Fall is just around the corner, and with it comes a variety of truly impressive DVD and Blu-ray releases. This week’s new offerings include several Clark Gable classics making their DVD debuts, tons of classic and recent TV series, a Disney favorite, and plenty of more great viewing options. Let’s see what the latest and greatest titles are!
Rousing frontier saga stars Clark Gable as Flint Mitchell, a beaver trapper in the 19th-century Midwest who marries the daughter (Maria Elena Marques) of a Blackfoot Indian chief in order to gain safe access to their territories. But will she be merely a means to an end for Mitchell, or could she become much more?. With John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban; directed by William Wellman.
In this superb drama, Clark Gable shines as a casino owner whose love for gambling has resulted in his wife and son turning their backs on him. After going head-on against a tough high-roller in a dice game and stopping some crooks from robbing his establishment-all while dealing with a health crisis-he begins to earn back their respect. With Alexis Smith, Darryl Hickman, Wendell Corey, Audrey Totter.
“Gable’s back and Garson’s got him!” Freewheeling seaman Harry Patterson (Clark Gable) falls in love with sweet San Francisco librarian Emily Sears (Greer Garson). After leaving in search of thrills in another port, Harry returns to find her pregnant and tries to settle down. But will his desire for adventure prove greater than the call of family? Thomas Mitchell, Joan Blondell co-star.
This epic saga is set against the backdrop of the struggle for Texas’ independence following the battle of the Alamo. A cattle tycoon (Clark Gable) is asked by President Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore) to persuade Sam Houston to bring Texas into the Union. Along the way he clashes with an influential politician (Broderick Crawford), while romancing his newspaper editor girlfriend (Ava Gardner). With Beulah Bondi, Moroni Olsen.
“Rid” Riddell (Clark Gable, in his first starring role) is a shady professional gambler who, along with boss Tip Scanlon (Lew Cody), wins big fixing races for Tommy Boy, a horse they’ve recently acquired. But when Tommy Boy wins a race the mob was expecting him to lose, they bump off Tip. Is Rid next on the hit list? Ernest Torrence, Madge Evans co-star in this offbeat drama.
Fresh from a stint in the military, Victor Norman (Clark Gable) takes a job as an advertising executive and finds he must struggle to maintain his integrity and stick to his principles as he discovers the ruthlessness of his new profession. This scathing look at Madison Avenue and its many foibles features a top-notch supporting cast that includes Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, and Ava Gardner.
Dumbo (70th Anniversary Edition)
A magical Walt Disney tale about the shy circus elephant whose big, floppy ears make him the target of ridicule among the other elephants. Dumbo gets lessons in self confidence from his rodent best friend, Timothy Q. Mouse, leading him to the revelation that his ears are actually a wonderful gift that will allow him to fly. Songs include “Pink Elephants on Parade” and “Baby Mine.”
The cameras rolled in New York’s famed Winter Garden Theatre for this film version of the hit Broadway musical comedy. Phil Silvers shines as a TV comic forced to add a “love interest” couple to his variety show who falls for his new female co-star. Along with classic vaudeville skits and jokes, there’s such songs as “My Home Is in My Shoes,” “A Word a Day,” and “If You Want to Be a Top Banana.” Rose Marie, Jack Albertson, Judy Lynn co-star.
This hysterical comedy, based on the Gogol play, stars Danny Kaye as Georgi, a medicine show flunky who’s exiled from his family of Gypsies. He escapes to a small European village, but is soon mistaken for a government agent traveling in disguise to investigate the town’s corrupt officials. As the bumbling bad guys try to knock him off, he may just win over the townsfolk. Elsa Lanchester, Walter Slezak, and Gene Lockhart co-star.
Gripping adventure tale about a Basque peasant (Anthony Quinn) recruited to safely guide a French scientist (James Mason) and his family across the Pyrenees into Spain during World War II. But the most perilous part of the journey is not traversing the harsh mountain landscape but rather staying one step ahead of the ruthless Nazi officer (Malcolm McDowell) in relentless pursuit. Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz, Paul Clemens, and Christopher Lee also star.
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni shine in Vittorio De Sica‘s saucy, comedic trilogy about three women (all played by Loren) who use their sexuality to get what they want from the men (portrayed by Mastroianni) in their lives. The final episode, “Mara,” features Loren’s legendary bedside striptease sequence. Winner of the Best Foreign Film Academy Award.
Kristen Wiig co-wrote and stars in this raunchy comedy from “Freaks and Geeks” creator Paul Feig. Romantically challenged and financially troubled, Annie (Wiig) tries to rise to the occasion when she’s tapped to be her best friend’s (Maya Rudolph) maid of honor. But will Annie’s competition with a controlling bridesmaid (Rose Byrne) bring the wedding plans crashing down? With Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, an uncredited Jon Hamm, and Jill Clayburgh (in her final film).
Wacky Madison Avenue satire about an ad exec (Loretta Swit) who takes a trio of losers who accidentally foiled a bank robbery and puts them at the center of a macho, misogynistic-and wildly successful-campaign for the cash-strapped Norbecker Beer brand. Rip Torn, Kenneth Mars, David Alan Grier, William Russ, and Dick Shawn also star.
Fed up with singing radio jingles for Crunchy-Wunchy cereal, young Joan Abbott (Gale Storm) decides not to renew her contract and enrolls in a small college under the name Susie Smith. “Susie” is able to lay low for awhile, trying her hand at reporting for the campus newspaper. But it’s only a matter of time before her sponsors launch a public campaign to bring her back.Johnny Downs, Robert Lowery co-star in this fun musical comedy. Songs include “Swing Your Way Through College,” “But Not You,” “You Character!,” and more.
This sprawling war drama shot in Libya concerns a British captain (Anthony Steel) in World War II who gets separated from his unit during their retreat through the Libyan desert, but still helps the Arabs fight the Germans. After the war, his younger brother (Donald Sinden), who believed his sibling to be dead, hears a rumor that he may be alive and launches a desperate search to find him. Donald Pleasence and Anna-Maria Sandri co-star.
Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: The Complete Series
Darren McGavin brought Spillane’s two-fisted, wisecracking private detective to small-screen life in this 1957-59 syndicated series. Hammer’s violent (for the time) exploits on the mean streets of New York garnered both fans and detractors, and Angie Dickinson, Ted Knight, and Robert Vaughn were among the guest stars.
Man From Atlantis: The Complete TV Movies Collection
Patrick Duffy starred as Atlantean hero Mark Harris in four made-for-TV movies that aired in 1977, prior to the debut of the weekly series. While investigating the disappearance of three scuba divers, Harris encounters a pair of extra terrestrials heralding an impending invasion, in “The Death Scouts.” With Belinda Montgomery, Kenneth Tigar. Next, hundreds of alien spores take over Harris’ body in an effort to find a way home, unaware that their new host can only survive out of the water for a few hours, in “The Killer Spores.” Montgomery, Tigar, Alan Fudge co-star. And, “The Disappearances” finds Harris’ friend and colleague Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (Montgomery) abducted by a crazed scientist who needs her help on a secret project. Fudge, Tigar, Darleen Carr also star. Two-disc set also includes the pilot movie, “Man from Atlantis.”
Hawaii Five-O: The Eleventh Season
Criminals in the 50th State didn’t stand a chance, thanks to Detective Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) and the men of his elite Hawaii Five-O unit, in this immensely popular 1968-1980 CBS crime drama, filmed on location. Co-starring were James MacArthur as Danny “Danno” Williams, Zulu as Kono Kalakaua, and Kam Fong as Chin Ho Kelly. Be there. Aloha. All 21 episodes from season 11-including “The Sleeper,” “Small Potatoes,” “Why Won’t Linda Die?,” “The Execution File,” and “The Year of the Horse”-are featured in a six-disc set.
Action-packed update of the classic cop drama follows U.S. Navy Reserves officer Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) as he leads a special police task force in the Aloha State. Steve’s team includes the by-the-book Det. Sgt. Daniel “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan); Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim), a disgraced detective falsely accused of corruption; and rookie officer/ex-pro surfer Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park). All 24 episodes from the first season-including the “Pilot,” “Nalowale,” “Palekaiko,” “Powa Maka Moana,” and “Oia’i'o”-are featured in a six-disc set.
The Mentalist: The Complete Third Season
Once, he made his living as a sham psychic, but now, professional “mentalist” Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) is atoning for the deceptions of his fraudulent carny act by offering his expertise as a help to law enforcement after one tragic event upends his life forever. Employing his talents for observation and manipulation, Jane proves invaluable in solving the most baffling of criminal cases. Robin Tunney, Amanda Righetti co-star. All 24 episodes of the third season-including “Red Sky at Night,” “Bloodsport,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “Rhapsody in Red,” and the two-part “Strawberries & Cream”-are featured in a five-disc set.
Mike Biggs (Billy Gardell) is a sweet-natured cop who could stand to lose a few pounds. Molly Flynn (Melissa McCarthy) is a full-figured teacher who also struggles with body issues. When they hit it off at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, Mike and Molly embark on a romance that is beset with disruptions caused by their quirky-but well-meaning-friends and family. Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, and Swoosie Kurtz also star in this sitcom from the producers of “Two and a Half Men.” All 24 episodes from the first season-including the “Pilot,” “Mike Snores,” “Molly Gets a Hat,” “First Valentine’s Day,” and “Peggy’s New Beau”-are featured in a three-disc set.
This controversial eight-part miniseries explores the odyssey of the Kennedy political dynasty with flair and insight, delivering an intimate profile of the presidency of John F. Kennedy (Greg Kinnear) and his relationships with wife Jackie (Katie Holmes) and brother Bobby (Barry Pepper). In addition to fresh looks at the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the civil rights movement, the series focuses on the ambitions and machinations of family patriarch Joseph Kennedy, Sr. (Tom Wilkinson). Diana Hardcastle, Jonathan Whittaker co-star.
Modern Family: The Complete Second Season
What does a “traditional” clan in modern-day America look like? WASP couple Phil and Claire Dunphy (Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen), with three children? Gay adoptive parents Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet)? Or, is today’s nuclear family best represented by the older, white, and rich Jay (Ed O’Neill) and his Colombian bride Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and their young son? Follow the travails and triumphs of these three interlinked households in this smart comedy series. Co-stars Rico Rodriguez, Sarah Hyland. All 24 episodes from season two-including “The Old Wagon,” “Earthquake,” “Two Monkeys and a Panda,” “See You Next Fall,” and “The One That Got Away”-are featured in a three-disc set.
Raising Hope: The Complete First Season
After inadvertently impregnating a wanted felon who gets executed on death row, twentysomething Jimmy (Lucas Neff) is forced to raise his daughter Hope on his own. With the help of his offbeat friends and family-including neurotic mom Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and father/business partner Burt (Garret Dillahunt)-he tries to figure out how to be a good dad. Hilarious sitcom co-stars Shannon Woodward, Cloris Leachman, Gregg Binkley. All 22 episodes from the first season-including the “Pilot,” “Meet the Grandparents,” “Sleep Training,” “Baby Monitor,” and “Don’t Vote for This Episode”-are featured in a three-disc set.
Not to be confused with the sketch comedy series “MADtv,” this animated program from Cartoon Network features all of the mirth and mayhem you expect from Mad magazine. Includes contemporary movie parodies, Spy vs. Spy shorts, cartoons based on the work of Don Martin, celebrity spoofs, Alfred E. Neuman gags, and more laughs from “the usual gang of idiots.” Thirteen episodes from the series-including “Avaturd/CSiCarly,” “Star Blecch/Uglee,” “Fantastic Megan Fox/Mad vs. Wild,” “I Love You, Iron Man/Ben 10 Franklin,” and “Snot Pilgrim/Malcolm in the Middle Earth”-are featured in this release.
For details and availability of more of this week’s new releases, click here.
Here’s a look at last week’s new releases.