The third selection of pre-code productions from the Warner / M-G-M library might better be called the William Wellman Pre-code Collection, as all six films are Wellman directed, during an extremely prolific time in his extraordinary forty year career.
The general process for selecting films for a collections of this type is usually to create a mix of a couple of A titles, along with a B or two, and then fill the package out with "also rans."
This is NOT the case here, as we have a top filmmaker directing top talent of the era.
All of these films are relatively short, which was not unusual for the era, but even at that length I was not able to view them all. I selected two, and got two winners.
Disc three contains two films from 1933 -- Heroes for Sale with Richard Barthelmess, Loretta Young and Aline MacMahon, and Wild Boys of the Road, with Frankie Darro, Edwin Phillips, Rochelle Hudson, Dorothy Coonan (who soon after production became Mrs. Wellman, and retired from the screen, and Sterling Holloway, known especially to Disney fans more by his unique voice than by appearance.
Both films proved to be more timely than one might imagine, with their plots being re-enacted in real life in 2009 on a daily basis.
As to the physical elements, Heroes appears to have been harvested from a new fine grain master taken directly from the original negative, as the image quality is superior. Wild Boys falls into almost the same category, possibly from an older fine grain. Both are spectacular, and Wild Boys spectacular enough that Ms. Coonan's freckles, which studio publicity of the era notes as being insured for a million dollars, are readily evident.
Along with half the titles are quality running commentaries, shorts, and the Men Who Made the Movies documentary on Mr. Wellman.
Warner is providing an incredible service by preserving these films and releasing them to DVD. They are rare gems, which might otherwise be unavailable to the public.
Support Warners in picking up a copy, and be amazed at the quality of these early Wellman productions.
The third volume of Pre-code era films from Warner, under the Forbidden Hollywood imprimatur is Highly Recommended.
RAH
The general process for selecting films for a collections of this type is usually to create a mix of a couple of A titles, along with a B or two, and then fill the package out with "also rans."
This is NOT the case here, as we have a top filmmaker directing top talent of the era.
All of these films are relatively short, which was not unusual for the era, but even at that length I was not able to view them all. I selected two, and got two winners.
Disc three contains two films from 1933 -- Heroes for Sale with Richard Barthelmess, Loretta Young and Aline MacMahon, and Wild Boys of the Road, with Frankie Darro, Edwin Phillips, Rochelle Hudson, Dorothy Coonan (who soon after production became Mrs. Wellman, and retired from the screen, and Sterling Holloway, known especially to Disney fans more by his unique voice than by appearance.
Both films proved to be more timely than one might imagine, with their plots being re-enacted in real life in 2009 on a daily basis.
As to the physical elements, Heroes appears to have been harvested from a new fine grain master taken directly from the original negative, as the image quality is superior. Wild Boys falls into almost the same category, possibly from an older fine grain. Both are spectacular, and Wild Boys spectacular enough that Ms. Coonan's freckles, which studio publicity of the era notes as being insured for a million dollars, are readily evident.
Along with half the titles are quality running commentaries, shorts, and the Men Who Made the Movies documentary on Mr. Wellman.
Warner is providing an incredible service by preserving these films and releasing them to DVD. They are rare gems, which might otherwise be unavailable to the public.
Support Warners in picking up a copy, and be amazed at the quality of these early Wellman productions.
The third volume of Pre-code era films from Warner, under the Forbidden Hollywood imprimatur is Highly Recommended.
RAH
