Topic: Misc. DVD news items and updates

[BeAStooge]

While we wait/hope for Sony-Columbia to do something worthy of the Stooges' library of shorts in 2007, here's a summary of recent Stooge-related DVD activity...

 -  October 10, Warner Home Video releases "MGM Legends of Horror," a 3 disc set of newly remastered classic horror films:  THE DEVIL DOLL (1936), DOCTOR X (1932), RETURN OF DOCTOR X (1939), MAD LOVE (1935), MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935), and MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932).  Ted Healy costars in MAD LOVE, a horror classic starring Peter Lorre and Colin "Dr. Frankenstein" Clive.  http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=387

 - September 5, Passport Video releases "THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW 100th Anniversary Collection, Season 1" (1951 - 1952). Joe Besser costars as 'Stinky' in eleven of the 1st season's 26 episodes.  http://threestooges.net/guest.appearances.tv.php?listby=airdate&page=1

 - Shout!Factory will release "THAT GIRL Season 2" November 14. Joe Besser guest starred in one episode, "Old Man's Darling" (April 1968).
http://threestooges.net/guest.appearances.tv.php?listby=airdate&page=5

 - VCI Entertainment has "Movie Bad Girls" on DVD September 26. On its double-feature bill is SINS OF JEZEBEL (1953), starring Paulette Goddard, George Nader, John Hoyt and Joe Besser.
http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=347


Recently released -

- Universal's PITTSBURGH (1942) costarring Shemp Howard, one of 5 John Wayne films in the "John Wayne: An American Icon Collection."  http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=307

- Universal's THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS (1941) with a Shemp Howard cameo, one of 5 Marlene Dietrich films (Paramount and Universal) in "Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection."  http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=414

- Warner Bros'. Bette Davis & Humphrey Bogart drama MARKED WOMAN (1937); a bonus feature is the Looney Tunes cartoon PORKY'S HERO AGENCY (1937 B&W) with Moe, Larry & Curly caricature characters.

- Joe Besser's 12/25/60 NBC appearance on "Babes in Toyland," an episode of THE SHIRLEY TEMPLE STORYBOOK THEATER with Jonathan Winters, Jerry Colonna and Carl Ballantine, is out from Genius Products. It's available in a 7-disc deluxe set and a single disc.  http://threestooges.net/guest.appearances.tv.php?listby=airdate&page=4

- Warner Bros. has a re-release/repackaged box set of three 'Rat Pack' films, including Moe, Larry & Curly-Joe guest starring in 4 FOR TEXAS (1963 Widescreen).  http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=234

- "The Clark Gable Signature Collection" from Warner Bros., with Ted Healy in SAN FRANCISCO (1936), and a restored version of DANCING LADY (1933) costarring Ted, Moe, Larry and Curly. Bonus features on DANCING LADY include the Healy/Stooges short PLANE NUTS (1933) and the Curly solo ROAST-BEEF & MOVIES (1933). SAN FRANCISCO and DANCING LADY discs are sold individually too.
http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=208
http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=202
http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=194
http://www.threestooges.net/episode.php?id=391

[xraffle]

- September 5, Passport Video releases "THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW 100th Anniversary Collection, Season 1" (1951 - 1952). Joe Besser costars as 'Stinky' in eleven of the 1st season's 26 episodes.  http://threestooges.net/guest.appearances.tv.php?listby=airdate&page=1

It's too bad they waited until now to release "The Abbott and Costello Show" in season sets. I already bought the 13 DVD volumes that Shanachie released a few years ago. They were sold individually for $20 per volume. Now, you can get them in season sets for a better price. Those people who waited for this new season sets are lucky because they didn't get ripped off like me.

[BeAStooge]

- September 5, Passport Video releases "THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW 100th Anniversary Collection, Season 1" (1951 - 1952). Joe Besser costars as 'Stinky' in eleven of the 1st season's 26 episodes.

A couple follow-ups...

Bonus features will include:

 - Some of Lou Costello's color 8mm home movies.

 - A 20-minute PSA short subject 10,000 KIDS AND A COP (1948). KIDS was produced to promote the Lou Costello Jr. Youth Foundation Center in East Los Angeles, an activity/education center that Lou Costello built as a memorial tribute to his late son. (The Center is still operating today.)  Hosted by Jimmy Stewart, the film stars William Bendix as a policeman touring the youth center.  Bud & Lou appear as themselves in several scenes.  The film was not produced for public presentation, but for sponsorship promotion.

The Costello family owns the only surviving 35mm print of this short, and it was recently restored with the assistance of the Fort Lee (NJ) Film Commission. The restoration premiered at Lou's 100th birthday celebration in Paterson NJ, March 2006.

I already bought the 13 DVD volumes that Shanachie released a few years ago. They were sold individually for $20 per volume. Now, you can get them in season sets for a better price.

First, the bonus features alone (on historical value) are worth the price, to me.

Second... don't throw away your Schanachie A&C DVDs yet.  Passport Video is the distributor of this new DVD set.  Koch/Vision Entertainment owns both... Schanachie is its specialty product label; Passport is its "cheap" label.

Passport improved its reputation much in the past year.  Regardless, instead of incorporating copy-protection signals in its discs, it still places translucent/almost-opaque product title logo bugs in the bottom right corner of the screen.  Not intermittent... constantly.

I do not know if these new A&C discs will be tainted by that policy.  Until we know better, and if bug-free copies are what you want, hold onto the old Schanachie DVDs.

Regardless, the bonus features are not available in the past, or elsewhere, and maybe will not be again.

[xraffle]

I'm so glad I listened to you and kept my Shanachie DVDs. I read some review about the Season 1 DVD set and the main complaint about it was that a couple of episodes are time compressed. Apparently, on a couple of the episodes, the video and audio are sped up, causing the running time of the episodes to be 22 minutes instead of the usual 26. This problem is not on the Shanachie DVDs, so I'm glad I still kept them.