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Hollywood Q & ALetters. We get letters. And we’d like to answer them here, each time we update this column. So email us here at movieirv@moviesunlimited.com and we’ll print the letters in this column. Here are a couple of our recent queries:
Question: Dear Irv, I really enjoy your column. Keep up the good work! I am wondering if there is any news on a second Betty Grable collection. It would be nice to see When My Baby Smiles At Me, Wabash Avenue, The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe, Coney Island, Mother Wore Tights, and others. Also from Fox, is there any chance of the following movies making to DVD:
Margie with Jeanne Crain Answer: Good news. Sources at Fox have confirmed there will definitely be another Betty Grable collection, which is sure to include some of the titles you asked about. As for your other, fine suggestions, we can tell you that there’s buzz from the studio about Tobacco Road, with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, and directed by John Ford, getting a separate release (it was previously available on the deluxe Ford At Fox set that has been discontinued). There’s also consideration being given to the Philadelphia-set Centennial Summer with Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell, a musical uncharacteristically helmed by Otto Preminger; and Woman’s World, a 1954 all-star comedy in which auto mogul Clifton Webb tries to decide who will win a plum spot in his company based on the behavior of their wives (played by Lauren Bacall, June Allyson and Arlene Dahl). As for the others, we’ve received no news, but we can tell you Margie, the 1920s-set tale with Ms. Crain, Glenn Langan, Alan Young, and Hattie McDaniel is among our most-asked-for titles.
Question: I would like to know why Raintree County (one of my all-time favorites) is not on DVD. Any news? Answer: Yes. We understand that the folks at Warner have been working on a major restoration of the 1957 Oscar-nominated tale involving the relationship between a Midwestern poet and teacher (Montgomery Clift) and an emotionally fragile Southern belle (Elizabeth Taylor) who meet shortly before the Civil War breaks out. Eva Marie Saint, Lee Marvin, Nigel Patrick and Rod Taylor also star in the film that was shot by MGM in 65 mm, the same widescreen format they used for Ben-Hur. Expect the film sometime before the midpoint of 2009, in the full original roadshow version and loaded with extras.
Question: Hello. Now that we know that the 1927 version of Seventh Heaven is being released, is there any hope that the later version with Jimmy Stewart has any chance of release? Answer: The original Seventh Heaven, which featured Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, is, in fact, part of the incredible Murnau, Borzage & Fox set. The 12-film collection includes all three of the performances (Seventh Heaven, Sunrise, Street Angel) that warranted Gaynor’s receipt of the first Best Actress Academy Award. However, the 1937 remake, with James Stewart as the Parisian sewer worker and Simone Simon as the woman he rescues from police, is not on the Fox radar at the time. It remains one of Stewart’s higher profile efforts that has yet to surface on DVD.
Question: Dear Irv, I'm not holding my breath—I would have passed out years ago—but I am still waiting for The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty to come out on DVD. Do you have any idea when that will happen? Another group of movies I would like to get is Red Skelton's Whistling series. Thanks in advance for any information you can send along. Answer: We have no idea why the fine and usually astute folks at MGM and Fox haven’t put out the classic Danny Kaye comedy yet. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and is part of the library now controlled by MGM. The Skelton Whistling series—made by MGM back in the day—is now controlled by Warner, but they don’t seem to be a high priority for the studio, despite constant requests from fans like yourself. Does the studio have a Red scare?
Question: Thank you for your excellent forum!!! I have a few questions about unavailable DVDs. Any word on the following: The Horn Blows At Midnight, Daddy's Gone A-Hunting, The Last Days Of Disco (Whit Stillman)? And most importantly...Any news about the final 2 seasons of Taxi??? Thanks again for any info. Answer: We applaud your eclectic tastes! Jack Benny as the trumpeter who dreams he’s an angel in the out-there fantasy-comedy The Horn Blows At Midnight; the extremely offbeat 1960s stalker thriller Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting; and Stillman’s self-explanatory The Last Days Of Disco with Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny! Your best bet is for Horn Blows, since it is a Warner Brothers title. As for Taxi, expect a release of the entire series sometime in 2009. Thank you, very much!
Question: I had seen a Wagon Train episode that Ronald Reagan and Ann Blyth were in together. I think it was called Fort Pierce. Do you think it will ever come out on DVD?
Thank you. Answer: We’ve just received word that this installment of the series, entitled The Fort Pierce Story and featuring Reagan as an army captain and Blyth as his temperamental wife, will be on the new release Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season. This show—the second for the year—aired on September 23, 1963, and was one of the entries filmed in color. It’s going to be available with 31 other color episodes and 16 black-and-white shows in a 16-disc deluxe set. Question: Dear Irv, Why is it that certain MGM musicals are constantly reissued while others languish? To date the following MGM musicals have never been issued on DVD: The Great Caruso, The Student Prince, and Rose Marie (Ann Blyth). Who currently owns the rights to the following films: The Great Gatsby (Alan Ladd), Captain Carey, U.S.A. (Ladd), and The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (Edward G. Robinson)? Are there any plans to release these films? Has there been any consideration to releasing a boxed set of Ladd's early films such as The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia, Calcutta, Saigon, and China? Finally, are the following films slated for release:
Tender Is The Night
Thank you for your fine column.
Answer: The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, as well as The Great Gatsby and the other Ladd films you mentioned, are owned by Universal, which controls that chunk of the Paramount library covering most of Ladd’s heyday at the studio. There have been rumors of an Alan Ladd collection for a while, but Gatsby presents a problem involving rights issues that somehow go to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s estate. The ’49 Ladd Gatsby has actually been slated for home video release several times over the years, but it has never come to pass. Why Paramount is able to put out the ’74 Robert Redford version without issue is a mystery to us. As for the musicals you mentioned. Warner has been pretty diligent about putting the MGM musicals out, and they plan to do more. These titles, however, will have to wait a bit longer, despite the keen interest in them. Overall, we wish we had a better percentage here, but one of the titles you requested is on the way and one is already available. The World In His Arms (1952) features Gregory Peck as a robust sea captain in the 19th century who gets involved with a Russian countess (Ann Blyth) and faces off against Prince Semyon (Carl Esmond) and rival Anthony Quinn. It is part of Universal’s upcoming Gregory Peck Film Collection. Storm Warning can be found in Warner’s Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection. In the film, Ron plays a district attorney who teams with model Ginger Rogers to try and break the KKK in a Southern town. We’ve seen request for all the others, especially Song Without End, A Song To Remember and Cobra Woman, a cult classic. We agree that a Maria Montez / Jon Hall set would be wonderful!
Question: Will Fox ever release April Love on DVD? Love Shirley Jones in Oklahoma and Carousel, but April Love is a wonderful romantic comedy. She and Pat Boone were terrific in this film. Also, another Shirley Jones / Fox movie that I enjoy is Bobbikins. I would also like to see a release of this film. Neither has ever even seen a release on video. If Fox won't release these two films, than they should let another company do so.
Answer: We would love to see both films on DVD as well, but they don’t seem to be on the studio’s high priority list. Of course, April Love is well known for its hit theme song. The 1957 film features Boone as a visitor to his relatives’ farm in Kentucky who falls for lovely local gal Jones. Bobbikins, released two years later, offers Jones as an American mother in London with a toddler who speaks like an adult. The Look Who’s Talking series was obviously inspired by this one. Question: Hi. I have been looking for a few movies on DVD from the late 1970s and early ‘80s. Any information on any of the following:
Under The Rainbow (Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher)
I know these are not great movies but they bring back lots of memories!
Answer: Where, oh where are these movies. Warner has hinted at putting out the behind-the-scenes of The Wizard Of Oz romp Under The Rainbow, but so far, even clicking our heels hasn’t brought it to DVD. For the record, we have received multitudes of requests for it over the years. Universal owns The Incredible Shrinking Woman and Howard The Duck, while Paramount has Bugsy Malone. While none ever won Academy Awards, all three titles have strong followings along with marketable casts. Paramount had, in fact, slated Bugsy for release in recent memory, and did an about-face for indeterminate reasons. We have no clue who controls the rights to the animated Mouse And His Child. Question: 1. Are there any plans for releasing any more seasons of Quincy M.E.? 2. Recently, it looks like the some of the box sets of The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes are becoming harder to find. Are they going to be re-released in a different format soon, or has MPI decided to stop making them? (I never did finish getting all of the box sets, so before I go out and pay some outrageous price for something, I'd like to double check to make sure it is not going to be re-released soon.) 3. Speaking of MPI...they used to release episodes from the series Rifleman. About a year or so they stopped making them. Rumor was that the show was going to be released in a full series package. Have you heard anything about that?
4. Lastly, one of my favorite Belushi movies was Neighbors. I don't think that title has ever made it to DVD. Are there plans for it to be released (if not, is there any reason why aside from interest in the title)?
Answer: In order: 1. No new word on Quincy releases for the immediate future. 2. MPI is restoring Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes for a new release next year. As they run out of copies, they are leaving the company’s catalog in their current form. 3. MPI lost the rights to the great Chuck Connors series The Rifleman. From what we can tell, different companies are vying for the DVD rights, and nothing is set in stone right now. 4. As for Neighbors, while we do get call for John’s last feature, we know of no present plans by Sony to bring it to the DVD market.
Question: Could I ever expect to see Designing Women ever released on DVD? And how about more seasons of Newhart?
Answer: Sony will have Designing Women out in late 2009, according to sources. (There’s a five-episode Best Of DVD that’s currently out there.) Expect more episodes of Newhart around the same time from Fox.
Question: Is there any information regarding a possible release of The Flim-Flam Man, from 1967 with George C. Scott?
Answer: Fox owns it, but there’s no word from the studio on the DVD debut of this amusing tale of con artist Scott plying his trade in the South with Army deserter Michael Sarrazin. Sue Lyon, Albert Salmi, and Jack Albertson also star.
Question: There is an early Spencer Tracy movie (1934 or so) titled Dante's Inferno that I saw once on AMC about 15 years ago. But I haven't seen it since anywhere, and wondered if the company with the rights to it has considered putting it on DVD.
Answer: Fox owns it, but, reportedly, the film needs major restoration work. This unusual effort stars Tracy as an unemployed guy who takes a job at a rundown carnival. He then uses gimmicks to make the carny’s depiction of Dante’s Inferno into an awe-inspiring vision of hell that eventually leads to his destruction. We don’t expect this creepy movie any time soon.
Question: Any news on an upcoming boxed set for Jean Arthur? She is such a great actress and so many of her films are not available on DVD. Thanks.
Answer: We would love to have Ms. Arthur’s films in a collection, but many of her most popular works—Mr. Smith Goes To Town, The More The Merrier, Only Angels Have Wings, Shane—are already out, so we’d say it is unlikely to see her stuff grouped together. Of her other titles, we’d really love to see The Devil And Miss Jones, History Is Made At Night, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford, and A Foreign Affair on DVD.
Question: Rumors abound that the long awaited (at least by me) Michael Mann supernatural cult hit, The Keep, will see a DVD release within the year. Any truth to that? Also, any possibility that the overlooked 1950s gem Violent Saturday might get a long overdue DVD release? Great eclectic cast with Victor Mature, Lee Marvin, J. Carrol Naish, Ernest Borgnine, Tommy Noonan among others.
Answer: We’ve heard for years that Paramount is preparing a special edition of The Keep, which would include deleted footage, a commentary and lots of other goodies. But we can’t give you a definite release date. A Paramount rep tells us it’s “slated for the future,” and that’s it. We love the 1955 film noir/soap opera/heist film Violent Saturday which is owned by Fox, and was recently reissued by the company in New York City. No word on its DVD release, however; a source says we may see the 1952 Humphrey Bogart newspaper classic Deadline—USA from the studio in 2009.
Question: Do you know if My Six Loves with Debbie Reynolds, and The African Queen, will be released.
Answer: My Six Loves, with Debbie as an exhausted Broadway star who finds six orphans living on the Connecticut property where she’s relaxing, is owned by Paramount, perhaps the worst company for classic releases. So we wouldn’t have high hopes for its appearance any time soon on DVD. Too bad, because the 1963 effort is well-remembered, and also features a fine supporting cast of Cliff Robertson, David Janssen and Eileen Heckart. As for The African Queen, the recent history of its control is one of great frustration for movie lovers. Fox, which made Queen available on VHS, owned the rights until 1997, when Viacom acquired them. Viacom is part of CBS which is part of Paramount. So Paramount controls the picture now. The film is in need of restoration, as one can tell whenever it is run on Turner Classic Movies. For a few years, it was said that Paramount was working on restoring The African Queen, but recently it was reported that the studio didn’t consider such a project a priority. We say either get the job done or give it to someone (like Criterion) that will take the time and effort needed to bring this film to DVD. It was voted one of the 100 greatest films ever made by the American Film Institute poll, and Humphrey Bogart won his only Academy Award for his role as Charlie Allnut.
Question: Hi Irv. Is there any word on how soon (if ever) we can expect to see the second season of the original Fantasy Island series with Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize? The first season was released in November of 2005 and I'm anxious to see more. Thanks for a great column.
Answer: Word is that there’s a big-screen adaptation of Fantasy Island presently in development, and that Sony is holding off on releasing any further seasons until they can tie it into that theatrical release. Looks like the next time de plane touches down on DVD will be a ways off, unfortunately.
Question: Can you tell me why I have never been able to get a tape or disc of the great Disney classic Song Of The South? Why has Disney never released anything of it except the song, Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da?
Answer: Disney believes that putting out the 1946 mix of live-action and animation would cause controversy because of the racial stereotypes depicted in the film. Every few years, it seems another rumor spreads about the studio getting second thoughts and releasing the film to DVD. We suspect it will never be out.
Question: Any word if or when The Wicked Dreams Of Paula Schultz may ever be released on DVD? Thanks for any help on this.
Answer: From what we can tell, the film is controlled by MGM and Fox, but doesn’t to be high on their priority list. For the record, the 1968 comedy offered Hogan’s Heroes star Bob Crane a lead in a feature. He plays a black marketer who agrees to return sexy East German athlete Elke Sommer to her homeland for much-needed cash. When he realizes he loves her, complications ensue. The film also features Crane’s Hogan’s co-stars Werner Klemperer, John Banner, and Leon Askin.
Question: A number of years ago, I bought the first season of Murphy Brown on DVD. Are there any plans to release the other seasons?
Answer: Word from the folks at Warner is that there are plans to release the entire series as a single set next year. That would make it 10 seasons (1988-1998), and we shudder at the price of this one. Our guess: $219.99.
Question: First time writer and very pleased you're available to search and inform about old movies. What is the current status of The Heroes Of Telemark starring Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris and, I believe, Michael Redgrave? Will it be available on DVD? If so, when? Thank you for the information you provide. Please continue your good work.
Answer: This exciting 1965 WWII film about the Norwegian Resistance’s thwarting of the Nazis from making a nuclear device is owned by Sony, a studio that is just now getting into putting out library titles with any sense of normal steadiness. Unfortunately, we know that it is not on their list. Instead, look for new titles with Rita Hayworth and movies directed by horror movie great William Castle on the horizon.
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