RIDERS TO THE STARS began filming on June 8, 1953 at the Hal Roach
Studios in Culver City. It was the first science-fiction film composed
for widescreen. The ratio utilized by director Richard Carlson and
cinematographer Stanley Cortez was 1.85:1. Cortez had previously lensed
his first widescreen film, SHARK RIVER, on location in Florida. Of
course, like all other widescreen films from that era, it was protected
for 1.37:1 as well.
It has not been seen in widescreen since the
original theatrical release in early 1954. The elements no longer exist
and there are only two known 35mm SuperCinecolor prints. One was
utilized for an open matte transfer more than ten years ago and that is
the version currently shown on television. If you utilize the zoom
feature on your TV, you will get a pretty good approximation of the
correct framing, although the existing transfer is zoomed in a bit.
Here are frames from an original 35mm Color Corporation of America aka SuperCinecolor trailer. The colors have not been manipulated in these scans. This is the original, vibrant palette.
      Ivan Tors' next production would be even more ambitious: when cameras rolled on GOG at the
Hal Roach Studios on September 8, 1953, it was filmed in color, 1.66:1 widescreen and 3-D. The Archive is responsible for saving the original 3-D version of GOG. We found the long-lost 35mm left side of the film. If you have ever come across any 35mm materials on RIDERS TO THE STARS, please let us know. |
|
