Re: NNG: Limited Mail

Both "The Limited Mail" and "White Desert" (a fictionalized account of the building of the Moffat Tunnel, including real live winter action on the High Line--with rotary snowplow and triple headers) had fresh prints struck from original nitrate negatives in the 1970s. Paid for by the Intermountain Chapter, NRHS, the prints nevertheless wound up in the MGM archives, subsequently acquired by Ted Turner, where they remain today in pristine condition. With a LOT of diligent work you can eventually get to a real person at MGM/Turner archives and inquire about renting either/both films (been there, done that). The prints come on old-fashioned reels, not platter-ready prints, and MGM/Turner will require that they be shown on old-fashioned reel-to-reel projectors and are not to be spliced together for a platter projector (platter systems devour prints; reel-to-reel systems don't). You will need to find an "old timey" union projectionist who remembers how to do reel-to-reel movies with manual changeovers, and you might as well show the films in a classic movie theater, preferable with a real theater organ. Oh, I almost forgot: expect to pay many hundreds of dollars to rent either film, even for a one-time showing. And these films are NOT available in 16mm or on DVD.

Since both films had a Colorado context, they would be better paired together as a "double header" than paired with "The General." Expect to spend cubic bucks to pull that one off. You need to have a large enough audience to pay for the film rentals and other overhead expenses. There is liable to be a hefty theater rental as well. Figure $3-5,000.

Contact me off-line if you need to know more.

PS. Much of the Limited Mail was filmed in Colorado's Royal Gorge on the Rio Grande, with set shots done in LA.

The pictures below are a "White Desert" teaser (not outtakes from the film).

Mike Rowe