Question: Will the 1936 Show Boat be put on DVD in the near future? The film was available on Laserdisc several years ago and I consider it the best version of the musical.
Answer: Many people share your opinion that the James Whale-directed adaptation of the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein musical is Hollywood’s best take on the tale. Certainly, that cast of Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Paul Robeson and Butterfly McQueen is tough to beat. But there are fans of the 1951 edition with Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel and William Warfield doing justice to “Ol’ Man River.” For your information, there is also a 1929 version, an early talkie. Word is Warner has been working on some sort of set that encompasses at least the 1936 and 1951 versions, but no word on a release date yet.
Question: In regard to your article on Jeff Bridges, Thunderbolt andLightfoot is a classic that I never get tired of watching. Bridges’ portrayal of a young wide-eyed kid out for the time of his life was a cinematic gem. He was the perfect foil for Eastwood and George Kennedy. I’m laughing now at his disguised blonde getting the make on the time keeper. Who beat him for the Oscar?
Answer: Bridges got his second nomination for Best Supporting Actor (his first was for 1971’s The Last Picture Show) for this quirky 1974 Eastwood caper effort that was directed by the pre-Deer Hunter Michael Cimino. He lost to Robert De Niro, playing the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II.
Question: Do you have any when or if the movies of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are going to be released on DVD any time soon?
Answer: The MGM musicals of the dynamic duo have been getting more requests of late than Song of the South. Warner Brothers has been working on the project of getting a set of the singing screen couple’s films together for a while—several years, actually—but there is no end in sight to the project. Pristine prints and appropriate extras seem to be the holdup.
Question: Any chance we’ll get Viva Zapata or Winged Victory on DVD? Are there rights problems?
Answer: We did some investigating, and could not find any rights problems with Zapata, the fine historical drama from Elia Kazan starring Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn and Jean Peters. We’ll write this one off as an oversight from Fox, even though it has been announced and pulled from its release schedule before. As for Winged Victory, the estate of writer Moss Hart had control over its distribution. Hart’s wife Kitty Carlisle passed away in 2007, so she would have been part of that. We’re really not sure where the rights lie at this point other than with their children. For the record, the 1944 film—which Hart did not want audiences to see—is said to have great flying sequences and showcases an all-star cast that includes Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, Lee J. Cobb, Edmund O’Brien, Karl Malden, George Reeves and Judy Holliday.
Question: Any word on whether Glenn Ford’s The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain will be released on DVD in widescreen?
Answer: Good news. The terrific Ford psychological sagebrusher is available and, happy to say, is in widescreen. We love Ford and Broderick Crawford (as the bad guy) in this underrated film.
Question: What is the holdup on the release of Porgy and Bess? I understand Sidney Poitier may have something to do with its hold-up. Also, I would like to see Anne Francis in Lydia Bailey on DVD as well.
Answer: Rumors abound about the absence of Porgy and Bess on DVD, but the real reason rests on the estates of two participants in the movie. In short, both producer Samuel Goldwyn and composer George Gershwin were unhappy with the film for different reasons, and elected to not have it accessible to the viewing public. In addition, the film is said to be in desperate need of restoration work. Unfortunately, there are no other plans to remedy any of these situations in the future. As for Lydia Bailey, Fox holds the rights to the film, but has, sadly, slowed down on their archive releases. We have received a few calls for this 1952 period drama starring Francis (Honey West) and Dale Robertson. It may have something to do with its exotic Haiti setting.
Question: I remember a movie that had bad robots that I think came from Venus. I remember the robots all being in a bus terminal. In the end, the survivors drove around in a jeep with a high-pitched noise that disabled the robots. Any idea what this movie is?
Answer: We would almost guarantee the movie is 1954’s Target: Earth, an effective, low-budget sci-fi yarn that is currently out of print on DVD. The film creeped out a lot of baby boomers, featured veteran character actor Whit Bissell, and was produced by Herman Cohen (I Was a Teenage Werewolf).
Question: To me, Raquel Welch in the 1960s and 1970s was the most beautiful woman ever to grace the screen. I am trying to track down a western she was in that also starred Ernest Borgnine and involved her trying to find a group of criminals who killed her husband.
Answer: Sound s like Hannie Caulder to us. Raquel plays a western woman who seeks the help of bounty hunter Robert Culp to track down the culprits who killed her hubby and raped her. Borgnine is one of the black hats, along with Jack Elam and Strother Martin. As you mentioned, Raquel is quite gorgeous in western threads—and even less, and the recently deceased Culp is terrific as the aging mercenary. The good news is that the 1972 film is one of the first studio releases from Olive Films, slated to be on DVD at the end of July.
Question: Has anyone seen a copy of Il Mondo Di Notte, AKA World By Night? It was originally released by Warner Brothers. I am desperately seeking a copy because my relatives are in the movie.
Answer: Warner distributed the 1959 film in theaters, but from what we can tell, they don’t own its DVD rights. It’s a Mondo-type travelogue around the world centering on such subjects as dancing whales, strippers and performing dogs. Unfortunately, it seems to have fallen off all radar screens, although Ryko’s Mya label seems to specialize in this sort of Italian film. Incidentally, it was written by Gualtiero Jacopetti, who also directed the notorious international hit Mondo Cane.
Question: I am looking for a release of the 1942 film Kid Glove Killer with Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt and Lee Bowman. Hopefully, this will be issued on DVD.
Answer: Being a 1940s title from MGM, Warner holds the rights, which makes it a candidate for their Archive collection. While we’ve never seen it, it sure sounds interesting: the always great Heflin plays a criminologist attempting to solve the murder of a reform mayor. What makes this especially interesting is that it was one of the first American films of Austria’s Fred Zinnemann, who would go on to helm High Noon, The Day of the Jackal, From Here to Eternity and Oklahoma!