'Threshold' finally on FMC: 8/20/09
Coincidence of coincidences! Just as escalera-2 and I were speaking of wanting to see On the Threshold of Space, I discover it's finally going to be broadcast on Fox Movie Channel (FMC) this coming Thursday, August 20, 2009, at 10:30 AM EDT.
(Escalera is a good luck charm about discovering long-unseen movies just as we begin discussing them: for further proof, please see the board for Captive Women (1952).)
The one drawback to this broadcast is that, according to the satellite listings, it will not be shown in widescreen. This is unfortunate but not unexpected: for some mysterious reason FMC usually doesn't run CinemaScope movies in their proper widescreen aspect ratio for the first year or two (or more) that they show them...only to eventually relent and show them letterboxed. (Well, usually.) They did this with such titles as Violent Saturday, Night People, Woman's World, The Lost World, and many others. They're still running films such as Three Brave Men, Prince of Players and others currently or recently on the channel in pan-and-scan versions instead of widescreen. Why they do this is beyond comprehension.
Anyway, while this is not an incidental complaint, finally seeing this film -- even in p&s, and with the unavoidable graininess that inevitably results from such a format -- is better than not seeing it at all. As I wrote on another thread, I've never seen it and am looking forward to it.
As this is the first time FMC is running OTTOS, it's probable it'll continue to turn up on that channel once a month or so in the coming months...maybe. But in widescreen? That may be a much longer wait...if indeed ever. But still more likely than ever getting a DVD.