Things to Come - The Gutlohn Print

by Nick Cooper © 2003-2004

The "Standard Version" of Things to Come currently distributed by London Films (the original makers) in the UK and elsewhere runs to 92m 42s (89m exactly on video in countries using the PAL system - the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.).  For the first release in early 1936, Rachel Low's The History of the British Film 1929-1939 (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1985), states: "9,781[ft], later 8,830" - 108m 40s and 98m 06s respectively - suggesting that just over 16 minutes of footage has gone missing.  Even this may be an underestimate, since Peter Nicholls' The Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction (Granada, London, 1979) quotes the length as, "130 mins (cut to 113)." The most conclusive evidence, however, lies with the contemporary records of the British Board of Film Censorship (now "Classification"), which state:

Classified 20 February, 1936.
When submitted to the BBFC the work had a running time of 117m 13s.
This work was passed with no cuts made.
At the time of classification United Artists Corp. Ltd was the distributor of this film.

Comparison with other contemporary films shows that their quoted running times are recorded correctly, so there are no grounds to uniquely doubt the accuracy of the Things to Come entry, and the logical conclusion that at least 24m 31s are missing.

Fortunately, in late-1935 Wells published Things to Come, a "Film Story" that is essentially the shooting script from early-1935 modified into a semi-novel form. The Film Story contains numerous scenes that no longer appear in the 92m version, and while in some cases it is clearly because they were discarded or replaced with other material, many fit perfectly into gaps in the continuity and narrative of the Standard Version, and indeed production photographs have survived which support the contention that many were filmed, but later lost. A good example of this is a discrepancy that has puzzled viewers for many years, namely that Maragretta Scott is credited for the dual roles of Roxana and Rowena, even though only the former appears in the Standard Version. Rowena is, in fact, the estranged ex-wife of the Oswald Cabal, who appears with him in just one scene. This is scripted in the Film Story, and numerous production stills exist of Scott in her 2036 costume, in some of which she is accompanied by Raymond Massey.

In addition, Leon Stover's The Phrophetic Soul - A Reading of H.G.Wells's Things to Come (McFarland & Co. Inc., 1987) reproduces an internal London Films script identical to the Standard Version, but for the inclusion of a number of now missing scenes, and which crucially is timed in feet and frames of film. Stover contends that this is the "release script," although the "extra material" falls some way short even of the difference between the 92m and 108m versions [this issue - along with other running-time anomalies - will be dealt with separately at a later date].

Seeing references to a version of the film being available in the United States that retained certain sequences not in the 92m 42s print, the author began a search in mid-2002 for North American video releases. The first to bear fruit was a still factory-sealed copy of a prerecorded NTSC-LP format VHS tape, released in 1985 by Interglobal Video Promotions Ltd. of Toronto, Canada. The film print used in this release is of very low quality, with a high degree of contrast and virtually no shades of grey, while the non-Hi-Fi audio track doesn't do the already poor sound much justice, either. The running time is 90m 48s, almost two minutes shorter than the Standard length, and yet it contains just over three minutes of previously "lost" footage, because elsewhere the film has been extensively trimmed, censored and damaged. Most of the long montage sequences - such as the war preparations in Everytown, the Floss Valley attack, and the Reconstruction Phase - have had large chunks clumsily removed, while all bar one instance (luckily in a previously "lost" section) of the use of the word "God" and the single utterence of "damn" have been censored. In addition, while the London Films ident appears at the start, Alexander Korda's producer credit and the United Artists logo later on have been deleted. Curiously, though, the roller caption for the cast credits Margaretta Scott with the role of Roxana only. Subsquently, tapes from other publishers of essentially the same low-quality source material - and all in NTSC-LP format - were obtained, before the acquisition of a 1978 release under the MEDA label. The breakthough with the latter was not just that the print used is much clearer, with better sound, and is recorded in NTSC-SP format (video colour cross-talk is visible, but can be removed quite easily), but that it begins with a caption stating, "Walter O. Gutlohn presents..." Although a producer of short films in his own right, Chicago-based Gutlohn also released licensed 16mm versions of feature films from around the 1940s onwards, so it almost certain that that is the origin of this particular print.

In addition, there have been a number of video releases that have the "extra" segments from Gutlohn print spliced into a Standard print. These "Hybrid" prints notably all show identical damage in the third restored segment, as do all known video copies of the Gutlohn print as a whole. The British National Film Archive (NFA), however, possesses its own Hybrid print - in which the Gutlohn material is from a noticably much higher quality source - but does not have the same damage, and so the restored footage is essentially complete.

Click here for a quality comparison of the VHS releases of this print.

The first piece of footage in the Gutlohn print that does not appear in the Standard 92m 42s print comes between the scene in which John Cabal, his wife, and his guests hear about the outbreak of War on the radio, and the war preparations in Everytown Square. The script extracts come from the Stover book; green text denotes material in the 92m version, blue that which only exists in the Gutlohn print:

End of Reel 1
Reel 2

Skipping forwards to 1967, after the successful attack on the Floss Valley and the Boss again berating Gordon for not providing him with working aeroplanes, there is a "Victory Banquet" at the Town Hall headquarters:

DISSOLVE:

DISSOLVE:

The next piece of previously-"lost" footage comes during the Little Girl's "History Lesson" at the start of the 2036 sequence:

The final piece of "extra" footage in the Gutlohn Print comes when Oswald Cabal and Raymond Passworthy are met by young Catherine Cabal and Maurice Passworthy:

RETURN TO THINGS TO COME INDEX

23/04/03	First Upload
26/04/03	Minor corrections
05/06/03	Re-formatted
11/05/05	Corrections/additional text