I agree. Universal's marketing strategy leaves me scratching my head (the same one I need a hole in as much as we need another DVD release of
Scarface [1983]).
In case anyone's keeping count... Number of Universal stand-alone releases of
Scarface:
Brian De Palma (1983): 4 / Howard Hawks (1932): 0*
* only available in Region 1 as a bonus (afterthought) in Universal's OOP Deluxe Gift Set edition of De Palma's
Scarface
From the lists maintained by Gordon McMurphy at the
Criterion Forum:
Notable Unreleased Universal-produced and miscellaneous acquisitions, 1930-1995:
Hell's Heroes (1930)
The Bad Sister (1931)
Seed (1931)
Airmail (1932)
Little Man, What Now? (1934)
Three Smart Girls (1936)
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) - Available in UK region 2
Mars Attacks the World (1938)
Tower of London (1939)
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)
The Green Hornet (1940)
The House of the Seven Gables (1940)
Seven Sinners (1940)
The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941)
Hellzapoppin (1941)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Back Street (1941)
The Flame of New Orleans (1941)
Pittsburgh (1942)
Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)
Arabian Nights (1942)
Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
Corvette K-225 (1943)
The Suspect (1944)
Phantom Lady (1944)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)
Canyon Passage (1946)
The Web (1947)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
All My Sons (1948)
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)
One Touch of Venus (1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948) - Do Universal own the rights or possess the O-neg?
Abandoned (1949)
The Heiress (1949)
Shakedown (1950)
The Sleeping City (1950)
You Never Can Tell (1951)
The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951)
Bright Victory (1951)
The Cimarron Kid (1952, Budd Boetticher)
The World in His Arms (1952)
Lost in Alaska (1952)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952)
Red Ball Express (1952)
Meet Danny Wilson (1952)
Against All Flags (1952)
The Man from the Alamo (1953, Budd Boetticher) - R2+R4 editions available
The Mississippi Gambler (1953)
The Lawless Breed (1953)
Thunder Bay (1953)
All I Desire (1953)
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
Romeo and Juliet (1954)
Saskatchewan (1954)
Destry (1954)
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
Man Without a Star (1955)
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
This Island Earth (1955)
Never Say Goodbye (1956)
Backlash (1956)
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
Mister Cory (1957)
The Monolith Monsters (1957)
The Tattered Dress (1957)
My Man Godfrey (1957)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) - Available in UK region 2
Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
The Night Runner (1957)
The Tarnished Angels (1958)
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)
This Earth Is Mine (1959)
Midnight Lace (1960) - Available in UK region 2
Back Street (1961) - Do Universal own this?
Flower Drum Song (1961)
The Great Impostor (1961)
The Last Sunset (1961)
Blast of Silence (1961) - Do Universal own this?
Freud (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave (1962) - Do Universal still own this?
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
A Gathering of Eagles (1963)
The Truth About Spring (1964)
Bedtime Story (1964) - Available in UK region 2
The Chalk Garden (1964)
I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)
Kitten with a Whip (1964)
Mirage (1965)
The Art of Love (1965)
Blindfold (1965)
Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965)
Arabesque (1966)
Gambit (1966)
Texas Across the River (1966)
Madame X (1966) - Do Universal own this?
Games (1967)
Privilege (1967) - Cinesite are credited at IMDb as having digitally restored the film
Rough Night in Jericho (1967)
Tobruk (1967)
Degree of Murder (1967, Schlondorff) - Do Universal own this?
Champagne Murders (1967, Chabrol) - Do Universal own this?
Les Aventuriers (1967, Enrico) - Do Universal own this?
Boom! (1968)
Isadora (1968)
The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968)
What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
Angel in My Pocket (1969)
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
Act of the Heart (1970) - Do Universal own this?
Red Sky at Morning (1971)
Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)
Taking Off (1971)
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
Follow Me! (1972)
Play It As It Lays (1972)
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
The Black Windmill (1974)
The Midnight Man (1974)
Janis (1974) - Do Universal own this?
Special Section (1975, Costa-Gavras) - Do Universal own this?
W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
The Big Fix (1978)
Resurrection (1980)
Zoot Suit (1981)
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) - Do Universal still own the rights? The rights have changed hands a lot. Nevertheless, it's available in the UK - an excellent SE[/color]
The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Comfort and Joy (1984) - Available in UK region 2
Under the Volcano (1984)
Dreamchild (1985)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) - Was this carried over to Universal from Polygram? Long overdue on DVD
'Night, Mother (1986)
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
Leaving Normal (1992)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992) - R2+R4 editions available
King of the Hill (1993)
Notable Unreleased Paramount Titles, 1930-1948 (Controlled by Universal):
Morocco (1930)
Monte Carlo (1930)
Dishonored (1931)
City Streets (1931)
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
Blonde Venus (1932)
If I Had a Million (1932)
Million Dollar Legs (1932)
No Man of Her Own (1932)
One Hour with You (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Broken Lullaby (1932)
This Is the Night (1932)
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Cleopatra (1934)
Little Miss Marker (1934)
The Old Fashioned Way (1934)
Six of a Kind (1934)
You're Telling Me! (1934)
Crime Without Passion (1934)
The Crusades (1935)
The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
Hands Across the Table (1935)
The Scoundrel (1935)
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
Desire (1936)
Angel (1937)
Easy Living (1937)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
If I Were King (1938)
You and Me (1938)
The Cat and the Canary (1939)
Midnight (1939)
Union Pacific (1939)
Christmas in July (1940) - Available in UK region 2
Dr. Cyclops (1940)
The Great McGinty (1940) - Available in UK region 2
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Remember the Night (1940)
Arise, My Love (1940)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
Among the Living (1941)
The Glass Key (1942)
The Major and the Minor (1942)
My Favorite Blonde (1942)
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
Street of Chance (1942)
Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
Frenchman's Creek (1944)
Going My Way (1944)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) - Available in UK region 2
Ministry of Fear (1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
The Uninvited (1944)
Love Letters (1945)
Murder, He Says (1945)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Blue Skies (1946)
Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)
To Each His Own (1946)
Soak the Rich (1946)
Golden Earrings (1947)
Unconquered (1947)
Calcutta (1947)
A Foreign Affair (1948)
I Walk Alone (1948)
Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)
