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

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Well, at least they didn't remove the Paramount logo, believe me, the Universal logo opening is the least of problems this 4K release has.

 

[RobertMG]

Well, at least they didn't remove the Paramount logo, believe me, the Universal logo opening is the least of problems this 4K release has.

Universal should immediately correct it l

 

[RobertMG]

Universal should immediately correct it l

Big question is is there quality control before discs are pressed? This film has been a revenue maker since day one! 3.75 million no date White Christmas helped a bit!

 

[Lord Dalek]

Soundtrack albums were not a thing until MGM released Till the Clouds Roll By in 1946 to initiate their own record label. All of the big musical stars like Bing and Judy who had record contracts (both of them with Decca) did film-based albums or singles of their song hits for their contract labels.

There WERE soundtrack albums before then though. Snow White was the first ever in 1937 on a set of RCA Victor Shellacks.

 

[Matt Hough]

There WERE soundtrack albums before then though. Snow White was the first ever in 1937 on a set of RCA Victor Shellacks.

Yes, that was an anomaly and not the norm for films. With six of its songs on the Hit Parade, it's not surprising Disney saw to it a soundtrack album was made.

 

[B-ROLL]

When MCA acquired Decca, the parent company of Universal-International, what remained of Paramount's library was folded back into the arrangement.

A minor correction, American DECCA acquired Universal-International and merged with MCA. MCA dropped the DECCA name.

Decca Records - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

DECCA records continued in Europe and was eventually sold to Polygram. Some classical records that were released by DECCA in Europe etc. used the logo of LONDON as they were not able to use the name in the US.

 

[Nick*Z]

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.

One minor distinction here. The MGM header that preceded the UA logo was of a contemporary ilk

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

Uh, check the previously issued Blu, my friend. While Universal's release has the Uni contempo logo that precedes the copyright 'warning' - the actual feature starts thereafter with NO vintage Uni logo of any kind. Ditto for the DVD release. The MCA precedes the 'warning' again and that's okay because - hey - Uni is responsible for this release, NOT Paramount. They're just letting everyone know who's in charge of the marketing. The tacking on of a vintage Uni logo just before the Paramount logo appears misrepresents the producers of the original film.

 

[Matt Hough]

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

Just wanted to express my deep thanks once again for bringing this soundtrack release to everyone's attention. Mine came in the mail a few days ago, and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing the discs. Another dream come true soundtrack for my old age.

 

[davidmatychuk]

The Sepia CD’s are fantastic, whatever their provenance. The soundtrack albums for “White Christmas” and “Holiday Inn” have become sort of an obsession with me, ever since I got a Starbucks special DVD of the movie in 2004 with a CD of the Bing/Danny/Trude/Peggy recordings in a slot in the cardboard slipcover.

Next I found a wonderful Rosemary Clooney SACD from 2003 with new surround sound re-recordings of most of the “White Christmas” tunes along with lots of holiday standards and a cute cameo by George’s dad at the end.

Next up for me were two fine Columbia reissues, one from 1997 with some other mid-50's Christmas recordings along with her Columbia recordings of the “White Christmas” songs, and another from 2014 with the original 8-song Columbia recording along with several previously unreleased Christmas songs including some with Der Bingle.

I also found at around that time a fairly spectacular “Ultimate White Christmas” available for download from iTunes. I burned it to a CD, as is my wont with downloads. I hope you can read my writing.

And finally, I must have found a download of the “Holiday Inn” soundtrack album somewhere, because I put it on a CD and added the “White Christmas” soundtrack from the Starbucks DVD to it, with a couple of Rosemary Clooney solo re-recordings tacked on to the end. In short, I had made a prototype for what Sepia has now perfected, I think: an Irving Berlin Christmas movie soundtrack album. Kudos to them, here’s mine:

And here I am, happy, with my little White Christmas/Holiday Inn CD collection:

And I didn’t even mention my CD of the Broadway production of “White Christmas”. Maybe when I have 7 of those, I will.

 

[Osato]

The Sepia CD’s are fantastic, whatever their provenance. The soundtrack albums for “White Christmas” and “Holiday Inn” have become sort of an obsession with me, ever since I got a Starbucks special DVD of the movie in 2004 with a CD of the Bing/Danny/Trude/Peggy recordings in a slot in the cardboard slipcover.
View attachment 166067
Next I found a wonderful Rosemary Clooney SACD from 2003 with new surround sound re-recordings of most of the “White Christmas” tunes along with lots of holiday standards and a cute cameo by George’s dad at the end.
View attachment 166073

View attachment 166072
Next up for me were two fine Columbia reissues, one from 1997 with some other mid-50's Christmas recordings along with her Columbia recordings of the “White Christmas” songs, and another from 2014 with the original 8-song Columbia recording along with several previously unreleased Christmas songs including some with Der Bingle.
View attachment 166074
I also found at around that time a fairly spectacular “Ultimate White Christmas” available for download from iTunes. I burned it to a CD, as is my wont with downloads. I hope you can read my writing.

View attachment 166075
And finally, I must have found a download of the “Holiday Inn” soundtrack album somewhere, because I put it on a CD and added the “White Christmas” soundtrack from the Starbucks DVD to it, with a couple of Rosemary Clooney solo re-recordings tacked on to the end. In short, I had made a prototype for what Sepia has now perfected, I think: an Irving Berlin Christmas movie soundtrack album. Kudos to them, here’s mine:
View attachment 166076
And here I am, happy, with my little White Christmas/Holiday Inn CD collection:
View attachment 166077
And I didn’t even mention my CD of the Broadway production of “White Christmas”. Maybe when I have 7 of those, I will.

Excellent and dedicated work!

 

[compson]

Given the season, I watched this 4K disc and then did a quick comparison to the 2017 Blu-ray. I found the 4K neither impressive nor problematic. I realize others have reacted differently, and the disc may be unusually system-dependent. In my system (projector and external video processor), the 4K was not noticeably darker than the BD, and blacks were not crushed. In fact, the 4K revealed greater shadow detail than the BD. The image isn’t particularly sharp on either disc.

Grain is definitely more prominent on the 4K, but I didn’t find it distracting. Only in an A/B comparison with the BD did the 4K look gritty in spots. The BD also suffered in the comparison, though, looking a tad scrubbed, and I saw what appeared to be some edge enhancement. In my opinion, reasonable people could disagree on which image is preferable.

I welcomed the 4K’s extra on the “Abraham” number, particularly since the audio commentary, carried over from the BD, dismissed concerns with the scene. I agree that inserting the vintage Universal logo was a curious choice, especially on a disc that already has the modern Universal logo before the menu. Fortunately, the original Paramount logo is retained, so if you wish, you can pause the movie after the vintage Universal logo, go feed the dog, then come back and watch the movie as it was originally seen.

In short, either the 4K or the BD should satisfy fans but not reward scrutiny. If I were buying the movie for the first time, I’d pick up the 4K for $15 from Gruv, but a reasonable person might opt instead for the $9 BD.

 

[Osato]

Given the season, I watched this 4K disc and then did a quick comparison to the 2017 Blu-ray. I found the 4K neither impressive nor problematic. I realize others have reacted differently, and the disc may be unusually system-dependent. In my system (projector and external video processor), the 4K was not noticeably darker than the BD, and blacks were not crushed. In fact, the 4K revealed greater shadow detail than the BD. The image isn’t particularly sharp on either disc.

Grain is definitely more prominent on the 4K, but I didn’t find it distracting. Only in an A/B comparison with the BD did the 4K look gritty in spots. The BD also suffered in the comparison, though, looking a tad scrubbed, and I saw what appeared to be some edge enhancement. In my opinion, reasonable people could disagree on which image is preferable.

I welcomed the 4K’s extra on the “Abraham” number, particularly since the audio commentary, carried over from the BD, dismissed concerns with the scene. I agree that inserting the vintage Universal logo was a curious choice, especially on a disc that already has the modern Universal logo before the menu. Fortunately, the original Paramount logo is retained, so if you wish, you can pause the movie after the vintage Universal logo, go feed the dog, then come back and watch the movie as it was originally seen.

In short, either the 4K or the BD should satisfy fans but not reward scrutiny. If I were buying the movie for the first time, I’d pick up the 4K for $15 from Gruv, but a reasonable person might opt instead for the $9 BD.

I was able to find the 4k disc for $13 and I ordered it. Looking forward to watching it.

 

[jayembee]

I was going to pass on this, but when in Bull Moose the other day, I picked it up on a whim. While not a reference disc by any stretch of the imagination, and probably not worth upgrading if you have the Blu-ray, I didn't feel as negatively about it as some. The addition of the contemporaneous Universal card was annoying -- like MGM adding their cards to UA films, as I mentioned previously in this thread -- I don't think it's a deal-killer.

If I was going to complain of anything about this release, it's that it doesn't include the bonus disc from the 2017 Blu-ray with a stage musical version.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Thanks for all the reviews and comments but I still can't decided whether the 4k disc is worth buying. I'll probably sit on my hands and wait for an offer I can't refuse!

 

[DigniT@DigniT!]

Maybe a 4K of WHITE CHRISTMAS in all of its VistaVision glory lies ahead...! One can only hope. I wish that there was a dedicated effort to transfer and release all VistaVision films in 4K!

 

[jayembee]

Thanks for all the reviews and comments but I still can't decided whether the 4k disc is worth buying. I'll probably sit on my hands and wait for an offer I can't refuse!

If you have the Blu-ray already, you can probably pass on the UHD.

 

[cda1143]

… In my opinion, reasonable people could disagree on which image is preferable.…

How dare you sir?!

Excellent write-up. Thanks!