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Classic movie fans, rejoice. Warner Archive has just announced its slate of Blu-ray new releases for February. While the snow piles up outside, you’ll be nice and warm in the African jungle with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, as well as Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly. There’ll be sinister shadows on a long winter’s night as Peter Lorre stars in a suspense gem that helped give birth to Film Noir. And you’ll be howling with laughter as a misunderstood wolf tries to make friends in the last theatrical cartoon series from the Hanna-Barbera studio.
Tarzan and His Mate (1934) – Jungle lord Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) returns in a hair-raising adventure, the second installment in the MGM series. The Ape Man, his British gal-pal, Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan), and their chimp chum Cheeta see their exotic lifestyle threatened by the arrival of Jane’s ex-beau (Neil Hamilton) and his ivory-hunting pal (Paul Cavanagh). This restored version features O’Sullivan’s long-unseen revealing swimming scene. With Forrester Harvey, Nathan Curry. Also includes the MGM shorts The Spectacle Maker and What Price Jazz and the original theatrical trailer.
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) – After testifying in a murder case, rising reporter Mike Ward (John McGuire) is haunted by the possibility that the wrong man was convicted. When another killing occurs, a guilt-stricken Ward now knows who is responsible but will need help to prove it–especially when he becomes a suspect. Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, Jr., Margaret Tallichet, Charles Waldron also star in director Boris Ingster’s moody crime drama, often considered the first “true” Film Noir. Also includes three episodes of the radio series Mystery of the Air featuring Lorre.
Mogambo (1953) – An African safari offers danger and romance for veteran big game hunter Victor Marswell (Clark Gable), in director John Ford’s thrilling adventure, shot on location in East Africa and based on Gable’s 1932 film “Red Dust.” In the heart of the Kenyan jungle, Marswell finds himself in the middle of a love triangle, drawn to both a brash stranded showgirl (Ava Gardner) and an anthropologist’s bored wife (Grace Kelly). With Donald Sinden, Philip Stainton. Also includes the “Tom and Jerry” cartoon Just Ducky, the “James A. Fitzpatrick Traveltalks” short Land of the Ugly Duckling, and the original theatrical trailer.
Loopy De Loop: The Complete Collection – From 1959 to 1965, as their success in TV animation exploded, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera kept their hand in theatrical cartoons with the misadventures of Loopy De Loop (voiced by Daws Butler), a good-natured French-Canadian wolf out to salvage his species’ image through random acts of kindness. His single-handed campaign always managed to backfire on him. All 48 shorts are featured in this two-disc set.
Each of these titles features new 4K restoration and will street on February 24 (follow the above links to pre-order them from Movies Unlimited). Stay tuned to MovieFanFare for more new release announcements from Warner Archive and other companies.