PrinceSaliano Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 It was nice to see a Paramount film from 1942 on the schedule. However, Paramount released 35 other features that year. When will the Universal/Paramount Bs be freed from the vaults? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 It was nice to see a Paramount film from 1942 on the schedule. However, Paramount released 35 other features that year. When will the Universal/Paramount Bs be freed from the vaults? Those films are not available as DVDs? I ask because if NOT then this really lowers the odds TCM can lease them. If they have been available as DVD for a few years, then the odds increase TCM could lease them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Paramount Victory Short No. T2-3: The Price of Victory (1942) ... Production Company Lucky Jordan (1942) ... Production Company The Fighting Spirit (1942) ... Production Company Fuel Conservation (1942) ... Production Company Japanese Relocation (1942) ... Production Company Road to Morocco (1942) ... Production Company (as Paramount Pictures Inc.) My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942) ... Production Company The Palm Beach Story (1942) ... Production Company Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942) ... Production Company I Married a Witch (1942) ... Production Company Paramount Victory Short No. T2-2: We Refuse to Die (1942) ... Production Company The Forest Rangers (1942) ... Production Company The Glass Key (1942) ... Production Company (as Paramount Pictures Inc.) Sports I.Q. (1942) ... Production Company Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6 (1942) ... Production Company Street of Chance (1942) ... Production Company Henry Aldrich, Editor (1942) ... Production Company The Major and the Minor (1942) ... Production Company (A Paramount Picture) A Letter from Bataan (1942) ... Production Company (for) Timber Athletes (1942) ... Production Company The Man's Angle (1942) ... Production Company Wake Island (1942) ... Production Company Holiday Inn (1942) ... Production Company (as Paramount Pictures Inc.) Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 5 (1942) ... Production Company Priorities on Parade (1942) ... Production Company Let 'Em Go Alive! (1942) ... Production Company Sweater Girl (1942) ... Production Company Night in New Orleans (1942) ... Production Company Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942) ... Production Company Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4 (1942) ... Production Company Parachute Athletes (1942) ... Production Company Are Husbands Necessary? (1942) ... Production Company Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die (1942) ... Production Company Keeping in Shape (1942) ... Production Company Henry and Dizzy (1942) ... Production Company Speaking of Animals and Their Families (1942) ... Production Company The Quiz Kids No. Q1-5 (1942) ... Production Company Hero Worship (1942) ... Production Company This Gun for Hire (1942) ... Production Company Dr. Broadway (1942) ... Production Company Mr. Strauss Takes a Walk (1942) ... Production Company Take a Letter, Darling (1942) ... Production Company Personality Plus (1942) ... Production Company The Quiz Kids No. Q1-4 (1942) ... Production Company Popular Science No. J-1-4 (1942) ... Production Company My Favorite Blonde (1942) ... Production Company (as Paramount Pictures Inc.) Sky Princess (1942) ... Production Company True to the Army (1942) ... Production Company The Witness (1942) ... Production Company Timing Is Everything (1942) ... Production Company Reap the Wild Wind (1942) ... Production Company Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) ... Production Company The Remarkable Andrew (1942) ... Production Company Unusual Occupations L-1-3, No. 3 (1942) ... Production Company Jasper and the Watermelons (1942) ... Production Company The Great Man's Lady (1942) ... Production Company Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 3 (1942) ... Production Company Lure of the Surf (1942) ... Production Company The Quiz Kids No. Q1-3 (1942) ... Production Company Popular Science No. J-1-3 (1942) ... Production Company Tulips Shall Grow (1942) ... Production Company The Fleet's In (1942) ... Production Company Better Bowling (1942) ... Production Company The Lady Has Plans (1942) ... Production Company Fly-By-Night (1942) ... Production Company Safeguarding Military Information (1942) ... Production Company Nothing But Nerves (1942) ... Production Company Popular Science (1942/I) ... Production Company Popular Science (1942/II) ... Production Company Unusual Occupations (1942/I) ... Production Company Unusual Occupations (1942/II) ... Production Company Unusual Occupations (1942/III) ... Production Company USS VD: Ship of Shame (1942) ... Production Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Those films are not available as DVDs? I ask because if NOT then this really lowers the odds TCM can lease them. If they have been available as DVD for a few years, then the odds increase TCM could lease them. They are NOT available on DVD and apparently not for lease either. For some reason, Universal/Paramount is coming very late to the party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 They are NOT available on DVD and apparently not for lease either. For some reason, Universal/Paramount is coming very late to the party. What about all those links Fred provided? They look to be links for selling DVDs of those Paramount films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 They are NOT available on DVD and apparently not for lease either. For some reason, Universal/Paramount is coming very late to the party. At first it was unclear to me as to why Fred posted all these links, then I realized they are all from 1942. It appears that some from Fred's IMDB list are in fact on DVD, or were at some point, as the picture artwork indicates. (Some might have only been on VHS.) Not all are though, and the links certainly didn't take me to any online DVD store. Having said that, I have been impressed with TCM's output of hard to find older films. Perhaps some of them are tied up in legal disputes, perhaps some are deemed "uninteresting" (all the reason more to unearth it, blow the dust off, and show it), and perhaps some of them don't exist anymore. My own wish list includes the early output of Fox Film Corp, before they merged and became Twentieth Century Fox (now "20th" C.F.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 At first it was unclear to me as to why Fred posted all these links, then I realized they are all from 1942. It appears that some from Fred's IMDB list are in fact on DVD, or were at some point, as the picture artwork indicates. (Some might have only been on VHS.) Not all are though, and the links certainly didn't take me to any online DVD store. Having said that, I have been impressed with TCM's output of hard to find older films. Perhaps some of them are tied up in legal disputes, perhaps some are deemed "uninteresting" (all the reason more to unearth it, blow the dust off, and show it), and perhaps some of them don't exist anymore. My own wish list includes the early output of Fox Film Corp, before they merged and became Twentieth Century Fox (now "20th" C.F.). It appears the links are to the IMDB page for the films in question. If it is available for watching or purchase, IMDB provides a link. F'rinstance: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035432/ Look under the illustration for the link to Amazon.com. I imagine other outlets, like Movies Unlimited, would also have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 It appears the links are to the IMDB page for the films in question. If it is available for watching or purchase, IMDB provides a link. F'rinstance: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035432/ Look under the illustration for the link to Amazon.com. I imagine other outlets, like Movies Unlimited, would also have them. Yup, that was my main outlet, and still is, for when I am not feeling like a tapir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 At first it was unclear to me as to why Fred posted all these links, then I realized they are all from 1942. It appears that some from Fred's IMDB list are in fact on DVD, or were at some point, as the picture artwork indicates. (Some might have only been on VHS.) Not all are though, and the links certainly didn't take me to any online DVD store. Having said that, I have been impressed with TCM's output of hard to find older films. Perhaps some of them are tied up in legal disputes, perhaps some are deemed "uninteresting" (all the reason more to unearth it, blow the dust off, and show it), and perhaps some of them don't exist anymore. My own wish list includes the early output of Fox Film Corp, before they merged and became Twentieth Century Fox (now "20th" C.F.). My wish list for films TCM should show more would include 30s and early 40's Columbia films, 40's Paramount films, and late 40's and 50's Fox noirs But hey, maybe early Fox Film Corp movies also since I don't recall seeing many of those. One can't know if there is a gem there or not if they can't see them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 The point of this thread is to call attention to the fact that the vast majority of Universal/Paramount features (1929-46) are NOT available on DVD and probably not available to TCM for lease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 What about all those links Fred provided? They look to be links for selling DVDs of those Paramount films. That's IMDB's list of 1942 Paramount films and shorts. Seems that many have been shown on TCM several times, while others are totally unknown. Same goes for 40, 41, 43, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I see that WC Fields made several classic films at Paramount. I haven't seen these films since I saw them at a major WC Fields film festival at a large theater in Berkeley in the late 1960s. The prints were high quality 35 mm, and they showed just about every film Fields made. I've seen only a couple of Fields films on TCM, and I wonder what happened to all the rest of them? Paramount or some distributor had high quality prints of all of them back in the 1960s. Films such as TILLIE AND GUS, POPPY, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE with a lot of other stars such as Cab Calloway, MILLION DOLLAR LEGS, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938, SIX OF A KIND, YOU'RE TELLING ME, IT'S A GIFT, YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN, and shorts like THE BARBER SHOP, THE DENTIST, and THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, A local newspaper article at the time said most of these were very rare and were being distributed around the country together in sort of an "experimental" manner. A similar thing was done at about the same time by a guy who collected a lot of rare Buster Keaton films and toured them around the country to have local Keaton film festivals at local theaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 What we need to do is look through these lists of Paramount and Universal films from the 1930s-50s, under the heading of Production Company and Distributor, and find titles that are NOT available for theater, home, or TV showing, and then contact both companies and ask for them to make them available on DVD or Blue-Ray. Apparently the companies think these "unknown" films would not sell many DVD copies. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034862/companycredits?ref_=tt_dt_co Click on each company name to see a long list of films, some are new but many are old. Note that some of the companies also have large files of old TV shows too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 What we need to do is look through these lists of Paramount and Universal films from the 1930s-50s, under the heading of Production Company and Distributor, and find titles that are NOT available for theater, home, or TV showing, and then contact both companies and ask for them to make them available on DVD or Blue-Ray. Apparently the companies think these "unknown" films would not sell many DVD copies. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034862/companycredits?ref_=tt_dt_co Click on each company name to see a long list of films, some are new but many are old. Note that some of the companies also have large files of old TV shows too. The programmers should be pushing for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Collector OH Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 What we need to do is look through these lists of Paramount and Universal films from the 1930s-50s, under the heading of Production Company and Distributor, and find titles that are NOT available for theater, home, or TV showing, and then contact both companies and ask for them to make them available on DVD or Blue-Ray. Apparently the companies think these "unknown" films would not sell many DVD copies. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034862/companycredits?ref_=tt_dt_co Click on each company name to see a long list of films, some are new but many are old. Note that some of the companies also have large files of old TV shows too. I am working on an extensive project in my spare time and therefore might be able to provide some input rather easily here. Do you see a place somewhere that indicates "NOT available for theater, home, or TV showing"? In particular anywhere on IMDB or any other website? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 It's simple. Ask the powers-that-be at Universal why they don't make their extensive film library (including pre-1948 Paramounts) available, as other studios have done. And TCM programmers should be on this like white on rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 What reason did TCM ever give, if indeed they DID ever give one? Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight08 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 What reason did TCM ever give, if indeed they DID ever give one? Sepiatone I don't believe TCM ever gave a reason for this. I remember when word was going around that TCM had some kind of deal with Universal to lease their films (both their Universal and pre 1948 Paramount films). This was around five years ago. I was very hopeful that TCM would begin showing some of these rare films but other than a trickle of movies here and there it seemed like the deal fizzled. When viewers asked about what had happened they were told (by other viewers via this forum) that it was probably taking Universal longer to get these old films into digital format. But all the fanfare about this deal died down and I've never heard anything from the TCM programmers as to what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I see that WC Fields made several classic films at Paramount. I haven't seen these films since I saw them at a major WC Fields film festival at a large theater in Berkeley in the late 1960s. The prints were high quality 35 mm, and they showed just about every film Fields made. I've seen only a couple of Fields films on TCM, and I wonder what happened to all the rest of them? Paramount or some distributor had high quality prints of all of them back in the 1960s. Films such as TILLIE AND GUS, POPPY, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE with a lot of other stars such as Cab Calloway, MILLION DOLLAR LEGS, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938, SIX OF A KIND, YOU'RE TELLING ME, IT'S A GIFT, YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN, and shorts like THE BARBER SHOP, THE DENTIST, and THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, A local newspaper article at the time said most of these were very rare and were being distributed around the country together in sort of an "experimental" manner. A similar thing was done at about the same time by a guy who collected a lot of rare Buster Keaton films and toured them around the country to have local Keaton film festivals at local theaters. Which two? I know that I've seen THE BANK DICK, IT'S A GIFT, and (I believe) MY LITTLE CHICKADEE on TCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Which two? I know that I've seen THE BANK DICK, IT'S A GIFT, and (I believe) MY LITTLE CHICKADEE on TCM. I think TCM also aired POPPY maybe 10 years ago, although it might have been old AMC or some other channel. I think old AMC aired several in the 1980s TCM also aired ITS A GIFT once or twice and THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Several WC Fields film clips in a row, from several of his rare films: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I am working on an extensive project in my spare time and therefore might be able to provide some input rather easily here. Do you see a place somewhere that indicates "NOT available for theater, home, or TV showing"? In particular anywhere on IMDB or any other website? I haven't noticed anything in writing about what is not available. Look at how Universal stores their old films in a warehouse.... not in a vault, just in a big building: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight08 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Which two? I know that I've seen THE BANK DICK, IT'S A GIFT, and (I believe) MY LITTLE CHICKADEE on TCM. I looked thru my notes and counted nine W.C. Fields films which TCM has shown. They are: My Little Chickadee, It's A Gift, Never Give A Sucker An Even Break, If I Had A Million, Her Majesty Love, The Bank Dick, The Big Broadcast Of 1938, David Copperfield and The Bank Dick. TCM also showed the silent short "The Pool Shark" from 1915 at one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Universal has issued two W.C. Fields Comedy Collections (I own both). Any Fields fan worth his salt should purchase them. Now what about all those B-movies starring Evelyn Ankers, Anne Gwynne, Anne Nagel, Elyse Knox, Peggy Moran, Patric Knowles, Robert Paige, Alan Curtis, Hugh Herbert and Olsen & Johnson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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