Pre-Order Holiday Inn (1942) (4k UHD) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

You've taken one for the team Nick! Although I'm a big fan of the format, some films just aren't worth releasing in 4k, will stick with the blu ray, thanks. Obviously White Christmas is a different prospect.

I have the 4K disc too, but haven't confirmed that negative opinion as I'm busy with other titles right now.

 

[Nick*Z]

You've taken one for the team Nick! Although I'm a big fan of the format, some films just aren't worth releasing in 4k, will stick with the blu ray, thanks. Obviously White Christmas is a different prospect.

Any VistaVision movie in native 4K would be VERY welcome indeed, one decade's 'motion picture high fidelity' giving its nod to the new kid on the block.

For now, I would suggest that the biggest overall improvements I've seen on 4K have been of productions shot in 65 or 70mm, and transferred from original negatives to 4K. The uptick is INCREDIBLE. My Fair Lady? Anyone? That said, there have been some incredible revelations in 4K of movies NOT shot in any of the aforementioned formats.

I concur with Robert Crawford's assessment of Anatomy of a Murder in 4K. WOW, does not begin to describe my initial viewing experience of the 4K. As excellent as the Blu from Criterion was (and it was!) the 4K positively blew it out of the water. The richness of the blacks and the overall refinement of the grain. It was as though my projector had suddenly gone back to original film elements and was spinning a couple of invisible reels in the back room.

Vertigo in 4K looked excellent. Some of the Uni monsters did well too - especially, Claude Rains' Phantom of the Opera which the old Blu cannot even hold a candle to. Best 4K experiences of vintage movies thus far include all of the aforementioned, plus The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, The Godfather 50th Trilogy, Singin' in the Rain, and, John Carpenter's The Fog and Christine. More recent movies have, rather obviously, faired with excellence: like I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was positively amazing in 4K.

Biggest disappointments in 4K, for me at least, was Christopher Reeves' Superman: The Movie and Le Cercle Rouge. In both cases, the image tended to 'grit up' rather than become grain rich. It just looked 'noisy' and rough and unattractive, in whatever venue I attempted to play it on - TV or projection. The original Blu was a far more enjoyable experience, IMO.

Anyway, I think 4K has had one positive attribute that has trickled down into most studio exec' based logic. Namely, that tired old video transfers have no place in the future of broadcast media - regardless of the format - disc or streaming. That's very good news for us all. Perhaps, more 4K is coming. At the very least, more remastering work is in the works on all fronts. A win-win for sure!

My shameless list of candidates I would positively LOVE to see get a 4K remaster and release begin with Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet and end with Driving Miss Daisy - 2 of Warner Home Video's less-than-stellar efforts from yore that definitely need an upgrade. In between those, I would absolutely vote for a new, The Music Man and Anchors Aweigh - two more gems in need of a little polish to restore their original luster.

Beyond that, my fantasy list includes, Around the World in 80 Days, The Sound of Music, The King and I, Anna and the King, Ben-Hur, Quo Vadis, Gone With The Wind, High Society, JFK, The Towering Inferno, Star!, Can-Can, Gigi, To Catch A Thief, Goldfinger, Marie Antoinette (1938), Bullitt, the original (unaltered) Star Wars trilogy, Sleeping Beauty (1959), Howards End, Pretty Woman, The Day of the Jackal (1973), There's No Business Like Show Business, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How To Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch, White Christmas, One-eyed Jacks (with VistaVision/Paramount logo restored), The Man Who Knew Too Much (with VistaVision/Paramount logo restored), Far from the Madding Crowd, Swiss Family Robinson, and, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

 

[B-ROLL]

These comments come from the White Christmas thread but bear repeating herein as they relate to your post about the newly minted Sepia Records CD release of the 'soundtracks' to both White Christmas and Holiday Inn.

I'm going to cover the track listings here; which are original and which are alternate, or, not from the movies themselves. My comments are in brackets after each track listing. Please note, my use of the word 'original' denotes the authenticity of the track as the movie version while NOT directly derived from the film soundtrack, but otherwise taken from magnetic stereo pre-recordings that have survived.

*Please also keep in mind, Martha Mears dubbed for Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn, and Trudy Stevens did the same for Vera Ellen in White Christmas. These ARE the original artists heard in the movie soundtracks.

CD 1

WHITE CHRISTMAS

1. VISTAVISION FANFARE The Paramount Studio Orchestra (original)
2. WHITE CHRISTMAS MAIN TITLE The Paramount Studio Orchestra (original)
3. SANTA CLAUS Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye (a Berlin tune planned for the movie but never actually heard in it. This song was to entertain the troops in the field on the eve of their invasion. In the movie version, Crosby and Kaye merely do a buck and wing to an orchestral 'tag' of this song that, ironically, is NOT a part of this song version heard on the CD).

4. WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby (original, minus the distant SFX of exploding wartime shells)
5. WE'LL FOLLOW THE OLD MAN Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye (original, again without any SFX)
6. HEAT WAVE, LET ME SING AND I'M HAPPY, BLUE SKIES Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye (derived from the movie soundtrack, not an original mag tape master. So, background SFX remain)
7. SISTERS Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (curiously, missing the 'montage' orchestral track that precedes it and takes us to the Floridian nightclub, Novello's, but otherwise, intact, and with an extra verse and chorus NEVER heard in the movie)
8. THE BEST THINGS HAPPEN WHILE YOU'RE DANCING Danny Kaye (unfortunately taken from the movie soundtrack, with SFX and distorted tap sounds)
9. SNOW Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (original, but with added verse and chorus, and an alternate ending to the version heard in the finished film)
10. SISTERS (Reprise) Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (this is not the Crosby/Kaye lip sync version as they foil the sheriff's incarceration of Clooney and Vera Ellen's characters, but rather the truncated 'inn' version the girl's debut on their first night as the general's floor show. Derived from the movie soundtrack with SFX heard in background)
11. I'D RATHER SEE A MINSTREL SHOW, MANDY Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney (original, minus SFX)
12. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS INSTEAD OF SHEEP Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney (original, minus SFX)
13. CHOREOGRAPHY Danny Kaye (original and the first time we get to hear Kaye's song without the horrendous distortion of its movie version incarnation. There are moments in the movie cut that truly grate on the ears. This version is in stereo and sounds magnificent)
14. THE BEST THINGS HAPPEN WHILE YOU'RE DANCING (reprise) The Skylarks (original, without SFK or background dialogue)
15. ABRAHAM Instrumental (unfortunately, the movie version, with background hiss, dialogue and distortion built-in)
16. LOVE, YOU DIDN'T DO RIGHT BY ME Rosemary Clooney (original, no SFX)
17. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A GENERAL Bing Crosby (original, but with an added verse and chorus NEVER heard in the movie cut)
18. WE'LL FOLLOW THE OLD MAN (Reprise) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye (original)
19. GEE, I WISH I WAS BACK IN THE ARMY Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (original)
20. WHITE CHRISTMAS FINALE (version 1) The Paramount Studio Orchestra (this is the first half of the version heard in the movie. It ends with a truncated reprise of the song by the children's chorus, minus the orchestral tag that followed as Crosby and Kaye discuss their plans to wed the Haines' sisters and settle down. This version does not conclude with the orchestral accompaniment that continues in the film as the bay doors of the inn's stage are parted to reveal the gentle snow falling just beyond and the reprise of the song. This is an incomplete track)
21. WHITE CHRISTMAS FINALE (version 2) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (an alternate version of the finale with less choral fanfare than the version heard in the movie)
22. WHITE CHRISTMAS FINALE (version 3) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (strictly a track featuring the four principal players and a subtle ending NOT heard in the movie)
23. WHITE CHRISTMAS FINALE (version 4) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens (this is a truncated version of the tag that concludes the movie version of the song, minus the applause track and the tag that ought to have accompanied the aforementioned parting of the inn bay doors to reveal the snow falling outside. Instead, this track picks up with the reprise of the song and the finale as is heard in the movie's final edit)

(Tracks 24 through 29 are from Rosemary Clooney's re-release of a 'soundtrack' album from 1954 and have NO bearing on the movie cuts.)

24. WHITE CHRISTMAS Rosemary Clooney
25. SISTERS Rosemary, Betty Clooney
26. SNOW Rosemary Clooney
27. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS INSTEAD OF SHEEP Rosemary Clooney
28. LOVE, YOU DIDN'T DO RIGHT BY ME Rosemary Clooney
29. IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS THEATRE LOBBY ANNOUNCEMENT Bing Crosby

CD 2

HOLIDAY INN

1. HOLIDAY INN MAIN TITLE The Paramount Studio Orchestra (original)
2. I'LL CAPTURE YOUR HEART Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Virginia Dale (original, without applause track)
3. LAZY Bing Crosby (film version, with all the background dialogue, SFX and built-in distortions)
4. YOU'RE EASY TO DANCE WITH Fred Astaire (original, without tap SFX or applause track)
5. WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby, Martha Mears (features an orchestral tag not heard in the film, in lieu of the extended orchestral track that immediately precedes the song in the movie but is NOT heard here)
6. HAPPY HOLIDAY Bing Crosby, Martha Mears (missing the orchestral underscore used for the calendar leader and also the children's track heard over the reprise of the chorus at the end of the song)
7. LET'S START THE NEW YEAR RIGHT Bing Crosby (NOT from the movie or a pre-recording session, but actually a re-recording by Crosby done the same year as the movie - disappointing!)
8. YOU'RE EASY TO DANCE WITH Bob Crosby and his Band (original without audience SFX)
9. ABRAHAM Bing Crosby, Martha Mears (original...but, missing several key lines sung by Louise Beavers, chiefly the line, "When black folks lived in slavery, who was it set the darkie free?" considered racist under today's scrutiny. Also, missing the children's response to the song as sung to them by Beavers as their mother).
10. BE CAREFUL IT'S MY HEART Bing Crosby (derived from the movie soundtrack. Co-star, Walter Abel's prompt to Fred Astaire about discovering the girl he danced with on New Year's Eve is clearly heard under the orchestral prelude)
11. I CAN'T TELL A LIE Fred Astaire (an alternate take of the song with enough authenticity to make it sound original, but missing some of the musical interruptions Crosby stages to foil Astaire's romancing technique in the movie)
12. EASTER PARADE Bing Crosby (original, but, like the others, missing the orchestral 'calendar' tags that immediate precede the song)
13. SAY IT WITH FIRECRACKERS / SONG OF FREEDOM Bing Crosby (original without audience applause track)
14. SAY IT WITH FIRECRACKERS Bob Crosby and his Band (film version, truncated, with firecracker and tap SFX intact)
15. INSTRUMENTAL REPRISE: LET'S START THE NEW YEAR RIGHT, ABRAHAM, BE CAREFUL IT'S MY HEART, EASTER PARADE, YOU'RE EASY TO DANCE WITH, HAPPY HOLIDAY, WHITE CHRISTMAS (missing the Thanksgiving calendar tag at the end and the dower orchestral tag that leads into Crosby having closed the inn to sulk over having lost his girl)
16. I'VE GOT PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR Bing Crosby (a truncated alternate track, minus Crosby's self-deprecating comments to himself, made throughout the song in the movie, and the orchestral tag that follows in which Crosby and Louise Beavers discuss how Crosby will win the Marjorie Reynolds character back)
17. WHITE CHRISTMAS (reprise) Martha Mears (movie version with all the original baked in distortions left in)
18. CLOSING MEDLEY: I'LL CAPTURE YOUR HEART, LET'S START THE NEW YEAR RIGHT Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Martha Mears, Virginia Dale (original, without audience SFX).

HOLIDAY INN RADIO PREVIEW: (the tracks below are all from a radio broadcast PR junket to promote the movie and represent highly truncated versions of the score with some dialogue overlap)

19. INTRODUCTION and HAPPY HOLIDAY Bing Crosby
20. I'LL CAPTURE YOUR HEART Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Betty Rhodes
21. BE CAREFUL IT'S MY HEART Bing Crosby, Betty Rhodes
22. I CAN'T TELL A LIE Fred Astaire
23. EASTER PARADE Bing Crosby
24. ABRAHAM Bing Crosby, Betty Rhodes
25. WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby
26. LET'S START THE NEW YEAR RIGHT Betty Rhodes, Bing Crosby
27. YOU'RE EASY TO DANCE WITH Fred Astaire
28. SONG OF FREEDOM Bing Crosby
29. CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT
30. WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby

It's also available at Hamilton Books for $15.95 + $4.00 unlimited shipping if you don't do Amazon ....

WHITE CHRISTMAS / HOLIDAY INN - HamiltonBook.com

This 59-track, two-CD set collects two Christmas classic film scores of <I>White Christmas</I> and <I>Holiday Inn.</I> Songs include <I>Vistavision Fanfare; White Christmas; I'll Capture Your Heart; Happy Holiday;</I> and more. Includes multiple versions of some songs.

www.hamiltonbook.com

 

[[email protected]]

Of course the grain is unwieldy - there isn't 4K of information on the negative.

I couldn't even get through the 4K version, I totally agree with everything described in this revue, way too dark, and the grain looks as though it was animated over the entire film, very distracting, very sloppy job here, Universal, stick with the Blu-ray.

 

[Osato]

I couldn't even get through the 4K version, I totally agree with everything described in this revue, way too dark, and the grain looks as though it was animated over the entire film, very distracting, very sloppy job here, Universal, stick with the Blu-ray.

Ouch

 

[Osato]

Have just 'tried' to watch Holiday Inn in 4K and have to say the results are oddly underwhelming and more than a bit of a disappointment.

For starters, the image is significantly darker than previous Blu-ray incarnations. Even the Blu-ray included in this set skews to a brighter, more balanced image that reveals fine detail throughout. On the 4K all blacks, including Crosby's one-time pin-striped suit, now just register as a dark blob of undistinguished black.

The other problem I have here is that grain gets amplified to egregious levels. Grain is a part of film. But 4K has the ability to exaggerate grain to the point where it is merely an amplification of a finite particle matter than once was pretty much, if not invisible, than most definitely accepted by the naked eye. This just looks gritty rather than 'grain rich'.

Finally, I'm not entirely certain who the featurette, Reassessing Abraham, is trying to appease. It's a truncated featurette with mere snippets and sound bites from four historians who view the film's black face from decidedly different perspectives. But the featurette doesn't even begin to scratch the surface in any way for a meaningful analysis. Rather, all four perspectives get put forward briefly and then the image merely cuts to black (no pun intended).

Finally, the feature is NOW preceded by a vintage Universal logo (Alexander Golitzen's art deco glass globe and rotating stars) before the Paramount logo follows it. Let's be clear. Universal inherited much of the pre-50's Paramount library in a lock, stock and outright MCA purchase of their vintage films during the late 70's. They had absolutely NOTHING to do with the making, marketing or distribution of Holiday Inn.

So, a Uni logo before the Paramount one is just plain wrong. Uni did the same thing on the Blu release of Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much and One-Eyed Jacks. Even more insulting on both these release, they actually replaced the original Paramount and VistaVision preamble with the Uni globe logo instead. They also cut the MGM logo off their recent Blu of State of the Union. Their old DVD release contained the MGM logo.

But back to Holiday Inn in 4K. It looks dark, gritty and rather unattractive throughout, especially when compared to the standard Blu-ray image, which actually gives a somewhat more refined presentation on the whole with subtler shadow delineation and far more detail available in the black portions of the image. So, we get to see, say, lapels on suits and the various textures of fabrics on the Blu while the 4K reduces all of these dark colors to mere, homogenized black with zero detail. NOT loving this presentation at all!

Ouch. I may have to return my copy…..

 

[Osato]

I saw this review today:

Holiday Inn - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Review | High Def Digest

'The latest news on all things 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Gear'

ultrahd.highdefdigest.com

 

[deepscan]

Have just 'tried' to watch Holiday Inn in 4K and have to say the results are oddly underwhelming and more than a bit of a disappointment.

For starters, the image is significantly darker than previous Blu-ray incarnations. Even the Blu-ray included in this set skews to a brighter, more balanced image that reveals fine detail throughout. On the 4K all blacks, including Crosby's one-time pin-striped suit, now just register as a dark blob of undistinguished black.

The other problem I have here is that grain gets amplified to egregious levels. Grain is a part of film. But 4K has the ability to exaggerate grain to the point where it is merely an amplification of a finite particle matter than once was pretty much, if not invisible, than most definitely accepted by the naked eye. This just looks gritty rather than 'grain rich'.

Finally, I'm not entirely certain who the featurette, Reassessing Abraham, is trying to appease. It's a truncated featurette with mere snippets and sound bites from four historians who view the film's black face from decidedly different perspectives. But the featurette doesn't even begin to scratch the surface in any way for a meaningful analysis. Rather, all four perspectives get put forward briefly and then the image merely cuts to black (no pun intended).

Finally, the feature is NOW preceded by a vintage Universal logo (Alexander Golitzen's art deco glass globe and rotating stars) before the Paramount logo follows it. Let's be clear. Universal inherited much of the pre-50's Paramount library in a lock, stock and outright MCA purchase of their vintage films during the late 70's. They had absolutely NOTHING to do with the making, marketing or distribution of Holiday Inn.

So, a Uni logo before the Paramount one is just plain wrong. Uni did the same thing on the Blu release of Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much and One-Eyed Jacks. Even more insulting on both these release, they actually replaced the original Paramount and VistaVision preamble with the Uni globe logo instead. They also cut the MGM logo off their recent Blu of State of the Union. Their old DVD release contained the MGM logo.

But back to Holiday Inn in 4K. It looks dark, gritty and rather unattractive throughout, especially when compared to the standard Blu-ray image, which actually gives a somewhat more refined presentation on the whole with subtler shadow delineation and far more detail available in the black portions of the image. So, we get to see, say, lapels on suits and the various textures of fabrics on the Blu while the 4K reduces all of these dark colors to mere, homogenized black with zero detail. NOT loving this presentation at all!

For the record, it is actually Universal Television that owns the pre-1950 Paremount library. MCA originally bought the classic Paramount library in 1957, not the 1970s. MCA eventually bought Universal shortly after. EMKA, the actual copyright holder, was a unit of MCA (the company name is a pronounciation of the MCA call letters).

The classic Universal logo you now see on “Holiday Inn“ is what you would have seen in 1942 had they released the film instead of Paramount.

 

[RobertMG]

For the record, it is actually Universal Television that owns the pre-1950 Paremount library. MCA originally bought the classic Paramount library in 1957, not the 1970s. MCA eventually bought Universal shortly after. EMKA, the actual copyright holder, was a unit of MCA (the company name is a pronounciation of the MCA call letters).

The classic Universal logo you now see on “Holiday Inn“ is what you would have seen in 1942 had they released the film instead of Paramount.

Thought they bought the films in 1949? Thats why the cut-off is pre- 1949

 

[Konstantinos]

I am somewhat happy when 4Ks of blu-rays I have are not good enough to upgrade, because that way I'm not compelled to buy them.

 

[Nick*Z]

For the record, it is actually Universal Television that owns the pre-1950 Paremount library. MCA originally bought the classic Paramount library in 1957, not the 1970s. MCA eventually bought Universal shortly after. EMKA, the actual copyright holder, was a unit of MCA (the company name is a pronounciation of the MCA call letters).

The classic Universal logo you now see on “Holiday Inn“ is what you would have seen in 1942 had they released the film instead of Paramount.

Okay, but 'for the record' Uni had NO BUSINESS adding it's own logo ahead of the Paramount one. They had NO stake in the creation of Holiday Inn, not even it's distribution until MCA/EMKA took over the pre-50's Paramount library, and, even then, DID NOT add their own logo to the home video releases until THIS 4K release. Why?!? Your guess would be as good as mine there.

 

[Nick*Z]

EMKA: established 1957 by NBCUniversal's MCA (Music Corporation of America).

MCA remained Uni's 'holding company' (today, we'd likely say, asset management corporation), to market 750 feature films produced and/or released by Paramount Pictures from 1928 to Dec. 1, 1949 (technically, acquired from Paramount from the 1948 US court ruling, and also to include Hitchcock's Paramount features (all except To Catch a Thief).

Exceptions: Paramount's pre-50's cartoons, sold to U.M.&M TV Corp. in 55. Popeye shorts were sold to AAP, later bought out by UA TV, while Superman shorts were acquired by Motion Pictures for Television.

MCA established EMKA to elude the U.S. anti-trust laws.
MCA was folded into Uni Studios in 1996 by then-owner, Seagrams. Seagrams, it should be noted, owed Uni since 1962. So, Uni now owned the EMKA/Paramount catalogue, presently distributed on TV only by NBC/Universal Syndication, and on physical media by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Talk about a convoluted history of ownership!

 

[Nick*Z]

A bit more history to consider.

Booking prints for special screenings gets complicated by various merger dates, TV licensing, archival deposits, and collector/curator private logs. Lest we forget, until recently the entire Warner Bros.-First National catalog belonged to United Artists Classics, re-branded as MGM-UA, then Turner Entertainment, mercifully brought back to Time/Warner on an outright purchase.

Other studio assets were not so fortunate. RKO's library went from General Tire and Rubber Company, to C&C TV., a cola company. Paramount’s 1929-1948 holdings, as already discussed, went to MCA's EMKA in 1957, alas never again to survive from original elements but rather slapdash made duplications for TV distribution with OCN likely junketed shortly thereafter. When MCA acquired Decca, the parent company of Universal-International, what remained of Paramount's library was folded back into the arrangement.

Every studios' in-house style became fairly transparent early on. Paramount's, at once, reeked of Euro-sophistication and clean-cut storytelling. Eventually, changing tastes ensured that the mountain's fare, fared less well during the 50's (with exceptions like The Ten Commandments and Greatest Show on Earth, and others) as Fox, Warner and MGM product took over the market.

So, Paramount's mass sell off of its history, beginning in the mid-50's owes a lot to an increasingly cash-strapped executive branch looking for quick and dirty ways to make a buck. Other studios saw the immediate, if short-sighted 'value' in doing the same thing. But in the end, it really broke down all of the studios' vault treasures to disposable bedrock, available to the highest bidder. An ugly chapter in all of Hollywood's history that the studios today, knowing the value of re-re-re-re-issues on cable and home video, wish they had the opportunity to overturn and/or rewrite.

I suspect (although I have no way of knowing for sure) NO other studio regrets the purge from that period more than Paramount, who basically 'gave away' the first 30 years of their studio legacy (again, with exceptions) to another company to do with as they wished.

Would'a. Could'a. Didn't. For shame!

 

[deepscan]

EMKA: established 1957 by NBCUniversal's MCA (Music Corporation of America).

MCA remained Uni's 'holding company' (today, we'd likely say, asset management corporation), to market 750 feature films produced and/or released by Paramount Pictures from 1928 to Dec. 1, 1949 (technically, acquired from Paramount from the 1948 US court ruling, and also to include Hitchcock's Paramount features (all except To Catch a Thief).

Exceptions: Paramount's pre-50's cartoons, sold to U.M.&M TV Corp. in 55. Popeye shorts were sold to AAP, later bought out by UA TV, while Superman shorts were acquired by Motion Pictures for Television.

MCA established EMKA to elude the U.S. anti-trust laws.
MCA was folded into Uni Studios in 1996 by then-owner, Seagrams. Seagrams, it should be noted, owed Uni since 1962. So, Uni now owned the EMKA/Paramount catalogue, presently distributed on TV only by NBC/Universal Syndication, and on physical media by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Talk about a convoluted history of ownership!

Correction here…the majority of the Hitchcock titles (except To Catch A Thief and Psycho—more on this in a second) didn‘t actually revert to MCA/U right away…a deal was made with Hitchcock (while he was still alive) that after a certain amount of time these films revert to him. It was sometime in the 1980s after he died that MCA/U acquired the distribution rights AND ONLY the distribution rights. At present, UNI still has distribution rights but with Hitchcock’s daughter Pat dying last year the Trust may change and we expect UNI to lose all remaining rights anytime. PSYCHO was bought by UNI outright from Paramount around 1968, because UNI was Hitchcock’s home studio for much of his career. “To Catch A Thief” was and has always been owned by Paramount from the start, as it was the only Hitchcock film produced entirely in-house by Paramount.

And yes, the reason for the 1949 cut-off point for the classic library is the now-legendary Paramount Degrees lawsuit finalized in 1948, which we know now as the official end of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Paramount‘s cartoon sale is a whole different story I won’t go into at this time as the subject thread here is about “Holiday Inn” and it’s unusual distribution history, so let’s continue with that.

 

[Osato]

Based on the review I will most likely be returning my 4k copy

 

[RobertMG]

A bit more history to consider.

Booking prints for special screenings gets complicated by various merger dates, TV licensing, archival deposits, and collector/curator private logs. Lest we forget, until recently the entire Warner Bros.-First National catalog belonged to United Artists Classics, re-branded as MGM-UA, then Turner Entertainment, mercifully brought back to Time/Warner on an outright purchase.

Other studio assets were not so fortunate. RKO's library went from General Tire and Rubber Company, to C&C TV., a cola company. Paramount’s 1929-1948 holdings, as already discussed, went to MCA's EMKA in 1957, alas never again to survive from original elements but rather slapdash made duplications for TV distribution with OCN likely junketed shortly thereafter. When MCA acquired Decca, the parent company of Universal-International, what remained of Paramount's library was folded back into the arrangement.

Every studios' in-house style became fairly transparent early on. Paramount's, at once, reeked of Euro-sophistication and clean-cut storytelling. Eventually, changing tastes ensured that the mountain's fare, fared less well during the 50's (with exceptions like The Ten Commandments and Greatest Show on Earth, and others) as Fox, Warner and MGM product took over the market.

So, Paramount's mass sell off of its history, beginning in the mid-50's owes a lot to an increasingly cash-strapped executive branch looking for quick and dirty ways to make a buck. Other studios saw the immediate, if short-sighted 'value' in doing the same thing. But in the end, it really broke down all of the studios' vault treasures to disposable bedrock, available to the highest bidder. An ugly chapter in all of Hollywood's history that the studios today, knowing the value of re-re-re-re-issues on cable and home video, wish they had the opportunity to overturn and/or rewrite.

I suspect (although I have no way of knowing for sure) NO other studio regrets the purge from that period more than Paramount, who basically 'gave away' the first 30 years of their studio legacy (again, with exceptions) to another company to do with as they wished.

Would'a. Could'a. Didn't. For shame!

TV killed their biz in the 50's and the gov't order they divorce from their theaters the govt ruined the biz the moguls created

 

[jayembee]

Okay, but 'for the record' Uni had NO BUSINESS adding it's own logo ahead of the Paramount one. They had NO stake in the creation of Holiday Inn, not even it's distribution until MCA/EMKA took over the pre-50's Paramount library, and, even then, DID NOT add their own logo to the home video releases until THIS 4K release. Why?!? Your guess would be as good as mine there.

I liken it to MGM adding their Leo cards to (seemingly) every UA release they owned. And replacing whichever original UA card was there with a new one that included their URL. Ugh. I've been pleased that Kino has left off this nonsense for the UA titles they've been releasing on UHD.

 

[RobertMG]

Okay, but 'for the record' Uni had NO BUSINESS adding it's own logo ahead of the Paramount one. They had NO stake in the creation of Holiday Inn, not even it's distribution until MCA/EMKA took over the pre-50's Paramount library, and, even then, DID NOT add their own logo to the home video releases until THIS 4K release. Why?!? Your guess would be as good as mine there.

Agree but they have been doing this for decades

 

[Nick*Z]

Agree but they have been doing this for decades

Agree. But for decades, Holiday Inn remained one of the few titles left untouched by this artificial 're-branding.' So, question. Why start now?!?

 

[RobertMG]

Agree. But for decades, Holiday Inn remained one of the few titles left untouched by this artificial 're-branding.' So, question. Why start now?!?

Every release had it the crappy MCA opening on Tape the Universal logo on dvd