IPhoto 8.1.2 crashing when changing photo title

Question

iPhoto 8.1.2 is crashing (or hanging up -- I get the spinning color wheel and I have to force quit it) when I change the title on many of my photos.  It happens when I hit return or try to click on another picture after entering the new title.  It only seems to happen with photos that were imported before a particular date (about July 1 2009), and it does not happen with movies.  I have tried rebuilding the library, but this did not change the behavior.  The same thing happens whether I edit the title beneath the photo or in the information window on the lower left.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose or fix this problem?

Answer 1

Make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot. 
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager  to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next  window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.