Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994                   TAG: 9411110019
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

HAVEN'T WE SEEN THAT MOVIE BEFORE?

The Goldwyn wisdom seldom has been practiced. Studios apparently believe that classic films never die, they just need new exposure. Modernize and retrofit and they will strike gold once more. Only problem: They don't.

There are at least five remakes entering the movie marketplace this fall:

``Love Affair.'' Leo McCarey first made it in 1939, then again in 1957 as ``An Affair to Remember'' (the movie that was canonized in ``Sleepless in Seattle''). The 1994 version with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening has opened unpromisingly, dropping like a rock at the box office.

``Miracle on 34th Street.'' The 1947 film won Edmund Gwenn an Academy Award and plays on television every Christmas. The John Hughes-produced revival stars Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle.

``Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.'' The man-made monster has been in movies since 1908, but James Whale's 1931 version created a small industry of imitators. Kenneth Branagh's new attempt, with Robert De Niro in the Boris Karloff role, has received mixed reviews.

``Little Women.'' The Louisa May Alcott classic was filmed memorably by RKO in 1933 with Katharine Hepburn as the star. Less successful was the 1949 MGM version with June Allyson. Winona Ryder heads the latest film.

``Jungle Book.'' Alexander Korda's 1943 fantasy starring Sabu is prized by film buffs. Disney made an animated version in 1967, and now is releasing a live-action movie with Jason Scott Lee and Sam Neill.

Are remakes a worthy enterprise, or do they simply indicate a lack of creativity on the part of the studios?

Attenborough, who returned to acting in ``Jurassic Park,'' admits that he was undecided about attempting ``Miracle on 34th Street.'' So he called Steven Spielberg.

``He said that, in principle, remakes are not a very good idea,'' Attenborough recalled. ``But [`34th Street'] was such a perennial, seen over and over again at Christmas, there really was justification of bringing it up a little closer to the time. There are advantages of color and recording and putting it into the context of television and computers, which made it easier for young people to identify with.''

Kenneth Branagh, director and star of ``Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,'' said: ``I suppose I avoid the word `remake' in the way I think about it, because I come from the theater into movies, and I've been in piles of remakes all the way through my theatrical career. You're always redoing things. ...

``So when I come to a film like `Henry V,' which had been done spectacularly before (Sir Laurence Olivier won an honorary Oscar for acting, producing and directing the 1944 version), or in this case, `Frankenstein,' I regard that as a classic, and it has spawned classic movies. That gives you the license to do them again because they're for all time and for everyone in their classic status.''

The granddaddy of remakes may be ``The Three Godfathers,'' which was made nine times from 1909 to 1975. One of the most memorable versions was John Ford's 1949 movie starring John Wayne.

``Robin Hood'' is another oft-told tale. There were noteworthy versions with Douglas Fairbanks in 1922 and Errol Flynn in 1939. But the 1991 redo starring Kevin Costner was a critical flop.

Perhaps the most successful of remakes is the 1989 ``Batman.'' The saga was filmed as a serial in 1943, then as a 1966 movie with Adam West, Burt Ward and other cast members from the television series. Tim Burton's 1989 version starred Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson and won an Oscar for best art direction.

Sometimes it helps to add music. With Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne, ``Anna and the King of Siam'' was a fair-sized hit in 1946. Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted it for the musical stage, and 10 years later ``The King and I'' with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr was a solid success.

``A Star Is Born'' (1937) became the classic movie about Hollywood, and starred Janet Gaynor and Frederic March. That didn't stop Judy Garland from remaking it with songs in 1954, and Barbra Streisand doing the same in 1976 with Kris Kristofferson.