tcmviewer

Agreed with movielovers regarding the Moto films. Fox had restored all of the Moto films in addition to the Chan films but only one of the restorations ever made it on air (it was a beautiful print of the first film in the series). Also agreed with johnnyweekes70 about it never hurts to express the desire to see a commercial release. If you don't ask for it, you won't get it! Warner Home Video has made it clear that they do listen to consumer input. For example, Storm Warning is coming to DVD next year solely on the basis of customer requests! Of course the folks at Fox have ignored all the requests they get to release the Chan movies.

There is a very well written lengthy article about WW in the August issue of Classic Images magazine. It's well worth the read considering virtually no biographical material exists on this guy. Borders and Barnes & Noble carry this magazine.

Johnnyweekes70 - sorry to disappoint, but Fox is not releasing the 3rd Michael Shayne film. The Dressed to Kill release is a colorized version of the public domain Sherlock Holmes film. Fox's intitial press release cited the wrong year for this title which has caused all kinds of confusion amongst retailers, etc. Regarding Boston **** and Lone Wolf. I am fortunate in that I have copies of most of these films and they are great. Chester Morris and Warren William look like they had a ball making these. Eric Blore was perfect as the Lone Wolf's butler. Most of my copies were sourced from 1990s showings of these films on the Encore Mystery Channel (which also showed Columbia's Crime Doctor series). To my knowledge these haven't been on TV anywhere since. It's a shame because most of the prints looked to be in very good shape although I have copies of copies so they're not as good as I'd like. Classic films do sell quite well on DVD, but Columbia is one studio whose classic product is not well represented on DVD. I don't have any hope of these being released commercially.

Thanks to TCMProgrammer for being forthright about what happened. We all make mistakes, but owning up to them takes character and class. Now off to watch tonight's excellent lineup of horror/comedies. Thanks again.

Hi, I turned on TCM tonight in anticipation of catching the (hopefully) improved version of Way Out West only to find to my horror that it was once again the unwatchable colorized version with the color turned off. What happened? I thought Hallmark was supposed to be providing TCM with the correct B&W print this time. I'm sorry to say that I turned off the TV when I saw the colorized notation come on the screen. Thanks in advance for any insight into this. It is most appreciated!

Quote: "Apparently Stan did not care for it" No he didn't. He'd been dead for several months when it was put together.

I'll first caveat this by saying that I no longer watch the Fox Movie Channel. Their censorship of the Chan and Moto movies made them persona non grata in my book. However, pre-ban, I wasn't too terribly impressed either. As the prior poster indicated, they only show a couple of good movies a week. They don't even run the Laurel and Hardy films owned by Fox. Their "Hour of Stars" was interesting though. If there are Fox films you enjoy I would take the money you would spend for a subscription and and use it to rent Fox DVDs instead. They have a "Studio Classics" line that consists of some great films mixed in with some clunkers. They also started a "Noir" line recently that looks promising.

Quote: "Thanks...can TCM eventually expand their library or possibly rent some of these classic films out? ... I think expanding the library would be something to think about in the future." Unfortunately it's not as easy as that. As someone else said, it costs money for TCM to license movies owned by other studios and their programming budget only allows for for so many dollars to be spent on this. Another hurdle that has to be cleared is that the other studio has to be willing to deal. For example, "3 Faces of Eve" is a Fox title. Fox is probably not going to want to let TCM air this when they can air it on their own channel. That would be like Ford giving Chevy some of Ford's best features to put on Chevy cars. Since Columbia and Paramount don't have their own channels, their classic films are more likely to be shown on TCM. I myself have requested that TCM try to broker a deal to show a lot of the Columbia mystery series (Boston ****, Lone Wolf, Crime Doctor) that don't get aired on other networks. As for TCM's library, I've also requested that Warren William be given spotlight treatment so that some of his rarely shown pre-codes and his "The Case of the Howling Dog" can get shown.

The October schedule looks great to me. Tons of Val Lewton, Hitchcock (including early British films), and some great 30s horror flicks. TCM is a Warner company. The do not have the Universal catalog at their immediate disposal. There are licensing considerations that dictate what they can show. Personally I'd rather have TCM show all the hidden gems that they do than a series of Universal horror flicks that are readily available on home video at cheap prices. Keep up the good work TCM.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek has been announced for release later this year. Warners has announced that more Cagney is on the way. Restoration issues have slowed the progress on some of these. Although Warners hasn't said anything, it's a safe bet that a Powell/Loy boxset of non Thin Man films will be coming eventually (all were released on VHS). Fox is sitting on a goldmine with the Charlie Chan films that they refuse to release so that's my pick for classic movies not yet on DVD. I'm not concerned about Warner titles. As long as George Feltenstein is alive and at the helm, WHV will continue doing a great job.

As Bollywood101 indicated, these aren't Warner films so TCM would have license them. The Encore Mystery channel did show a number of the Warren William entries several years back so that's where a lot of "collector's copies" originate from. Unfortunately Encore Mystery no longer shows classic films. Eric Blore is a delight in these films which are quite fun in their own right. Mike Shayne is a Fox series. Since Fox won't even acknowledge their Chan/Moto films I doubt they'd trot out these films. The Whistler (Dix), like Boston **** (Morris), is another Columbia series which has seemingly become "lost" over time since Columbia doesn't have an outlet for their classic films. I would love for TCM to see if they could make a deal with Columbia to do what was suggested below (have a festival of classic detective series).

Many, if not all of the Warner Powell/Loy films were released on VHS. I've got to believe that Mr. Feltenstein has a Powell/Loy Signature Collection somewhere in the pipeline.

TCMProgrammer already answered the question. They don't own the film and have to pay a licensing fee to Paramount to show it, assuming that Paramount is willing to license it out. Sometimes studios withhold permission for one reason or another. Sometimes they ask too much money. I'm sure the rental fee for WofW was raised because of the publicity from this new movie. I don't know what TCM has to pay on an annual basis for licensing films not in their library, but I'm sure it's a very high number. Most TCM viewers, myself included, appreciate the hard work that TCMProgrammer does to bring a great variety of programming to our TV. That is what gives.

Welcome! Love those type of movies also. TCM actually does a great job of programming these types of movies; at least the ones in the Warners library. The Falcon, Saint, Torchy Blane, and Perry Mason movies all air from time to time. I'm still waiting for "The Case of the Howling Dog" to make a reappearance on TCM; it's been awhile. I would love to see TCM license the Boston **** and Crime Doctor films from Columbia and air them. Those are great movies. Good prints exist; Encore Mystery aired them several years ago when few people had that channel. The Lone Wolf series, starring Mr. Reliable, Warren William, is another great mystery series that Columbia produced. Eric Blore provided the comic relief in these. I doubt you'll see the Chan & Moto films on TCM. Fox owns those and has pretty much locked them in the vaults for good (they refuse even to license these out for DVD release). Needless to say, I think Fox should be ashamed of the way they're treating these films.

Another thumbs up for "The Mouthpiece". I am continually amazed at how good an actor William was. I absolutely agree with the prior post in that it's surprising that William's name doesn't come up more. I'm sure it probably has to with the fact (a) he died young and never became familiar to audiences of the 50s which in turn spawned the filmgoers of today and ( until TCM, there was no real outlet for his movies. My Saturday afternoons in the 70s/80s were filled with Tarzan, Charlie Chan, Bowery Boys etc. but I don't recall seeing any of his films. On another part of this message board I requested that the TCMProgrammer please consider WW for "Star of the Month" status at some point. It would go a long ways to educating people about this underrated talent. Maybe if Warners includes some of his pre-codes in their upcoming pre-code box in 2006 that'll help also.

It does help TCMProgrammer. I understand what you are saying and I do sincerely appreciate your reply. Hopefully more of the Monogram titles can make it to TCM in the future. I know that you had a Bowery Boys series several years ago and the East Side Kids features were regulars about a year ago. Thank you.

Hi, I understand that Warner Brothers owns most of the Allied Artist/Monogram library, including the final 11 Charlie Chan films (with Sidney Toler and Roland Winters). However these don't show up in your libary. Is there a legal reason that these films are not in your library or is it simply the case the libary database doesn't include the Monogram library. (I couldn't get the Bowery Boys, which Warners also owns and plans to release to DVD, to come up either.) Additionally, are there any plans to air the Monogram Chans (or any Monogram films) in the near future? Thank you!

The Dragon Murder Case is great fun if you like "B" movie detective films. The great Eugene Pallette is in it too. Warren William has the distinction of being (I think) the only actor to play 3 different legendary detectives. He also was Perry Mason in 4 films and was the Lone Wolf in over a dozen pictures. IIRC, there is a blooper in this film. In a scene inside a taxi William and another fellow alternate hats between shots. I've not seen "The Mouthpiece" but I'm really looking forward to it. I actually don't mind the odd time slots. It makes it easier to record them without intruding on other family members' viewing habits.

Sounds like Bonnie Scotland.

I agree with the prior posters, this doesn't sound like a problem with TCM. It sounds like a problem with the service provider or perhaps the hook-up to the TV. I have none of these problems with my TCM reception and haven't seen any discussion of problems at the various classic movie boards I frequent (where TCM is often mentioned).

Warren William has become perhaps my favorite "classic" male movie star. It's a shame that almost nobody today knows who he is. He was always good playing off a sidekick whether it was Allen Jenkins or (especially) Eric Blore. An earlier post mentioned puffiness from alcoholism. Is that correct? It was my understanding he had skin cancer (which ultimately killed him at a young age) and that was what accounted for his poor appearance in later years.

George Feltenstein has promised a "major" Pre-Code DVD box set for 2006 with "surprises". I would bet that "Baby Face" will be included given the information in the original poster's message. Hopefully some Warren William flicks will find thier way into this set as well. Whatever the titles, this is probably going to be my most anticipated Warners box set for 2006.

TCM does a wonderful job spotlighting performers that the general public may not be familiar with. Where else are you going to see these movies?? You may be happy to know that Warner Brothers is releasing the Rutherford Marple films on DVD at some point. However the date and details aren't known. My information comes from a 2004 online chat that George "the Classic Movie God" Feltenstein had with the hometheaterforum.com website. Mr. Feltenstein and tcmprogrammer qualify for sainthood in my book. They understand what so many others dont: there is a sizable market for classic films.

These type of movies are the reason why films SHOULD be stored on flammable nitrate stock

This is available in a great DVD from Warner Brothers that was released last year as part of a major Hitchcock release program. It is widescreen; I'm not sure of the exact aspect ratio but it looks like 1.85:1. The DVD is not obviously not 3D though. Also, as an FYI: you can check to see if a particular title is on DVD by checking a major e-tailer like Amazon or www.deepdiscountdvd.com.