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THE BOWERY BOYS on DVD: continuing discussion of Warner's eventual release plans (UPDATE 4/19:... - Page 14

Poll Results: How would you prefer THE BOWERY BOYS to arrive on DVD?

 
  • 40% (63)
    Release them now as a "Best Of" effort with features
  • 59% (91)
    Wait for better elements to arrive for a chronological release
154 Total Votes  
post #391 of 747
3/15/10 at 4:51pm
Not only was the video quality a major drop-off from the first film so was the actual film entertainment.

However, I don't think we should put too much stock into these showings and a possible remastered set.  TCM might have been sent an old master or they might have just shown the incorrect one.  This has happened before so just because this print was beat to hell doesn't really mean that a (possible) DVD release would look the same.
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post #392 of 747
3/16/10 at 9:48am
As far as the entertainment goes you are correct "In Fast Company" is not considered one of their better films. But like many comedy teams or series if there are 48 films some are bound to be better than others and a few will stand out as the best in the series and a few will stand out as the worst in the series. So I wouldn't worry if you enjoyed the 1st but not the second. The advantage of seeing them in production order is you will also see the gradual drop in melodrama and increase in slapstick as the series continues. There are also some characters who leave and a few who join along the way.
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post #393 of 747
3/17/10 at 12:27am
I think In Fast Company is a much better film than Live Wires. It has a better story line. Live Wires starts off alright but loses focus about half way thru the movie. Bowery Bombshell is another good one, the scene in the nightclub where Gorcey and the gang impersonate the gangsters is classic. Spook Busters is mostly silly and juvenile. Mr. Hex is also a good one.
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post #394 of 747
3/17/10 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpookChaser View Post

Anyone know where I can get (any kind of copy) of Spook Chasers? I have looked high and low online and everywhere else. I am not opposed to paying for it, but I don't want to have to join some torrent site. Any help would be appreciated. I'm starting to get desperate. Dangerously so.

*twitch*

I have a pretty good copy of Spook Chasers, recorded from WGN Chicago in 1983 or 84 if memory serves me correct. It's the complete movie, running a little over an hour.
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post #395 of 747
3/17/10 at 5:22am
I enjoyed "In Fast Company" as well. The extended phone booth gag was a bit overdone and looked like something director Del Lord pulled from the Columbia short subject playbook. A great supporting cast and a funny line delivered by Sach right at the fadeout...something that they would do more of in the future.
This week's "Bowery Bombshell" features the awesome Sheldon Leonard. It's a good one!
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post #396 of 747
3/21/10 at 12:38am
After the (IMO) horrid IN FAST COMPANY, #3 turned out to be the best I've seen from them (no matter what name they're under).  It's not a classic like the dramas from Warner but as far as laughs goes I think BOWERY BOMBSHELL is the best I've seen.  One great laugh after another for the first thirty-minutes.  The print on TCM was also in great shape.  I don't know the history of how these looked on earlier broadcasts but the quality here was near perfect with the B&W levels great and I don't even recall a single scratch or mark. 
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post #397 of 747
3/21/10 at 7:03am

"Bowery Bombshell" is a good one. I particularly enjoyed Bernard Gorcey's coming unglued in the Sweet Shop, Bobby Jordan's over-the-top impression of a Warner Brothers icon and the final visual gag was a nice touch.

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post #398 of 747
3/22/10 at 7:59am
Bowery Bombshell was a good print again so I'm starting to think that TCM got the new good prints along with the old ones that warners has yet to find new ones or restore.
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post #399 of 747
3/23/10 at 3:44am
I still hope Ron Epstein can fill us in on the latest status of getting this series on DVD.
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post #400 of 747
3/25/10 at 4:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lecagr View Post

I think In Fast Company is a much better film than Live Wires. It has a better story line.

I watched it a second time and enjoyed it much more than I had at first.
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post #401 of 747
4/3/10 at 10:25am
Didn't get a chance to see 'Mr. Hex' today but my neighbor who went nuts when I told him they were on TCM did and recorded it.

Haven't seen it yet but, he did tell me that (in his words) it was a 'piss poor' copy that TCM showed.

Anybody else catch it?
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post #402 of 747
4/3/10 at 1:22pm
I caught the beginning of Mr. Hex and it was indeed a sub par presentation...definitely not from the original nitrate that WHV found of this title.

Hopefully we'll hear something definitive from WHV sooner rather than later.  The longer we go without any confirmation that releases are indeed starting this year the more skeptical I become that they will actually happen.
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post #403 of 747
4/3/10 at 2:32pm
Seems TCM is using their old prints.

Heck, the MR HEX had the old "Warner Communications" logo at the end!
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post #404 of 747
4/4/10 at 4:23am
Yeah, the TCM print of MR. HEX was pretty shoddy. I really hope Warner is not abandoning these DVD releases. But the fact that there are crickets chirping as far as news of the DVDs is concerned, it doesn't look good. 
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post #405 of 747
4/4/10 at 9:37am
I don't know what TCM's print of Mr. Hex looks like, but I think my copy looks and sounds absolutely fine. I recorded it from WGN Chicago in the 1980's. It's the complete movie, 63 minutes.
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post #406 of 747
4/5/10 at 8:00am
Yeah Mr. Hex has been in poor shape for a long time now and this is the same poor print. Every print I have seen on TV since the early 80's of this film has been poor. In a way I'm glad they are showing old prints so we still have something to look forward to with the DVD releases when eventually come out, hopefully before the 22nd century.
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post #407 of 747
4/5/10 at 8:42am
I'm guessing at some point when they pulled the 16mm prints from syndication and replaced them with video transfers they just grabed whatever print of MR HEX was handy and not even bother to find the best looking 16mm or strike a print from whatever 16mm negative they had.
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post #408 of 747
4/9/10 at 12:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Korstick View Post

Yeah Mr. Hex has been in poor shape for a long time now and this is the same poor print. Every print I have seen on TV since the early 80's of this film has been poor.

Well, WGN in Chicago had a good print of Mr. Hex, I recorded it from them in 1986. In fact, most of the Bowery Boy movies in my collection came from WGN. They used to air the movies on occasion from 1983 to 1987. Time slot was Monday mornings from 3 AM till 4:30 AM. Their airings consisted of old 16mm prints, but they had a unique, nostalgic
look to them and the video/audio quality is very good.
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post #409 of 747
4/14/10 at 4:26pm
Here's an idea - what about themed Bowery Boys DVD sets to start?  Sets with five movies in each, compiled by theme:

SPOOKS & KOOKS: Spook Busters, Master Minds, Ghost Chasers, The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, Spook Chasers

SPORTS NUTS: Mr. Hex (or something else appropriate since Hex is the problem print), Crazy Over Horses, Hold That Line, No Holds Barred, Jalopy

MADCAP MYSTERIES: Bowery Bombshell, Hard-Boiled Mahoney, Smuggler's Cove, Trouble Makers, Private Eyes

MILITARY MAYHEM: Bowery Battalion, Let's Go Navy, Here Come the Marines, Clipped Wings, Looking for Danger

STEPPIN' OUT: Blues Busters, Loose in London, Paris Playboys, High Society, In the Money

At the very least, I'd think the Spooky and Military sets would do well, and maybe the mysteries.  Worth considering, in my opinion...
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post #410 of 747
4/15/10 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCOPYGUY View Post

Here's an idea - what about themed Bowery Boys DVD sets to start?  Sets with five movies in each, compiled by theme:

SPOOKS & KOOKS: Spook Busters, Master Minds, Ghost Chasers, The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, Spook Chasers

SPORTS NUTS: Mr. Hex (or something else appropriate since Hex is the problem print), Crazy Over Horses, Hold That Line, No Holds Barred, Jalopy

MADCAP MYSTERIES: Bowery Bombshell, Hard-Boiled Mahoney, Smuggler's Cove, Trouble Makers, Private Eyes

MILITARY MAYHEM: Bowery Battalion, Let's Go Navy, Here Come the Marines, Clipped Wings, Looking for Danger

STEPPIN' OUT: Blues Busters, Loose in London, Paris Playboys, High Society, In the Money

At the very least, I'd think the Spooky and Military sets would do well, and maybe the mysteries.  Worth considering, in my opinion...

 


I like it. Very nice work!
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post #411 of 747
4/15/10 at 4:05pm
The print they ran of Mr. Hex looked horrible. It was out of focus for the majority of the movie and I believe it was missing about 3 minutes of footage as well. Keep that WGN copy as its probably better than whatever Warner now has in its possession. In the late 80s when studios stopped sending out 16mm prints for syndication they basically chucked out all of their 16mm prints. Chances are that nice print that WGN used to run was discarded and all they have left is the piss poor copy that now airs.
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post #412 of 747
4/16/10 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCOPYGUY View Post

Here's an idea - what about themed Bowery Boys DVD sets to start?  Sets with five movies in each, compiled by theme:

SPOOKS & KOOKS: Spook Busters, Master Minds, Ghost Chasers, The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters, Spook Chasers

SPORTS NUTS: Mr. Hex (or something else appropriate since Hex is the problem print), Crazy Over Horses, Hold That Line, No Holds Barred, Jalopy

MADCAP MYSTERIES: Bowery Bombshell, Hard-Boiled Mahoney, Smuggler's Cove, Trouble Makers, Private Eyes

MILITARY MAYHEM: Bowery Battalion, Let's Go Navy, Here Come the Marines, Clipped Wings, Looking for Danger

STEPPIN' OUT: Blues Busters, Loose in London, Paris Playboys, High Society, In the Money

At the very least, I'd think the Spooky and Military sets would do well, and maybe the mysteries.  Worth considering, in my opinion...

 


They are supposedly going to do chronoloical releases,but these arn't bad ideas for theamed releases! :)
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post #413 of 747
4/16/10 at 5:43pm
Paul, welcome to HTF! 

At this point, does the membership think ANY releases, themed, chronological, or otherwise, will actually happen?? 

The majority of the prints on TCM have been subpar and I've already seen comments online to the effect that the viewer couldn't make it past 10 minutes in any of these films.  Watching poor prints does not make for an enjoyable experience. 

The fear, and I think it is legitimate, is that potential consumers are being turned off on the Bowery Boys because the entertainment quality of the films are being  diminished by the the physical quality of the prints themselves.

WHV has remained silent on this topic for quite awhile.  Given their normal tendency to generate buzz and excitement on future releases by giving interviews, etc. this does not seem to bode well for BB releases.
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post #414 of 747
4/16/10 at 5:46pm
They said it would be late 2010 and it's not even mid 2010.  I'm all for giving them until the end of the year before I start having my panic attack.
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post #415 of 747
4/17/10 at 2:29pm

I sure hope so. I'm still eager for proper DVD sets.

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post #416 of 747
4/17/10 at 9:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve...O View Post


The majority of the prints on TCM have been subpar and I've already seen comments online to the effect that the viewer couldn't make it past 10 minutes in any of these films.  Watching poor prints does not make for an enjoyable experience.  


 


The only one that was sub-par was MR HEX - the rest looked good-sure,not restored older transfers, but then alot of the films on TCM are like that.
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post #417 of 747
4/19/10 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 
Hello Everyone!

I want to apologize for the fact that I have not been very
active in this thread supplying you with any updated 
information I might be hearing on the release of these 
films to DVD.

The truth of the matter is, I haven't had the opportunity
to speak with anyone at the studio as of late.  There have
been a lot of changes at Warner Brothers over the last year
that has resulted in job losses (a 25% reduction in staff) as
well as a total revamping of which titles are being prioritized
and which are not.  The economic climate has just changed
the playing field so to speak and all the studios are being
more careful with what they plan to release.

I finally had the chance to talk to Warner Bros. this morning.

The bad news is, The Bowery Boys will not be released 
to DVD this year.  The studio wanted me to emphasize
to all of you that these titles are still in the planning, 
working and development stage.  For many of the reasons
that I spoke about above, these titles had to be placed
on the back burner.  However, despite all the changes in
the marketplace and the reduction of staff over at WB,
the studio is staying the course.  They have waited this
long to get the Bowery Boys films out and it has always
been their goal not to release them using their existing
poor prints.  In fact, looking at the poll within this thread,
60% of you opted to have the studio wait for better elements.

Though WB originally had a certain date in mind, they
never promised they would meet it.  Certainly, this is
not the first time (nor will it be the last) that they have
releases penciled in that were pushed back two or more
years.  

As far as the recent TCM broadcasts are concerned...

TCM licensed those prints from Warner Bros. Television.
The film division had nothing to do with it.  What TCM has
been broadcasting are prints that are 20+ years old and
were basically taken from whatever was on the shelf.  For
those of you have seen some of these prints you may 
better understand why the studio doesn't feel they are fit
for release.  

I realize that the news I am providing you with today is
not good.  If anyone should take the fault of promises
that were never met, it should be I.  The studio was in
full gear towards getting these titles out a year ago.  
They never promised me a date, but I went ahead and
let all of you know that these titles were forthcoming 
based on the amount of enthusiasm that was being
expressed by Warner.  However, within the past year
all the studios have gone through extensive staff cuts.
Not only that, but people aren't buying the same kind of
titles they were over the past few years.  

The bottom line here is that Warner is not abandoning
The Bowery Boys.  I am being told that they want to
ultimately appease the fan base and that they are very
hopeful for an eventual release. 
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post #418 of 747
4/19/10 at 11:01am
Did you have the chance to talk abouth other projects in addition to The Bowrey Boys?
Nonetheless, thanks for the update. :)
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post #419 of 747
4/19/10 at 11:15am
Thread Starter 
Yes, quite a few, which I am not at liberty to discuss
right now.  I think I can say that I anticipate quite a few
positive changes to the archive collection. 
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post #420 of 747
4/19/10 at 1:23pm
Well my remark was primarily hinted at pressed discs but thanks again, Ron.
Time will tell. :)
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