Roddy McDowall, approached me to tell me what a "marvelous film" he thought "Lady" to be. I have searched the internet, in the past days, to try and remember the projectionist's name with no luck. If anyone in the business has any clue, please let me know.
Regardless, I'll always remember how a projectionist with a love for cinema, unjaded by the hundreds of lesser films he might have screened in his career, made a world of difference to the fate of LADY IN WHITE.
He was, to me...
THE FLICKER IN THE DARK THAT ROARED
Comments