Press Release Criterion Press Release: High Sierra (1941) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Santee7]

Sure! I'll post something here by the end of the week.

On the George Raft thing, I read somewhere but can't find it now, that Houston expected trouble with Raft, who was of course studios first choice for Spade. And Raft was good with his fists and always had Mack Grey standing around to lend a hand or a fist. So Houston supposedly carried a sap in his coat pocket for the first days shooting. So Houston was very relieved when Raft decided not to do the part.
Probably "just" a story. But it so fits, both Raft and Houston.
You know what, I'm talking about Maltese Falcon so I think I just hijacked the discussion. Sorry about that, I am getting old.

 

[Robert Crawford]

On the George Raft thing, I read somewhere but can't find it now, that Houston expected trouble with Raft, who was of course studios first choice for Spade. And Raft was good with his fists and always had Mack Grey standing around to lend a hand or a fist. So Houston supposedly carried a sap in his coat pocket for the first days shooting. So Houston was very relieved when Raft decided not to do the part.
Probably "just" a story. But it so fits, both Raft and Houston.
You know what, I'm talking about Maltese Falcon so I think I just hijacked the discussion. Sorry about that, I am getting old.

I don’t mind the “Maltese Falcon” story as much as the spelling of John Huston’s name.

 

[Robin9]

On the George Raft thing, I read somewhere but can't find it now, that Houston expected trouble with Raft, who was of course studios first choice for Spade. And Raft was good with his fists and always had Mack Grey standing around to lend a hand or a fist. So Houston supposedly carried a sap in his coat pocket for the first days shooting. So Houston was very relieved when Raft decided not to do the part.
Probably "just" a story. But it so fits, both Raft and Houston.
You know what, I'm talking about Maltese Falcon so I think I just hijacked the discussion. Sorry about that, I am getting old.

I find that story implausible. First, George Raft was usually very well-behaved on set. The complaints about him were that he thought his judgement about movies was excellent when in fact it was poor. I've never heard or read any-one say anything bad about the way he conducted himself whereas many people have reported they found Humphrey Bogart objectionable. (Ava Gardner who worked with both provided interesting insights in her autobiography) Second, John Huston was an amateur boxer and used to spar just for the fun of it. I doubt he would have been intimidated by George Raft who started as a dancer, not a fighter.

 

[benbess]

Blu-ray News and Reviews | High Def Digest

"Colorado Territory starts slow, but builds to a shattering climax and stands as a top-flight western....Regarding the A/V presentation, the LPCM mono track is clear and robust, but no clean-up has been performed on the print. The image boasts excellent clarity, contrast, grayscale, and shadow delineation, but a flurry of speckles, white blotches, scratches, and other damage consistently assaults the viewer. There are a couple of missing frames as well and at one point the picture even blacks out momentarily, presumably because there's no image to match the audio. Colorado Territory is in dire need of a complete restoration and hopefully the Criterion Collection will undertake that arduous task sometime in the future."

 

[Santee7]

I find that story implausible. First, George Raft was usually very well-behaved on set. The complaints about him were that he thought his judgement about movies was excellent when in fact it was poor. I've never heard or read any-one say anything bad about the way he conducted himself whereas many people have reported they found Humphrey Bogart objectionable. (Ava Gardner who worked with both provided interesting insights in her autobiography) Second, John Huston was an amateur boxer and used to spar just for the fun of it. I doubt he would have been intimidated by George Raft who started as a dancer, not a fighter.

I never argue with my betters. However, again only according to books I read, George was, quite a tough guy in real life, very handy with his fists. And Raft had friends. Raft was very close to Benny Siegal. I may have spelled that wrong as well. In the Cagney bio, (it was ghost written, and again, just a story) Raft punched out Peter Lorre for blowing smoke in his face. I also don’t doubt Huston could handle himself, but he was more worried about Raft’s friends. All that being said you are probably right , just a story I read once. And I read that book by Ava, its true, from what I've read Bogart could be a jerk, but he rarely gave Huston a hard time. I'll watch my spelling and my stories in future.

 

[Santee7]

I was completely wrong. That quote I misquoted was eating at me. Found it, it was written by Eddie Muller back in '05. However the quote is. "The Maltese Falcon" director, 34-year-old John Huston, was ecstatic when Raft finally rejected the part, only days before the start of production. (Huston later said he was prepared to beat Raft senseless with a blackjack if he'd shown up on the set.)
and clearly Huston,spelled right this time, and Muller meant it purely as sarcasm. Completely my mistake and misreading. I'll hide my face in shame. Both for spelling errors and misrepresentation.

 

[Robin9]

I was completely wrong. That quote I misquoted was eating at me. Found it, it was written by Eddie Muller back in '05. However the quote is. "The Maltese Falcon" director, 34-year-old John Huston, was ecstatic when Raft finally rejected the part, only days before the start of production. (Huston later said he was prepared to beat Raft senseless with a blackjack if he'd shown up on the set.)
and clearly Huston,spelled right this time, and Muller meant it purely as sarcasm. Completely my mistake and misreading. I'll hide my face in shame. Both for spelling errors and misrepresentation.

No need to hide your face. Leave that to people not big enough to admit their mistakes.

 

[David Weicker]

With His Girl Friday/The Front Page, I ended up printing up a custom cover and putting TFP into it's own case.

That option is available for High Sierra/Colorado Territory

I did end up making a custom cover for Colorado Territory

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Nice!