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Hollywood Q & A
Question: Hello, Irv.
Are there any plans to release the classic TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Ghost And Mrs. Muir? Also, on the film side, there was a Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. swashbuckler, The Corsican Brothers, from the ‘40s. I know it was released a long time ago on tape. Any word if it’s being released to DVD? How about the western Rio Conchos, or Stars And Stripes Forever with Clifton Webb?
I really enjoy reading news about upcoming releases on your Q & A.
Thanks a lot! Answer: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. has been held up in legal limbo as a result of a dispute involving two video companies. Anchor Bay announced the first season of the series for DVD release, and then Warner claimed they owned it as part of the MGM library they control. It was eventually awarded to Warner, who is supposedly working on a major release of the cool ‘60s spy series that starred Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo, David McCallum as Ilya Kuryakin and Leo G. Carroll as their boss, Mr. Waverly. We haven’t heard anything on the Fox-produced Hope Lange-Edward Mulhare series The Ghost And Mrs. Muir, which ran from 1968-1970; it’s a shame, in light of the recent passing of co-star Charles Nelson Reilly. The Corsican Brothers (1941) was part of the Edward Small library, as well as the Louis Hayward version of The Man In The Iron Mask and the original Brewster’s Millions; we’re not sure who holds the rights these days. We’ve heard about a collection from Fox of Clifton Webb films that would include Stars And Stripes Forever, in which Webb played John Phillip Sousa. However, we just don’t know when it’s going to arrive. Rio Conchos, the gritty 1964 sagebrusher with Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman and former football hero Jim Brown in his first acting role, is long overdue from Fox as well. Thanks for writing!
Question: Hi, Movie Irv.
Any hope for DVD releases on any of the following: Harriet Craig (Joan Crawford); The Helen Morgan Story (Paul Newman); Hit The Deck (Jane Powell); House Of Women (Shirley Knight) or I'll Cry Tomorrow (Susan Hayward)?
Thanks and keep up the good work. You give us all hope. Answer: Great breaking news! I’ll Cry Tomorrow, with Hayward, one of our most-requested actresses, as the alcohol-afflicted entertainer Lillian Roth, will be issued the latter part of this year by Warner as part of a Leading Ladies, Vol. 2 set. (Included in this mixed bag of demanded titles, which will also be available individually: A Big Hand For The Little Lady; Up The Down Staircase; Rich And Famous; and Shoot The Moon.) Sony is currently considering putting out Harriet Craig (1950) on a double feature with the earlier version of the story, Craig’s Wife (1936), so you’ll be able to compare whether Crawford or Rosalind Russell rendered the more contemptible character. We’ll unlikely see the others until further on, perhaps in 2008.
Question: Hi. A few follow-up questions: Is L.A. Confidential still scheduled for a special edition? I've noticed a lot of war films have gotten special editions- are The Young Lions and Run Silent, Run Deep being considered? Is Torpedo Run still scheduled for a late 2007 release? Lastly, the TV miniseries Holocaust came out in 1978; it will be 30 years old in 2008. I notice that when these special edition DVDs come out, they do it on an anniversary such as this. Do you think there is a possibility it will be released in the U.S. because of this? Answer: We know it’s getting late, but we still understand Warner has a special edition of L.A. Confidential on the way, supposedly slated for late 2007. We haven’t heard anything lately about The Young Lions or Run Silent, Run Deep, and we’ve inquired about Holocaust all over the place. Our sources tell us Universal now controls the rights to the miniseries, but we’re not sure of their plans. Thanks for writing.
Question: I really enjoy reading your column--it's just great and so much information!!!! I am wondering about 2 made for TV movies-each made for one of Ted Turner's networks. The first is Riders Of The Purple Sage, and the other is Habitation Of Dragons, written by Horton Foote. I would love to see these again. I also wonder if the short-lived series Christine Cromwell will ever come out on DVD.
Thanks. Answer: The exciting Zane Grey adaptation New Riders Of The Purple Sage with Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, and Habitation Of Dragons with Frederic Forrest and the late Brad Davis, aren’t on any future release slates as far as we can tell. Same goes for Christine Cromwell, the 1989 miniseries. It’s too bad that made-for-TV and –cable productions usually don’t get the attention they deserve from the studios.
Question: Hi Irv, I do so much enjoy and look forward to your column each time. I have gotten so many questions I had about my movies answered, as well those asked about by others. You provide a great service to us all. I have a request for info on a few movies I hope you can provide some insight on. I was wondering if there is any word on a possible release on two Fredric March movies. They are One Foot In Heaven and The Adventures Of Mark Twain. I also notice that many TV miniseries are now coming out on DVD, so I was wondering if Once An Eagle is on some future release list. Thanks so much. Answer: Thanks for the kind words. Warner, who controls the two March films, currently has their hands full with all sorts of library releases and sets, so if they were looking at those pictures it would be further down the line. As for Once An Eagle, that stirring miniseries following two soldiers from World War I through the Vietnam conflict with Sam Elliott, Cliff Potts, Glenn Ford, Amy Irving, and Kim Hunter is owned by Universal. The company seems to have rights to lots of great TV movies and miniseries, and, sadly, they seem to have little interest in putting them on DVD.
Question: Can you tell me if an old Saturday morning cartoon called "The Hair Bear Gang" is coming to DVD? I believe it was a Hanna-Barbera production. Thank you. I love your column, by the way. Answer: Glad you enjoy the column. We understand a DVD release of the 1971 series Help!…It’s The Hair Bear Bunch! is “under consideration” by Warner’s cartoon division. Hopefully, it won’t be longer than a year until we see the adventures of Hair Bear, Square Bear, Bubi Bear and Mr. Peevley.
Question: Did I hear right that there is a Sam Katzman collection coming out in September with The Werewolf, The Giant Claw and other ‘50s classics? Thanks. Answer: Yes, this is great news for horror fans. Sam Katzman: Icons Of Horror is on its way, boasting four of the low-budget producer’s most-requested films: Creature With The Atom Brain (1955), The Werewolf (1956), Zombies Of Mora Tau (1957) and The Giant Claw (1957). What with Warner having recently issued the camp cult classic Hot Rods To Hell (1967), another Katzman production, this is surely something “B” movie fans should celebrate!
Question: Hi Irv. Any more info on a Claudette Colbert box set? I wrote about a year ago and you thought one might be coming. I'll take this time to put another plug in for that wonderful Gilded Lily. Any other info on the 1945 film Love Letters or 1940's Waterloo Bridge?-Thanks. Answer: Supposedly, Universal is still looking closely at a Claudette Colbert collection, but obviously it will be later rather than sooner. She remains a much-requested favorite here, although we doubt the new generation of movie fans may know her beyond It Happened One Night. We would hope that The Gilded Lily, in which Ms. Colbert played a stenographer caught between nobleman Ray Milland and reporter pal Fred MacMurray, would be part of the set. We’ve heard nothing on Love Letters with Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten, or Waterloo Bridge with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor.
Question: Irv -- Thanks again for all the work you do in researching and responding to everyone's questions. The information is always interesting. Hopefully some of the studios will get the message that there's gold in their vaults, if they'll only look! My question concerns Those Lips, Those Eyes, a fine 1980 coming-of-age comedy/drama set in a summer stock theater, with a memorable performance by a young Frank Langella. It also starred Tom Hulce, Glynnis O'Connor, Jerry Stiller and veteran character actor Kevin McCarthy. The film was originally produced by United Artists, which might account for its present obscurity / unavailability. I know it was released on video many years ago (perhaps by MGM?), but is currently out of print and unavailable. Any chance of a new incarnation on DVD for this warm, funny and bittersweet film? Answer: Thanks for the kind words! We like this criminally overlooked film, too. Indeed, MGM controls it, but their sources tell us it's not in their immediate plans for future DVD release. I wish I had better news to report. Perhaps when Frost / Nixon is out in theaters, in which Langella plays Richard Nixon, they'll get the picture.
Question: I heard a few months ago that Warner was considering releasing The Cool Ones on DVD. Have they made a decision since? Also, is there any word on Color Me Dead being released? Thank you. Answer: Nothing new on The Cool Ones, although this would be a prime candidate for Warner’s Cult Camp Classics line. The 1967 film starred Roddy McDowall as a Phil Spector-like rock tycoon who guides the career of a go-go dancer to stardom. We would say the odds on Color Me Dead, a 1969 take on D.O.A. with Tom Tryon, Carolyn Jones and Rick Jason, are a long shot. Originally a Republic title, it is now under the auspices of Lionsgate.
Question: Any chance we’ll be seeing Sid And Nancy on DVD again soon? Answer: You’re in luck. The sad chronicle of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) and girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) will be resurfacing soon in Sid And Nancy (30th Anniversary Edition). This edition of Alex Cox’s effort will include featurettes and a making-of documentary.
Question: Please, can you tell me if the June Allyson movies The Bride Goes Wild, Two Girls And A Sailor, Two Sisters From Boston, The Sailor Takes A Wife and Her Highness And The Bellboy will be on DVD? Answer: Well, we wish we had better news for you. All of these titles from the MGM library are now controlled by Warner and are still “under consideration,” but with Warner’s hands full with so many other projects, we don’t think this stuff will be out until the distant future. The films of Ms. Allyson remain incredibly popular and among our most requested.
Question: Dear Irv: Always an interesting column; thanks for the research. I'm constantly looking for personal favorites, and as I've inquired twice before about these titles, and since you must be very busy, I'll try again. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time. I think all of these titles are from Fox, so possibly they would make good additions to their Studio Classics, if they're still issuing titles under that category. All are early Cinemascope features (mid to late '50s), most in Deluxe color and four to six track stereophonic sound. Here goes: No Down Payment (Jeffrey Hunter, Tony Randall, Joanne Woodward, Barbara Rush, Cameron Mitchell, Sheree North); Blue Denim (Brandon De Wilde, Carol Lynley, MacDonald Carey); The Racers (Kirk Douglas, Gilbert Roland, Bella Darvi); Woman's World (Lauren Bacall, June Allyson, Arlene Dahl, Van Heflin, Fred McMurray, Clifton Webb); The Egyptian (Edmund Purdom, Gene Tierney, Jean Simmons, Michael Wilding). Those were the days when movies were stacked with multiple-name casts! Any insight you could give would be appreciated. Thanks. Answer: You have a very interesting list there, which we are forwarding to Fox. Unfortunately, we have heard of nothing regarding DVD release for any of them. The Egyptian has been mentioned before, as has Woman’s World, but the others are probably long shots at this time. Thanks for writing! Question: Hi Movie Irv, I recently wrote to you about my concerns over a widescreen version of The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing, which, as you know, turned out happily. I am now equally concerned over the announcement of Fox's 1960 version of The Lost World. This film was also in glorious CinemaScope but the ad copy makes no mention of screen ratio. Fox has an admirable track record, so can we hope that this film will find its way onto my shelf in its widescreen grandeur?
While I have your attention here are some other titles I wonder about: I Married A Witch (Veronica Lake); Interrupted Melody (Eleanor Parker); In This Our Life (Bette Davis); Johnny Guitar (Joan Crawford) and Kismet (Howard Keel). Answer: All reports are that Irwin Allen’s The Lost World will be in widescreen on DVD—all the better to see the dinosaurs! As for the other titles you write about…we’ve been begging…BEGGING!...Lionsgate to put out the classic Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, on DVD, already. They’ve inherited the Republic library from Paramount, but so far have been quite slow in getting out their huge library of goodies. Supposedly, Kismet with Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray and Vic Damone, is on a future docket from Warner, so don’t bring out the baubles, bangles and beads yet. The others, sadly, are probably really down the road.
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