But it does require a hop.

Balance in all things counts, and it's no disrespect to Clark's fine efforts, or Kerry's earlier, to say that Tim's main point is valid.

The analogy with the recut TOUCH OF EVIL is a good one: it was done after research, by caring pros - but that doesn't mean we can assume that it was what Orson would have done. Even when directors DO have cutting privilege, films often remain fluid right up until release (or in Griffith's case, even decades AFTER release!)

So, IF ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF SCHOLARLY ACCURACY, this all has to remain in the realm of an "educated 'What if?" Because if allowed his head, there's the real chance that Browning might well have actually produced a cut not only different than what we have had for years, but different from what Clark has posited, and even different from the Spanish version.

(Question for the room - especially folks like David S, & Gary D. R.: do we have any documentation at all, about how heavy an editor Browning was on his earlier films? Since the earliest days, there have been directors who where very hands-on, and directors who figured that their job was done when the shoot was.)

Best,
-Craig

Monsterkid since the Kennedy Era