ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR

Little Known, Unrecognized And Otherwise Interesting Stories From Hollywood's Storied Past

The title of this page echoes the

lament of stars in high-profile films whose performance was far below the expectation of greatness.

"My best scenes wound up on the cutting room floor," was their defensive explanation.

This page makes known some episodes that wound up on the cutting room floor of Hollywood history.

SEEN, BUT NOT HEARD. BUT THEN HEARD BUT NOT SEEN

Tom Mix was arguably one of the top three most popular, beloved and idolized as well as the greatest silent film cowboy hero of them all. So great, his horse Tony got second billing. And remained highly popular with countless movie fans from cica 1912 to the late 1940’s when Mix finally passed the reins to John Wayne.

This canny and valiant galloper of the untamed West brought the sharp edge of justice across the necks of rustlers, bank robbers, stagecoach robbers, land-grabbers and defilers of American womanhood - and they always succumbed to a painful end without ever hearing the gunshot.

Of course, they wouldn’t have heard any gunshots had Tom used the sharp edge of justice to behead them. But that’s not the reason those scurrilous curs failed to hear Tom Mix rapid-fire his twin Colts; the audience failed to hear them, as well. Because in a Silent Picture you can’t hear gunfire. Or hoof beats, either, for that matter.

And you can’t hear Tom Mix snarl at the bad guys nor tell the homesteader’s daughter everything would be alright - I’ll see to that (you could almost hear him say as you read the title card).

Then sound came to the movies and Tom had to stable his horse and take to the porch-swing and watch the West go on without him.

But what’s this! There - right THERE! By God, it’s Tom Mix and his quick-as-all-get-out horse Tony riding to the sound of trouble, and just in the nick of time! Just like the old days. Except this was 1933, so the Tom Mix old days were just three years back.

Yes, sir, buddy…1933 and Ralston brought old Tom back to millions of fans across the whole of North America and beyond. Tom Mix and His Straight Shooters continued the righteous chore of bringing the lawless to their knees…and they never saw it coming.

Because it was radio, of course, and no one saw anything except the warm glow of the vacuum tubes through the fabric of the cathedral radio.

Yep, Tom rode on from 1933 to the early 1950’s but no one saw him riding on…just as they never heard him snarling in the silents.

And thus the anomaly of Tom Mix - the hero you could see but not hear in his first career, then could hear but not see in his second. Which is almost exactly right, save the couple talkies he did in the early 1930’s and the fact that an actor - several, actually - played Tom Mix during it’s 20 year run. Still, it was Tom Mix whose heroics they brought to American living rooms, and no one else from the silents were represented in such a way. So I stand by my anomaly - faulty though it may be.

And that’s all there is to that.

THE GOOD GUY IN THE BLACK HAT

And another Western hero fearlessly defending settlers from villains of the lawless plains was Hopalong Cassidy. From the 1930's through the 1950's, Hopalong Cassidy was portrayed by William Boyd who became indelibly linked with the Westerm hero.

William Boyd portrayed Cassidy first in a series of sixty-six films from 1935 to 1948, then in both a juvenile-oriented radio and TV series, each of which lasted until 1952. But what made Hopalong Cassidy unique was his garb. Unlike other Western heroes of that time, Hoppy was usually clad strikingly in black - including a black hat, an exception to the only bad guys wear black hats Western movie stereotype. Casual research by the Brianetics Fact-checking, Cross-referencing and Other Busy Work Staff has tentatively reported that gunfighter Paladin in the 1950's tv show Have Gun Will Travel is the only other continuous character seen wearing a black hat, though a "good guy", through the 1950s while the titular character in the 1960s tv show The Virginian also sported a black hat.

And that's all there is to that.

They Got Away With It In The Getaway

Another cinematic anomaly - also in the "not fully verified" category - is the 1972 Steve McQueen caper-action-anyi-hero film The Getaway.

Imbd synopsizes: Doc McCoy is put in prison because his partners chickened out and flew off without him after exchanging a prisoner with a lot of money. Doc knows Jack Benyon, a rich "business"-man, is up to something big, so he tells his wife (Carol McCoy) to tell him that he's for sale if Benyon can get him out of prison. Benyon pulls some strings and Doc McCoy is released again. Unfortunately he has to cooperate with the same person that got him to prison. Steve McQueen stars as "Doc" McCoy--a convict who makes a deal to split his hidden loot in this fast-paced tale of greed and betrayal. Once free, McCoy tries to uphold his part of the agreement, but he quickly learns there is no one he can trust as he tries to get to the Mexican border alive.

What is missing from the synopsis is the fact that this is the first movie to show criminals - and very dangerous and well-armed criminals at that - getting away with their initial crime as well as the incalculable number of crimes they committed while on the getaway.

While Brianetics cannot verify this beyond the shadow of a doubt, to a moral Verity and with metaphysical certitude, it is at the very least the best of a very small sample size. The only example that Brianetics has found that is even close to the getting away with it motif is 7 Thieves (1960).

In this Rod Steiger-Edward G, Robinson Monte Carlo casino heist film, the thieves make off with the casino bankroll only to find the currency is easily identifiable, thus impossible to fence or spend. In a twist, the thieves cannily return the loot anonymously to avoid being targeted in the investigation. But while observing the casino officials confusingly address the returned currency, the two main characters sit idly at the roulette table, unconcernedly allowing their chips to rise on the same number three spins in a row.

So they didn't quite get away with their crime - the fruits of their labor were not realized...but neither were they caught.

And that's all there is to that.

As usual, any corrections, additions or clarifications are welcome. Just make your views known on the Comments Page.

THE SPOILERS OF HOLLYWOOD

Movie fans may recognize The Spoilers as the popular 1942 feature starring John Wayne. Less known, however, is Rex Beach, who authored The Spoilers in 1906 and found it to be the best selling of all his 20 novels and 70 short stories and novelettes. The Spoilers was such a literary success that Beach crafted it into a stage play. Then, in 1914 Beach contracted with the Selig Corporation to release the film version of The Spoilers for 25 percent of the gross profits, a unique arrangement for its time. But instead of selling the rights to his opus, Beach leased them instead so the rights would eventually return to him.

A wise decision by any measure, it turns out, as The Spoilers was brought to the silver screen four more times, spanning at least four generations of movie goers.

That's right, on four subsequent occasions - 1923, 1930, 1942, and 1955 - Beach or his estate leased the rights to The Spoilers to film companies for the same financial arrangement. What a gimmick Mr. Beach came up with...a payday every decade for five decades running.

And while the Brianetics Fact-checking, Cross-referencing etc. Staff has yet to render a definitive conclusion, they have reported that The Three Musketeers has graced the screen eight times while Oliver Twist did so six.

{*Brianotice: these numbers do not reflect musical adaptions, tv productions, animated remake nor series, which are not remakes but continuations. You can research further at The Most Remade Movies of All Time (insider.com)}

To illustrate the span of time over which The Spoilers has been filmed. please review the following studio promos for The Spoilers:

Below - 1914 Poster | Below - 1923 Print Ad And Poster

BELOW - 1930 Poster

BELOW - 1942 Poster

BELOW - 1955 Poster

Name That Tune

Just as a point of interest - at least to Brianetics - it seemed appropriate to bring to light the seldom (if ever) observation that the signature musical accompaniments toThe Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) and The Great Escape (1963) are rather similar. So much so that one can easily begin whistling one then transition to the other, without themselves nor any nearby movie score afficianados ever noticing. Especially in the opening stanzas.

He Put Words In His Mouth - His Own Mouth

Yes, he really said that, though not in a movie. And no, this entry will not be a homage to all quotes W.C. Fields on screen and off. Instead, Brianetics has brought to your attention a single line that likely went unacknowledged in large part, let alone elicited gales of laughter. Nor did it become part of the voluminous oevre of classic Fields quotes.

However, it does serve to illustrate Fields rising above his material, even if that particular material was generic and meant to be, as it was an exit line to a generic scene.

The following anecdote was told as part of the 1986 documentary W.C. Fields Straight Up, which could not be found to corroborate any pertinent details such as the film in question, author of the screenplay, date of release etc. However, the Brianetics Entertainment and No Real Life Desk stands behind this abbreviated account.

In this particular scene, W.C. Fields frantically implores a panicky crowd to quickly evacuate the premises as the town is collapsing from a raging flood. His commanding words were supposed to be: "C'mon, let's get outta here."