Some things are set in stone; DVDs are set on tissue paper.
What we are alluding to is the fact that DVDs come and go. They are here one minute and, like Keyser Soze—whoosh!—they are gone.
Discontinued, out-of-print, license expired.
It’s a daily occurrence.
Of course, Movies Unlimited has made it our goal to find out what is no longer available, and then stock up on the title. We’ve become the go-to source for new out-of-print titles for decades.
The goal of this column is to inform customers about the latest DVD titles that are being taken out of circulation and offer folks one last opportunity to make them part of their collection. If history is any indication, this could be your last chance to get these films.
So here’s a list of some of the titles that collector’s love that are fading quickly into the sunset.
Get ‘em before they fade to black, perhaps for good.
Adam’s Rib (1949): The incomparable screen team of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn star in one their best-loved romantic comedies. They are husband and wife lawyers who find themselves on opposite sides of the courtroom during a murder trial. The supporting cast in this George Cukor-directed gem includes Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, David Wayne and Jean Hagen.
City for Conquest (1940): James Cagney plays the truck driver who tries to help out musically gifted brother Arthur Kennedy by putting on the boxing gloves as fighter “Kid Samson” in order to make some money. Ann Sheridan, Anthony Quinn and Donald Crisp co-star in this gritty slice of Lower East Side life.
Khartoum (1966): From the “they don’t make them like they used to” file comes this sweeping historical saga focusing on the rivalry of Muhammad Ahmad (Laurence Olivier), a Sudanese leader who plans to take the city of Khartoum, and General Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston), the legendary British military man bent on stopping him.
Our Man Flint (1965) and In Like Flint (1967): James Coburn is the ultra-cool special agent who uses martial arts, electronic gadgets and other talents to smash bad guys and bed gorgeous women in these sixties spy spoofs. Lee J. Cobb plays his beleaguered boss in these two groovy espionage thrillers in which evil masterminds try to control the weather and ferocious femmes attempt to conquer the world.
The Winning Team (1952): Ronald Reagan aces his role as pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, who battled debilitating illness and alcoholism to make an emotional comeback later in his career and go on to win over 300 games. Doris Day plays his supportive wife and Frank Lovejoy is baseball star Rogers Hornsby in this powerful diamond drama.