MovieChat Forums > Rancho Notorious (1952) Discussion > Scene edited or television glitch?

Scene edited or television glitch?

posted 17 years ago by Bringbacktheglam
4 replies | jump to latest

There is a particular moment in the film that seems to "black out", and I am trying to find out if it's intended to do so or not. The scene where Marlene first kisses Arthur Kennedy, then slaps him, and then he says something like, "That's unfair, I only got one kiss for two slaps" and then she laughs. Right after she laughs, the scene ends abruptly and the screen "blacks out" for a moment, and then cuts right to a scene in the outdoors. Is this abrupt cutting supposed to happen, or is it merely a cable glitch? As I was watching the film, it just seemed to me that the scene was cut rather abruptly (right after Marlene laughs at Arthur Kennedy). Anyone have any thoughts?

[–] aimless-46 17 years ago

It is probably intentional. When cutting "within" a scene the editor never uses a transition. When cutting to a "different" scene the editor mostly uses a cross dissolve transition, but sometimes it is just a straight cut without any transition. Strangely in at least three places (not including the one you mention) the editor cuts to a different scene with a fade out-fade in transition. The first time is when Vern kills the guy in the barber shop. The other two are shortly (but not immediately) after Frenchie and Altar kiss. If there is a logic to this I don't understand it, especially since the black screen part goes on for enough frames to actually draw attention to the transition itself.

[–] Bringbacktheglam 17 years ago

Thanks for the info. I'm somewhat of a classic film fanatic, and it's good to know I'm not the only one who wonders about these things.

[–] heaver2000 15 years ago

The scene occurs at the end of a reel. The first set of changeover cues is right after she slaps him. In the copy I have, the second set of cues is missing because the reel ends about 3 seconds early (presumably due to print damage), cutting abruptly on her laugh. It's possible that the copy you saw had black frames inserted at this point, in order to keep the continuity of the soundtrack.

[–] BKinzeys 15 years ago

Just saw it, Heaver2000 is correct it's a reel change and his supposition seems likely.