Warner Archive Collection Podcast

“A Guy Named Robert”  5/21/13

First, we chat about the fantastical A Guy Named Joe (1943) starring Spencer Tracy. Then about four films starring Robert Taylor: the western Stand Up and Fight (1939) with Wallace Beery, the corporate drama The Power and The Prize (1956), the crime caper The House of the Seven Hawks (1959) and the oater Cattle King (1963). Finally we flashback to 1987’s third season of Growing Pains starring Alan Thicke, Kirk Cameron and poofy shirts!

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

All mentioned Fiims and TV shows available on DVD at the Warner Archive Shop.

SINCERELY YOURS (1955) Long before HBO took us Behind the Candelabra (thanks to the talents of Messrs. Soderbergh, Douglas and Damon) Władziu Valentino Liberace was a household one-name superstar, thanks to his smash hit syndicated TV series and Las Vegas revue, when Warner Bros. cast him in this remake of the George Arliss vehicle, The Man Who Played God. Under the stewardship of veteran camera hand Gordon Douglas, Liberace was backed-up by a first-rate supporting “string” section featuring Dorothy Malone, Joanne Dru and William Demarest. Mixing melodrama and music, Sincerely Yours depicts a maestro facing a future sans music, while his fiancée is finding romance with another. So what’s a fate-tossed bravura showman to do? Lip-read and interfere in his neighbors’ lives, that’s what! Liberace performs a score of songs in the film, rendering the cost of admission musically moot, including an extended nightclub scene that captures the lightning in a bottle that was Liberace live on stage complete with sighing spinsters. Newly Remastered 16x9 WIDESCREEN

THE MONOGRAM COWBOY COLLECTION VOLUME SIX: JIMMY WAKELY Monogram’s ace cowboy crooner (and true country crossover pop star) Jimmy Wakely rides and warbles across a blistering six-gun sextet that captures two phases of his screen career. First up, we draw a pair of aces with two films where Jimmy shares the screen with John “Dusty” James and Lee “Lasses” White. Then we get a quartet featuring the comic turns of prolific number two man, Dub “Cannonball” Taylor. As an added bonus, Whip Wilson makes his Monogram debut alongside Jimmy in 1948’s Silver Trails. Collection includes: Riding the Dusty Trail aka Riders of the Dawn (1945) Three cowpokes and a baby! Lonesome Trail (1945) Bandits try to steal an election — and an entire town! The Rangers Ride (1948) Civil war vets take on a secret police state! Range Renegades (1948) Western royalty Jennifer Holt is the evil mastermind! Silver Trails(1948) Hear the crack of the Whip! Brand of Fear (1949) One of Wakely’s best — with superb versions of “There’s a Rainbow Over the Range” and “Cool Water.” Remastered from the best available 35mm film elements.

STAMPEDE (1949) It’s a full-house of Western wonder as Rod Cameron, Gale Storm and Johnny Mack Brown team up for this tale of water rights and gunfights. When settlers arrive at the town of Blackwell, Arizona they discover that the McCall brothers (Rod Cameron and Don Castle) control the water, and the cattlemen aren’t inclined to share. Rebuffed by the sheriff (Johnny Mack Brown), one fiery tempered settler (Gale Storm) takes justice — and a long gun — into her own hands. Directed by prolific phenom Lesley Selander with a script co-written by a (very) young Blake Edwards.

SHORT GRASS (1950) Lesley Selander rides again, in this oater that re-teams Rod and Johnny Mack. This time ’round Rod plays a drifter who fails to steer clear of cordite-flavored trouble after falling hard for a rancher’s daughter (Cathy Downs). Framed for a robbery and shot in the back, the drifter gives the ill-gotten goods to the rancher (Stanley Andrews) before fleeing. Returning half a decade later, he finds the rancher murdered, the daughter married to a lush, and a Marshall (Johnny Mack Brown) mooning over the lady. Also features Alan Hale, Jr.

WILD STALLION (1952) Following the murder of his parents during an Indian raid, a young boy (Orley Lindgren) becomes obsessed with his pet white colt that escaped during the raid. Raised on an army post, the boy becomes a wild horse hunter and continues his quest for his lost pet who’s grown into a magnificent white stallion that leads a pack of wild horses. An early production from the legendary Walter Mirisch, starring Ben Johnson and a trio of future TV titans — Edgar Buchanan, Hayden Rorke, and Hugh Beaumont.

RIDER ON A DEAD HORSE (1962) Allied Artists continues to step into the New Westerns of the 1960s with this six-gun saga that mixes seedy with its oats. Three prospectors (John Vivyan, Bruce Gordon and Charles Lampkin) bury their gold to protect it from Apache attack. No sooner than you can say “Sierra Madre”, greed turns the trio into a killer, a victim, and a corpse. But unfortunately for the killer, only the man he left for dead knows the way back to the secret cache. Also stars Kevin Hagen and Lisa Lu. 16x9 WIDESCREEN

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POPEYE: THE 1960s CLASSICS VOLUME 1 (1960-61) With TV reruns of the Fleischer/Famous Studios theatrical shorts proving that Popeye still packed a spinach-powered punch that delivered smash ratings, King Features commissioned a new series of Sailor Man shorts under the aegis of executive producer Al Brodax. The TV incarnation of Popeye made up for its scaled back animation with a broadened narrative scope while still staying true to the source. Thanks to the continued use of voice actors Jack Mercer (Popeye), Mae Questel (Olive) and Jackson Beck (Bluto who was now called Brutus) as well as the use of veteran Popeye animation talents who were then working at Paramount Cartoon Studios, these shorts remained authentic. The addition of a number of Thimble Theater comic strip characters making their cartoon debuts — including King Blozo, Toar, and Sea Hag — only added to the shorts “yam what I yam” charm. All of the Paramount TV Popeye cartoons are contained in this stupendous 2-Disc, 72-Episode set.

PENROD AND SAM (1931) Years before he would helm many installments in the Bowery Boys series of laffers, prolific director William Beaudine directed another sort of boy picture altogether, bringing Booth Tarkington’s Penrod and Sam to the screen in their first talking feature. Leon Janney and Frank Coghlan Jr. play the titular “In or In Club” founders, while Billie Lord and Nestor Aber make for a dynamite pair of pre-teen nemesis. And Cameo the dog comes close to stealing your heart — and the show — as Penrod’s pooch, Duke. Yep — children and dogs. No one tell W.C. Fields.

TENTH AVENUE ANGEL (1947) Kid thesp phenom Margaret O’Brien headlines this late Forties fabular look back at tenement life during the Great Depression. Flavia Mills is the darling of the street and self-appointed guardian angel of the hard-scrabble and stout-hearted denizens of Tenth Avenue. But Flavia’s world comes crashing down when she learns those she loves best have been lying to her and it will take a miracle to restore her faith. Outstanding cast includes Angela Lansbury, George Murphy and Phyllis Thaxter. Directed by Roy Rowland.

THE SECRET GARDEN (1949) Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children’s classic gets a top notch adaptation courtesy of MGM that makes the gothic roots of Mary Lennox’s journey delightfully apparent. The cast includes leading kids Margaret O’Brien and Dean Stockwell along with Herbert Marshall as the embittered lord of the manor, Elsa Lanchester as a cackling maid with no sense of place, Brian Roper as forest-lad Dickon and a real star-turn by an uncanny trained raven. Beware! Lurking inside the black and white walls of The Secret Garden are (spoiler alert!) some stunning Technicolor sequences. Directed by Fred M. Wilcox.

WITHOUT A TRACE: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON (2007-2008) The penultimate season of Without a Trace, although truncated by the writer’s strike, delivered the drama in spades (not to be confused with Samantha Spade) as the show skillfully played out a year-long arc that might best be described as Jack Malone: His Fall and Rise. The season starts with the team slowly being pulled into uncovering a massive human trafficking syndicate responsible for the disappearance of hundreds of girls. Soon after, the dedicated investigators of the Missing Persons Unit are tasked with a particularly important person to locate: Jack Malone, who disappeared after trying to tackle the ring solo. And that’s just the beginning of Jack’s long slog back to the light as his history of warrantless searches, witness intimidation and violation of FBI case protocol in pursuit of justice may finally cost him his career. Other missing persons include a waitress who won 32 million in the lottery to an extreme fighter, a mall Santa Claus and a case uniting the MPU with head CSI Gil Grissom (William Peterson). Other notable guests in this 5-Disc, 18-Episode Collection include James Marsters, Henry Thomas, Nancy McKeon and Sprague Grayden. Stars Anthony La Paglia, Poppy Montgomery, Enrique Murciano, Jr., Eric Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Roselyn Sanchez.

DUFFY OF SAN QUENTIN (1954) New warden Clinton T. Duffy takes a walk down noir street to confront violence and corruption at San Quentin in a gritty tale of romance and redemption. Based on Duffy’s memoir and starring Louis Hayward, Joanne Dru, Paul Kelly and Maureen O’Sullivan. Newly Remastered

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Warner Archive Collection Podcast
Youngsters, Sailors & The Missing 5/7/13


We chat about an exciting new 72-episode collection of Popeye: The 1960s Classics Volume 1 (1960-61), and three films featuring kids from the 30s and 40s including Booth Tarkington’s Penrod and Sam (1931), Tenth Avenue Angel (1947) starring Margaret O’Brien and The Secret Garden (1949) with Margaret O’Brien and Dean Stockwell. We finish off with a discussion on the sixth and penultimate season of TV’s Without a Trace (2007-08).

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

Warner Archive Collection Podcast

Pre-Codes, Primetime & Re-Prints - 4/30/13

Pre-Code shenanigans are back with FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD VOLUME 7 including THE HATCHET MAN (1932) with Edward G. Robinson, SKYSCRAPER SOULS (1932) and EMPLOYEES’ ENTRANCE (1933) with Warren William and EX-LADY (1933)with Bette Davis. EIGHT IS ENOUGH, THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (1978-79) comes under discussion as well as five films from 1949 to 1992 that are back in print including COMMAND DECISION (1949) with Clark Gable, Howard Hawks’ LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955), British New Wave darling THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962), THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER (1963) with Glen Ford and finally FREEJACK (1992) with Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger!

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD VOLUME 7 (1932-33) After wetting your whistles with the sin-sational sin-ema found in Forbidden Hollywood Volume 6 earlier this month, we’re here to finish you off in high style! Forbidden Hollywood Volume 7 contains some of the most requested titles in the series, including the DVD debuts of a couple of pictures that were instrumental in the launch of Forbidden Hollywood back in the dinosaur days of VHS! Volume 7 includes the following four fab-tastic flickers, all Newly Remastered! Note: initial quantities of this release will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand.

THE HATCHET MAN (1932) William Wellman directs Edward G. Robinson in this gangster tale with a difference as we trade in the gats for hatchets, and the syndicate for the Tongs. Robinson plays an honorable hatchet man, agent of last resort for the Tongs, whose duties force him to make a terrible sacrifice — his oldest friend. Willed his friend’s daughter (Loretta Young), he raises, then romances her, but it’s a path that may lead to his ruin since the Tong he’s tied to seems determined to drag him back in. Once past any modern doubts about the casting, viewers are met with yet another engaging, engrossing and gripping William Wellman picture that dares to find humanity in the darkest corners.

SKYSCRAPER SOULS (1932) Warren William plays a ruthless magnate who stoops to anything in order to maintain control of his multi-story masterpiece. Director Edgar Selwyn populates the skyscraper’s upper-floor/lower floor soapworks with a cast that still dazzles and delights eight decades later. Maureen O’Sullivan, fresh from the jungle as Jane, is the alluring ingénue who floats between floors; Norman Foster is the first floor bank clerk whose nerve may exceed his brain, Wallace Ford and Anita Page provide an extra-marital B-story, while Verree Teasdale plays the secretary/mistress of Williams’ David Dwight — an astonishing scoundrel that glues all the transgressions together and seduces us all.

EMPLOYEES’ ENTRANCE (1933) More multi-floor mature merriment under the wicked gaze of Warren William in this Roy Del Ruth directed department store expose. William plays hard driving store manager Kurt Anderson who finds no sense in sentiment as he pursues sex and cents with cynical ease. Loretta Young plays the desperate damsel willing to pay the price of employment, while Wallace Ford plays the up and comer caught between ambition and desire. And discerning cinema mavens will note that an uncredited Allen Jenkins provides leavening mirth as harried store detective Sweeney.

EX-LADY (1933) Bette Davis graduates to topliner in this risqué comedy romance that dares looks at adult relations without the benefit of marriage. Bette plays Helen Bauer, a headstrong and thoroughly liberated graphic artist. Gene Raymond plays adman/live-in lover Don Peterson who piles on the nuptial pressure after a scathing scolding from Helen’s Old World papa (Alphonse Ethier). Following a honeymoon in Cuba (with a pre-coital dance hall sequence that still steals your breath) the couple finds married life might be more than they can bear. Then Helen suggests they open up the marriage to outside distractions by going back to ‘just going out.’ Monroe Owsley plays the masculine distraction, while Kay Strozzi provides the distaff distraction. Claire Dodd and a fabulous Frank McHugh provide comedic counterpoint as a very confused couple.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH, THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (1978-79) Eight is Enough’s third season starts off with a change — a brand new theme song, sung by star Grant Goodeve! The title theme promises “a portrait of the happiness that we feel and always will” matching the show’s focus on the upbeat side of familial bonds. However, the  roller-coaster nature of “the changing times” in American society was well-reflected in the ten-sided prism that is the Bradford clan as the family grapples with youth culture (Tommy’s dual dating personas of “Disco Kid” vs. “Mellow Man”), teen pregnancy (a young Rosanna Arquette guest stars), gender roles (“The War Between the Bradfords”), and ageism (with Abe Vigoda). This 28-Episode collection also includes notable guests such as Jack Elam, Noah Beery Jr., and James Cromwell.

COMMAND DECISION (1949) Clark Gable heads a superstar cast packed to the heavens with talent including Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy, Charles Bickford, John Hodiak, Edward Arnold and Marshall Thompson. Directed by Sam Wood from the stage play by William Wister Haines, Command Decision is a riveting look at the desk bound side of war, as Gable’s air force general must grapple with sending squadrons of the country’s finest to their deaths deep inside Nazi controlled Europe during a critical juncture in 1943. Miklós Rózsa’s superb score further elevates the action.

LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955) Howard Hawks goes all in for this sweeping CinemaScope WarnerColor sand saga. But there is a secret lurking behind the spectacular compositions, exotic costumes, hundreds of extras, and stunning set design — Hawks created a full-color historical epic film noir. One man (Jack Hawkins), guided by greed, builds an empire by force of arms. At the height of his power he is seduced by a beauty (Joan Collins) whose passion for gold pushes her to dare anything. As each of the lovers pursues plunder above all else, they spin a web of intrigue that proves their doom. (See?) Also, catch Collins in a sheer, Egyptian two-piece.

THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962) As “Kitchen Sink” drama collided with European New Wave, film makers like Tony Richardson were boldly introducing Britain to “New Cinema”. Adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his acclaimed short story, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner combines class consciousness, social realism, dramatic existentialism and non-linear narrative to depict the forces that drove a young working class kid to delinquency. With Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave and John Thaw.

THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER (1963) Drawn from the same source as the beloved (and available via WAC) Bill Bixby series, this swinging early sixties sex and family comedy ably demonstrates maestro Minnelli’s deft hand at any and all styles and genres of film. Glenn Ford plays the dapper and recently widowed radio exec. Jerry Van Dyke plays the exec’s DJ pal. Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens and Dina Merrill play the three potential new Mrs. Eddie’s Fathers and Ron Howard astonishes with his warm, and very human and heartbreaking performance as little Eddie.

FREEJACK (1992) Emilio Estevez gets the ultimate repo, man, as a racecar stud who gets “bonejacked” from 1992 to the far-flung dystopian future of 2009. Remember that just four years ago Bonejackers were brought forward in time from the moment of their deaths to provide new bodies for rich minds housed in the cybernetic “spiritual switchboard”. But this bonejack escapes, and even the horrors of 2009’s Park Slope won’t be able to stop this freejack. Also stars Mick Jagger, David Johansen (that’s the New York Dolls AND the Rolling Stones!), Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo.

Brooklyn! In anticipation of our DVD re-issue later this month, on Friday, May 3 we’re co-presenting with BAMcinématek a 35mm screening of CRUISING (1980) — including a Q&A with trailblazing director William Friedkin himself! (And these A’s are bound to be interesting…) When NYPD detective Steve Burns (Pacino) goes undercover in the leather bar underground to catch an S&M serial killer targeting gay men, he finds himself starting to like his new role maybe a little too much.

Bullets, Bombas, and Ballistas

Warner Archive Podcast for Apr 23, 2013

This week we welcome THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944) to DVD alongside a quintet of film noir faves, including THE FALL GUY (1947), A DANGEROUS PROFESSION (1949), DUFFY OF SAN QUENTIN (1954), LOOPHOLE (1954), and FBI CODE 98 (1963). Then we take a swing through the jungle with Bomba, the Jungle Boy with a look at BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY, VOLUME ONE (1949-1951) before catapulting back in time to Ancient Rome, Hanna-Barbera style, for THE ROMAN HOLIDAYS, THE COMPLETE SERIES (1972).

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

All mentioned Fiims and TV shows available on DVD at the Warner Archive Shop.

THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944) Jean Negulesco began his remarkable run of classic noirs by knocking it out of the park with this winning adaptation of a novel by nightmaster Eric Ambler. Also making his debut is Zachary Scott as the titular criminal Dimitrios. But it’s Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, here in the middle of their remarkable pairings (The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Background to Danger, Passage to Marseilles, The Conspirators, Three Strangers, and The Verdict) who send this Citizen Kane of criminal portraits into the cinematic stratosphere. Lorre, in one of his rare turns as lead, clearly delights in the role, revealing his penchant for mordant comedy and dry delivery. And Greenstreet gives added depth to his traditional malignant mastermind character as this film’s heavy’s heart proves stronger than his head. Faye Emerson, as the gal done wrong, proves an apt match. This long awaited DVD release is Newly Remastered
*Note: Available for pre-order 4/24/2013, to be released 5/7/2013

THE FALL GUY (1947) Noir scribe supreme Cornell Woolrich’s short story “Cocaine” provides the basis for this crime thriller starring Leo Penn and Robert Armstrong. Penn plays Tom Cochrane, a traumatized WWII vet who comes to after a night of one too many, with blood on his hands and fragmented memories of a young blonde’s murder. After skipping out of the drunk tank, the now-fugitive Tom turns to his brother-in-law cop to find out if Tom’s really a liquored up ladykiller or doped up patsy who’s been fitted for the frame. Also stars noir mainstay Elisha Cook, Jr, and Teala Loring. Directed by Reginald Le Borg, with Walter Mirisch producing. Newly Remastered

A DANGEROUS PROFESSION (1949) George Raft stars in this cracker of a crime picture that takes place in the rarified world of bail bondsmen. Under the narration of police detective Nick Ferrone (the great Jim Backus), the viewer is introduced to ex-cop cum bail bond broker Vince Kane (Raft) and his partner Joe Farley (Pat O’Brien in prime “Wise up, ya dope” mode). In short order there’s a cop killed, an ex-flame, a patsy, and Vince on the hook for 9 Gs. With his partner pressuring him to drop the case, Kane is under the gun to unravel a net of graft, robbery and murder to order to get at the truth. Even if it costs him a crack at the dame that got away (Ella Raines). Directed by Ted Tetzlaff. Newly Remastered

DUFFY OF SAN QUENTIN (1954) Warner Bros. eschews traditional hagiographic biopic tendencies to stay true to its ripped from the headlines social reform roots for this powerful prison flick. Culled from the literary works of real-life San Quentin Warden Quentin T. Duffy, the film moves the spotlight from warden reformer to inmate Edward “Romeo” Harper, his sometimes ally, sometimes enemy. As the inmate tries to adjust to life inside a changing prison — including the arrival of a female nurse (Joanne Dru) — he begins to get a handle on his demons. Just then, the prosecutor (George Macready) responsible for his institutional hell gets sentenced to the same prison…Also stars Maureen O’Sullivan as Mrs. Duffy. Directed by Walter Doniger. Newly Remastered
*Note: Available for pre-order 4/24/2013, to be released 5/7/2013

LOOPHOLE (1954) Allied Artists gets an “A” for this prime piece of “innocent man” noir. Barry Sullivan plays a bank teller whose life gets up-ended thanks to a daring robbery by a little man with a big plan. Noir pit-bull Charles McGraw plays the insurance agent who Javerts the accused teller’s every Les Misérables step, nearly stealing the picture, while Sullivan’s Mike Donovan is busy trying to solve the crime. Dorothy Malone plays Mike’s stand-by-your-man spouse, character great Don Beddoe plays the man behind the frame and Mary Beth Hughes is the deadly dame behind it all. Directed by Harold D. Schuster. Newly Remastered

FBI CODE 98 (1963) A pre-cursor of sorts to The FBI (even co-starring future Erskine agent William Reynolds), FBI Code 98 equally mixes domestic drama and police procedural as a trio of top-flight aerospace computer magnates find themselves sharing a flight with a bomb booby-trapped suitcase. While the feds move with scientific precision through the clues, the trio of millionaire industrialists sift through their lives, loves, infidelities and lies to try to discover which of them may be responsible for the attempt. Taut and fast paced, while taking time for a languid inspection of the lurid, FBI Code 98plays as if Agent Erskine were thrown into the world of Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Pryce. Joining Reynolds on the fed side is Philip Carey as the AIC, while Maverick’s Jack Kelly, Ray Danton, and Andrew Duggan play the high-flying computermen. Also stars Jack Cassidy, Vaughn Taylor, and Peggy McCay. Newly Remastered

BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY, VOLUME ONE (1949-51) Monogram pictures made an inspired choice when it opted to adapt the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and Tom Swift) series of books with Bomba the Jungle Boy and paired it up with Tarzan’s own now grown “Boy”, Johnny Sheffield. Under the leadership of newbie producer Walter Mirisch, the series skillfully blends stock photography, imaginative scripts and teen romance to deliver A-list fun on a B-list budget proving to be a smash hit for the studio. Fellow former child-star Peggy Ann Garner provides for Bomba’s jungle distraction in the inaugural installment, while other guests of note to be found in the first six films in the series include Allene Roberts, Donald Woods, Paul Guilfoyle, Sue England, Woody Strode, and Donna Martell. Silent-to-TV-era journeyman Ford Beebe directs all six.Set includes: Bomba, The Jungle Boy (1949), Bomba on Panther Island (1949), The Lost Volcano (1950), Bomba and the Hidden City (1950), The Lion Hunters (1951), Elephant Stampede (1951) These films have been remastered from the best available 35mm film elements.

THE ROMAN HOLIDAYS, THE COMPLETE SERIES (1972) Somewhere between the pre-hysterical Hanna Barbera’s Stone Age of The Flintstones and the fantastic future ofThe Jetsons lie The Roman Holidays, tackling family life circa AD 63. Augustus “Gus” Holiday (Dave Willock) is the man of the clan, lovely and level-headed spouse Laurie (Shirley Mitchell) keeps things on an even keel while teen-age trouble maker Happius (Stanley Livingston) and child prodigy Precocia (Pamelyn Ferdin) threaten to break the Pax Familia. Housed at the humble Venus de Milo Arms, the Holidays face constant threats from their aptly named landlord Mr. Evictus (Dom DeLuise, in his toon debut) while Gus gets equally harried by his boss, Mr. Tycoonius (Hal Smith) at the Forum Construction Company. It’s a good thing he gets to come home to a Roman’s best friend — his pet lion, Brutus (Daws Butler)! So hop aboard your chariot — it’s time to pay a visit to The Roman Holidays! 2-Disc, 13-Episode Collection

wandrlust:

New York 1971

Not only does this photo feature a marquee for The Dirty Dozen, but also of the unheralded WAC classics, The 5 Man Army and El Condor. 

These Jim Brown-heavy theaters better be “Cooled By Refrigeration!”

Warner Archive Collection Podcast

“Dr. Kildare! Nick Carter! The Sloanes!” 4/16/13

Chatting about the latest mystery triple features: NICK CARTER MYSTERIES TRIPLE FEATURE (1939-40) starring Walter Pidgeon as the man of action, and FAST COMPANY/FAST AND LOOSE/FAST AND FURIOUS TRIPLE FEATURE (1938-39) with the rare-book dealing Sloanes on the case. We then anticipate the arrival of 60s TV’s favorite surgeons, DR. KILDARE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (1961-62) with Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey. We round off the week with ETHEL (2012), HBO’s intimate portrait of RFK’s widow.

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

All mentioned Fiims and TV shows available on DVD at the Warner Archive Shop.

FAST COMPANY/FAST AND LOOSE/FAST AND FURIOUS TRIPLE FEATURE (1938-39) Meet the Sloanes, rare book dealer Joel and his spousal secretary Garda bust crime when they’re not lip-locked in a clinch. The wise-cracks, workplace romance and murder may put viewers in mind of a certain girth-lacking gentleman, but the Sloanes serve up their own brew of cinematic froth. And adding extra-boost to the mystery menu? Three different pairings in each installment! Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice inaugurate the series in high fashion, mere months before Melvyn’s career would go meteoric (thanks to a little picture called Ninotchka) in 1938’s FAST COMPANY. Claire Dodd shares top billing as the film’s femme who may or may not turn out to be fatale. Next up, FAST AND LOOSE pairs up the dry wits of Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell as the Sloanes get swept up in purloined Shakespeare. Finally, no less a luminary than Busby Berkeley takes the director’s chair in 1939’s FAST AND FURIOUS guiding the able hands of Franchot Tone and a Maisie-hot Ann Sothern as Garda who finally goes to the beach for her long awaited vacation. Unfortunately, Joel gets caught up in a deadly scheme…

NICK CARTER MYSTERIES TRIPLE FEATURE (1939-40) Nick Carter began his stint as literary icon and criminal foe over 125 years ago on the pages of dime novels. As times and media change, he’s donned a wide spectrum of hero hats: proto-superman, pulp detective, radio gumshoe, paperback spy-sassin — “the American Sherlock Holmes”…Perhaps the best incarnation of Nick Carter can be found in these three high-flying, white knuckling, brawling adventure mysteries starring the great Walter Pidgeon. Not yet confined by the probities of the leading support roles he would be called on to play, Walter’s Carter is equal parts cranium and cool, mixing the ratiocination with romance and fisticuffs. The looming war in Europe casts a shadow of the films as well, with Nick tackling timely menaces such as spies and saboteurs, alongside his diminutive amateur detective sidekick Bartholomew, a true B-man who literally controls swarms of angry bees. NICK CARTER, MASTER DETECTIVE (1939) sees Nick tackling espionage and sabotage in the aviation industry with Rita Johnson providing earth-bound distractions.PHANTOM RAIDERS (1939) sees Nick tackling the sinking of supply ships with Fast Company star Florence Rice. SKY MURDER (1940) has Nick trying to clear Karen Verne of a locked aircraft murder. Future Falcon, Tom Conway is also aboard for the ride!

DR. KILDARE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (1961-62) Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey don the surgical scrubs first made famous by the film team of Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore for the equally successful TV incarnation in the 1960s. Richard Chamberlain’s star ascended quickly, as the show swept him from relative unknown to full-on teen idol (in a show pointed squarely at adults, no less). The show was also blessed to have the talents of a young Jerrald Goldsmith on hand to pen the shows score. Kildare’s title theme, “Three Stars Will Shine Tonight”, became a monster hit on its own, sung by Mr. Chamberlain himself. Notable guests include Lee Marvin, Ellen Burstyn, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Cotten, Mary Astor, Margaret O’Brien and more! And as an added bonus, we’ve dug up a “lost” episode — “The Eleventh Hour,” the ORIGINAL, never-aired pilot for the Wendell Corey psychiatric drama, teaming Dr. Theodore Bassett up with Drs. Gillespie and Kildare to get to the bottom of what the devil is wrong with Ann Costigan (Vera Miles). All episodes have been newly remastered especially for this DVD premiere release. Initial quantities of this release will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand.

ETHEL (2012) Filmmaker Rory Kennedy corrals a most unlikely, and most inspiring subject for this documentary, her very private and very extra-ordinary mother, Ethel Kennedy. This personal portrait, featuring candid interviews with Ethel Kennedy — her first extended interview in more than two decades — and her children Kathleen, Joe, Bobby, Courtney, Kerry, Chris and Max, spans her political awakening, the life she shared with Robert Kennedy and the years following his death, when she raised their 11 children. Ethel is the first film made about the Kennedys from within the family.

In honor of our release of the third season of THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW (2012) the Warner Archive Podcast team sits down for a chat with Executive Producer, @lisaullmann about the program’s unique genesis and production.

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

The Ricky Gervais Show is available on DVD or Blu-ray disc at the Warner Archive Shop.

Warner Archive Collection Podcast

Comedy Kings  - 4/9/13

Chatting about the third season of the surreal animated HBO show, THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW (2012) and a discussion about the new second twelve film collection from the longest running film series of all time, THE BOWERY BOYS COLLECTION, VOL. TWO (1946-55).

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

All our films available on DVD or Blu-ray disc at the Warner Archive Shop.

THE BOWERY BOYS COLLECTION, VOLUME TWO (1946-55): Slip, Sach and the rest of the crew are back for another heaping selection of hilarity that delivers up a full decade of Bowery brou-ha-has. Charter the Boys’ course from their crime and Saturday-serial flavored comedy beginnings alongside fellow Dead Enders Bobby Jordan and Gabe Dell to full on Stoogian slapstick insanity, as Horace Debussy Jones, Jr. starts to take center stage. Contains some of the Boys’ most beloved outings including Spook Busters, Private Eyes and perhaps their most famous outing, The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters. These films have been remastered from the best available 35mm film elements. Initial quantities of this release will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand.

Includes: Spook Busters (1946) Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) Bowery Buckaroos(1947) Smuggler’s Cove (1948) Ghost Chasers (1951) Let’s Go Navy! (1951) Hold That Line (1952) Loose in London (1953) Clipped Wings (1953) Private Eyes (1953)The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954) High Society (1955)

CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON (2012) Meet the undisputed king of 15-Minute Midnight medical procedurals. This Emmy® winning comedy (short form, because the long-forms were scared) began life as a series of 5 minute webisodics before making the jump to the boob tube. Childrens Hospital not only defies conventions, it defiles them. Scandalous, scabrous, crass and clever, Childrens Hospital’s razor sharp wit is matched only by the quantum-keen comedy of its ’staff’, ably led by co-creator Rob Corddry (Cutter Spindell/Dr. Blake Downs) including Rob Huebel, Malin Akerman, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler, Lake Bell and the voice of Michael Cera. Guests spots include Jon Hamm! Nick Offerman! Dominic Monaghan! Frances Fisher! And Brian Huskey as Chet! Childrens Hospital noob? Get in on the ground floor and grab seasons 1–3 at WBshop’s seizure inducing SALE.

THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW, THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (2012) The Office creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s popular podcast gets an animated remix to emerge as one of the sprightliest and strange comedies to ever grace the cableways. With the spotlight squarely cast on former Ricky Gervais Show radio producer, the ineffable and improbable Karl Pilkington, this talk/toon mash-up takes us to vistas hitherto only imagined by a ‘round-headed buffoon’. Highlights from the third season include Karl pitching a film about an actor trapped in the body of Tom Cruise (played by Tom Cruise), a day in the life of Karl Pilkington, and Karl ruminating on his personal highlight of the year, observing invertebrates eating his biscuit (cf: cookie) on a window sill.

Eddie Cantor, “the apostle of pep,” was an original king of all media, vaulting from vaudeville to Broadway, Hollywood, the radio airwaves and even TV. These two films, early gems from the illustrious Samuel Goldwyn library, are prime examples of the singing and dancing stage persona that made Eddie Cantor a household word.

WHOOPEE (1930) This two-strip Technicolor musical comedy, adapted from Cantor’s smash Broadway show, delivered hit songs like “Makin’ Whoopee” and “My Baby Just Cares for Me” along with the dance number debut of a young choreographer by the name of Busby Berkeley — whose signature powers are on full display. Cantor plays a neuroses-laden hypochondriac (decades before Woodrow Allen) who becomes an accidental matchmaker when he offers a ride to a runaway bride way out West. Cantor becomes an unwilling Mercutio between the bride’s warring suitors — Sheriff Bob Wells and local tribesman Wanenis.

KID MILLIONS (1934) Cantor depicts a simple Brooklyn boy who finds himself on a collision course with charlatans, connivers, sheiks, and she-devils on the way to inherit a fortune in Egypt. Ann Sothern, Ethel Merman, George Murphy, Paul Harvey and Edgar Kennedy all lend their talents to the to-do, which climaxes with a truly sweet three-strip Technicolor dream of a finish.

STONED BROS. (2009) Australia‘s answer to Harold and Kumar, Stoned Bros. is a pot-fueled road-trip that gives Cheech and Chong a run for their stash. Sick of the city life and their dead-end jobs, Charlie and his up-tight cousin Eddie decide it’s time to reconnect with their homegrown roots. Taking off in a beat-up Ford they spark it up on a spiritual journey across the Australian Outback to find and return a sacred stone, which Charlie lost in a blaze of confusion. To succeed they will have to survive encounters with a demonically possessed dog, a depressed drag queen, a jilted ex-lover, a soul-searching cop, and a deadly spider that’s come along for the ride. When the smoke finally clears, you’ve had a blast!

Have you checked out our brand new service? There’s a new way for you to enjoy the kinds of rare and hard-to-find movies and TV you’ve come to expect from us. Presenting WARNER ARCHIVE INSTANT — our new streaming service that brings hundreds of titles instantly to your Mac, PC or Roku-connected TV for a monthly subscription.

Visit instant.warnerarchive.com and get a free two week trial!

Warner Archive Collection Podcast

F is for Forbidden! 4/2/13

Celebrate the pre-code era with the release of Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 6 which includes THE WET PARADE (1932), DOWNSTAIRS (1932), MANDALAY (1934) and MASSACRE (1934) Plus we preview current TV comedy CHILDRENS HOSPITAL Season 4 (2012) along with Eddie Cantor’s WHOOPEE (1930) and KID MILLIONS (1934).

All Podcasts also available on iTunes.

All our films available on DVD or Blu-ray disc at the Warner Archive Shop.