Classicflix.com Blog: July 2013

BLU FOX: Fantastic Voyage, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

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Fantastic Voyage (Blu-Ray)
October 8th
20th Century Fox
Retail $24.99, Our: $19.99

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Blu-Ray)
October 8th
20th Century Fox
Retail $24.99, Our: $19.99

Fox has announced two Sci-Fi favorites for Blu-Ray on October 8th: Fantastic Voyage (Blu-Ray) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Blu-Ray).

Both are expected to carry most, if not all the bonus features over from the DVD releases.

WARNER ARCHIVE: Bing in Going Hollywood, Cheyenne - Season 6

Early Bing Crosby and Big Cheyenne Bodie headline Warner Archive's releases this week.

Bing stars, along with Marion Davies, in the Raoul Walsh directed Going Hollywood (1933). Costars are Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin, Ned Sparks, Patsy Kelly and Bobby Watson.

And Clint Walker is back as Cheyenne Bodie in Cheyenne - Season 6.

Both will be available here at ClassicFlix on August 27th.

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

OLIVE: Shack Out on 101 in September

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Shack Out on 101
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $24.95, Our: $17.99

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Shack Out on 101 (Blu-Ray)
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $29.95, Our: $21.99

Olive Films continues to impress with its brisk release schedule as they have announced the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Shack Out on 101 (1955).

Olive is certainly picking up the slack of some of the major studios which have virtually non-existent output, or have pushed out their catalog on MOD without remastering and/or the proper aspect ratio.

This release, as with all of Olive's recent releases, is newly remastered and is in the original 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

An attractive waitress (Terry Moore) at a seaside café gets caught in a web of treacherous intrigue when she discovers that her workplace is a secret station for spies. It seems that the café is close to an experimental lab that harbors national defense secrets and a frantic ring of sinister spies have come to steal them.

It’s now up to the desperate waitress and a network of undercover FBI agents to stop the diabolical scheme, but not before they all stop along the way for a sizzling round of passion and romance. The stellar cast includes Hollywood legend Lee Marvin (Point Blank), Frank Lovejoy (The Americano), Keenan Wynn (The Mechanic) and Whit Bissell (He Walked by Night). Stylishly directed by cult director Edward Dein (Curse of the Undead) and beautifully shot in glorious black-and-white by the great Floyd Crosby (High Noon).

Check into a hotbed of lethal cloak and dagger in Shack Out on 101.

Silent Cinema: Who Invented the Movies?

Trying to say definitively who invented the movies is a little like trying to say who invented fire—the records are sketchy, everybody who knows for certain is dead, and what evidence that does remain comes largely from the self-serving accounts of Thomas Edison's patent lawyers.

And where do you start, which is to say, what was the first indispensable step toward what we now think of as motion pictures? If I knew his name, I'd say it was the first caveman who thought to entertain his neighbors with shadow puppets and firelight. In fact, two of the key elements of film, movement and representation, have been staples of art and entertainment since at least the ancient Greek stage.

Turner Classic Movie's documentary, Moguls and Movie Stars, began with seventeenth century Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens who in 1659 invented the magic lantern show—a process of projecting light through a painted slide onto a wall or screen—and in terms of being entertained while sitting in the dark looking at pictures on a wall, the magic lantern is a reasonable place to start a history of the movies. Over the course of the two hundred years that followed, these magic lantern shows became quite sophisticated—by stacking slides one in front of the other and manipulating them, a projectionist could create the illusion of movement—and were one of the most popular forms of entertainment during the 19th century.

For full article go to ClassicFlix.com.

FOX ARCHIVES: No Highway in the Sky, Ramona & More

Four more previously unreleased titles are coming from Fox's Cinema Archives line on August 20th. They are:

April Love (1957) - Pat Boone, Shirley Jones
No Highway in the Sky (1951) - James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins
Ramona (1936) - Loretta Young, Don Ameche, Kent Taylor, Pauline Frederick, Jane Darwell, Katherine DeMille, Victor Kilian, John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish
Sweet and Low-Down (1944) - Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, Benny Goodman, James Cardwell, Allyn Joslyn, John Campbell, Dickie Moore

NOTE: April Love, like most of the studio's previous DVD releases that were theatrically released in widescreen aspect ratio, will be pan & scan.

TIMELESS: Gene Autry Collection, Vol. 3 in August

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The Gene Autry Collection, Vol. 3
August 13th
Timeless Media Group
Retail: $16.97, Our: $13.99
Red River Valley (1936), Saddle Pals (1947), Apache Country (1952) and Pack Train (1953)

More Gene Autry from Timeless Media as they have announced The Gene Autry Collection, Vol. 3 for release on August 13th.

All four titles (above) are making their DVD debut and unlike the previous volumes, bonus features are not expected.

The 2-disc set will retail for $16.97, but is available at ClassicFlix.com for only $13.99.

Gene Autry is the only entertainer with all five stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television and Live performance. He was the silver screen's first singing cowboy and is credited with creating the genre of the musical B Western.

As the star of 89 feature films, Gene brings music, comedy and action to each of his roles. Now, for the first time on DVD, Gene Autry's rollicking big screen adventures and unforgettable tunes are brought home in these Western classics, fully restored and uncut from Autry's personal film archives.

DISC 1:

Red River Valley (1936, 56 min.)
Cowhand Gene Autry and his partner, Frog Millhouse, help Arizona cattlemen who are trying to build a dam to bring water to their parched lands. Unscrupulous men, including town banker Moore and superintendent of the cattlemen's irrigation company Conway, attempt to hinder these plans for their own profit. Gene volunteers as night-riding ditch guard, but is caught in rock avalanche when Bull, sabotaging construction boss, sets off a dynamite blast on purpose.

Gene is saved by his own quick wit, so Conway has Bull stir up the construction workers into striking over failure of payment. When the payroll is stolen, Gene and Frog head to the desert to recover it, are pursued, and forced into leaping off a cliff into the Colorado River to escape. On their way back to town, they catch Bull and two men dividing the money. Bull confesses, but Conway and Moore start a battle between the cattlemen and the rioting construction crews. Gene arrives with the payroll money, hoping to end the riot by paying the men.

In a final desperate effort to win, Conway and Moore open the dam's floodgates. Gene is washed into the raging current, but saves the money. The two shady men, seeing the jig is up, attempt to escape on a construction train, and are killed when it collides with a flat car of dynamite.

Saddle Pals (1947, 72 min.)
Rancher Gene Autry goes to the home of wealthy hypochondriac landowner Waldo Brooks, trying to get rent reductions for all the tenants in the valley. Waldo persuades Gene to switch identities and homes with him while he gets a much-needed vacation, giving Gene power-of-attorney to act for him in all matters.

Trouble ensues when Gene learns he must raise $50,000 to save Waldo's properties.

DISC 2:

Apache Country (1952, 63 min.)
Cavalry scouts Gene Autry and Pat Buttram are ordered by the President to break up a frontier ring which uses Indian raids to cover up its bandit activities. Carolina Cotton assists Gene and Pat, while also seeking revenge against the gang leader, Dave Kilrain, who murdered her father.

Pack Train (1953, 57 min.)
Gene tops them all again! He's singing out the best western ballads and smoking out the West's worst badmen, taming the town that shamed Texas!
When Sunshine Valley settlers face disaster because of a food and medicine shortage, Gene Autry and Dan Coleman purchase supplies in Trail's End, but additional supplies, promised by Ross McLain and Lola Riker, operators of the town's only store, are not forthcoming. They've been auctioned off during a mining boom at premium prices.

Battling off a hijack band, Gene gets a shipment of supplies through to Sunshine Valley with the aid of drayman Smiley Burnette, but not in time to prevent the death of a little girl due to lack of medicine. In a showdown battle with McLain, leader of the hijack mob, Gene captures him for trial with Lola.

TIMELESS: More Rare Television

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Harbor Command - The Complete Series
September 17th
Timeless Media Group
Retail $29.93, Our: $23.99

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Mackenzie's Raiders - The Complete Series
October 8th
Timeless Media Group
Retail $29.93, Our: $23.99

More rarely seen (or even heard of) offerings are coming from Timeless Media as they have announced Harbor Command - The Complete Series and Mackenzie's Raiders - The Complete Series for release.

Harbor Command stars Wendell Corey and contains all 39 episodes from the series. Mackenzie's Raiders stars Richard Carlson and ran for 38 episodes, however, the "Complete Series," as noted by the cover, does not include the last and 38th episode.

Each will be a 5-disc set and bonus features are not expected.

ARTWORK ADDED: From Here to Eternity (Blu-Ray)

--ARTWORK ADDED TO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT--

ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT

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From Here to Eternity (Blu-Ray)
October 1st
Sony
Retail: $19.99, Our: $15.99

Sony has announced an October 1st release date for From Here to Eternity (Blu-Ray).

Although not promoted as such, the studio has timed this Blu release of 1953's Oscar winner for best picture to coincide with its 60th anniversary. Most of the bonus features from the DVD release will carry over.

-------------------------------
In this landmark film, passion and tragedy collide on a military base as a fateful day in December 1941 draws near. Private Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is a soldier and former boxer being manipulated by his superior and peers. His friend Maggio (Frank Sinatra) tries to help him but has his own troubles. Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) and Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) tread on dangerous ground as lovers in an illicit affair. Each of their lives will be changed when their stories culminate in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Winner of eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting awards for Sinatra in a career-defining role and for Donna Reed as a not-so-wholesome "club hostess."

BONUS FEATURES:

Audio Commentary from Tim Zinnemann and Alvin Sargent
Featurette: The Making of From Here to Eternity
Excerpt from "Fred Zinnemann: As I See It"

OLIVE: Americano & Fighting Kentuckian, DVD & Blu in September

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The Americano
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $24.95, Our: $17.99

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The Americano (Blu-Ray)
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $29.95, Our: $21.99

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The Fighting Kentuckian
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $19.95, Our: $14.99

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The Fighting Kentuckian (Blu-Ray)
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $29.95, Our: $21.99

Two more from Olive are scheduled for September 24th: The Americano (1955) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949).

Both will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray with this being Americano's debut on both.

WARNER ARCHIVE: Hildegarde Withers Collection, Three Faces East

Whodunit fans will certainly be pleased with Warner Archive's headline release this week as they have announced The Hildegarde Withers Mysteries Movies Collection.

The complete B mystery collection will likely be on two discs. It includes:

Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
Murder on the Blackboard (1934)
Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)
Murder on a Bridle Path (1936)
The Plot Thickens (1936)
Forty Naughty Girls (1937)

The other release this week is the 1930 Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim drama Three Faces East (1930).

Both will be available here at ClassicFlix on August 20th.

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

From Here to Eternity (Blu-Ray) in October

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From Here to Eternity (Blu-Ray)
October 1st
Sony
Retail: $19.99, Our: $15.99

Audio Commentary from Tim Zinnemann and Alvin Sargent
Featurette: The Making Of From Here To Eternity
Excerpt from "Fred Zinnemann: As I See It"

OLIVE: Betty Boop - The Essential Collection, Vol. 2 in September

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Betty Boop - The Essential Collection, Vol. 2
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $24.95, Our: $17.99

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Betty Boop - The Essential Collection, Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray)
September 24th
Olive Films
Retail: $29.95, Our: $21.99

With Volume 1 still four weeks away from release, Olive has announced the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Betty Boop - The Essential Collection, Vol. 2.

The new collection will contain 12 shorts (below) which are making their DVD & Blu debuts and have been re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and finegrains.

The queen of the animated screen returns to allure and entice audiences all over again in this fantastic compilation featuring many of her greatest adventures.

A symbol of the Depression era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Roaring Twenties, Betty Boop's popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences; and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many risque and psychological elements.

All 12 animated shorts are making their DVD and Blu-Ray debuts and were produced by Max Fleischer and directed by his brother Dave Fleischer. Featuring the voices of Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe, Margie Hines and Ann Little as Betty Boop. Also featuring guest voices of Cab Calloway, Jack Mercer, William Pennell and The Royal Samoans.

Newly re-mastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and finegrains.

SHORTS:

Dizzy Dishes (1930)
Bimbo’s Initiation (1931)
Boo-Oop-A-Doop (1932)
Betty Boop Limited (1932)
Betty Boop’s Bizzy Bee (1932)
Betty Boop’s Ups And Downs (1932)
Betty Boop’s Museum (1932)
Betty Boop’s Big Boss (1933)
Morning, Noon And Night (1933)
Betty Boop’s Little Pal (1934)
Betty Boop’s Prize Show (1934)
Keep In Style (1934)

The Fly (Blu-Ray) in September

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The Fly (Blu-Ray)
September 10th
20th Century Fox
Retail: $24.99, Our: $19.99

Fox has set a September 10th release date for The Fly (Blu-Ray).

Released on DVD in 2007 in a special 4-disc set that included the two sequels and a bonus disc, this HD upgrade of the 1958 film includes most of the previous bonus features from that set (below).

Experimental scientist Andre Delambre (David Hedison) attempts to transfer matter through a space, using himself as the test subject. But things go horrifically wrong when a house fly buzzes into the machine, resulting in two grotesque man-fly hybrids - one of them being Andre! Now with the head of a fly and a wing in place of one of his arms, Andre, desperately hopes that he, his wife Helene (Patricia Owens) and his brother Francois (Vincent Price) can capture the other mutant – the human-headed, one-armed fly – in hopes of reversing the experiment!

BONUS FEATURES:

Audio Commentary with Actor David Hedison and Film Historian David Del Valle
Vincet Price Biography Documentary
Vincent Price Featurette Fly Trap: Catching a Classic
Fox Movietone News

WARNER ARCHIVE: Sugarfoot - Season 1

Sugarfoot - Season 1 is this week's Warner Archive Collection release.

The Will Hutchins series, based on The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) starring Will Rogers Jr., alternated weekly with Cheyenne and featured numerous guest stars as noted in the synopsis below.

This release adds to the total of over 1,100 Warner Archive titles exclusively available for rent at ClassicFlix.com.

Will Hutchins is a kindhearted drifter with a thirst for adventure and sarsaparilla soda in this offbeat Western series, one of the first produced for television by Warner Bros. A fledgling frontier lawyer with a hankering for justice, Tom Brewster (Hutchins) ambles across the West, helping anyone in trouble he finds on the way.

Based on The Boy from Oklahoma (1954), an easygoing Western starring Will Rogers Jr., Sugarfoot debuted on ABC-TV on September 17, 1957, where it alternated every other week with Cheyenne. Beginning with a pilot costarring Slim Pickens, Sheb Wooley and Dennis Hopper as Billy the Kid, Sugarfoot:

The Complete First Season features 20 episodes plus a passel of guest stars who came to fame in the Western genre, including Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Don "Red" Barry, Paul Fix, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, James Garner, Charles Bronson and more!

OLIVE: Big Combo, Plunder Road & More in September

Four more new titles are due on September 24th from Olive Films.

All will be released on both DVD and Blu-Ray, with The Big Combo being the only title previously released (on DVD).

They are:

Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958) - Scott Brady, Margia Dean, Clint Eastwood, Irving Bacon
The Big Combo (1955) - Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker
Guest Wife (1945) - Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, Dick Foran
Plunder Road (1957) - Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper, Wayne Morris, Elisha Cook Jr.

They can be found in the recent additions section.