Upcoming Vintage TV-on-DVD releases from Alpha Video (1 Viewer)

[Bob Hug]

Alpha's upcoming vintage TV-on-DVD releases for April are pretty light -- just 3 -- but not without interest.

General Electric Theater:

Golden Age Theater - Volume 7 - Television on DVD Starring Ronald Reagan, Alan Ladd, Harry Belafonte, Ethel Waters & George Montgomery; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Martin Kane Private Eye

Martin Kane Private Eye - Volume 3 - Television on DVD Starring Lee Tracy; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

U.S. Marshal (John Bromfield)

U.S. Marshal - Westerns Classic Movies on DVD Starring John Bromfield, Mel Torme, Myron Healey & Jim Davis; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

 

[Bob Hug]

Alpha Video will be releasing four episodes of the comparatively rare-to-see variety series "The Ed Wynn Show" on August 26th; details here:

The Ed Wynn Show - Volume 1 - Television on DVD Starring Gloria Swanson, Hattie McDanial, Buddy Ebsen & Three Stooges; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

The only episode of this series that I've seen guest starred The Three Stooges, but other than that single episode (which I saw on a Stooges compilation DVD, and which appears on this disc), this appears to be the first commercial DVD release of the series.

Also, see Gary OS' thread for a couple of Christmas TV episode compilations coming from Alpha here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ed-tv-dvd.html

 

[Brian:C]

Hi Bob,

Millcreek's Essential Family TV (150 Episodes) with a release date of July 22, 2008 also contains episodes.

Here's the list:
The Ed Wynn Show 5. 11/3/1949 Victor Moore
The Ed Wynn Show 12. 12/22/1949 Buster Keaton/Virginia O'Brien
The Ed Wynn Show 13. 12/29/1949 Buddy Ebsen/Hattie McDaniel
The Ed Wynn Show 23. 3/11/1950 Elsa Lanchester/Reginald Gardiner
The Ed Wynn Show 25. 3/25/1950 Three Stooges
Millcreeks collection also contains a number of other rare releases. I'll be picking it up even know there is a lot of duplication with the more common shows on the release.

Brian
PS Bob, I emailed the complete episodes list for both set (Family & Spies & Lies) a week ago, You must have missed it. I'll post them in the millcreek thread in a few minutes.

 

[Bob Hug]

Looks like there are at least two eps. duplicated (Three Stooges, Buddy Ebsen/Hattie McDaniel) on the two releases.

Looking forward to the list of episodes. Thanks.

 

[HenryDuBrow]

CAPTAIN FATHOM: Unsold pilot produced in 1955. COLOR. The submarine Explorer, commanded by the mysterious Captain Fathom, encounters high radiation. The Captain, Professor Barclay, Seaman Clyde, and Carol, ship's photographer, investigate, finding a mysterious object. Stars Don Megowan as Captain Fathom, Richard Cutting as Professor Barclay, Kenneth Tobey as Seaman Clyde, and Barbara Wilson as Carol. Written and produced by Curt Siodmak.

SEA DIVERS: Unsold pilot produced in 1956. Two divers are hired to find the wreck of a ship that exploded, in order to retrieve valuable papers which their client says were on board. SEA HUNT, produced two years later, is believed to have "borrowed" its premise from this series. Stars Rhodes Reason, John Smith, Joyce Holden and Jeanne Vaughn.

COUNTERSPY: Pilot episode, 1958. The investigations of U.S. Counterspy, as it tries to protect America from enemy agents at home. A little girl finds a dead man in a wet suit while playing on the beach. How he got there is top secret, and relates to the investigation of a foreign ship that navigated a very difficult harbor without assistance and in record time. Stars Don Megowan as David Harding, with Brad Johnson.

Those three really sound interesting, more of these please.

 

[Bob Hug]

Henry, this release has been out for a while, but these unsold pilots are an interesting view.

"Captain Fathom" plays like a low rent version of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"

"Sea Divers" is said, by some, to be an early "inspiration" for the more popular and later "Sea Hunt."

"Counterspy" is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch and should have been picked up. A very good, solid story told within a half hour timeframe with some location filming in England.

The other episode on this disc, "Tobor" is more of a kids' show, but it's entertaining enough on that level.

 

[Bob Hug]

Some interesting upcoming vintage TV-on-DVD releases coming from Alpha at the end of October:

Decoy: Police Woman - Volume 3 - Television on DVD (1957) Starring Beverly Garland; Directed by David Alexander; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

This has two episodes that are making their commercial DVD debuts!

Famous TV Detectives (Peter Gunn / Burke's Law / Richard Diamond) - Television on DVD Starring Craig Stevens; Gene Nelson & David Jansen; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

I'm guessing that there's nothing new here that hasn't already been released, in fact it looks quite a bit like a TV detectives release that Platinum Disc Corporation released some years ago. Probably, "Who Killed Jason Shaw?" from Burke's Law, "Let's Kill Timothy" and "The Fuse" from Peter Gunn, and "Picture of Fear" and one other episode from "Richard Diamond."

Lights Out - Volume 3 - Television on DVD Starring Glenn Langan; Berry Kroeger; John Forsythe & Rita Gam; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

and

Lights Out - Volume 4 - Television on DVD Starring Veronica Lake; John Newland; Richard Carlson; Halliwell Hobbs; Jonathan Harris; Josephine Hull & John Forsythe; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Just in time for Halloween!

Super Circus - Television on DVD Starring Mary Hartline; Claude Kirchner & Nikki The Clown; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

This looks like an oddball release from Alpha; never seen it before.

 

[Bob Hug]

November 25th releases from Alpha Video include additional volumes of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (vol. 17), "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" (vol. 7), "Judge Roy Bean" (vol. 3), "The Roy Rogers Show" (vol. 9), "Golden Age of Television" (vol. 7 - TV dramas) and "Shotgun Slade" (vol. 3). Of note will be a couple of children's shows:

Captain Video and his Video Rangers: Captain Video And His Video Rangers - Television on DVD Starring Al Hodge & Richard Coogan; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

and the second volume of "Diver Dan:" Diver Dan - Volume 2 - Television on DVD (1960) Starring Frank Freda; Suzanne Turner & Allen Swift; Directed by Leon Rhodes & Mort Helig; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

 

[Bob Hug]

There's a big sale on Alpha Video titles over at Oldies.com. Individual discs can be had for $3.95 each. The vintage TV section begins here:

http://www.oldies.com/collection-view/Alpha-$3.95-DVD-Sale/genre_tv.html

 

[Bob Hug]

January 27, 2009 releases from Alpha Video include volumes 2 & 3 of "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot . . .

Volume 2: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Volume 2 - Television on DVD (1956) Starring William Russell; Directed by Lawrence Huntington; Ralph Smart & Bernard Knowles; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Volume 3: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Volume 3 - Television on DVD (1956) Starring William Russell; Directed by Lawrence Huntington; Ralph Smart & Bernard Knowles; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Alpha's also releasing their 11th volume of "The Roy Rogers Show" . . .

Volume 11: Roy Rogers With Dale Evans, Volume 11 - Television on DVD (1952) Starring Roy Rogers & Dale Evans; Directed by Robert G. Walker; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

. . . and the company is releasing another volume of "Lights Out."

Volume 5: Lights Out, Volume 5 - Television on DVD Starring John Newland; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

The "Sir Lancelot" releases are coming on the heels of Timeless Media's complete series release (including color episodes), but Alpha certainly has the most episodes released on commercially available DVDs for both "Roy Rogers" and "Lights Out."

 

[Bob Hug]

Upcoming February 24th releases from Alpha Video:

Ozzie & Harriet, Vol. 9: Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Volume 9 - Television on DVD Starring Ozzie Nelson; Harriet Nelson; David Nelson & Ricky Nelson; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Lights Out, Vol. 6: Lights Out, Volume 6 - Television on DVD Starring Otto Kruger; Robert Stack; Patric Knowles & Murvyn Vye; Directed by Laurence Schwab Jr. & William Corrigan; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Roy Rogers Show, Vol. 12: Roy Rogers With Dale Evans, Volume 12 - Television on DVD (1950) Starring Roy Rogers; Dale Evans & Pat Brady; Directed by Robert G. Walker; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

The Vise, Vol. 2: The Vise, Volume 1 - Television on DVD (1954) Starring John Loder; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Watch Mr. Wizard: Watch Mr. Wizard - Television on DVD (1950) Starring Don Herbert; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

The Ed Wynn Show, Vol. 2: The Ed Wynn Show, Volume 1 - Television on DVD Starring Ed Wynn; Ann Sheridan; Buster Keaton; Celeste Holm & Elsa Lanchester; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Please note that the descriptions for "The Vise" and "The Ed Wynn Show" incorrectly list volume 1; they're both volume 2.

 

[Bob Hug]

Upcoming March 31 releases from Alpha Video include additional volumes of shows like "Ozzie & Harriet," "Milton Berle," "Racket Squad," "Roy Rogers," "Annie Oakley," and "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans," and a few "new" shows to Alpha's collection of vintage TV shows:

The Lone Wolf: The Lone Wolf - Television on DVD Starring Louis Hayward; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

and

Man Behind the Badge: Man Behind The Badge - Television on DVD (1955) Starring Charles Bickford; Dabbs Greer; Joyce Holden; Frank Jenks; Aaron Spelling & Roy Barcroft; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Both of these series had some episodes included on Mill Creek's "Best of TV Detectives" so it's possible that there will be some episode duplication.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

about time they came out with another Hawkeye set.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Does anyone have any info on the DVD availability of the 50s series It's A Great Life with Michael O'Shea and a pre- Andy Griffith Show Frances Bavier? Alpha should check this one out!

 

[DeWilson]

Has anyone seen the CAPTAIN VIDEO volume?

 

[didi-5]

I'm currently working through Golden Age Theater and Golden Age of Television, which are really good. Excited about The Lone Wolf as I've wanted to see that for ages.

 

[Bob Hug]

A few episodes of "The Lone Wolf" are currently available on Mill Creek's "Best of TV Detectives."

Best of TV Detectives: Mill Creek Details Page

The Lone Wolf: Mill Creek Details Page

Don't know at this time as to whether or not there will be any episode duplication.

 

[Bob Hug]

Here are the April 28th upcoming TV-on-DVD releases from Alpha Video:

Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, vol. 11 (4 episodes): Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet, Volume 11 - Television on DVD Starring Ozzie Nelson; Harriet Nelson; David Nelson & Ricky Nelson; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Federal Men a/k/a Treasury Men in Action, vol. 5 (4 episodes): Federal Men, Volume 5 - Television on DVD (1954) Starring Walter Greaza; Directed by Leigh Jason & Will Jason; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Roy Rogers Show, vol. 14 (4 episodes): Roy Rogers With Dale Evans, Volume 14 - Television on DVD Starring Roy Rogers; Dale Evans & Pat Brady; Directed by Donald McDougall & Robert G. Walker; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

Code 3 (4 episodes): Code 3 - Television on DVD (1957) Starring Richard Travis; Alpha Video : OLDIES.com

I'm particularly interested in "Code 3" since it appeared on Mill Creek's "Best of TV Detectives" compilation last year. "Code 3" had also been rumored for an official release by Infinity Entertainment, but that has not yet come to fruition. Perhaps this stand alone release will create some interest in the series.

Alpha is also repackaging a number of its previous TV-on-DVD releases in value priced 10 DVD sets, each for $9.98 plus shipping. Details here:

Alpha Video - DVDs ~ Coming Soon - OLDIES.com is the direct source for classic movies from Alpha Video ~ Television : OLDIES.com


*** Update ***

It appears that Alpha will not be issuing "The Lone Wolf" later this month which I mentioned in post #32. The link indicates that the "product is no longer available." They do offer a single episode from the series on this TV Detectives compilation:

http://www.oldies.com/product-view/5368D.html

 

[Doug^Ch]

Bob, is there any way of knowing if these four episode compilations of Ozzie and Harriet are repeats of the episodes in the 100 episode Mill Creek set? I loved that set and would be happy to pick up additional episodes, but don't really want to repeat them.

 

[Bob Hug]

Doug, although the new volume 11 doesn't list episode titles yet, the previous 10 volumes do. Trouble is that you'll have to click on each one and make your own notes. I suggest that you do a "copy & paste," noting which 4 episodes appear on which volumes. That's probably the easiest way for you to make a list and then go back and compare with other O&H collections. To get started, try this link (there are a few other collections, including the ones from Shout! in this listing):

Movie Search: adventures of ozzie & harriet: DVDs : OLDIES.com