# TCM to air six "lost" RKO films on April 4 and 11
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 3, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524 "2007-04-03T04:02:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/1 "2007-04-03T04:02:13Z")
Read 'em and weep, beenie-weenies, Terrorcotta has alerted me to a cool event:
[http://www.tcm.com/2007/rko/index.jsp](http://www.tcm.com/2007/rko/index.jsp)
In essence, Turner Classics Movies’ research department has obtained the rights to air six RKO films that have been lost in copyright hell for decades (another example of copyright gone wrong, like unto so many others). Three of the films are pre-Code: "One Man’s Journey, Double Harness and Rafter Romance, all from 1933. In addition, there’s “Stingaree, Living on Love” and “A Man To Remember,” from 1936-38.
The films will air April 4 and 11
They look like respectable films, but hey, those movie people were getting pretty raunchy before the iron boot of the Catholic Church landed on Hollywood in 1935.
That “Double Harness” title intrigues me … could it be? … nawwwwww.
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### Author:  [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/2 "2007-04-03T08:30:32Z")
Thanks for the heads up. I really want to check these films out, especially the pre code ones. And TCM is great about showing lesser known pre code movies.
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### Author:  [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/3 "2007-04-03T13:41:41Z")
Personally I am more excited by ‘new’ movies starring William Powell or Ginger Rogers plus Garson Kanin’s directorial debut. But I just like old movies.
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/4 "2007-04-03T16:25:43Z")
Wow, that is pretty awesome. I saw the film titles on the DVR but they didn’t ring a bell; don’t know when I’ll get a chance to watch them, but I’ll see about taping them now. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/5 "2007-04-03T16:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
That “Double Harness” title intrigues me … could it be? … nawwwwww.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t think everything has an underlaying bondage theme. 🙂
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/6 "2007-04-03T18:17:52Z")
I need to set the DVR when I get home.
Thanks,
Jim
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### Author:  [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/7 "2007-04-03T20:27:11Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
…films that have been lost in copyright hell for decades…
[/QUOTE]
Pre-code films are fun, and the hyperbole makes for good publicity.
However, I and many others saw [Rafter Romance](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0024484/) on Friday evening, July 7, 1995, at [The Stanford Theatre](http://www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/) in Palo Alto, California. It was on a triple bill with [Queen High](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0021279/) and [The Thirteenth Guest](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0023583/). I assume that other Straight Dopers have seen at least some of the other films too.
Rafter Romance will not be a rediscovered lost classic. It’s low budget and fun, particularly when Robert Benchley is on screen, practicing (as I recall, so to speak) the art of telephone solicitation during the depths of the depression. Part of the film is shot outdoors. For the indoor scenes, two words – Ginger Rogers. Yes, 22-year-old Ginger Rogers, in and out of the shower.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/8 "2007-04-06T00:31:39Z")
[QUOTE=from\_a\_to\_z]
Yes, 22-year-old Ginger Rogers, in and out of the shower.
[/QUOTE]
Oh, yeah, Rafter Romance had Ginger Rogers in the shower, naked from the knees down AND the shoulders up! Saucy! And I believe she performed the whole film in the nude … underneath her clothes, of course!
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/9 "2007-04-06T02:33:03Z")
With the kind of massive promotion that TCM did of these debuts, how, how is it possible that it was too much for their programming staff to get the movies _ended within their time slots_?
The slots were 1:15. The movies ran 1:17. The DVR cut off the endings unless you watched them live.
Unbelievable incompetence.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/10 "2007-04-06T02:36:24Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase]
With the kind of massive promotion that TCM did of these debuts, how, how is it possible that it was too much for their programming staff to get the movies _ended within their time slots_?
The slots were 1:15. The movies ran 1:17. The DVR cut off the endings unless you watched them live.
Unbelievable incompetence.
[/QUOTE]
Thankfully I recorded all three and so I got the endings in the next movie. Only the first one had this problem on Comcast.
Jim
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/11 "2007-04-06T17:45:13Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase]
With the kind of massive promotion that TCM did of these debuts, how, how is it possible that it was too much for their programming staff to get the movies _ended within their time slots_?
The slots were 1:15. The movies ran 1:17. The DVR cut off the endings unless you watched them live.
Unbelievable incompetence.
[/QUOTE]
The only one I ended up taping was _Double Harness_. Did it cut off on that one, too?
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/12 "2007-04-06T19:57:09Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy]
The only one I ended up taping was _Double Harness_. Did it cut off on that one, too?
[/QUOTE]
At least a bit of the movie and all of Osborne’s talk.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/13 "2007-04-06T22:16:59Z")
I tried watching Double Harness but got bored by it pretty quick. William Powell being rich and saying witty things to a blonde … where have I seen that before? Oh, yes, all those Thin Man movies …
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/14 "2007-04-06T22:32:57Z")
Mryna Loy’s a brunette.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/15 "2007-04-07T01:29:01Z")
Shame on you. Myrna Loy was a redhead.
[http://themave.com/Powell/cc/myrnacolr.jpg](http://themave.com/Powell/cc/myrnacolr.jpg)
[ ](http://www.classichollywoodbios.com/Images/Vintage%20Movie%20Magazine%20Images/Myrna%20Loy%20-%20Motion%20Picture%20-%20June-1939.jpg)
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/16 "2007-04-07T03:14:56Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
I tried watching Double Harness but got bored by it pretty quick. William Powell being rich and saying witty things to a blonde … where have I seen that before? Oh, yes, all those Thin Man movies …
[/QUOTE]
This did predate the Thinman movies and My Man Godfrey. I really enjoyed it. It was not a great movie, but it was a good movie.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/17 "2007-04-07T22:21:18Z")
Just watched Rafter Romance. Wow, what a stinkeroo!
Double Harness was a filmed stage play, so the dialog was first rate. And William Powell was being exceptionally William Powellish.
Rafter Romance was incomprehensibly bad. Bad dialog, bad acting, and ridiculous plotting. I kept waiting for someone to ask: but what happens on Sundays when neither of us work?
Yeah, I know. It’s the movies. And the several zillion earlier plays and musicals that used the same plot device got away with it. Still.
Ginger Rogers made 10 films in 1933!
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### Author:  [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tcm-to-air-six-lost-rko-films-on-april-4-and-11/398524/18 "2007-04-08T05:45:18Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor]
They look like respectable films, but hey, those movie people were getting pretty raunchy before the iron boot of the Catholic Church landed on Hollywood in 1935.
That “Double Harness” title intrigues me … could it be? … nawwwwww.
[/QUOTE]
“Double Harness” is a slang term for marriage.
Production Code enforcement began on July 1, 1934.