In the 1960's the man at CBS Television who was responsible for editing films to length for "The Late Show" told me that most films made before 1950 were so tightly constructed that it was very hard for him to take out scenes without upsetting the balance and the flow of plot information. "But after 1950" he said, "you can usually go in their and snip here and there and anywhere with no problem!" He went on to muse on the idea that as "movies" became appreciated more and more as works of art their directors actually became more self-indulgent. They weren't only "telling a story" any more, they were "putting themselves on the screen." That, my friend said, made it easy to cut! Stephan ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite