Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Update: First "Two" films Releases (1 Viewer)

[Steve...O]

Perhaps they licensed them out - figuring that MPI would be able to focus more attention on their release than they would, since Fox already has a pretty full schedule of both vintage and new releases.

That very well could be true Josh. I do find it interesting though that Fox has refused all efforts from other companies to license out what is perhaps their most popular vintage series, the Charlie Chan films. Fox has said they have no intention of releasing them themselves but yet they refuse offers from others who would be able to foot the costs of DVD authoring, promotion, distribution, etc. Fox wouldn't have to spend a dime and they would be able to make a pretty penny via licensing fees. Makes no sense to me. I would love to see MPI take a shot at the Chan films.

Anyway, it'll be great that after years of waiting and rumors, I'll have the complete restored Rathbone/Bruce series by May for under $200 (or about what it cost me to buy the films on the Key Video VHS series).

Steve

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Anyway, it'll be great that after years of waiting and rumors, I'll have the complete restored Rathbone/Bruce series by May for under $200 (or about what it cost me to buy the films on the Key Video VHS series).

I remember the first Rathbone/Bruce film I saw, "Hound..", in a freshman year college course, and it was the Key Video VHS version. Memories... (when I was really young, I actually had favorite logos from different video companies... Family Home Entertainment's starry background one was by far my favorite)

 

[Steve...O]

I remember the first Rathbone/Bruce film I saw, "Hound..", in a freshman year college course

Your college professor had great taste! Every college student should be so lucky

Steve

 

[Steve...O]

Per forum rules, I won't reveal the name, but a certain retailer had "Hound" and "Adventures" on the shelves when I visited them yesterday. I picked them both up for $13.49 each ($14.99 sticker less the 10% coupon they sent this week to people on their e-mail newsletter).

The films look very good. Not at the level of the Universals (to be expected since they weren't restored), but I saw no print flaws in "Hound" other than a very brief instance of flashing in the scene where Holmes is telling Mrs. Barryman that her brother is dead.
. "Adventures" had some more print anomalies, but nothing that would take away from the viewer's enjoyment. Considering that both films date from 1939 I have no complaints whatsoever. Sound in both cases was excellent.

Each DVD has three trailers (all in fair condition). The six trailers included are:

Pearl of Death
Scarlet Claw
Terror By Night
Spider Woman
House of Fear
Dressed to Kill

The liner notes are informative and well done. Both films have commentaries.

Great job MPI on these releases!! You've done fans of Sherlock Holmes (and classic mystery series in general) a great service with these releases.

Steve

 

[David Von Pein]

Thanks for the info, Steve.
Very nice news indeed.
Glad to hear about those Trailers being included.

Man...somebody (unnamed -- tick a lock ) sure broke street date by a
boatload of days! Official release for these 2 flicks is still 5+ weeks away.
(Some eager shopkeeper just might be in for a tongue-lashing from the Grand-Poobah Of Shopkeeps!)

I don't care a great deal for the "Adventures" cover art. But I really admire all of the other 13 S.H. covers; with "House Of Fear" being my fave.

 

[Steve...O]

David (you've got PM),

You're so right about the cover art for the individual releases. It beats the box set art (which I have) by a mile. It's too bad that the original poster art couldn't have been used. Those Holmes one sheets are very nice.

Regarding the "Adventures" cover shot, I know this is perhaps one of the more common stills from the movie, but it's unfortunate that a still with George Zucco couldn't have been used. He was so good in this movie.

Steve

 

[Steve...O]

The commentary for "Adventures" is excellent; chock full of triva and information. Classic film fans will love it.

The commentator, Richard Valley, even does listeners a favor by putting a spoiler warning near the start of his commentary advising listeners who have not seen the film to watch it first.

The "Hound" commentary (done by David Davies) is good also. But be warned, there is no spoiler warning and the villan is revealed very early in the narrative. If you haven't seen the movie yet or don't know the story you may want to avoid the commentary until you've seen it.

From what I understand, MPI offered to license the Charlie Chan films from Fox but was turned down. This is unfortunate as MPI would have done a great job with these and Fox has stated they have no intention of releasing the films.

Steve

 

[Anthony Hom]

It was disappointing to hear that Dressed to Kill had lost its titles and ending, but at least the whole film was intact and clean. Did anyone have the Key Video releases back in the 80's and how do they compare?

I saw some of the series at the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto CA. They were incredible, the resolution and clarity was not to be believed. They were on loan from the UCLA archives and in great condition for 60 year old film.
I saw: In Washington, Spider Woman, Pearl of Death, Terror by Night and Dressed to Kill.

 

[Steve...O]

Did anyone have the Key Video releases back in the 80's and how do they compare?

I have all the Key Videos. For the most part I thought they looked very good considering the format and age of the material. Still, the MPI releases blow these (and all other versions) away. Those Key videos were going for big bucks on ebay about a year ago. Now you probably can't give them away.

By the way, for anybody who's so inclined, I would encourage them to go MPI's website and drop them a line thanking them for releasing these DVDs. They should be congratulated for recognizing the market potential for this series. (From all reports the sales have been excellent.) It's a darn shame MPI doesn't have the rights to other mystery series that are MIA; I'm sure they'd do a great job with them also.

Steve

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

You are one lucky gentleman. I would love to see these restored prints in their full 35mm glory. Unfortunately there are a lot of us who don't live near theaters that are able to support this kind of programming (usually because they are not set up with the proper equipment or have the experience to handle one of a kind prints such as these).

Steve:

I don't know where you are located, but I am running the restored print of THE HOUSE OF FEAR next Saturday morning, April 17th, as part of my Big Screen Classics series at the historic Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, New York. Hope you can make it! Information here: BIG SCREEN CLASSICS website

 

[Steve...O]

I don't know where you are located, but I am running the restored print of THE HOUSE OF FEAR next Saturday morning, April 17th, as part of my Big Screen Classics series at the historic Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, New York. Hope you can make it! Information here: BIG SCREEN CLASSICS website

Peter - if I was about 1,500 miles closer to you I would be there The nearest major city to me is Chicago and that's about a 6 hour drive.

I really have a lot of admiration for folks such as yourself (HTF's Bob Furmanek is another) that treat these classic films with respect and show them as they were intended to be seen.

To be able to see the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, etc. in a beautiful theater such as yours must a real treat.

Best wishes for the success of your series!

Steve