Mark your calendars, because the weeks and months ahead are going to be packed with DVD and Blu-ray releases of vintage films that you are going to want to add to your home viewing libraries. Companies like KL Studio Classic, Reel Vault, the Warner Archive Collection, and the Criterion Collection are dedicated to preserving film classics so that future generations can experience the wonder and timeless storytelling of all varieties of cinema. Here’s ten upcoming releases we think you’ll love…always.
Suspected Person (available on August 7th from Reel Vault)
Fast-paced British crime drama follows Jim Raynor (Cliffor Evans), an English reporter who double-crosses a pair of crooks (Robert Beatty and Eric Clavering) and winds up in possession of the $50,000 they stole in a New York City bank heist. Heading back to London, Raynor seeks help from his sister (Patricia Roc) and nightclub singer squeeze (Anne Firth), but soon finds himself pursued by the criminals and a Scotland Yard detective (David Farrar).
The Face of Marble (available on August 7th from Reel Vault)
Dr. Charles Randolph’s (John Carradine) obsessive quest to bring the dead back to life has actually yielded some success, minor and temporary though it may be. A simmering attraction between the doc’s wife (Claudia Drake) and his young assistant (Robert Shayne), a re-animated dog that can now pass through walls, and a creepy housekeeper (Rosa Rey) who likes voodoo make for a delightfully diabolical horror outing from Monogram Pictures. With Maris Wrixon, Willie Best.
Way Back Home (available on August 14th from the Warner Archive Collection)
Kindly Maine backwoods preacher Seth Parker (Phillips Lord) always had sage advice for his neighbors, and he’ll need all his wisdom and wit when the young ward (Frankie Darro) he’d raised from infancy gets snatched by the abusive and alcoholic father (Stanley Field) who’d abandoned him. Homespun screen vehicle for radio pioneer Lord’s popular broadcast persona co-stars Frank Albertson, Dorothy Peterson and, in one of her earliest performances, Bette Davis.
China Passage (available on August 21st from the Warner Archive Collection)
Soldier of fortune Tom Baldwin (Vinton Haworth) was providing security for the delivery of a priceless diamond to Shanghai…and it didn’t go well, as the bauble was swiped during a gunfight. The trail takes him to a San Francisco-bound, suspect-packed freighter, where he teams with U.S. customs agent Jane Dunn (Constance Worth) for a perilous pursuit of the prize. Atmospheric thriller co-stars Leslie Fenton, Gordon Jones, Joyce Compton, Philip Ahn, Alec Craig.
The Last Hunt (available on August 21st from the Warner Archive Collection)
Though the buffalo population of the Dakotas was decimated by the 1800s, grasping gunslinger Charlie Gilson (Robert Taylor) thought there was still money to be made in hides, and forged an alliance with world-weary hunter Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger). Gilson’s racism and bloodthirst toward the Native American locals, however, might ensure the partnership will end in blood. Richard Brooks’ stunning psychological frontier saga co-stars Lloyd Nolan, Debra Paget, Russ Tamblyn.
The Go-Getter (available on August 21st from the Warner Archive Collection)
His heroism in the wake of a dirigible crash cost Bill Austin (George Brent) a leg, and his Naval future…but his optimistic determination wasn’t lost on San Francisco lumber magnate Cappy Ricks (Charles Winninger), who chose to roll the dice on the job seeker. However, Cappy’s daughter Margaret (Anita Louise) wanted to take a chance on him as well…and the possessive dad started rolling out the roadblocks on the relationship! Inspiring comedy co-stars John Eldredge, Henry O’Neill; Busby Berkeley directs.
The Girl Downstairs (available on August 21st from the Warner Archive Collection)
Barred from seeing his heiress girlfriend (Rita Johnson) by her disapproving dad (Walter Connolly), a crafty playboy (Franchot Tone) finagles access to the house by pretending to be a neighboring chauffeur…and flirting with a newly hired maid (Franciska Gaal). His scheme backfires, though, as she develops real feelings for him–and he reciprocates. Sweet romantic farce, remade from a 1936 Hungarian starring vehicle for import Gaal, co-stars Reginald Gardiner, Reginald Owen, Franklin Pangborn.
Heaven Can Wait (available on August 21st from The Criterion Collection)
Delightful fantasy/comedy from Ernst Lubitsch that despite its title opens in the “other place,” where deceased womanizer Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) renews his exploits with the Devil while waiting to learn his afterlife destination. Gene Tierney also stars as Henry’s wife, Martha; with Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Eugene Pallette, and Laird Cregar as the Satanic “His Excellency.”
The Farmer’s Daughter (available on September 25th from KL Studio Classics)
Bilked of her school tuition and stranded in D.C., determined Midwesterner Katie Holstrom (Best Actress Oscar-winning Loretta Young) took a domestic’s job in the home of Rep. Glenn Morley (Joseph Cotten)…and it wasn’t long before the congressman was smitten with her common-sense ways. Unfortunately for him, so were his party’s bosses–who started boosting her for public office! Long-demanded charmer also stars Ethel Barrymore, Charles Bickford, Rose Hobart, Rhys Williams.
Ace in the Hole (available on October 2nd from The Criterion Collection)
Billy Wilder’s biting, ahead-of-its-time commentary on the sensationalized nature of the news media stars Kirk Douglas as struggling, unscrupulous Albuquerque reporter Chuck Tatum, who eyes a chance at fame when he breaks the story of a man trapped in a mine. Teaming with the local sheriff, Tatum schemes to prolong the rescue effort until the story gains national notoriety. Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Ray Teal also star. AKA: “The Big Carnival.”