Speaking of film restoration

I've mentioned The Black Book before, probably on a previous July 14. July 14th is of course Bastille Day in France, and TCM often takes the opportunity to air a couple of films dealing with the French Revolution. So movies like The Black Book get trotted out. In the case of The Black Book, it's going to be on TCM tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM One thing I've also pointed out in the past is the terrible quality of the print of The Black Book that gets run, which is a shame because the movie is so interesting. Presumably, TCM hasn't been able to find a better print. The movie was produced by Walter Wanger (the same man who produced Foreign Correspondent and I believe Stagecoach) but distributed by low-prestige Eagle-Lion films, which probably goes a long way toward explaining the lousy print quality. The movie could seriously use a restoration, but who knows if the elements are out there to be restored?

As for the rest of this year's Bastille Day festival, TCM is running George Arliss as Voltaire at 5:45 AM, and the 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities at 8:30 AM.