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Studio produced slide for Headin' South (1918) |
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Hand-made slide negative for Headin' South (1918) |
The negative caught my eye because I remembered seeing the studio produced poster for the film and there seemed to be a distinct similarity between image on the slide and my memory of the artwork on the poster. From this I jumped (incorrectly) to the conclusion that the negative for the slide had been produced by photographing the poster art.
Later, taking a closer look, I confirmed that the slide is indeed based on the same graphic as the poster but what I failed to notice on my initial examination was that despite their similarity, the image on the slide is not a reproduction of the poster art.
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Reversed negative for Headin' South |
Where at first I had assumed that the slide was based on the poster, the obvious conclusion seems to be that the slide, as well as the poster, are based on a separate original source - most likely a still publicity photograph.
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Poster for Headin' South |
Was the knife excised due to a specific editorial reason? It doesn't appear that its removal was necessary in order accommodate text or other graphic elements.
Interestingly (at least to me), the absence of the knife in the slide provides more leeway for interpretation.
In the poster, it is clear that the men are fighting.
But in the slide?
Perhaps they are dancing The Tango.
Hand-made slide images for this article courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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