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Our Gang Collection, 80 shorts, Oct. 28 (1 Viewer)

Tony Bensley

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Thanks again Tony. Burned-in subs are never cool but as I'm sure you know, can often be removed by copying the discs and deleting that sub stream during the process.
Let me know about the transfers too and maybe I can save myself some money!

I know PAL speedup's an issue for many but it's something I rarely notice.
Hi Brent!

I'm afraid I find myself getting confused over the "Burned-In" terminology, which causes me to think they can't be removed without leaving holes in the image that have to be sloppily filled in with some software program, whereas your description sounds like a pretty simple DVD Shrink task!

When you mention transfers, are you referring to the Cabin Fever Laserdiscs?

Also, please see my edited post #181 for my correction regarding A TOUGH WINTER!

As for the PAL speedup issue, I reckon you're used to that on your side of the pond! ;)

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 

Brent Reid

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I'm referring to the transfers on the German discs. They're the ones that would be easiest and cheapest for me to acquire. Just imagine: so many German releases are superior to US and UK ones anyway that it's (slightly) possible they're actually the definitive set!

I think you're right, re the speedup...
 

Tony Bensley

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I'm referring to the transfers on the German discs. They're the ones that would be easiest and cheapest for me to acquire. Just imagine: so many German releases are superior to US and UK ones anyway that it's (slightly) possible they're actually the definitive set!

I think you're right, re the speedup...
Hi Brent!

Some details regarding the German releases that I've read about are coming back to me, plus some I was previously unaware of:

1. While I recall reading that the PQ for these is generally good, not ALL of the Hal Roach 'Rascals' Talkies are included in the German Kinowelt sets. In fact, only 60 of the 80 1929 - 1938 sound shorts are included in the 2nd and 3rd DVD sets, with the entire 1929 - 1930 Talkie season (From SMALL TALK to A TOUGH WINTER) omitted, with others missing (IE. WASHEE IRONEE) here and there!

2. The German releases are available as three separate sets (1927 - 1929; 1930 - 1934; and 1935 - 1938), or one 8 DVD set (1927 - 1938), which includes the 14 MGM distributed silents, and 60 sound shorts.

As I know that fellow HTF member Joe Davis has these sets, I'll check in with him for his opinion regarding how the quality compares with the Cabin Fever and RHI/Vivendi sets.

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 

Tony Bensley

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Insofar as at least some of the RHI/Vivendi Revised Little Rascals DVDs are going out of print, I've decided to post the list of available silent and sound shorts via the 2009 German based Kinowelt "Little Rascals" PAL Region 2 DVD sets.

'Our Gang' - The German Kinowelt DVD Sets
(Also Available As An 8 DVD Set)

THE LITTLE RASCALS (1927-1929) Rated: OA
(All Hal Roach/MGM Issued Silents With Burned German Subtitles Below English Intertitle Cards)
Episodes:

Disc 1:
01 Dog Heaven (1927)
02 Spook Spoofing (1928) (Only 3 Reel Silent)
03 Rainy Days
04 Barnum & Ringling, Inc.
05 Crazy House
06 The Ol 'Gray Hoss
07 The Spanking Age

Disc 2:
08 Election Day (1929)
09 Noisy Noises
10 Wiggle Your Ears
11 Fast Freight
12 Little Mother
13 Cat, Dog & Co.
14 Saturday's Lesson
http://www.amazon.de/Die-kleinen-St...bxgy_74_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BF194336VK866XQJ2AR

THE LITTLE RASCALS (1930-1934) Rated: OA
(English & German Audio Options/No Subtitles)
Episodes:

Disc 1:
01 Pups Is Pups (1930)
02 Teacher's Pet
03 School's Out
04 Helping Grandma (1931)
05 Love Business
06 Little Daddy (abridged version)
07 Little Daddy (unabridged English original version).
08 Bargain Day

Disc 2:
09 Fly My Kite
10 Shiver My Timbers
11 Dogs Is Dogs
12 Readin 'And Writin' (1932)
13 Free Eats
14 The Pooch
15 Hook And Ladder
16 Birthday Blues
17 Fish Hooky (1933)

Disc 3:
18 Forgotten Babies
19 Mush And Milk
20 Bedtime Worries
21 Wild Poses
22 Hi'-Neighbor! (1934)
23 For Pete's Sake
24 The First Round-Up
25 Honky Donkey
26 Mike Fright
http://www.amazon.de/Die-kleinen-St...p/B002880H82/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

THE LITTLE RASCALS (1935*-1938) Rated: OA
(English & German Audio Options/No Subtitles)
Episodes:

Disc 1:
01 Mama's Little Pirate (1934)
02 Shrimps For A Day
03 Anniversary Trouble (1935)
04 Beginner's Luck
05 Teacher's Beau
06 Sprucin ' Up
07 Little Papa
08 Little Sinner

*Despite the 1935-1938 heading, the first 2 shorts on the above disc were released in 1934!

Disc 2:
09 Our Gang Follies Of 1936
10 The Pinch Singer (1936)
11 Divot Diggers
12 The Lucky Corner
13 Second Childhood
14 Arbor Day
15 Bored Of Education (First To Be Issued In Shorter 1 Reel Format)
16 Two Too Young
17 Pay As You Exit
18 Spooky Hooky
19 Reunion In Rhythm (1937)
20 Glove Taps
21 Hearts Are Thumps

Disc 3:
22 Three Smart Boys
23 Rushin 'Ballet
24 Roamin' Holiday
25 Night 'N' Gales
26 Fishy Tales
27 Framing Youth
28 The Pigskin Palooka
29 Mail And Female
30 Our Gang Follies Of 1938 (Special 2 Reel Short)
31 Canned Fishing (1938)
32 Three Men In A Tub
33 Came The Brawn
34 The Awful Tooth
35 Hide And Shriek (Last Hal Roach Short)
http://www.amazon.de/Die-kleinen-St...p/B002880H8C/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

THE LITTLE RASCALS (1927-1938) Rated: OA
14 Silents/60 Talkies (All Titles From The Above Separate Volumes Included!)
http://www.amazon.de/Die-kleinen-St...d_cp_74_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BF194336VK866XQJ2AR
 
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Tony Bensley

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In case the links for the above post disappear, here are the covers for the corresponding German Kinowelt DVD sets:

51K7BVvbJ7L.jpg


51rEXMx3-yL.jpg


51ze2t4+EVL.jpg


This collection includes all of the shorts from the above 3 sets!
91paxusAu9L._SL1500_.jpg
 

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DeWilson

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So WHICH Soundtracks do the 1927-1929 MGM "silents" have?

New Score? The existing RCA/Vitaphone-type music/fx discs? Beau Hunks recreated scores?
 

Tony Bensley

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So WHICH Soundtracks do the 1927-1929 MGM "silents" have?

New Score? The existing RCA/Vitaphone-type music/fx discs? Beau Hunks recreated scores?
Hi Denny!

Here's a listing from another forum that should answer your questions:
(All Hal Roach/MGM Issued Silents Have Burned German Subtitles Below English Intertitle Cards)

14 of the silents are included -
Disc 1:
01) Dog Heaven
(1927)
02) Spook-Spoofing (1928) (The only 'Our Gang' silent 3 reeler!)
03) Rainy Days
04) Barnum & Ringling, Inc. - w/ original soundtrack
05) Crazy House
06) The Ol' Gray Hoss
07) The Spanking Age

Disc 2:
08) Election Day
(1929)
09) Noisy Noises - w/ original soundtrack
10) Wiggle Your Ears - w/ original soundtrack
11) Fast Freight
12) Little Mother
13) Cat, Dog & Co. - w/ original soundtrack
14) Saturday's Lesson - w/ original soundtrack
(The last 'Our Gang' silent!)

The other three surviving MGM silents ("The Old Wallop," "Fair and Muddy," "School Begins") are not included. Shorts that don't include an original soundtrack feature tunes from the Beau Hunks CDs.

It should be noted that the 'Our Gang' website, "The Lucky Corner" indicates that the surviving print for SCHOOL BEGINS (1928) is in poor condition, so it may not be transferable. I have no idea why the other two extant titles remain unreleased, however!

Five of the Roach/MGM 'Our Gang' silents, YALE VS. HARVARD (The first of the Roach/MGM entries!); HEEBIE JEEBIES (1927); GROWING PAINS; EDISON, MARCONI, & CO. (1928); and THE HOLY TERROR (1929) are considered to be lost films!

Despite the PAL Region 2 listing, this looks like a very good set, and I do want to pick this up, at some point! I just wish that Region 1 had an equivalent collection for the Roach/MGM silents, but the complicated release rights issues in North America have been preventing this!

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 
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Professor Echo

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Tony,

I'm not as much of a purist or completist as some, so would you say as far as having a relatively comprehensive OUR GANG collection, I could get by with the seven RHI/VIVENDI volumes and then add the German set of silents? I have the former already and am currently in Germany now so might be able to find the latter at a good price.

Thanks for all the useful information you have provided in this thread. It's not only helpful, it makes for great reading!
 

Tony Bensley

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Tony,

I'm not as much of a purist or completist as some, so would you say as far as having a relatively comprehensive OUR GANG collection, I could get by with the seven RHI/VIVENDI volumes and then add the German set of silents? I have the former already and am currently in Germany now so might be able to find the latter at a good price.

Thanks for all the useful information you have provided in this thread. It's not only helpful, it makes for great reading!
Hi Glen!

In terms of the Hal Roach sound shorts and the available late Roach/MGM silents, yes!

Beyond that, there's the new Warner Archive GENERAL SPANKY (1936) DVD-R release, which is the gang's sole Feature Film, and their 52 MGM one reel shorts (1938-44) OUR GANG COLLECTION, which are considered to be not as good as their earlier Hal Roach sound shorts. If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, there is a number of 'Our Gang' silent collections that contain a fair chunk of the Public Domain Roach/Pathe (1922-28) silents.

Best of luck in getting a copy of the German Kinowelt Roach/MGM silents!

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 

Professor Echo

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Hi Glen!

In terms of the Hal Roach sound shorts and the available late Roach/MGM silents, yes!

Beyond that, there's the new Warner Archive GENERAL SPANKY (1936) DVD-R release, which is the gang's sole Feature Film, and their 52 MGM one reel shorts (1938-44) OUR GANG COLLECTION, which are considered to be not as good as their earlier Hal Roach sound shorts. If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, there is a number of 'Our Gang' silent collections that contain a fair chunk of the Public Domain Roach/Pathe (1922-28) silents.

Best of luck in getting a copy of the German Kinowelt Roach/MGM silents!

CHEERS! :)

Tony

Thanks, Tony! I appreciate your help.

What would you say are the better releases of the pre-MGM silents? I'm very interested in all the silent shorts because I've never seen them.

I watched the later one reelers when I subscribed to the Warner Archive streaming channel and they were something of a curio, but I don't imagine I would watch them very often. They seemed to be missing the essential ingredient of their predecessors, namely HUMOR! And Spanky is so bossy later on, haha. By the time Froggy and Mickey take over, the charm was gone for me.
 

Tony Bensley

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Thanks, Tony! I appreciate your help.

What would you say are the better releases of the pre-MGM silents? I'm very interested in all the silent shorts because I've never seen them.

I watched the later one reelers when I subscribed to the Warner Archive streaming channel and they were something of a curio, but I don't imagine I would watch them very often. They seemed to be missing the essential ingredient of their predecessors, namely HUMOR! And Spanky is so bossy later on, haha. By the time Froggy and Mickey take over, the charm was gone for me.
Hi Glen!

Collecting the pre MGM silents is a trickier business, as the various extant titles/cuts can be best described as being scattered to the wind. That said, the following site may be a good place to start for the Public Domain Roach/Pathe shorts: http://www.reelclassicdvd.com/silent_era.htm

It appears that Reel Classics accepts PayPal.

I agree that after Spanky departed, the MGM 'Our Gang' series was pretty much dregsville! In my opinion, DON'T LIE (1942) was his low point in terms of his being so bossy! He was downright 'holier than thou' in that short! :P

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 

Professor Echo

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Hi Glen!

Collecting the pre MGM silents is a trickier business, as the various extant titles/cuts can be best described as being scattered to the wind. That said, the following site may be a good place to start for the Public Domain Roach/Pathe shorts: http://www.reelclassicdvd.com/silent_era.htm

It appears that Reel Classics accepts PayPal.

I agree that after Spanky departed, the MGM 'Our Gang' series was pretty much dregsville! In my opinion, DON'T LIE (1942) was his low point in terms of his being so bossy! He was downright 'holier than thou' in that short! :P

CHEERS! :)

Tony

Thank you for the referral, Tony. They sound like great editions, but are a little more expensive than I anticipated, so will have to pass for now. I was hoping there would be relatively watchable copies from lower level public domain sources at a fraction of what these are selling for. Spending over a $100 for these volumes is way over my budget, so I guess I'll just have to be content with my MGM and Fruit-Of-The-Loom shorts. Haha.

Thanks again for your help!
 

Tony Bensley

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Thank you for the referral, Tony. They sound like great editions, but are a little more expensive than I anticipated, so will have to pass for now. I was hoping there would be relatively watchable copies from lower level public domain sources at a fraction of what these are selling for. Spending over a $100 for these volumes is way over my budget, so I guess I'll just have to be content with my MGM and Fruit-Of-The-Loom shorts. Haha.

Thanks again for your help!
Hi Glen!

There is also a 6 DVD set that includes 45 of the 'Our Gang' Public Domain Pathe silent shorts from 1922-28, though it doesn't include any of the 1927 Pathe silents. Unfortunately, from what I can glean, there aren't any available onine at the moment, although there was one sold on eBay at a decent price not too long ago, so it may be worthwhile to keep checking for it, periodically.

Anyway, here's the listing for "The Little Rascals 45 Episode DVD Collection" at the classic theater website: http://www.theclassictheater.com/rascals.html

CHEERS! :)

Tony
 
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Tony Bensley

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My GENERAL SPANKY (1936) Warner Archive Single Layer DVD-R order finally arrived in today's mail!

Aside from the obligatory Piracy Warning Screen, the only extra (No Captions or Subtitles!) is the very simple Menu Screen, as displayed below:

dvd_snapshot_00.00_[2016.02.17_15.23.39].png

From what little I've seen of the visuals, while it's a noticeable improvement over the TCM Broadcasts, probably falls into the somewhat better than serviceable category, as opposed to anything approaching pristine quality.

Here's a nice shot of George "Spanky" McFarland, taken from the opening scene:
dvd_snapshot_00.01.04_[2016.02.17_15.34.12].png


CHEERS! :)
 
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Tony Bensley

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In Dave Lord Heath's Another Nice Forum, Essanay Paul (Paul Mular) has posted that the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum Store has sold the last copy of the out of print Volume 6 of The Little Rascals RHI/Vivendi reissued DVDs.
cry.png


As of this morning, they have 3 copies of the out of print Volume 5 DVD remaining. When they're gone, they're gone!

Just passing this information along.
 

Tony Bensley

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Current Status For The Little Rascals 2008 RHI/Genius DVD Set (The One With The Blackhawk Titles And Bonus Disc), And The 7 Individual Volume RHI/Vivendi DVD 2011 Revised Reissues:

According to Paul Mular of the Niles Essanay Silent Films Museum, this is the current status for the following:

THE LITTLE RASCALS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 8 DVD Set By RHI/Genius Entertainment - In Print and the only set still currently being manufactured.

THE LITTLE RASCALS Individual Revised RHI/Vivendi Volumes (1 to 7) -
Volume 1 - In Print
Volume 2 - In Print
Volume 3 - In Print
Volume 4 - In Print (Previous reports of this volume being out of print are incorrect!)
Volume 5 - Out of Print
Volume 6 - Out of Print
Volume 7 - In Print

Additional Information:
1) Genius Entertainment Home Video does not exist any more. It was taken over by Vivendi in 2009.
2) Vivendi Entertainment Home Video does not exist any more. It was taken over by Cinedigm in 2013. Their video division is called "New Video".

According to Cinedigm's website, ONLY the old Genius Entertainment box set is still being manufactured!
www.newvideo.com/?s=Little+Rascals

Note: In Print just means there is still remaining stock in the warehouse to sell, not that any more pressings will necessarily be made!

Paul Mular has clarified that once the remaining individual RHI/Vivendi Volumes sell out, only the Complete RHI/Genius Set will be available!

CHEERS :)
 
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Tony Bensley

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According to Essanay Paul (Paul Mular):

It appears that SONAR is now using the new Vivendi re-mastered DVDs and packaging them in the old Genius Complete Series. The individual discs are out of print.

The problem is that is it is hard to tell one set from the other.

Here is what is posted from a customer who bought one:
"I just bought another copy of this box set from W--LM-RT (for less than $10 dollars) with the idea to swap out the old 'Genius Entertainment' DVDs (that contained some Blackhawk prints) with the updated/corrected versions of the discs released by Vivendi. WHEN I OPENED the brand new package, I found that the new lower price set (in IDENTICAL packaging) already contained all of the updated discs. The bonus disc still says Genius Entertainment, but the other 7 discs say Vivendi Entertainment and have the 'Pete the Dog' Artwork!! :D
WHAT A DEAL THIS REALLY IS NOW!! As far as I can see, there is no way to tell if you have the updated box or the original box without opening it and looking at the disc art.
 

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