Let’s look at some numbers.
1929 – 1933 Five films – Paramount
1935 – 1941 Five films – M-G-M
The Marx Brothers
_______________
1924 – 1932 More shorts than can be counted – Hal Roach
followed by more shorts between features to 1937
1932 – 1940 Ten films for Roach
followed by a handful at Fox
Laurel & Hardy
______________
1940 – 1955 28 feature films for Universal plus a few for other studios.
Abbott & Costello
______________
By numbers of feature films alone, releasing a complete collection of Abbott & Costello’s work at Universal is a daunting project.
You know that you’re not doing 28 new image harvests, so selecting the best that exist is also not a minor bit of work.
All of which causes a tip of the hat to the folks at Shout Factory – this is their 92nd “select” release, as well as the team at Universal.
I’m going to generalize here, as I don’t have the ability to fully screen 28 films, but I have sampled each disc.
Some have window-boxed main titles.
Except for a couple which are noted by lessor scores, and which are from problematic dupes, all are of very pleasing quality.
Some have minor stabilization of clean-up issues, but never anything troublesome.
This should be one of the most important Christmas gifts for cinephiles in 2019.
Let’s examine more numbers, by title:
One Night in the Tropics – 1940
Image – 3.5
Audio – 3 (noisy)
Buck Privates – 1941
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
In the Navy – 1941
Image – 3.5 (grainy dupe)
Audio – 5
Hold That Ghost – 1941
Image – 4
Audio – 5
Keep ‘Em Flying – 1941
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Ride ‘Em Cowboy – 1942
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Pardon My Sarong – 1942
Image – 4.25
Audio – 4.25
Who Done It? – 1942
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
It Ain’t Hay – 1943
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Hit the Ice – 1943
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
In Society – 1944
Image – 4.25
Audio – 4.75
Here Come the Co-eds – 1945
Image – 4.25
Audio – 4.5
The Naughty Nineties – 1945
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Little Giant – 1946
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
The Time of Their Lives – 1946
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
Buck Privates Come Home – 1947
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
First with new Universal Logo
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap – 1947
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein – 1948
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Mexican Hayride – 1948
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer – 1949
Image – 4
Audio – 4 (noisy)
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion – 1950
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man – 1951
Image – 4.35
Audio – 5
Comin’ Round the Mountain – 1951
Image – 4.35
Audio – 5
Lost in Alaska – 1952
Image – 3.5
Audio – 5
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars – 1953
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – 1953
Image – 4
Audio – 4
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops – 1955
Image – 4.5
Audio – 5
First in 1.85
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy – 1955
Image – 4.75
Audio – 5
A final note about pricing and value.
The set has a list price of $170, and is available for pre-order at $125.
15 Blu-ray discs. 14 with two features each, plus a disc of extras.
28 feature films.
This works out to $4.46 per feature.
Highly Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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