WARNER ARCHIVE: Dimitrios, Robert Taylor & A Guy Named Joe

Robert Taylor gets the bulk of this week's wave of seven from the Warner Archive Collection, but two long-awaited titles are finally out on DVD.

The two: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) the Jean Negulesco Noir starring Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Zachary Scott and Faye Emerson and A Guy Named Joe (1943) with the great all-star cast of Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond, James Gleason, Lionel Barrymore, Esther Williams and Don DeFore.

The Robert Taylor releases are:

• Cattle King (1963) - Robert Loggia, Joan Caulfield
• The House of the Seven Hawks (1959) - Nicole Maurey, Linda Christian
• The Power and the Prize (1956) - Elisabeth Muller, Burl Ives, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke
• Stand Up and Fight (1939) - Wallace Beery, Florence Rice, Helen Broderick, Charles Bickford

Also out is the 1949 Western Massacre River starring Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, Carole Mathews and Cathy Downs.

All will be available here at ClassicFlix on June 11th.

These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com 

BLU OLIVE: Harlow & Summer and Smoke in July

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Harlow (Blu-Ray) July 23rd Olive Films Retail: $24.95, Our: $17.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Summer and Smoke (Blu-Ray) July 23rd Olive Films Retail: $24.95, Our: $17.99

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Two of the first DVD titles that Olive released when their Golden Age barrage began in 2010 are being released on Blu-Ray: Harlow (1965) and Summer and Smoke (1961).

Both will street on July 23rd and retail for just $24.95 each.

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FOX ARCHIVES: Princess of the Nile, Tale Spin & More in Latest Wave

Another impressive wave is coming from Fox as they have announced 6 more titles as part of their Cinema Archives line.

They are:

• The Gambler from Natchez (1954) - Dale Robertson, Debra Paget, Thomas Gomez, Lisa Daniels, Kevin McCarthy
• Powder River (1953) - Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, Cameron Mitchell
• Princess of the Nile (1954) - Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Dona Drake
• Tail Spin (1939) - Alice Faye, Constance Bennett, Nancy Kelly, Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Jane Wyman, Kane Richmond
• White Witch Doctor (1953) - Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Walter Slezak
• Young Guns of Texas (1962) - James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, Jody McCrea, Chill Wills

They will be available here at ClassicFlix on June 4th and can easily be found in the recent additions section.

VCI: And Then There Were None (Blu-Ray) in August

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

And Then There Were None August 27th VCI Retail: $14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

And Then There Were None (Blu-Ray) August 27th VCI Retail: $19.99, Our: $15.99

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VCI has set an August 27th street date for the Blu-Ray and restored standard DVD release of And Then There Were None (1945).

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Agatha Christie’s world famous novel, Ten Little Indians, is brought to the screen with all of its baffling suspense and a star studded cast, headed by Academy Award winner Barry Fitzgerald.

Ten people, strangers to each other, are invited to a lavish estate on an island. Through a recording, their mysterious host accuses each of his "guests" of murder and proceeds to exact "justice." The tension mounts as, one by one, the number of people are reduced through the ingenious plotting of the unseen killer. Finally only two are left and each is uncertain as to whether or not the other is the murderer.

A top cast of veteran performers bring the intricate twists of the plot to life. One of the most novel and thrilling climaxes ever filmed brings the picture to its spine tingling conclusion. Match wits with the script as you watch a thriller that has carved its own special niche in the realm of tales of suspense and mystery. 

Final Perry Mason Set, Gunsmoke - Season 9 in August

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Perry Mason - Season 9, Vol. 2 August 13th Paramount Retail: 45.99, Our: $34.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Gunsmoke - Season 9, Vol. 1 August 6th Paramount Retail: 42.99, Our: $33.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Gunsmoke - Season 9, Vol. 2 August 6th Paramount Retail: 42.99, Our: $33.99

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More T.V. from Paramount in August as they have announced the final Perry Mason set as well as Season 9 sets for Gunsmoke.

WARNER: Charlie Chan Collection in August

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: TITLES:

Charlie Chan Collection August 6th Warner Home Video Retail $39.92, Our: $29.99 Shadows Over Chinatown (1946), Docks of New Orleans (1948), Shanghai Chest (1948), The Golden Eye (1948)

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Warner has announced an August 6th release date for their 4-disc Charlie Chan Collection.

The studio's first non-MOD, new-to-DVD release of the year will retail for $39.92, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $29.99. Bonus features are not expected.


Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
Charlie Chan heads to San Francisco on a murder case when he encounters a mother trying to find her daughter who’s gone missing. Chan also meets a young man, searching for his missing girlfriend. Charlie determines they’re both looking for the same person and soon uncovers a murder gang, which has been illegally benefiting from life insurance of the dead.

Docks of New Orleans (1948)
Charlie is asked to investigate after the mysterious demise of a New Orleans chemical company magnate, because even though the police believe the death was caused by a heart attack, a series of unexplainable deaths follow. Only Charlie Chan can solve the mystery!

Shanghai Chest (1948)
Three people are murdered in San Francisco – a judge, District Attorney and a juror. The fingerprints of a deceased man are found at all three murder sites, but could it really be possible for a dead man to be a serial killer? Again, leave it to Charlie Chan..!

The Golden Eye (1948)
An Arizona gold mine is suddenly making a ton of money. The mine’s owner, instead of delighting in his newfound wealth, confides to Charlie that something is wrong and he fears for his life. Charlie and “friends” go to the mine, pretending to be just visitors. They soon discover that the mine is being used as a cover up for some major crimes and that, indeed, somebody will soon be murdered. 

CRITERION: To Be or Not to Be - Standard & Blu in August

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

To Be or Not to Be August 28th Criterion Retail $29.95, Our: $23.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

To Be or Not to Be (Blu-Ray) August 28th Criterion Retail $39.95, Our: $31.99

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One of the greatest comedies (and maybe films) of all time, To Be or Not to Be (1942), gets the Criterion treatment on DVD and Blu-Ray this August 28th.

The Ernst Lubitsch dark comedy, which has been of print for for two years, stars Jack Benny and Carole Lombard (in her last screen appearance). Bonus features and details below.


As nervy as it is hilarious, this screwball masterpiece from Ernst Lubitsch stars Jack Benny and, in her final screen appearance, Carole Lombard as husband-and-wife thespians in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who become caught up in a dangerous spy plot.

To Be or Not to Be is a Hollywood film of the boldest black humor, which went into production soon after the U.S. entered World War II. Lubitsch manages to brilliantly balance political satire, romance, slapstick, and urgent wartime suspense in a comic high-wire act that has never been equaled.

BONUS FEATURES:

• New audio commentary featuring film historian David Kalat
• Lubitsch le patron, a 2010 French documentary on director Ernst Lubitsch’s career
• Two episodes of The Screen Guild Theater, a radio anthology series:
  
  • Variety (1940), starring Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert, and Lubitsch
  • To Be or Not to Be (1942), an adaptation of the film, starring William Powell, Diana Lewis, and Sig Ruman
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien

WARNER ARCHIVE: Westerns and Liberace in Latest Wave

Westerns and Liberace make up this week's wave from the Warner Archive Collection.

The Westerns are:

• Rider on a Dead Horse (1962) - John Vivyan, Bruce Gordon
• Short Grass (1950) - Rod Cameron, Cathy Downs, Johnny Mack Brown, Alan Hale Jr.
• Stampede (1949) - Rod Cameron, Gale Storm, Johnny Mack Brown, Don Castle
• Wild Stallion (1952) - Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Martha Hyer, Hayden Rorke, Hugh Beaumont

as well as the Monogram Cowboy Collection, Vol. 6.

Sincerely Yours (1955) stars Liberace and also features Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, Alex Nicol and William Demarest.

All will be available here at ClassicFlix on June 4th.

These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com. 

TCM VAULT: Sony's Film Noir Classics, Vol. 4 in August

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: TITLES:

Film Noir Classics, Vol. 4 (TCM Vault) August 6th Sony So Dark the Night (1946), Johnny O'Clock (1947), Walk a Crooked Mile (1948), Between Midnight and Dawn (1950), Walk East on Beacon! (1952)

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Sony's Film Noir Classics sets continue with Film Noir Classics, Vol. 4 due on August 6th.

Released via the TCM Vault line, all five films are new to DVD. Bonus features abound like previous Vault releases. Available exclusively for purchase at TCM.com, this set will be available for rent here at ClassicFlix and nowhere else!


Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Film Foundation and Turner Classic Movies again partner to present the fourth collection in this series, Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics IV.

These five films, all fully restored and remastered and never before released on DVD, showcase the work of directors Joseph H. Lewis, Robert Rossen, Gordon Douglas and Alfred L. Werker—all of them masters at creating taut and atmospheric visions from morally-strained hard-boiled stories.

The collection also highlights the genre-defining cinematography of Burnett Guffey and George E. Diskant, and iconic performances by film noir mainstays Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb, Dennis O'Keefe and Edmond O'Brien, who excelled at revealing the raw heart that beat beneath noir's tough exteriors.

So Dark the Night (1946)
Director Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy, 1950) established his reputation as a talented stylist by wrangling a complicated story—of a Parisian detective (Steven Geray) who falls in love while on vacation, only to see the woman murdered—into a taut and atmospheric film noir.

Overcoming the challenges of recreating the French countryside in Canoga Park, California, and working with a cast of virtual unknowns, Lewis and noir cinematographer extraordinaire Burnett Guffey craft one of the great surprise endings in all of noir, which would inspire such films as Possessed (1948) and Memento (2000).

Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell) is a junior partner in a posh casino with Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez), but is senior in the eyes of Nelle (Ellen Drew)—Guido's wife and Johnny's ex. This love triangle leads to a web of complications, leaving Police Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb) to unravel the threads of deceit and a murdered casino employee's sister (Evelyn Keyes) to tug on Johnny's heartstrings before it's too late.

Applying Raymond Chandler's dictum that a good plot is an excuse for a series of exciting scenes, rookie director Robert Rossen strings together tense vignettes—brought vividly to life by cinematographer Burnett Guffey.

Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)
Director Gordon Douglas drew on mounting anti-Communist fervor to create one of the first Cold War films—the tale of an FBI agent (Dennis O'Keefe) and a Scotland Yard detective (Louis Hayward) who must bust a spy ring led by a ruthless agent (Raymond Burr) working to infiltrate an atomic research facility.

Producer Eddie Small stood tall in a battle against FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to produce the film without interference, arguing the Bureau was fair game for fictionalization. But Hoover had the last word, writing The New York Times to say the FBI had not sanctioned the film.

Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)
Dan Purvis (Edmund O'Brien) and Rocky Barnes (Mark Stevens) are lifelong pals who survived WWII and continue their armed service as uniformed prowl car boys on the night shift in LA. But their friendship is tested by their ongoing battle with a ruthless racketeer (Donald Buka), the love they share for a beautiful radio announcer (Gale Storm) and Dan's uncompromising and exaggerated sense of justice.

Often seen as the first example of the now commonplace buddy cop movie, this film demonstrates that the genre has always been rife with tension.

Walk East on Beacon! (1952)
Director Alfred L. Werker (He Walked by Night) adapted this tale of Communist spies stealing secrets about the Manhattan Project. The source material was a Reader's Digest article by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and the movie shares Hoover's obsession with surveillance, creating an atypical noir focused on technology rather than obsessed with character psychology.

However, the film did make abundant use of the mean streets with over 14 weeks of location shooting throughout the northeast, thus providing a rare snapshot of an era in American life—its physical locations and its mental state.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Intro
• Scene Stills
• Publicity Stills
• Movie Posters
• TCMDb Article

FOX BLU: Marilyn, Elvis, 300 Spartans & Blood and Sand

Five new-to-Blu titles are coming from 20th Century Fox in July. They are:

• The 300 Spartans (1962)
• Blood and Sand (1941)
• Bus Stop (1956)
• Love Me Tender (1956)
• Niagara (1953)

Bonus features are slim. Details can be found in the recent additions section.