Their Purple Moment - Preservation

THEIR PURPLE MOMENT has been beautifully preserved from the remarkably still pristine camera negative. The Library of Congress manufactured a 35mm safety fine grain in 1973, and two decades later a second set of 35mm safety master elements have been placed in FICA cold storage in Munich, Germany, vault number 1750.

The nitrate preprint material we worked from contained flash titles, two of which had deteriorated and needed to be restored. The film's slapstick conclusion is motivated by Ollie's cowardly betrayal of his partner when he tells the wives that Stan "dragged me into this den of vice." This title card is missing from some versions distributed in America, rendering Stan's retaliation meaningless.

-- by Richard W. Bann --