Lost Lost Horizon

TCM just showed Lost Horizon, the not-so-great "classic" from Frank Capra. TCM host Robert Osborne introduced it with the story of how it was Columbia's most expensive film and suffered a horrible preview. So far, so true. But then he said Capra tossed out the lengthy prologue and the film played well after that.

This is the story Capra tried to sell in his very entertaining but often fictional autobiography The Name Above The Title. In fact, it wasn't so simple. There was a lot of cutting, affecting the whole film, much of it done without Capra.

No big deal. I'm just surprised that TCM, which usually gets it right, accepted the legend rather than the fact.