Rick Schmidlin (born October 22, 1954) is a

film preservation Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the wide ...

ist and

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

scholar, and a producer-director whose work has focused on restorations, reconstructions and

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

. Until 2010, he taught for the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in the School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies as an adjunct faculty member. In 2018 Schmidlin was the house manager and programmer of the restored Queen Theatre in

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...

Films

Raised in

Maywood, New Jersey Maywood is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,080, an increase of 525 (+5.5%) from the 2010 United St ...

, Schmidlin developed a love of film watching movies at a theater in nearby Hackensack. Schmidlin produced the films '' The Doors: Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' and '' The Doors:The Soft Parade - A Retrospective (1991)''. In 1986 he was an assistant producer on

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...

's '' The Fly''. He also produced the special edition of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

concert film '' Elvis: That's the Way It Is''. Schmidlin produced the re-edit of the

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

film ''

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

'', to give a sense of what the original lost version of the film might have been like, and produced the re-edited Orson Welles' film ''

Touch of Evil ''Touch of Evil'' is a 1958 American film noir written and directed by Orson Welles, who also stars. The screenplay was loosely based on Whit Masterson's novel '' Badge of Evil'' (1956). The cast included Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Jose ...

''. Schmidlin restored (from stills and shooting continuity scripts) the famous lost horror film '' London After Midnight'' starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

and directed by

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

. and produced the restoration in 2000 of

The Dickson Experimental Sound Film ''The Dickson Experimental Sound Film'' is a film made by William Dickson in late 1894 or early 1895. It is the first known film with live-recorded sound and appears to be the first motion picture made for the Kinetophone, the proto- sound-fil ...

and was selected for inclusion in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

. In 2015 Schmidlin produced and restored the lost

Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

film from 1919—''

The Grim Game ''The Grim Game'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Harry Houdini and Ann Forrest.Farmer 1984, p. 312. The basic plotline serves as a showcase for Houdini's talent as an escapologist, stunt performer an ...

''— that premiered as the closing film March 29, 2015, at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Awards

Schmidlin has received the Special Award from the

New York Film Critics Circle The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scho ...

, a Special Citation from the

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

, and a Special Citation from

Los Angeles Film Critics Association The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles–based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organi ...

for his work on ''Touch of Evil''. For his work reconstructing ''Greed'' he, along with Roger Mayer and

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

, received a special citation from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. In 2001 he received the Rondo Award from the

Classic Horror Film Board A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

for '' London After Midnight'' that he produced for TCM.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidlin, Rick 1954 births Living people Film producers from New Jersey Academic staff of the University of British Columbia People from Bryan, Texas People from Maywood, New Jersey