![]() ![]() Special Thanks to John Cox and Leo Hevia for their contributions on this subject. So thanks to the Tony Curtis “Houdini” movie, George Pal, and the “You Asked For It” show, the print donated by Paramount to the LoC is missing Reels 3 and 4 or Reel 2 A/B, depending on how you look at it. In 1970, Paramount donates “Terror Island” to the American Film Institute collection at the Library of Congress: Hence, when this reel was lost, two reels of TI were lost. So what would have been plucked out of the can for this promotion would have been Reel 2 A/B, and on this would be TI’s original Reels 3 & 4. ![]() By the 1950s, there was an awareness of the hazards of nitrate stock, so Paramount’s archival print of TI was probably new and therefore what was in the canister were A/B reels. reels, so when a release print is made, those 1000 ft reels are combined into one “A/B” reel (two 1000 ft loads). However, theaters projectors could eventually handle 2000 ft. That became the standard reel length for post production work right up to the end. In TI’s day, film reels couldn’t be longer than 1000 ft. So that explains one reel, but two reels are missing. Since the underwater packing box escape scene was the only part needed for that TV show, it appears the techs removed that particular reel from the canister and never bothered to put it back after it was used. Those reels went into metal canisters that looked kinda like clam shells. The completed picture was divided into half a dozen or so reels. It’s the only thing I can think of that would explain the missing reel. In July of 1952, Tony Curtis was preparing for his role in Houdini (released 1953), by surveying Silent Houdini Films at Paramount, which included Terror Island. So, what happened to these missing reels? My colleagues (John Cox, Leo Hevia) and I feel that it was around the time of the Tony Curtis “Houdini” movie, when Parts 3 and 4 got separated from the rest. If you compare the running time of the five existing reels (1, 2, 5, 6 and 7) at 55 minutes (54.19) to the footage per reel, the LoC print is missing about 25 minutes (Reel 3 and 4) played at 20 fps (75 feet a minute). Reel One: 975 feet, Reel Two: 848 feet, Reel Three: 958 feet, Reel Four: 917 feet, Reel Five: 889 feet., Reel Six: 784 feet and Reel Seven: 568 feet.
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