Warning to potential buyers of Universal's Abbott and Costello Collection Vol. 2 (1 Viewer)

[John Sparks]

Bob Termanek,

Like I've said in earlier posts, thanks for all the hard work that you did on "Africa Screams and Jack and the Beanstalk."

The LD's looked beautiful and were crammed full of out-takes and other goodies...which "NO ONE" will ever see unless they have a LD player and the LD's.

The LD box set of their 4 movies from UA also has a treat at the end. Out-takes from 2 of the films are included...which "NO ONE" will see unless...

Also, the LD print (box set, not the single) of "A&C Meet Frankenstein" has much more detail in the dark scenes. The DVD is just too dark with no shadow detail.

Too bad that "A&C Meet Captain Kid" never made it to LD, do you know why?

 

[Ruz-El]

Not to derail the thread, but all of my monster legacy disc flippers have a problem. The ones that don't are the one's that have one movie per side. Sides 2-4 on the A&C vol 1 are also defective.

the A&C vol.1 problem is the movies and trailer skip at different parts.

The Monster problem is an authoring problem. Start Son Of Frankenstein and it goes to the ghost of frankenstein menu. Start Ghost and and Son starts. The only way to start ghost is to select chaptor one from the scene selection. You can't play the Ghost trailer because the Son trailer plays (and skips, all the trailers on the flippers skip.)

So Universal has their problems, and it seems to be more Universal problems thanother studios. It seems to be quality control straight up, not just shipping problems.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Thanks John. The outtakes were at the end of the first MCA laser box. It's doubtful you'll see those released again because they belong to the A&C Estates, and they're not very easy to deal with. I was able to work out an arrangement with them because, in addition to freelancing for MCA, I was working with the families as well.

Captain Kidd was never released on laser because we couldn't find decent elements. The only thing we had was a worn 35mm SuperCinecolor print from the original 1952 release. I eventually located the 3 color seperation negatives (red, blue, yellow) in England, and the film has now been fully restored by the UCLA Film Archive. WB should have a stunning video master of that restoration. Fans should write to them and suggest they release it on DVD along with their 4 other Abbott and Costello titles: Rio Rita, Lost in a Harem, A&C in Hollywood and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Bob Furmanek

 

[John Sparks]

You're welcome.

Thanks for the info about WB. I'm going to write them a letter and maybe I'll get a response.

 

[Lyle H.]

I got this email from Universal:

Thank you for contacting us.

Unfortunately, we cannot supply you with individual DVD keepcase sleeves because
none were created for The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello DVD collections. However,
we will be happy to exchange the digipak and/or defective disc for you.

Please return the items, along with a copy of this correspondence and the following
information:

1. Reason for exchange
2. Your UPS shipping address (U.S. and U.S. Territories)
3. Daytime phone number
4. A copy of your purchase receipt

Send to:

RENE WOLFENSBERGER
Universal Studios Home Video
10 Universal City Plaza Suite 700
Universal City CA 91608

Please allow six weeks for replacement.

We appreciate your patronage and hope that you will continue to enjoy Universal
releases.



Sincerely,
Universal Studios Customer Service.

 

[Lyle H.]

So has anyone had any issues with Vol. 3? Mine was loose in the case but seems to be fine.

 

[Duane_T]

Mine have been pretty good so far:

Vol. 1: two movies had skips, 1 on 1, 2 on the other, both short 1-2 seconds though
Vol. 2: no problems
Vol. 3: no problems

 

[Joe Karlosi]

No, Lyle. No problems with Vol. 3. Nor any of the others, for that matter.

 

[Steve Armbrust]

Yes, I had a lockup on disk 2 of A&C vol 3. Exchanged it and the second set played fine.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

There have been a few posts about the unavailability of the VHS tape of "It Ain't Hay." While this title is indeed out of print, a few copies are still available from Movies Unlimited. It's priced at $14.99 but shipping brings it up to about $20 -- probably worth it for us A&C fans who fear that this title will never make it to DVD.

I don't know how many copies they have left, but I ordered one today.

www.moviesunlimited.com

 

[Randy Korstick]

But keep in mind that this is a bootleg and not a very good looking copy. I have seen much better versions on TV. The unavailability posts were that this film never had an official VHS release from Universal with a quality print to match the other releases just this unofficial bootleg.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Not to go too heavy into bootleg discussion, but I hope the studios realize that fans are ready, willing and able to buy the "real deal" from them if they bother to release it and untangle rights issues. If they don't, then sometimes the completist has no other alternative but to obtain the film in question elsewhere.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Someone posted a note earlier saying that they had tried to order this from Amazon, but the order was cancelled because Amazon couldn't fulfill it.

I realize that this isn't a high quality transfer, but it may be the only way to see this film for the forseeable future. When was the last time it was on TV? It's been years since I've seen it on TV, and then it had about ten minutes of footage cut to make room for commercials.

 

[Nick Eden]

I read on another site (did a search on Google for "It Ain't Hay"), that the Runyan estate is no longer in control of the movie but it did not specify who was.
Is there anyone out there (particularly with good connections with Universal) who can state precisely what is the current state of play with It Ain't Hay? For instance does Universal own it still but is held back because some other party has a controling interest? Or will Universal never be able to release as it is owned by someone else completely? Is it now public domain?
I pose these questions because I have now seen most of the 20 odd titles released by Universal on the first 3 sets and they are extremely enjoyable. Furthermore, although as a child I grew up with many of these films, nowadays the liklihood of seeing Abbott and Costello on TV seems quite remote. DVD is the best chance to see these titles (and of course many other classic-and not so classic-titles).
Is there any chance of a release anytime in the future? I thought I would never get a chance to see for the first time "Annie Get Your Gun" but that evetually surfaced after over 25 years in the vaults and we are now promised the John Wayne classic "The High and the Mighty" next year, so I hope that there is a chance thta "It Ain't Hay" will appear on DVD, although I guess on the 4th and final set from Universal is asking too much?
If someone could confirm that the film is never likely to appear because of so and so reason, I might be tempted to buy the VHS version which I am told is not very good quality but is better than nothing!

 

[Richard Gallagher]

That's how I look out it. I figure if a DVD is ever announced, I can probably sell the VHS tape for half of what I'm paying for it. And if it never comes out on DVD, at least I'll have a passable copy.

 

[John Morgan]

My guess is the rights problem for IT AIN'T HAY is only in the video arena. Several years ago, the COMEDY CHANNEL ran a great transfer of this film. The credits were windowboxed and it was obviously a new master. Also, they ran it in a 2 hour time slot, so the film is full length. The only problem was the comedy channel logo coming in and out at the bottom right of the screen. But until an authorized video release, this is have to do unless TCM has reason to run it. I was hoping AMC would have run this film way back when they ran most of the Universal series.

 

[Seymour Uranowitz]

TCM is running a marathon of nine Abbott & Costello films on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, It Ain't Hay is not among the films they're showing. Here's the schedule (all times ET):

• 6:30am - Lost In A Harem / 1944
• 8:00am - Jack And The Beanstalk / 1952
• 9:30am - Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd / 1952
• 11:00am - Abbott And Costello In Hollywood / 1945
• 12:30pm - Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy / 1955
• 2:00pm - Abbott And Costello In The Foreign Legion / 1950
• 3:30pm - Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man / 1951
• 5:00pm - Buck Privates / 1941
• 6:30pm - The Time Of Their Lives / 1946

 

[Randy Korstick]

You are right about that it hasn't been on TV for awhile so the bootleg is the only alternative for now although I still have hope that it may be seeing a release sometime in the near future. The High and The Mighty finally coming out is certainly encouraging.

 

[John Morgan]

Well, Universal did pay the two bucks to clear the rights for STRANGE CONFESSION (Inner Sactum film) that kept it under wraps for years.

Also wish Universal would clear up the rights problem for the Fu Manchu films, Bob Hope's CAT and the CANARY and the Olsen and Johnson films.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I recall taping IT AIN'T HAY off the comedy channel years ago, but I erased it when it seemed likely that it was coming to VHS along with the rest of the old A&C releases :frowning: