In high school, I was fascinated by the Beatles Rarities Album. I understood that Sie Liebt Dich was somehow … different … than the English language version. None of the other songs seemed that unusual to my untrained ear. (A “rarity”: extra beats before “Yellow matter custard” in I Am the Walrus.) Still, I heard You Know My Name, Look Up The Number while none of my other friends had even heard of it. (So I WIN high school.)
A conversation with Alan from work about Jerry Lewis led to a movie rarity: evidently there is an early 70’s Jerry Lewis movie called The Day the Clown Cried that remains unreleased and locked in Jerry Lewis’ vault. It seems either the production ran out of money, or into litigation, or perhaps Jerry Lewis playing A CLOWN THAT LEADS CHILDREN TO THEIR DEATH IN THE GAS CHAMBERS AT AUSCHWITZ was a bad idea. (Read the Wikipedia entry to hear Harry Shearer’s reaction to an early screening.)
Another movie that I’ve always thought was supressed was The Manchurian Candidate. Gary and I rented the video cassette (quaint!) in the eighties and were baffled why we’d never heard of it before, and immediately heard the legend that Sinatra bought up all the copies after Kennedy was assassinated. But, sadly, no, seems there was another money dispute.
My research showed me I’ll never see the real ending to The Magnificent Ambersons. I discovered Gary has no interest in the alternate ending to Army of Darkness. I’m not surprised; we recently had a debate over if there were alternate endings to Brazil. He has seeeeeen all the endings. We haaaaave the director’s cut.
Most amazingly, he resents that I just spent $2.99 to rent a version of Fatal Attraction that has the sophisicated ending the test audiences rejected. (“KIll her! She boiled the bunny!”)
Don’t care. Rented it anyway. I’ll report back if it was worth threeeeeeee dooooolllllars.
4 responses to “The Hunt for Rarities”
The Jerry Lewis movie sounds like it could have merit, but I suspect that it was done more terribly than well. The overall sound of it puts me in mind of Jakob the Liar, which is mentioned in the Wikipedia entry.
Movies that make you *feel* terrible and movies that *are* terrible aren’t always the same thing. There’s a difference, there.
But yes, rarities are fascinating. I always want to be the cool kid who knows more obscuria.
I have the ‘rarities’ album in vinyl. Somewhere. Given to me when I was a mere tyke, for Christmas in the last millenium.
I wasn’t even that into pop music in highschool. Which does pay off now that I’m old; I’m usually the only one who can identify 40’s singers reliably. It’s extra funny to my friends since now I have a musical diet of pure pop crap and love it.
Tami – Evidently the clown was supposed to start off as kind of an ass. (An early assclown.) Then he was slowly redeemed by his work with the kids. But it seems Lewis played him with pathos, like Sad clown Emmett Kelly, so there was no edge, just treacly bad taste. I suppose the writer and Lewis are just waiting to see who dies first.Becs- As a tyke? It has the banned Rubber Soul butcher shop cover on the inside. That has stuck with me. I’d think it would freak out a tyke. Amy in StL – I think I only knew the bands that played on SNL.