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A criminal quintet pulling a train heist; a shape-shifting magician who entrances a frontier town; the hunt for a demented killer; a light-hearted contemporary noir whodunit; and a hard-ridin’ twinbill with college football star-turned-screen cowpoke Johnny Mack Brown. These are just a few of the collector’s titles coming in Blu-ray later this month from the good folk at Warner Archive. Check out the complete roster of May goodies below:
The 5-Man Army (1969) -In the tradition of “The Magnificent Seven” comes this Euro-western set during the Mexican Revolution and showcasing Peter Graves as a mercenary who pulls together four specialist friends (a strongman, a dynamite expert, a sword specialist, and an acrobatic fighter) to rescue a revolutionary, then rob a train carrying gold dust. With Bud Spencer, James Daly, Claudio Gora; reportedly co-directed by Dario Argento. 105 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English (dubbed) DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes the original theatrical trailer.
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) – In an acting tour de force, Tony Randall stars as aged Chinese mystic and circus impresario Dr. Lao, who uses magic and some bizarre transformations to help the frontier town of Abalone, Arizona, overcome land-hungry railroad baron Clint Stark (Arthur O’Connell). Director George Pal’s (“The Time Machine”) unique blend of western and fantasy, loosely based on the novel “The Circus of Dr. Lao” by Charles G. Finney, co-stars Barbara Eden, John Ericson. 100 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes the original theatrical trailer, a bonus “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, and The King of the Duplicators (1968), a featurette on makeup wizard William Tuttle.
Follow Me Quietly (1949) – Hard-hitting film noir thriller about a mysterious serial killer called “the Judge” who preys on those he believes to be evil, only strikes on rainy nights, and favors strangulation. A dedicated police lieutenant (William Lundigan) is tasked with tracking him down, but his investigation may be hampered by a nosy–but easy on the eyes–tabloid reporter (Dorothy Patrick). Jeff Corey, Charles D. Brown, Edwin Max also star; directed by Richard Fleischer and an uncredited Anthony Mann. 59 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes the original theatrical trailer and the “Crime Does Not Pay” shorts Dark Shadows (1944) and The Last Installment (1945).
It’s a Wise Child (1931) – Joyce Stanton (Marion Davies) had her fill of her stuffy, small-town gentry family and their plans to marry her off to a much older banker. As she tries to help her brother Bill (Ben Alexander) stave off scandal from his secret marriage to in-trouble family maid Annie (Marie Prevost), the community’s wagging tongues mistakenly believe Joyce is the pregnant one…and she’s going to leverage that to her advantage. Cheeky, long-unseen pre-Code farce co-stars Sidney Blackmer, James Gleason, Polly Moran. 83 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes two bonus Bosko Warner Bros. cartoons and the short subjects Crazy House (1930) and The Rounder (1930).
The Late Show (1977) – Aging, low-rent Los Angeles private eye Ira Wells (Art Carney) answered his door to find old colleague Harry Regan (Howard Duff) shot and breathing his last. Ira’s hunt for the truth brings him to Harry’s last client—flighty new-ager Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin), who’d hired him to find her cat—and from there, into an improbable web of blackmail and murder. Robert Benton’s overlooked, complex and engaging homage to ’40s-style detective yarns also stars Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, Joanna Cassidy. 93 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes the original theatrical trailer and an 1977 excerpt of Tomlin on the Dinah! show.
Monogram Matinee, Volume 3 – Just-hired ranchhand Dusty Smith (Johnny Mack Brown) faced a murder rap for killing one of the rustlers plaguing his boss. Can old buddy Santa Fe Jones (Raymond Hatton) spring him and track down the hidden mastermind behind the ring? Under Arizona Skies (1946) co-stars Reno Browne, Riley Hill. Then, cowpuncher Brown seeks Range Justice (1949) when a corrupt foreman (Fred Kohler, Jr.) tries to ruin the boss widow’s (Sarah Padden) spread. Max Terhune, Tristram Coffin co-star. 116 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH).
Possessed (1931) -Hollywood censors blanched at this Pre-Code soaper, which tells the story of an affair between thrill-seeking factory worker Marian Martin (Joan Crawford) and rich attorney Mark Whitney (Clark Gable). Will Marian come to regret moving to New York City and letting her heart take her to scandalous depths of moral turpitude? Crawford and Gable are at their best in a film which was considered unusually frank for its time. Also stars Wallace Ford, Frank Conroy. 76 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English DTS HD mono Master Audio; Subtitles: English (SDH). Includes a bonus Bosko Warner Bros. cartoon and the “Dogville” short Love-Tails of Morocco (1931).
And last, but certainly not least:
Looney Tunes Cartoons!: The Complete Series (2020-24) – Crafted for HBO Max over 2020-24, this reboot series developed by Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) presented Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety and Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and the rest of the Warner Bros. animation mainstays in short-form cartoons laden with old-school energy. Eric Bauza, Bob Bergen, Jeff Bergman, Fred Tatasciore, Candi Milo provided voices. All 82 episodes are included in a six-disc set. 17 1/3 hrs. total. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround. Includes bonus Olympics-themed shorts.
Each of these titles streets on May 26 (except for Looney Tunes Cartoons!, which will be released on May 19). Follow the above links to pre-order them from Movies Unlimited, and stay tuned to these pages for more new release updates from Warner Archive and other companies.