Danny Kaye's "Inspector General": Which one? (1 Viewer)

[RobTrev]

I'm getting into a Danny Kaye kick all of a sudden and was wondering which "Inspector General" is worth picking up. There seems to be two of them, one from Madacy (a producer I've read terrible things about) and one from Troma (!).

Anyone have one of these and can tell me anything about them? Thanks!

And while I'm at it, any reviews of "The Court Jester" out there?

 

[Bryant Dahlgren]

I don't have any information about "The Inspector General" but "The Court Jester" is absolutely stunning for a movie this old. Here is a review link.
Court Jester
Enjoy,
Bryant

 

[Larry Gelfand]

I'm happy with the Roan Group version (Troma label). I've never been happy with any Madacy title.

 

[Roger Rollins]

The answer is NEITHER one. THE INSPECTOR GENERAL is one of those films that is allegedly in the public domain. PD titles on DVD are available from a myriad of distributors and almost always look and sound terrible. They use tattered prints (often 16mm) and the consumer has no way of knowing that they're buying inferior, unauthorized goods.

My recommendation would be to save your money and wait for the broadcast of a good quality print on TCM.

 

[Jay E]

Roger

Is that an assumption or have you seen both DVDs? I was thinking of getting it simply because the Roan Group (Troma) released it, as they generally try to find the best transfer available and put out nice quality DVDs.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

The old Roan Group discs (the company was sold to Troma and Cary Roan is no longer involved) were about as good as one is likely to get with a PD film. I've not seen their Inspector General DVD, but I don't think I've ever been too disappointed transfer-wise with their discs. Now, extras (or the lack thereof) is another issue.

 

[george kaplan]

I haven't seen it, but Madacy can't be good. It never is.

As for Troma, I saw something about this, but when I went to look for it, it had been delayed or postponed. But that was a long time ago, so maybe it exists now. I need to look for it.

 

[Chas_Michael]

Another Wonderful Danny Kaye DVD..."Wonder Man". Now OOP. Show's up on ebay now and then.

 

[Ben Motley]

Rob, I've got the Roan/Troma disc, and have for a long time now, since last April I think. Still haven't got around to watching it (I bought like half of the available Roans at the time), but I'll see if I can';t get around to it today and give you some insight. As for Madacy, I wouldn't waste my time.

 

[RobTrev]

Thanks, everyone, for the insights. Ben, if you get a chance to check out the disc, I'd really appreciate it.
It seems like I'll definitely steer clear of the Madacy disc, but, since I want the movie I may as well see how good my only option is.
Oh, and I didn't even know Wonder Man was on DVD. I'll have to look around for that one!

 

[Brian McHale]

If you're on a Danny Kaye kick, you have got to get The Court Jester. It's a great movie and the picture/sound on the DVD are very good.

 

[Hendrik]

...ahh... pace Roger Rollins, I assure you that the Troma disc features an excellent transfer of a fine copy of this 1949 Technicolor movie... avoid M@d@cy at all costs!
...there used to be another excellent DVD - on the HBO label - of one of Danny Kaye's biggest successes: The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (1947) - a 'must' for DK fans!
...also on HBO DVD: Hans Christian Andersen - featuring a souped-up 'Chace Surround Sound' track for those who just gotta have it, but also including the purist's preferred mono track of this fantasy, which features an original musical score by Frank Loesser...
. . . . . .

 

[Ben Motley]

Rob, sorry it took me a while, but I can finally give the Roan/Troma dvd a thumbs up.
First the bad - there are considerable print artifacts, you know, the specks and flecks so common with old prints, caused by dust and other particles, and it's a bit excessive during the opening credits. Also, I found the print to be just a wee bit dark, and the color slightly "brown".
Now the good - having said that about the color, let me add that the color is quite good, with good separation and saturation. And while the print is a little dark, contrast is excellent, and image edges are crisp. I also found the soundtrack to be fine, which is so important with Danny Kaye as there is a lot of snappy reparte that needs to be clearly presented. It is done so on this disc.
This is by far not a dull print, it's just that it could have been cleaned up a bit, as far as the artifacts, but other than that, this dvd gets my hearty endorsement.
Hope that helps Rob. I say, give it a shot. And if you do, let me know if you think I was on the money or not. I don't profess to be a reviewer, these were just my initial impressions.
Take care.

 

[Ben Motley]

I swear I'm like the kiss of death for threads!
Bump for Rob, and anyone else who would like to put in their two cents.
By the way, I'm a strong Roan supporter, even if they have been taken up by, *cough*, *hack*, Troma, *wheeze*. The last thing I heard was that Carry Roan was still involved with production, but that was a while back, and it was on Troma's site I think, so they could have just been lying out of their patoots. I wouldn't put it past them. Anyway, there has been a few times where framing issues, missing scenes (one incident that I know of, which has been fixed), and what not that Roan has been called on, but overall, every dvd I've seen of the series has been from fine prints and have had fine transfers. For me, if it's a choice between Madacy (or any other public domain exploiting production company for that matter) and Roan, that's a no-brainer.
I still have about a third of the Roan dvds to pick up, but after the big Troma "order-all-you-want-we'll-never-send-'em-to-you-anyway" sale, I'm not too anxious to order them. Best advice, don't be tempted by Troma's sites cheap prices. You'll do better on eBay or an e-tailer.