Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

UPDATE: The COMPLETE Joe McDoakes Collection is now available in a 6-disc set through Warner Archives!

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I know there are some other fans of this '40s and '50 series of comedy shorts around here on HTF, so I thought it'd be good to have a full list of Warners DVDs that have one of them as an extra feature. The ones I've seen are good for some silly laughs, and George O'Hanlon (the voice of George Jetson) was always reliably hilarious as the eternally flustered and hapless Joe. IMDB lists at least 63 shorts in this series, so there are tons of them out there for future DVD releases.

Here's a list of McDoakes shorts that are either already on DVD or announced for release, listed with the disc that it can be found on, with the corresponding DVD box set in parentheses. Chime in if I've missed any of them, and I'll update this post. I'll also update this list whenever a new announcement comes up for another DVD with one of these shorts.

Already released on DVD
So You Want to Be a Detective (1948)-- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Warner Legends Collection)
So You Think You're Not Guilty (1950) -- White Heat (Warner Gangsters Vol. 1)
So You Think You're a Nervous Wreck (1946) -- A Night in Casablanca (Marx Brothers)
So You Think You Need Glasses (1942) -- The Man Who Came to Dinner (Bette Davis Vol. 2)
So You Want to Be in Pictures (1947) -- The Hasty Heart (Ronald Reagan Signature Collection)
So Your Wife Wants to Work (1956) -- The Spirit of St. Louis (James Stewart Signature Collection)
So You Want to Give Up Smoking (1942) -- All Through the Night (Humphrey Bogart Vol. 2)
So You Want to Be on the Radio (1948) -- Adventures of Don Juan (Errol Flynn Vol. 2)
So You Want to Be an Actor (1949) -- My Dream is Yours (Doris Day Vol. 2)
So You Want to Learn to Dance (1953) -- By the Light of the Silvery Moon (Doris Day Vol. 2)
So You Want a Television Set (1953) -- By the Light of the Silvery Moon (Doris Day Vol. 2)
So You Want to Enjoy Life (1952) -- Big Jim McLain (John Wayne Film Collection)
So You Think You Can't Sleep (1953) -- Trouble Along the Way (John Wayne Film Collection)
So You're Going to Have an Operation (1950) -- The Flame and the Arrow (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection)
So You Want to be a Paper Hanger (1951) -- Jim Thorpe: All American (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection)
So You Want to Be an Heir (1953) -- South Sea Woman (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection)
So You Want to Know Your Relatives (1954) -- His Majesty O'Keefe (Burt Lancaster Signature Collection)
So You Want a Raise (1950) -- Montana (Errol Flynn Westerns)
So You Want to Move (1950) -- Rocky Mountain (Errol Flynn Westerns)
Edited by Haggai - 10/13/09 at 7:07am

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Good Idea!

I think there was some McDoake's shorts on one of those Free DVDs that Barnes & Noble give out every year, but I don't remember if they're the same ones that are released on other discs. I'll check as soon as possible and report back.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Thanks a lot for that list, Haggai! I had forgotten about some of those extras.

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

With only 63 shorts, there's no reason why Warner couldn't put these in one collection. Instead, I need to buy all of these movies that I won't watch (with the exception of A Night at the Opera), and only get a handful! What are the chances we could get a complete collection? With the way Warner respectfully treat their classic titles, I don't see why a well-done set couldn't be put together for these classic shorts.

Anyone else want to see these?

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Does WB actually own the rights to the whole series? More specifically, the entries from the 1950s? Going back to the time they first starting appearing on TNT as late-night filler, through to their current TCM showings, I don't recall ever seeing any of the later shorts. Just the same dozen or so from the 1940s. One time I spoke with Richard L. Bare on the phone, and got into a brief side-discussion about the McDoakes shorts. He seemed to drop the notion that he wanted to release them on video, and just needed an angel to help finance it. This made me wonder if he retained some of the rights to them. But, he could have just been just full of baloney, handing me a line of 'big-talk' as some of those old Hollywood guys liked to do. I have no idea. Still, I'm curious why those later 1950s shorts haven't tended to circulate.

Whatever the case, I've always loved the McDoakes series. Many of them are real gems. It would be wild to have a dvd-set collecting them all, but I know this would be wildly unlikely.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

The one on the DVD for Spirit of St. Louis, So Your Wife Wants to Work, is from 1956. If IMDB's chronological placement of the shorts is completely accurate, it looks like that was the last one they did in the entire series.

With 63 shorts at an average of, let's say, 10 minutes (maybe a slight underestimate), that comes out to 10 1/2 hours, which would require at least 4 DVDs, maybe 5, to release a complete set. I'd love to see it myself, but would a 5-DVD set of nothing but Joe McDoakes be a financially viable product for Warners? I think that's a pretty unlikely candidate for box-set treatment.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Updated to include the announcement of "So You Want to Be on the Radio" in the Errol Flynn Vol. 2 box set.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Updated with three more shorts coming in the Doris Day Vol. 2 boxset.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Actually, there is a reason.

It wouldn't sell.

Outside of a precious few die-hard cinephiles (count me as one), no one knows these films anymore. They are (unjustly) forgotten, and that is a true shame because they were very well written, expertly directed by the under-appreciated Richard L. Bare, and expertly cast with terrific actors, especially George O'Hanlon.

Warner Bros. owns every one of them, and instead of letting them languish on the shelf, they are putting them to excellent use, in the way they were originally seen...as part of a vintage theater presentation.

I'd buy THE COMPLETE JOE McDOAKES in a heartbeat, and I bet a few thousand people would, too! Alas, a few thousand units would make this a great big dud, financially. As much as we don't like to face that reality, these companies are in this business to earn a profit.

The good news is that Warner has been very aggressive in the last three years in making more and more of these available. The new Doris Day set announcement, is especially exciting, because not only does BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON have TWO Joe McDoakes shorts, but the subject entitled SO YOU WANT TO BUY A TELEVISION SET has a great cameo appearance by none other than the stars of BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON...Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. I won't spoil the gag surrounding their appearance, but it's typical of the series and very funny. How great that Warner was savvy enough to include it here.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

I would buy a complete McDoakes collection as well as a Benchley compilation and a CRIME DOES NOT PAY set, but as Roger says, there's not many of us that would. The approach Warners is taking makes business sense because it will probably get some people to buy titles they wouldn't otherwise. BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON is a perfect example. Putting those 2 shorts on there makes it more tempting.

Steve

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Updated with two more coming in May, in the John Wayne Film Collection.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

I figure'd I'd bump this thread to see if any more of have been released or if any more or in the pipeline for the remainder of the year?

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

I'm usually pretty thorough in checking through the various Warner releases for these, and I haven't seen any more recently. Corrections welcome, as always. I guess at least this is a reminder to me to update the list!

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Two more shorts just announced for the Errol Flynn Westerns boxset in August.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

You are missing four shorts from Burt Lancaster: The Signature Collection

So You're Going to Have an Operation (1950) (on The Flame and the Arrow)
So You Want to be a Paper Hanger (1951) (on Jim Thorpe: All American)
So You Want to Be an Heir (1953) (on South Sea Woman)
So You Want to Know Your Relatives (1954) (on His Majesty O'Keefe)

...Paper Hangar and ...Heir are two of my favorites in the whole series. Paper Hanger features a humorous role for Arthur Q. Bryan, using his Elmer Fudd voice, as an annoying peddler.

Regards,

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Whoa, I sure dropped the ball on that one, the most McDoakes-heavy boxset released to date! Thanks, Ken; the first post has been updated again.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Thanks for the list. I've also enjoyed the McDoakes, Pete Smith and Robert Benchley shorts. Shame they can't all come out in boxsets, but it does keep me picking up boxsets when they go on sale.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

I recall these also got a little bit of play as program filler on HBO's original Comedy Channel, before it merged with Viacom's HA TV to become Comedy Central. Comedy Channel also aired another short film series from the Warner vaults as filler, which I can't recall, suffice to say it was a detective character.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Three more have appeared today on the Doris Day Spotlight Collection:

So You Want To Hold Your Husband (1950) - Tea For Two disc
So You Want To Be A Bachelor (1951) - Starlift disc
So You Want To Wear The Pants (1952) - April In Paris disc

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Thanks a lot. I was wondering if they had added any more.

Re: Joe McDoakes on DVD: a complete list

Hopefully a compilation of all of the shorts can be made thru the Warner Archive. Likewise with the Pete Smith, Robert Benchley, Crime Does Not Pay and Passing Parade series.

Good news earlier than we'd hoped?  WB's HTF chat earlier this year mentioned a complete McDoakes collection as a likely Warner Archives release, though I think they said it wouldn't be out until 2010.  But a complete set appears to be available right now as a pre-order on the WB Shop website:

http://www.wbshop.com/Joe-McDoakes-+63-SHORTS+EST-MOD/1000115110,default,pd.html

And the price is only 19.95!  Maybe that's a mistake...to add to the confusion, I went ahead and placed the order, and got an estimated shipping date of next week, i.e. the same as for releases that are already available.  And I was, indeed, only charged at the 19.95 price.  So, if/when something actually happens with that, I'll post back here with an update.

It looks like WA has purged the title.  I did receive a confirmation.  I also ordered "Our Gang" on the phone (phone orders don't send confirmations) but the charge is reflected on in the "Order History."  "Dogville Shorts" also vanished.  PETA?

I ordered the Our Gang shorts and also received a confirmation.  I guess we will see what happens.

I received my copy of the Joe McDoakes collection in the mail yesterday.  All 63 shorts are included in a 6 disc set, arranged (as far as I can tell) in chronological order by release date.  Four of the discs contain 11 shorts each, one has 10, and the other has 9.  I only had time to watch about half of the first disc, including a few shorts that had previously been released on other Warners discs and a few that hadn't.  They all look OK to me so far, pretty much consistent with the quality of the ones broadcast on TCM and included on previous discs.  

This is a really great use of the Archives by Warners, a long-anticipated treat for fans of this series.  It's hard to imagine a regular release of all these shorts being viable even in the best of DVD buying times, and collecting every single of them from TV or from other DVD releases may never have been completely possible.  But now with archives, we can get all of them at once, and it'll be a real treat to own.  Not only can we finally see all of them, but you can always pull it off the shelf and enjoy one or two shorts out of a choice of several dozen, in just a little slice of time.  

Some of the Archives releases of late have been disappointing in a "dumping ground" sense, with films that undoubtedly would have seen regular releases under a more consistent schedule getting sloughed off to lesser treatment.  But this set is getting just what it needs: absent any realistic chance of getting a regular release, a small but dedicated group of fans can satisfy our completist urges and finally own this full series.