TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection in June

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TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection
June 8th
Warner
Retail $39.92, Our: $29.99
Dark Alibi (1946), Dangerous Money (1946), The Trap (1946), The Chinsese Ring (1947)
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Warner has announced a June 8th release date for their fist boxed set for 2010: TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection. The four Chan programmers, 3 with Sidney Toler and 1 with Roland Winters, will be on four discs.

Bonus features are not yet known, but if they are typical TCM Spotlight specs, fans should be in for a treat.

Retail will be $39.92, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $29.99.

Gale Storm - America's Sweetheart Collection in March

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Gale Storm - America's Sweetheart Collection
March 16th
Infinity
Retail $19.98, Our: $14.99
Tom Brown's School Days (1940), Uncle Joe (1941), Jesse James at Bay (1941), City of Missing Girls (1941), Let's Go Collegiate (1941),
Lure of the Islands (1942), Gambling Daughters (1941) & Rhythm Parade (1942)
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Infinity Entertaiment, along with Hollywood Select Video, have announced Gale Storm - America's Sweetheart Collection for release on March 16th.

The 3-disc set, all likely PD quality transfers, will have a total of eight films, with three making their DVD debut (blue font above). The other five were previously released by Alpha.

Also in the set are three episodes from My Little Margie and two episodes from The Gale Storm Show. While we don't know exactly which episodes are included, we know there won't be any previously released episodes from The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh! Susanna) as this will be its DVD bow.

Co-stars include Cedric Hardwicke, Freddie Bartholomew, Zasu Pitts, Billy Halop, Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Mantan Moreland, Keye Luke, Frank Faylen, Margaret Dumont in feature films from practically every genre.

Retail will be $19.98, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $14.99. Details below.

From small-town girl to national stardom, celebrate the meteoric rise to fame of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars of the ‘50s in Gale Storm: America’s Sweetheart on DVD from Infinity Entertainment Group.

Winner of a national 1940s talent search on CBS radio’s Gateway to Hollywood, Texas teen Josephine Cottle (soon to become Gale Storm) literally took Hollywood by storm, becoming a legendary star of radio, film, television, records and stage.

DISC 1:

Tom Brown's School Days (1940, 86 min.)
When private tutor Thomas Arnold (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) becomes headmaster at Rugby, a boy's preparatory school in England, he puts into place a policy of strict punishment for unruliness and bullying. Arnold finds an ally in Tom Brown (Jimmy Lydon), a new student who is subjected to hazing and abuse by a group of older boys and is pressured by his friends to keep quiet about it.

Fed up, he leads his fellow classmates in an underground rebellion against their tormentors. But certain unspoken rules still apply at the school and Brown loses his hero status when he is accused of breaking the Rugby code of silence.Based on a novel by Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days costars Billy Halop of the Dead End Kids and Freddie Bartholomew, a prolific child actor who starred in a number of other period films including David Copperfield and Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Uncle Joe (1941, 55 min.)
Socialite debutante Clare (Gale Storm) worries her well-to-do parents with fast living and a gutter romance with decadent and impoverished painter Paul D'Arcy. In an attempt to smother the embers of their forbidden love, Clare's parents send her away to visit Uncle Joe (Slim Summerville).

Joe is a simple but wise farmer who spends his time inventing all manner of newfangled laborsaving devices while shyly courting spinster Julia (the incomparable comedic actress Zasu Pitts). At first distressed by the folksy gait of Joe's hometown of Baysville, Clare takes to the country when all the local boys, who use to tease her, now come a-courting.

When Julia defaults on her mortgage and her home is threatened with repossession by the bank, Clare, Uncle Joe and the boys rally together to save her house by winning a limerick contest on the radio. Ardor blossoms between Clare and Dick, son of the local banker, while the youngsters also seek a way to awaken Uncle Joe and Julia to their autumnal passion for each other.

Brimming with whimsy and crackerjack performances marinated with mirth, Uncle Joe is a sweet natured and warm slice of hilarity.

Jesse James at Bay (1941, 56 min.)
Jesse James (Roy Rogers), a Robin Hood-like hero, comes to the aid of defenseless Missouri settlers that have been swindled out of their land by the ruthless railroad magnate Phineas Krager (Pierre Watkin). After James robs one of Krager's trains and holds up his bank, Krager plots his revenge by persuading a dead-ringer James look-alike, Clint Burns (Rogers in a dual role), to pose as the outlaw and pillage the unknowing landowners' property.

When word gets out that the real Jesse James has been shot and abandoned by his gang, Burns rides off to finish him off and collect the $10,000 reward for his capture. Not only is Jesse James at Bay one of Roy Rogers' most engaging vehicles, but the supporting cast of "Gabby" Hayes, Roy Barcroft and Gale Storm is consistently impressive.

Plus 1 episode of My Little Margie.

DISC 2:

City of Missing Girls (1941, 73 min.)
A number of young girls turns up dead or missing, and the one connection they have is that they were all students at a drama school. The town District Attorney suspects that the school is a front for a prostitution racket, and when he is framed and blackmailed in an attempt to stop his investigation, a female reporter goes undercover to try to expose the racket and clear the D.A.'s name.

Let's Go Collegiate (1941, 62 min.)
Jeff (Mantan Moreland) dreams of being a fraternity brother at Rowley University. He pledges a frat house after observing how "being educated" helps to attract the attention of the pretty sorority sisters. Jeff's obnoxious pal Frankie (Frankie Darro) is a big man on campus due to his friendship with rowing legend Bob Terry. When Frankie brags to his classmates that he's bringing Bob to the big sorority dance, his popularity skyrockets. Unfortunately for Frankie's reputation, Bob is drafted. Panicked at the thought of losing face, Frankie blackballs Jeff into a hair-brained scheme to hire an acquaintance, Hercules Beaver, to impersonate the famous rower. Hercules does better than expected and soon has the entire university eating out of his palm, until Frankie discovers that the imposter is actually a dangerous and wanted criminal. Now Jeff and Frankie must scramble to keep themselves out of jail.

Lure of the Islands (1942, 63 min.)

Plus 1 episode of The Gale Storm Show.

DISC 3:

Gambling Daughters (1941, 65 min.)

Rhythm Parade (1942, 69 min.)

Plus 2 episodes of My Little Margie and 1 of The Gale Storm Show.

UNIVERSAL BACKLOT: The Barbara Stanwyck Collection in April

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The Barbara Stanwyck Collection (Universal Backlot)
April 27th
Universal
Retail $49.98, Our: $37.99
Internes Can't Take Money (1937), The Great Man's Lady (1942), The Bride Wore Boots (1946), The Lady Gambles (1949), All I Desire (1953), There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
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Proving they have not abandoned their Backlot series, nor standard DVD releases, Universal has announced an April 27th release date for The Barbara Stanwyck Collection.

The 3-disc set spans 19 years over Ms. Stanwyck's career and boasts such co-stars as Joel McCrea (twice), Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, Brian Donlevy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Robert Benchley and Lloyd Nolan.

Bonus features will be trailers for a few of the titles. Retail will be $49.98, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only $37.99.

WARNER ARCHIVE: The Bride Goes Wild (1948), Plus 3 Early Sound

Four more Warner Archive titles have been added at WBShop including The Bride Goes Wild (1948) and three early sound films starring Richard Barthelmess -- Weary River (1929), Son of the Gods (1930) and Central Airport (1933).

The Bride Goes Wild stars Van Johnson and June Allyson and is the third of their five co-starring films.

They are now available for rent at ClassicFlix, but may be approximately four weeks before they are available for shipment.

The total number of Warner Archive titles now exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com is 365.

WARNER ARCHIVE: Ensign Pulver (1964) Added

Ensign Pulver (1964) has been added at WBShop in the War and Peace sale section. The Warner Archive release is now available for rent at ClassicFlix, but may be approximately four weeks before it's available for shipment.

SYNOPSIS:
Sign on for a lighthearted , seeworthy oceangoing comedic voyage that begins where the classic Mister Roberts left off. Doug Roberts is gone, but feckless Frank Pulver (Robert Walker Jr.) remains to battle boredom aboard the World War II-era cargo ship Reluctant. His weapons range from a slingshot to a surgical scalpel. His target is the tyrannical captain (Burl Ives). His cohort is the genial keeper of the joy juice, Doc (Walter Matthau). And his aim is hilariously true.

Producer/director/co-writer Joshua Logan piped aboard a top supporting crew of young talents on the brink of fame, including Jack Nicholson, Larry Hagman, Peter Marshall, James Coco, James Farentino, George “Goober” Lindsey and in a delightful comic turn as missionary-trained natives, renowned dramatic actors Al Freeman Jr. and Diana Sands. Heave to for hilarity.

The total number of Warner Archive titles now exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com is 361.

Battleship Potemkin (Blu-Ray) in April

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Battleship Potemkin (Blu-Ray) (1925)
April 20th
Kino
Retail: $34.95, Our: $24.99
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Kino has set an April 20th release date for the Blu-Ray debut of Battleship Potemkin. The 1925 silent masterpiece was released in a 2-disc DVD set in 2007 and joins The General (1925), also released by Kino, as the only two silent films released on Blu-Ray in region 1 thus far.

The bonus feature from the standard definition release, "Tracing Battleship Potemkin," will also be included as a bonus feature in this release. However, we haven't confirmed if it will be hi-def.

It will retail for $34.95, but is available here at ClassicFlix.com for only $24.99.

WARNER ARCHIVE: 2 More in Military & War

Two more military/war Warner Archive titles have popped in over at WBShop in the War and Peace sale section -- Fighter Squadron (1948) starring Edmond O'Brien & Robert Stack and First to Fight (1967) starring Chad Everett, Dean Jagger, Bobby Troup, Claude Akins, Gene Hackman & James Best.

They are now available for rent at ClassicFlix, but may be approximately four weeks before they are available for shipment.

The total number of Warner Archive titles now exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com is 360.

WARNER ARCHIVE: 6 More in Military & War Wave

In a sneak of what is coming out Tuesday, Warner Bros. has listed 6 new Warner Archive titles over at WBShop. They're currently in the pre-order section, and all have military/war themes. Four of which happen to star future Untouchable Paul Picerni.

If you plan on renting them, then ClassicFlix is the place. But a special heads-up to those who plan to buy. They are currently part of Warner's War and Peace sale pricing DVDs at $12.96 each. Even better, reward members get an additional 25% off that! So get over to WBShop now before somebody realizes they put pre-orders on sale by mistake.

The titles are:

  • Breakthrough (1950) - David Brian, John Agar, Frank Lovejoy, William Campbell, Paul Picerni
  • Force of Arms (1951) - William Holden, Nancy Olson
  • God is My Co-Pilot (1945) - Dennis Morgan, Dane Clark, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Andrea King
  • The Last Flight (1931) - Richard Barthelmess, David Manners, Johnny Mack Brown
  • Operation Secret (1952) - Cornel Wilde, Steve Cochran, Phyllis Thaxter, Karl Malden, Paul Picerni
  • The Tanks Are Coming (1951) - Steve Cochran, Philip Carey, Mari Aldon, Paul Picerni

All 6 titles can also be found HERE in the Recent Additions section.

They are now available for rent at ClassicFlix, but may be approximately four weeks before they are available for shipment.

This new wave brings the total Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com to 358.