Click here to read the full story.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (Blu-Ray) in March
Fox has scheduled The Agony and the Ecstasy (Blu-Ray) for a March 4th street date.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
COLUMBIA CLASSICS: Pirates of Tripoli & Buck Jones Western
Two more from Sony's Columbia Classics line will be available on January 7th.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
CRITERION: The Freshman (Blu-Ray / DVD Combo) This March
Criterion has scheduled a March 25th street date for their Blu-Ray / DVD Combo of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925).
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
Funny Face, Sabrina Blu-Ray's in April
Warner Bros. has announced an April 8th street date for Blu-Ray versions of Funny Face (1957) and Sabrina (1954).
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
FOX ARCHIVES: George White's 1935 Scandals & More
Another strong wave of Golden Age releases are coming from Fox's Cinema Archives line including George White's 1935 Scandals starring Alice Faye, James Dunn, Ned Sparks and Eleanor Powell.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
The 300 Spartans (Blu-Ray) in February
Announced by Fox in May, then delayed due to unspecified problems, the studio has now put The 300 Spartans (Blu-Ray) back on schedule with a February 25th street date.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
OLIVE: Betty Boop, Vol. 3 & Paul Muni in Stranger on the Prowl in April
Betty Boop keeps rolling along onto DVD & Blu-Ray courtesy of Olive Films as they have announced Betty Boop - The Essential Collection, Vol. 3 for release on April 29th.
Out a week earlier on April 22nd is the Paul Muni drama Stranger on the Prowl (1952). An Italian co-production, this release is the original English language version. Click here to read the full story.
Out a week earlier on April 22nd is the Paul Muni drama Stranger on the Prowl (1952). An Italian co-production, this release is the original English language version. Click here to read the full story.
CONFIRMED: Samson and Delilah (Blu-Ray) & Rawhide - Season 7
On Monday we mentioned that Paramount had scheduled Samson and Delilah (Blu-Ray) and Season 7 of Rawhide for March releases and today we can confirm those dates along with the retail prices.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
Mayberry RFD - Season 1 in April
Finally making it to DVD, Warner Bros. has scheduled an April 8th street date for Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete First Season.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
OLIVE: Sleep, My Love, Men in War - Standard & Blu in April
Olive has scheduled an April 15th release date for Sleep, My Love (1948) and Men in War (1957) on both DVD and Blu-Ray.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
Samson and Delilah (Blu-Ray), Rawhide - Season 7 in March
Paramount has scheduled Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (Blu-Ray) for release on March 11th and season 7 of Rawhide (in separate half-season sets) for release on March 4th.
No details on retail price which should come later this week.
No details on retail price which should come later this week.
KINO: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Gets Upgrade to Blu
Kino has scheduled a January 28th street date for a Deluxe Edition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) on both DVD and Blu-Ray.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
FOX ARCHIVES: Sonja Henie, Alice Faye & Spencer Tracy
Sonja Henie headlines a wave of five in the latest from Fox's Cinema Archives line. Alice Faye and Spencer Tracy also are in the mix.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (Blu-Ray) in February
20th Century Fox has announced a February 4th release date for The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (Blu-Ray).
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
WARNER ARCHIVE: Classic Shorts from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2
Warner's sole Golden Age release from their Archive Collection this week is Classic Shorts from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2. Click here to read the full story.
CRITERION: Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (Blu-Ray / DVD Combo) in February
Criterion has scheduled a February 18th street date for their Blu-Ray / DVD Combo of Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). Click here to read the full story.
WARNER ARCHIVE: Jack Benny, Danny Kaye & Cheyenne's Final Season
A superb wave from Warner's Archive Collection this week as they have announced two films starring Jack Benny, four starring Danny Kaye and the final season of the T.V. series Cheyenne. Click here to read the full story.
DISNEY: The Jungle Book (Blu-Ray) in February
Walt Disney has set a February 11th release date for their Diamond Edition Blu-Ray / DVD Combo of The Jungle Book (1967). Click here to read the full story.
WARNER BLU: Hatari, El Dorado & Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Warner Bros. has announced three titles for Blu-Ray release on March 11th.
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read the full story.
Sunrise (Blu-Ray / DVD Combo) in January - 3 DAY SPECIAL PRICE
Classics 101: The Hitch-Hiker (Blu-Ray) Review
Kino International has upgraded its six-year-old DVD release with a
brand-new transfer of this excellent, creepy, threadbare thriller,
brilliantly restored to HD. It’s sparse, tough movie-making with a
number of good sequences. If it’s eventually done in by its miniscule
budget, it is still one heck of a thrill ride.
Someone is killing drivers along deserted Southwestern desert highways, and so one wonders what Frank Lovejoy and Edmond O’Brien, a couple of guys off on a weekend fishing trip (in the desert?) are thinking when they not only pick up a solitary hitchhiker, they pick up one that appears to just have busted out of the loony ward at the prison hospital.
Enter William Talman, forever known as the luckless prosecutor embarrassed week after week (“YOUR HONOR! That’s irrelevant, immaterial and argumentative!”) by legal eagle Perry Mason. With a permanent sneer and one paralyzed eyelid, he couldn’t LOOK more like a psycho killer if he were wearing a paper hat that SAID “Psycho Killer” on it in purple crayon. Sure enough, soon the gun comes out and he delights in torturing our two sad-sack heroes on a trek to Mexico.
Interesting film, a tense, no-nonsense 70 minutes, directed with flair
and artistry by the wonderful Ida Lupino, the only great noir director
who happened to be a woman. The opening sequence, with no one, killer or
victim, shown except for feet or covered in shadows, is a grabber, and
in fact Talman’s first appearance couldn’t be any more suspenseful.
Alas, the tiny budget meant that, well, for example, the police force
dedicated to finding the psycho killer makes only a cameo appearance. I
had also hoped that Lupino was saving what little budget she had for a
spectacular closing act to rival White Heat (1949); no such luck.
It’s Talman’s picture, probably the only feature film you can say that about, and he does an excellent job as the tough guy whose only strength is in the gun he keeps in his fist at all times; he boasts that the reason he’s on top of his two captors is because he has no conscience, while they’re soft and weak. They actually more or less prove him correct in that, come to think of it. Talman doesn’t have a LOT of big-screen credits, but two of his other juicy bad guy parts have recently come to light; he plays a killer in both City that Never Sleeps (1953) and Crashout (1955), two previously-overlooked crime drama/noirs released in the past few months by Olive Films. Crashout in particular is excellent and deserves to be better known.
It’s interesting that both Talman and Raymond Burr played “good guys” on TV but were far more accomplished in films as despicable villains. Talman was briefly suspended from the Perry Mason series following a marijuana bust and a morals charge. Charges were dropped and he was reinstated to the series, no worse for the wear. I think people probably felt sorry for Hamilton Burger and his weekly embarrassment at the hands of Mason week after week; I know I always did.
O’Brien and Lovejoy are functional in thankless roles (not easy to play “soft and weak” in a film like this), and Lupino – who directed only a handful of low, low-budget films but all of them with distinction – makes the most of what she’s got for this independent production financed by the distributor, RKO, and benefiting from some loaned-out talent, including producer Christian Nyby (The Thing from Another World) and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (The Cat People, Out of the Past, Clash by Night).
The Hitch-Hiker was written by Daniel Mainwaring (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but he was not allowed on the RKO lot (Howard Hughes objected to his leftist leanings) and so Miss Lupino and Collier Young shared the on-screen writing credits.
The film looks terrific on Blu-ray, a big improvement over the rather dark Kino DVD. I wish they’d have asked me to do the commentary (or somebody just like me only taller), but the only extras are trailers for three other Kino releases, White Zombie with Bela Lugosi (a 1950s reissue trailer that couldn’t BE any more bombastic), The Stranger with Orson Welles, and Night Tide with Dennis Hopper. A nice photo gallery with many stills and promotional art is included, but no trailer for this film. Still, it’s a very good film and the Blu-ray is terrific. Recommended.
Clifford Weimer is a writer and film historian in Sacramento, CA. He can usually be found lurking about the dark corners of a movie theatre at inthebalcony.com.
Someone is killing drivers along deserted Southwestern desert highways, and so one wonders what Frank Lovejoy and Edmond O’Brien, a couple of guys off on a weekend fishing trip (in the desert?) are thinking when they not only pick up a solitary hitchhiker, they pick up one that appears to just have busted out of the loony ward at the prison hospital.
Enter William Talman, forever known as the luckless prosecutor embarrassed week after week (“YOUR HONOR! That’s irrelevant, immaterial and argumentative!”) by legal eagle Perry Mason. With a permanent sneer and one paralyzed eyelid, he couldn’t LOOK more like a psycho killer if he were wearing a paper hat that SAID “Psycho Killer” on it in purple crayon. Sure enough, soon the gun comes out and he delights in torturing our two sad-sack heroes on a trek to Mexico.
It’s Talman’s picture, probably the only feature film you can say that about, and he does an excellent job as the tough guy whose only strength is in the gun he keeps in his fist at all times; he boasts that the reason he’s on top of his two captors is because he has no conscience, while they’re soft and weak. They actually more or less prove him correct in that, come to think of it. Talman doesn’t have a LOT of big-screen credits, but two of his other juicy bad guy parts have recently come to light; he plays a killer in both City that Never Sleeps (1953) and Crashout (1955), two previously-overlooked crime drama/noirs released in the past few months by Olive Films. Crashout in particular is excellent and deserves to be better known.
It’s interesting that both Talman and Raymond Burr played “good guys” on TV but were far more accomplished in films as despicable villains. Talman was briefly suspended from the Perry Mason series following a marijuana bust and a morals charge. Charges were dropped and he was reinstated to the series, no worse for the wear. I think people probably felt sorry for Hamilton Burger and his weekly embarrassment at the hands of Mason week after week; I know I always did.
O’Brien and Lovejoy are functional in thankless roles (not easy to play “soft and weak” in a film like this), and Lupino – who directed only a handful of low, low-budget films but all of them with distinction – makes the most of what she’s got for this independent production financed by the distributor, RKO, and benefiting from some loaned-out talent, including producer Christian Nyby (The Thing from Another World) and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (The Cat People, Out of the Past, Clash by Night).
The Hitch-Hiker was written by Daniel Mainwaring (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but he was not allowed on the RKO lot (Howard Hughes objected to his leftist leanings) and so Miss Lupino and Collier Young shared the on-screen writing credits.
The film looks terrific on Blu-ray, a big improvement over the rather dark Kino DVD. I wish they’d have asked me to do the commentary (or somebody just like me only taller), but the only extras are trailers for three other Kino releases, White Zombie with Bela Lugosi (a 1950s reissue trailer that couldn’t BE any more bombastic), The Stranger with Orson Welles, and Night Tide with Dennis Hopper. A nice photo gallery with many stills and promotional art is included, but no trailer for this film. Still, it’s a very good film and the Blu-ray is terrific. Recommended.
Clifford Weimer is a writer and film historian in Sacramento, CA. He can usually be found lurking about the dark corners of a movie theatre at inthebalcony.com.
WARNER ARCHIVE: Lee Tracy in 3 Pre-Codes
Pre-code's fast-talking flim-flam man Lee Tracy gets the spotlight this week from the Warner Archive Collection as three his films have been announced for release. Click here to read the full story.
Beast of Hollow Mountain & Neanderthal Man (Blu-Ray / DVD Combo) in January
Shout! Factory has announced a January 28th release date for the Blu-Ray / DVD combo pack of The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) starring Guy Madison and Patricia Medina and The Neanderthal Man (1953) starring Robert Shayne. Click here to read the full story.
Classic TV Comedy Christmas in November
MPI, who has slowed their classic release schedule in recent years, has a new Christmas compilation set coming out on November 5th: Classic TV Comedy Christmas. Click here to read the full story.
Bat Masterson - Season 3 in December
TGG Direct has scheduled Bat Masterson - Season 3 for release on December 10th.
The first two seasons have been well-received by fans and this third and final season should be no exception. The studio does make note, however, that the 4-disc set of will present 33 or the season's 34 episodes; leaving out Terror on the Trinity which has been excluded due to rights issues.
The first two seasons have been well-received by fans and this third and final season should be no exception. The studio does make note, however, that the 4-disc set of will present 33 or the season's 34 episodes; leaving out Terror on the Trinity which has been excluded due to rights issues.
WARNER ARCHIVE: Sugarfoot - Season 2
Will Hutchins returns as amiable drifter Tom Brewster in Sugarfoot - Season 2 -- the sole output from the Warner Archive Collection this week. Click here to read the full story.
CRITERION: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Blu-Ray - DVD Combo) in January
Criterion has scheduled a January 21st street date for a their Blu-Ray / DVD Combo of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Click here to read the full story.
SHOUT!: Dobie Gillis - Season 2, Hazel - Season 5 in January
Shout! Factory has announced The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis - Season 2 and Hazel - The Complete Fifth and Final Season for release on January 14th. Click here to read the full story.
Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room in November
Milestone Films is releasing Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room in November. Click here to read the full story.
FOX ARCHIVES: Two B Crime Dramas - Circumstantial Evidence (1945) & Backlash
Two 40s B crime dramas have been scheduled to be released as part of the Cinema Archives line this week:
These new DVDs add to the total of over 200 Fox Cinema Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
- Backlash (1947) with Jean Rogers and Richard Travis
- Circumstantial Evidence (1945) with Michael O'Shea, Lloyd Nolan, Trudy Marshall, Reed Hadley and Scotty Beckett
These new DVDs add to the total of over 200 Fox Cinema Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
Delayed Again: Cry Danger, Young at Heart & Bamboo Saucer
Olive has delayed Cry Danger, Young at Heart and The Bamboo Saucer until April 8th. Click here to read the full story.
Here's Edie - The Edie Adams Television Collection in November
| WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: |
Here's Edie - The Edie Adams Television Collection November 19th Ediad Retail: $49.95, Our: $39.99 |
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The Edie Adams estate, via its label "Ediad," is releasing Here's Edie - The Edie Adams Television Collection on November 19th.
The over 12 hour 4-disc set contains all 21 of her Here's Edie variety show that originally aired between 1962 and 1964 -- and haven't been seen since!
Great guest stars abound and are listed below. Retail will be 49.95, but it is available at ClassicFlix.com for only $39.99.
This 12-hour 4 DVD set contains the entire run of Edie Adams variety show, which aired on ABC from 1962-64 and is the first-ever release of her classic variety show after more than 50 years.
DISC 1:
-
Here's Edie Pilot Airdates: April 9, 1962, May 26, 1963 (as Special #7)
- Guests: Dick Shawn, Andre Previn
-
Special #1-"New York" Airdate: October 23, 1962
- Guests: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Peter Falk, the Claremont String Quartet
-
Special #2-"London" Airdate: December 13, 1962
- Guests: Sir Michael Redgrave, the Piccadilly Buskers, the Grenadier Guards, the Third Air Force Band, and the children of London
-
"Bossa Nova" Airdate: January 20, 1963
- Guests: Stan Getz, Laurindo Almeida, the Roger Wagner Chorale, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra (plus cameos by Don Rickles and Cesar Romero)
-
Special #4-"Las Vegas" Airdate: February 26, 1963
- Guests: Charlie Barnet, The Eligibles, the Earl Barton Dancers, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra, Eddie Fisher
-
Special #5 -"Western" Airdate: March 16, 1963
- Guests: Hoagy Carmichael, Rowan & Martin, Hank Henry, the Homer Garrett Dancers, The Eligibles, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra
-
Special #6-"Love" Airdate: April 19, 1963
- Guests: Buddy Hackett, The United Nations Children's Choir, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra
-
Special #8 -"Bob Hope" Airdate: June 18, 1963
- Guests: Bob Hope, Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra, The United Nations Children's Choir, Jerry Fielding and His Orchestra
-
Special #1 Airdate: September 26, 1963
- Guests: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eddie Sauter, Stan Getz
-
Special #2 Airdate: October 10, 1963
- Guests: Louis Nye, Maury Wills
-
Special #3 Airdate: October 24, 1963
- Guests: Al Hirt, Nancy Wilson
-
Special #4 Airdate: November 7, 1963
- Guests: Allan Sherman, The United Nations Children's Choir; plus regulars George Furth, Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
-
Special #5 Airdate: November 21, 1963
- Guests: Don Chastain, John Hendricks, Lauritz Melchior, Count Basie and His Band; plus George Furth
-
Special #6 Airdate: December 5, 1963
- Guests: Sammy Davis Jr., Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
-
Special #7 Airdate: December 19, 1963
- Guests: Rowan & Martin, Andre Previn; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
-
Special #8 Airdate: January 2, 1964
- Guests: Pete Fountain, Cliff Norton; plus Don Chastain, Peter Hanley
-
Special #9 Airdate: January 16, 1964
- Guests: Terry-Thomas, Spike Jones
-
Special #10 Airdate: February 6, 1964
- Guest: Bobby Darin
-
Special #11 Airdate: February 20, 1964
- Guests: Woody Herman and His Band, Jack Sheldon, Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill
-
Special #12 Airdate: March 5, 1964
- Guests: John Raitt, Louis Nye, Charlie Byrd, Mitzi McCall & Charlie Brill
-
Special #13 Airdate: March 18, 1964
- Guests: Johnny Mathis, Soupy Sales, Alan Sues
- Edie's musical performances from Ernie Kovacs programs
FOX ARCHIVES: Victor Mature in Cry of the City, Moss Rose
A pre-loincloth attired Victor Mature gets two releases from Fox's Cinema Archives line this week:
These new DVDs add to the total of over 200 Fox Cinema Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
- Cry of the City (1948) with Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Berry Kroeger, Tommy Cook, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson and Roland Winters
- Moss Rose (1947) with Peggy Cummins, Ethel Barrymore, Vincent Price, George Zucco and Patricia Medina
These new DVDs add to the total of over 200 Fox Cinema Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
WARNER ARCHIVE: Maverick - Season 3 & Billy Rose's Jumbo (Blu)
Two releases this week from the Warner Archive Collection.
First up is Maverick - The Complete Third Season with all 26 episodes on 6 discs. This is the first "MOD" release for this series, however the studio will likely press several thousand before permanently rendering it to MOD status.
Also out is Billy Rose's Jumbo (Blu-Ray) (1962) starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye and Dean Jagger.
Both will be available here at ClassicFlix on November 5th. These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
First up is Maverick - The Complete Third Season with all 26 episodes on 6 discs. This is the first "MOD" release for this series, however the studio will likely press several thousand before permanently rendering it to MOD status.
Also out is Billy Rose's Jumbo (Blu-Ray) (1962) starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye and Dean Jagger.
Both will be available here at ClassicFlix on November 5th. These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
UNIVERSAL VAULT: Flesh & Fantasy, You Can Never Tell & More!
Five more new-to-DVD titles have just been added from Universal's Vault Series:
- Flesh and Fantasy (1943) - Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings, Thomas Mitchell, Betty Field, Charles Winninger, Anna Lee, Dame May Whitty, C. Aubrey Smith
- For Love or Money (1963) - Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, Gig Young, Thelma Ritter, Julie Newmar, William Bendix, Leslie Parrish, Dick Sargent, William Windom
- Little Man, What Now? (1934) - Margaret Sullavan, Douglass Montgomery, Alan Hale
- The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958) - William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Jeffrey Stone
- You Never Can Tell (1951) - Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, Joyce Holden, Charles Drake
WARNER ARCHIVE: Bowery Boys, Vol. 3 & Beast with Five Fingers
Two releases this week from the Warner Archive Collection. First up is The Bowery Boys, Vol. 3 with 12 films on 4 discs:
All will be available here at ClassicFlix on October 29th. These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
- Angels' Alley (1948)
- Jinx Money (1948)
- Angels in Disguise (1949)
- Feudin' Fools (1952)
- Jalopy (1953)
- Paris Playboys (1954)
- Dig that Uranium (1956)
- Crashing Las Vegas (1956)
- Hot Shots (1956)
- Spook Chasers (1957)
- Looking for Danger (1957)
- Up in Smoke (1957)
All will be available here at ClassicFlix on October 29th. These new DVDs add to the total of over 1,200 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.
FOX BLU: Black Swan, Jesse James & Desk Set in Wave of 8
Fox has really picked up the pace in their Blu output this year and
the studio has decided to end 2013 with a bang by scheduling eight
Blu-Ray (below) releases for December 3rd:
- The Black Swan (Blu-Ray)
- Call of the Wild (Blu-Ray)
- Carmen Jones (Blu-Ray)
- Desk Set (Blu-Ray)
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Blu-Ray)
- Jesse James (Blu-Ray)
- North to Alaska (Blu-Ray)
- The Undefeated (Blu-Ray)
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