I had been under the impression that the version of Blackmail showing on TCM last night was supposed to be the "rare" silent version, but upon viewing it, wasn't it the normally-seen sound version? (I hadn't seen Blackmail before, but it seemed like a regular talkie to me.) I guess TCM made an error?
And in your way, in this blue shade, my tears dry on their own.
The Arthaus version of the Blackmail DVD has the silent version. That's how many have seen it in recent years. I don't know which was supposed to air last night. Yes it was the 'TALKIE' that aired.
Sheldon:"Was the starfish wearing boxer shorts? Because you might have been watching Nickelodeon."
Mank and Oz are always setting up the wrong version of a film. I feel bad for them. It makes them seem like fools when the fools are the TCM programmers and copywriters because they seem to get something wrong on a daily basis.
What probably happened is some intern at TCM was tasked with figuring out what version is in the vault. After watching the first few silent minutes, he assumed it was the silent version.