The Classic titles of Paramount owned by Universal (1 Viewer)

[Miguel M Santos]

There are several DVD releases of Universal owned Paramount films in R2 not available in R1. These include I think some Dietrich and several Mitchell Leisen films with the likes of Olivia de Havilland and Claudette Colbert. Annoyingly, PRACTICALLY YOURS is still unavailable in any region or George Cukor's ZAZA both with Colbert.

 

[Seanhtf]

I'm not sure if a list was ever put together of what films were not part of the deal - ones held back due to rights issues, Like the 1938 Little Orphan Annie film, the three Fu Manchu films,The 1929 Return of Sherlock Holmes,etc.

MCA didn't get the Hopalong Cassidy pictures, the Pine-Thomas productions, or about twenty-odd films based on Zane Gray stories. These were all sold elsewhere. Rights to some of Bob Hope's movies reverted to him at some point in the 1950s.

"Pre-48s" isn't quite accurate, since the sale to MCA involved movies released through 1949, the latest being The Heiress, released in December of that year.

There are various other movies that Paramount retained for one reason or another. Some of Hal Wallis's productions were exempted from the MCA sale, too.

Sean

 

[Vic Pardo]

What about THE VIRGINIAN (1929)? I see an out-of-print VHS copy on Amazon listed as "unavailable." Any plans to put that out on disc?

 

[Doug Bull]

I only wish Warner Archives could do a deal with them.
Imagine the possibilities that would create.

Doug.

 

[Eastmancolor]

Most of the pre-1949 Paramounts, along with the Universal produced titles of this era, haven't been shown on TCM or made their way to DVD/Blu-ray because the studio hasn't mastered them digitally.Film preservation is on-going, but little is being scanned into electronic form.Home video only wants titles that will generate enough money to cover mastering costs, so unless it's Abbott and Costello, the Marx Bros, Bob Hope or one of the popular SciFi/horror titles, forget it.They've put out a handful of box sets with some of the rarer titles, but apparently the sale of those didn't meet their expectations. They'll occasionally release an old 1930's or 1940's title out of the blue in their MOD program, but for every new one of those there will be numerous reissues of titles that have been previously released.What's amazing is that just about every "B" and even "C" grade Warner Bros, MGM and RKO film has been released on disc or shown on TCM, but only a fraction of the Universal owned titles have seen the light of day. They have a treasure trove of goodies in their vaults, so hopefully one day the flood gates will open!

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Not owned by Universal, but another Paramount title which would be most welcome is THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE.

 

[Camps]

Not owned by Universal, but another Paramount title which would be most welcome is THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE.

Surprisingly, this one (often cited among the most risque of the pre-Codes) aired on TCM a couple of years ago. Maybe it'll show up there again someday.

 

[Camps]

What's amazing is that just about every "B" and even "C" grade Warner Bros, MGM and RKO film has been released on disc or shown on TCM, but only a fraction of the Universal owned titles have seen the light of day. They have a treasure trove of goodies in their vaults, so hopefully one day the flood gates will open!

Not so amazing, really. Most of the MGM, WB and RKO titles you've seen on TCM are under the same corporate roof. And you've seen many, many Columbia titles on TCM because Sony (thankfully) has licensed its titles to TCM. But you rarely see Universal or classic Paramount titles on TCM because, apparently Universal isn't so interested in licensing its catalog titles to TV these days (not since the demise of what we once knew as AMC...). Maybe it's because Universal's reluctant to release classic titles that aren't up to the visual quality of its better-preserved and/or remastered classic titles. Or maybe it's because they don't want to release these tiles to someone else's classic movie network -- if so, all the more reason for Universal parent Comcast to launch a Universal Classics movie channel !

As for DVD, I'm a big fan of Warner Archives and its leader, Warner Home Video chief George Feltenstein. Yes, Warner takes lots of heat on this board for not issuing more titles as blus, but at least they're unearthing titles in better quality than we've seen them before. I and others on this board have been pleading with Universal (indirectly of course) to throw its catalog-DVD lot in with Warner, so it can dig titles out of the vault and release them profitably. No luck so far...

 

[DeWilson]

....Or maybe it's because they don't want to release these tiles to someone else's classic movie network -- if so, all the more reason for Universal parent Comcast to launch a Universal Classics movie channel...

Might have been the same thinking before Comcast bought NBC/Universal - holding back the classic films for a possible digital channel.

 

[Richard M S]

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek was that rare A-list title of the era which was retained by Paramount and not sold to MCA - I am not sure as to why.

Since the majority of Betty Hutton's film career was almost entirely at Paramount; some of her other great films have never even had a VHS release. Fortunately Paramount Video (and now Warner Archive) have kept The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek widely available throughout the VHS-to DVD era.

 

[bujaki]

What about THE VIRGINIAN (1929)? I see an out-of-print VHS copy on Amazon listed as "unavailable." Any plans to put that out on disc?

Re: The Virginian (1929). I asked a reliable source about this. It's my understanding that an archive owns a copy (I forget which one); however, when my source asked Paramount for permission to program it in a festival, Paramount responded that the rights belonged to Universal. When Universal was queried about the rights, they responded that Paramount owned them.
Endgame: no one "seems" to own it and can not give permission to show it anywhere.
I remember seeing it at MoMA (?) many decades ago.

 

[ahollis]

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek was that rare A-list title of the era which was retained by Paramount and not sold to MCA - I am not sure as to why.Since the majority of Betty Hutton's film career was almost entirely at Paramount; some of her other great films have never even had a VHS release. Fortunately Paramount Video (and now Warner Archive) have kept The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek widely available throughout the VHS-to DVD era.

MCA purchased the Paramount Library to sell to local TV stations in packages. MIRACLE AT MORGAN'S CREEK was deemed to racy for TV broadcast so it was not included.

 

[jdee28]

Rare Paramount movies do pop up on TCM from time to time in prime time. A few months ago they aired The Fleet's In (1942), and just this past Saturday they aired two Jack Benny Paramount rarities, The Big Broadcast of 1937 and College Holiday (1936), all in pretty good quality. A trickle is better than nothing.

 

[Miguel M Santos]

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek was that rare A-list title of the era which was retained by Paramount and not sold to MCA - I am not sure as to why.

Isn't to do with the Jerry Lewis remake?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Still waiting for the Marx Bros. and W.C. Fields to come out on blu-ray.

Day one purchases for me, Universal! Put them out on Blu-ray and I am so there.

And as much as I would love new, comprehensive bonus features on both the Marx Bros and W.C. Fields, at this point I would be very satisfied just with some good new HD scans on disc. "Duck Soup" is already available digitally in HD (via iTunes/Amazon Instant/Vudu), and there's also a DCP circulating among repertory theaters, so the heavy lifting has already been done on that title. It just needs a disc.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Cocoanuts is the one I'm really looking for.
I wish there were better materials for it.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Rare Paramount movies do pop up on TCM from time to time in prime time. A few months ago they aired The Fleet's In (1942), and just this past Saturday they aired two Jack Benny Paramount rarities, The Big Broadcast of 1937 and College Holiday (1936), all in pretty good quality. A trickle is better than nothing.

I am glad to hear that TCM aired them and they did not join the list of scheduled then dropped rare titles. How did they look?

 

[ahollis]

I am glad to hear that TCM aired them and they did not join the list of scheduled then dropped rare titles. How did they look?

I watched them too. They were excellent enough for a great DVD set. Blu-ray may need more work.

 

[holeymoley]

I am glad to hear that TCM aired them and they did not join the list of scheduled then dropped rare titles. How did they look?

"The Fleet's In" was in fine shape. Wish they'd do a Universal/TCM Vault Collection set for Betty Hutton -- such a major name in 1940s musicals deserves it.

 

[jdee28]

They were in great shape. Strangely, they were in better shape than less rare films that TCM/Universal has released on DVD, titles like The Glass Key, Phantom Lady, and Souls at Sea!