Topic: DVD News Odds and Ends for 2013

[BeAStooge]

Timeless Media will release "THE GENE AUTRY SHOW  The Final Season" on May 21; Amazon (at link) is now taking pre-orders.

Joe Besser guest starred in the Oct. 1, 1955 episode, "The Million Dollar Fiddle".

The Gene Autry Show, sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint Chewing Gum, originally aired on CBS from 1950 to 1955.  The program follows the adventures of singing cowboy Gene Autry, his Wonder Horse Champion, and his sidekick Pat Buttram, who travel the Southwest to maintain law and order.  The series is a collection of stand-alone half-hour episodes:  sometimes Gene and Pat know each other sometimes they do not; some shows are set in the past and some are in the near present of the early 1950s. Each unique show has Gene's trademark mixture of action, comedy, and singing. The fifth and final season of The Gene Autry Show includes 13 episodes filmed in color. Several episodes also feature Little Champ, Gene's very popular trick pony.

Now, for the first time on DVD, the complete Season Five of Gene Autry's landmark television series The Gene Autry Show is brought home in these fully restored and uncut episodes from Autry's personal film and television archive. See for yourself why the hard riding, furious fighting, and smooth singing Gene Autry is considered America's favorite cowboy.   Color

"THE GENE AUTRY SHOW:  The Complete Series" will be released on December 10, 2013; Amazon (at link) is taking preorders.  Obviously, Besser's 5th season episode "The Million Dollar Fiddle" will be included. 

[BeAStooge]

20th Century Fox's MOD program, Fox Cinema Archives, is releasing SAY ONE FOR ME (1959) on March 8.  The musical drama stars Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Ray Walston and Joe Besser.

For sale at Movies Unlimited, Screen Archives and a few others, including Amazon.  Although it was filmed in CinemaScope, unfortunately this is a Pan-&-Scan DVD.

Fox's MOD line has been a haphazard, consumer and critical disappointment in its first year.  Many of its titles are simply off-the-shelf copies that originally aired on the Fox Movie Channel.  This SAY ONE FOR ME release is precisely that.

[BeAStooge]

Shemp fans who want THE BANK DICK (1940) available in a bargain set can buy the "W. C. Fields Comedy Favorites Collection" on June 4, 2013.  All 10 films from the earlier 2 volume "W. C. Fields Comedy Collections" will be repackaged in the new set.  The downside is, it's compressed from 10 discs, to 3 discs; not sure if they're going to be double-sided or not.  It's available for pre-order from Amazon, MoviesUnlimited, etc.

Product info from MoviesUnlimited...

Three-disc set includes "International House," "It's A Gift," "You're Telling Me!," "The Old Fashioned Way," "Man On The Flying Trapeze," "Poppy," "You Can't Cheat An Honest Man," "My Little Chickadee," "The Bank Dick," and "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break."

 
Related, Universal is giving the same treatment to its "Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection," with the team's five Paramount classics of 1929 - 1933.  Formerly a 5-disc collection, it's been repackaged as a 2-disc bargain set available on May 14, 2013.

[stooge1029]

In my opinion the only Marx Bros movies worth watching...and the Fields set looks great def his best films there. Once I get some $ Ill be picking those up.

[Larrys#1]

Related, Universal is giving the same treatment to its "Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection," with the team's five Paramount classics of 1929 - 1933.  Formerly a 5-disc collection, it's been repackaged as a 2-disc bargain set available on May 14, 2013.

It's about time. The former set was a 6 disc collection. The sixth disc was an entire disc dedicated to only 15 minutes of extras. That's it. The set was padded out and could've easily fit on 2 discs.

[BeAStooge]

Back in October 2012, Universal re-released The Best of Abbott & Costello  Volume 1, with A&C's first eight [Universal] films, three with Shemp Howard in a supporting role... BUCK PRIVATES (1941), HOLD THAT GHOST (1941) and IN THE NAVY (1941).  Wal-Mart and similar stores are carrying it for $12.96.

The set now consists of 4 single-sided DVDs.  The original release from 2004 was 2 double-sided discs.  Universal's double-sided discs have racked up lots of failure complaints over the past several years; the studio has quietly reissued some of the more popular titles affected by the problem.

For anyone interested in the reissued set, the packaging is easily differentiated by the missing "Franchise Collection" on the box art.  The new set does not have this title.  There's been no word if the original Volumes 2 - 4 will also be re-released.

2012 edition, 4 single-sided DVDs


2004 edition, 2 double-sided DVDs

[BeAStooge]

TCM Vault / Sony Collection is releasing The Randolph Scott Westerns Collection on Dec. 2, 2013.  Initially, this will be an exclusive thru Turner Classic Movies' web store; later, it'll be available thru Amazon and other Shop.TCM webpartners.



One of the four features is CORONER CREEK (1948), with Joe DeRita in a bit supporting role as the town's barkeep. 

Semi-related trivia... DeRita and Scott had a comedy act, a pseudo-A&C type act, which they developed and performed during USO tours in World War II, usually as members of Bing Crosby's troupe; they performed, at least once that we know of, on Crosby's radio show in 1944.

Included in the collection are four titles never before released on DVD: THE DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA (1949) and THE WALKING HILLS (1949) in crisp black and white; and CORONER CREEK (1948) and 7th CAVALRY (1956) in Cinecolor and Technicolor. A must-have collection for all fans of Randolph Scott!

TECHNICAL SPECS
•   FORMAT: DVD - Boxed Set
•   RATING: Not Rated
•   NUMBER OF DISCS: 4
•   ASPECT RATIO: Fullscreen
•   STUDIO: Sony
•   DVD RELEASE DATE: September 2, 2013
•   AUDIO: ENGLISH: Stereo
•   COLOR: Black & White / Color

Digital Bonus Features on the DVD Include:
•   Introduction by Ben Mankiewicz
•   Biography
•   Digital Image Gallery
       - Behind-the-Scenes Photo(s)
       - Lobby Cards
       - Publicity Still(s)
       - Movie Poster(s)
       - Scene Still(s)
       - TCMDb Article

[BeAStooge]

PETER GUNN  The Final Season (1960 - 1961) will be released on November 19, 2013.  That year includes the episode "Cry Love, Cry Murder" (3/27/61) with guest star Joe Besser.

[BeAStooge]

Hollywood: Streets of Gold is a DVD collection from Mill Creek Entertainment, a well-regarded budget label.   I was pleasantly surprised to see this sitting atop the pile in a WalMart bargain bin for $5.00.   Amazon and other online sellers are also carrying it.  It appears to have been quietly released in January 2013.


Included are 5 documentaries about Hollywood, produced for TV by David L. Wolper, with Jack Haley Jr....

• HOLLYWOOD: THE GOLDEN YEARS (1961)
• HOLLYWOOD: THE GREAT STARS (1963)
• THE LEGEND OF MARILYN MONROE (1966)
• HOLLWYOOD: THE SELZNICK YEARS (1969)
• HOLLYWOOD: THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER (1982)

HOLLYWOOD: THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER (1982) is not in its original May 1982 ABC broadcast form, but as 3 episodes it was broken into for later distribution.  I believe the original content to be complete [unconfirmed], and it does contain its tribute/footage of the Three Stooges (in pt. 2).  Program info from ThreeStooges.net's Tribute Filmography...

The Motion Picture Association of America produced this entertaining compilation of comedy clips from movies produced in Hollywood, from the silent era to present-day (1982), to celebrate the Bicentennial of Los Angeles.

Features clips of the Stooges (and Ted Healy) from THE BIG IDEA (1934), THREE LITTLE BEERS (1935), and during the opening credits a brief SCREEN SNAPSHOTS clip of the boys clowning around with the 1935 Three Stooges hand puppets. The Stooges' segment is narrated by Dom DeLuise.

Opening title sequence...

[BeAStooge]

Universal has added some more titles to its "Universal Vault Collection" line of DVD-R's.  They're available at Amazon and other online sellers.


Out this week is THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS (1941), with Shemp Howard in a small role as a waiter.

   

FLAME was earlier released in a 2006 DVD box set, "Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection."  It's out-of-print, but can still be found with many retailers.


Released with zero publicity back in November 2012 was WOMAN IN HIDING (1950), with Joe Besser in a small role as a carousing hotel conventioneer.

   

HIDING is also on DVD in the early 2012 box set, "Women in Danger: 1950s Thrillers."  It's one of the TCM Vault Collection sets.

[BeAStooge]

Sept. 24, Warner Archive released OF HUMAN HEARTS (1938).  The 1800s melodrama starring James Stewart, Gene Reynolds, Walter Huston and Beulah Bondi may have been Ted Healy's final role.  His name appeared in pre-production publicity notices, and according to notes at TCM.com, he can be spied in one scene although I have not been able to locate him; maybe the DVD's added clarity will make a difference. 

OF HUMAN HEARTS wrapped filming the day before Ted died.

The Warner Archive -  OF HUMAN HEARTS (1938)