A Few Words About A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3 (1 Viewer)

[Edward Weinman]

Actually, I have the Composers laser disc box set and is the Kathryn Grayson outtake you are referencing the I've Told Ev'ry Little Star/The Song is You number? You can find that Kathryn Grayson and Johnny Johnston outtake on TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY. It is on the Warners DVD release of that film.

...sorry...senior moment!...

 

[Mark B]

DEEP IN MY HEART did have outtakes on the Composer's Box.

Esther Williams' Girlies of the Cabaret
Helen Traubel's Dance My Darlings..

 

[CineKarine]

I will be getting this fabulous set for my birthday in 19 days . I love every single title in this collection, my very favorite being Two Weeks with Love (50), a wonderfully cheerful slice of nostalgia with delightful performances by all. I cannot wait to see these films on DVD!!!

EDIT: Just found a review here

 

[Robert Harris]

I can offer a bit more information which will tie in with Ken's discussion and answer some additional questions.

All of these films are from finest surviving elements, and occasional mixing, matching and borrowing has occurred to upgrade element by element.

Here are the facts:

BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 is derived from the original nitrate negative.

Most of the MGM B&W negatives were lost in the GEH fire. This one was thought to have been gone as well, but happily was found to be intact. This is from the OCN and nitrate track neg.

B'WAY MEL 38, BORN TO DANCE, and LADY BE GOOD no longer have OCNs, but new HD masters were produced from preservation safety fine grains made from the OCNs by MGM in the ‘70s before the OCNs were sent to GEH and lost in the fire.

DEEP IN MY HEART is derived from the Original Ansco negative. I had made the incorrect assumption that it was early Eastman Color, and was extremely surprised by the results. This sets that proper fact in place, and my earlier notes stand corrected. A new HD 16x9 transfer was created.

The film was released mono, but a new 5.1 mix was made from original mixing log notes for intended stereo track. Original 35mm LCR mags from pre-recording sessions used to create the track per original logs.

HIT THE DECK and KISMET, new 16x9 2.55 HD transfers using Eastman Color OCNs and separation masters to create new elements. New 5.1 transfers created from original 35mm LCR music stems and separate dialogue and effects track. Original 4 track theatrical mixes also retained. Comparison between the two reveals less high end on the 4 track print master, and more hiss.

Both tracks included on DVD for consumer reference.


Other points of interest:

The HOLLYWOOD HOTEL radio program… live coverage of BORN TO DANCE premiere 11/13/36. Program does not survive in complete form, but Warner Home Video located additional material not circulating among collectors.

GOOD NEWS OF 1938 radio program on BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 is very rare. It is not circulating among radio collectors.

NANCY GOES TO RIO: The original audio does not survive, and the surviving English audio track is very flat sounding. French audio track had more vibrancy. WHV accessed the French track (songs in English of course) for music, to improve sonics on musical sequences.

TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE: The nitrate OCN was also lost in Eastman House fire. Seps used to create new dupe, but Seps had problems. They did the best they could, but there is grain and wear that could not be fixed.

The bottom line is that although packaged at a bargain price, this is not a set that has been slapped together from old element. A HUGE investment has been made, which in my humble opinion needs the support of the consumer base, if more work along these lines is going to be performed.

My hat is off to WHV on this one, which cannot be allowed to fall between the cracks.

RAH

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Great information as always, Robert. Thanks!

At least one of the B&W separations on "Two Weeks with Love" seems to have some density fluctuations on certain reels as the color sometimes shifts every few seconds. Considering this limitation, they did a good job of smoothing it out in the video domain and making things match from scene to scene. I suppose if someone had countless hours and unlimited funds, they could manually correct it with digital tools, but I'm not sure that they would achieve enough of an improvement to make it worth the effort.

Regards,

 

[Richard M S]

Wow, thanks! That was so much more than a bit of information, and when I get my package from Amazon I will definitely appreciate them even more!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

It's too bad about TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE; my mother has been crying for this on DVD for years. But she'll be happy to get it even if the elements aren't optimal.

 

[Drew Salzan]

Received mine yesterday and skimmed through most of it. All I can say is WOW! I'm very pleased. WHV did the absolute best with what they had to work with.

Every time anything is mentioned about the famous George Eastman House fire, I get the same sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The way The Broadway Melody of 1936 derived from the OCN looks now is just a sad reminder of how great all of the other titles could have looked. Thank heavens for the preservation prints that are available.

A no brainer. This collection is a must for all classic and musicals fans.

 

[Corey]

Why is this so expensive on Amazon now? I had this on pre-order, but since I lost my credit card, I had to cancel it. Now, I can't get it when it was $48.99

 

[Art_AD]

I am very happy with this set. I am a big MGM fan. But I feel some of these could be more complete. The Laserdiscs had more audio takes on them. I imagine Warner feels it is not an important extra on a dvd as it was on the laserdisc.

There is an audio outtake from "Hit the Deck" missing (with Vic Damone), I am glad they included the audio outtake with Tony Martin from "Deep in my Heart" that wasn't listed in the original press release but still missing is an alternate audio take with George Murphy on the deleted scene. But the two biggest things left out are from "Nancy Goes to Rio, they should have included "It's a Date" the original film that Nancy Goes to Rio is a remake of and the deleted scene/song "Mention My Name in Sheboygan" that has been shown on TCM before. I assume they could not clear the music rights. When they could not clear the music rights for a song from The Good Old Summertime is was finally included on the That's Entertainment collection but I do not know how (if) we will ever see this musical number on DVD Maybe there will be a DVD of all the musical outtakes from MGM films for the MGM anniversary next year. I guess I am being picky.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Take a look at WHV and purchase it there with a 25% discount and free shipping if the order is over $50 after the discount.

 

[Corey]

I'm kinda confused. Is there another musical set coming out in Q4?

 

[Eric Peterson]

Robert,

Is there a coupon code for this? If so, this is the best deal going and I'll place my order pronto. Thanks in advance.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes, for April it's APBM8, again with the 25% off, you might have to add another dvd in order to get the $50 free shipping.

Edit: I forgot about the sales tax, but I bought this boxset and Love finds Andy Hardy for $55.57 and they ship UPS next day air which is free for orders of $50 or more.






Crawdaddy

 

[Eric Peterson]

Thanks! That's a pretty sweet deal. I got this boxset along with Bette Davis Vol. 3 for $82 shipped.

 

[Tim Tucker]

When does this coupon code expire? And how well does WHV pack their items for shipping?

 

[Jefferson]

I love my set......

My biggest question is about the sound on my copy of BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938....it seems to have a lot of distortion...anyone else notice this?
It isn't as noticeable during dialogue, but check the Main Title and Judy singing Everybody Sing. I've checked it on different players, and the distortion is present each time...did I get a dud disc?

 

[Drew Salzan]

I noticed that as well. Your disc is not defective. Unfortunately, it is the condition of the surviving audio element, as Mr. Harris has explained. I'm wondering why the shrillness of the recording could not have been more minimized.

 

[Jefferson]

Yes, it is a shame...the prerecords for the songs (at least Judy's songs as released on CD in the "gems from mgm" set) exist and sound good...i suppose marrying those to the film would be far too extensive a job....

 

[KellyVO]

I heard that Warner Brothers is releasing the titles from this set separately in August. I also heard (I don't know if its true) that they are more MGM musicals coming out on DVD too at that time. Maybe American in Paris SE?