Errol Flynn's Santa Fe Trail -- Why it Should be in Warner's Next Box Set (1 Viewer)

[JoeDoakes]

The buzz on the internet is that Warner Home Video is working on a new Errol Flynn box set. The only two titles said to be on this set so far are the World War II films Desperate Journey and Edge of Darkness. One film that would be a major addition to the set is Santa Fe Trail. Viewing various comments around the web, it seems to me that this may be the most desired Flynn film that WHV has yet to release on DVD. Given how much it has going for it, it is not hard to see why. It was directed by Michael Curtiz, and it was released right before the release of The Sea Hawk. It has great repartee between Flynn and Ronald Reagan as they compete for the affections of Olivia de Haviland. Its score is credited to Max Steiner. It has fine comic support from Alan Hale and Guinn Williams. It contains one of Raymond Massey’s best performances as John Brown, and a young Van Hefflin also does a fine job as a villainous former schoolmate of Flynn’s. Santa Fe Trail is one of Flynn’s best known films and the only action film from what I view as Flynn’s classic period (that ended with They Died with Their Boots On) that WHV has yet to release on DVD. Santa Fe Trail is often knocked for its more far fetched historical elements (Flynn is Jeb Stuart and Reagan is George Custer among others), but it should be remembered that Hollywood circa 1940 did not care at all for realism or historical accuracy (e.g., They Died with Their Boots On).

A big obstacle to getting this on DVD is that Santa Fe Trail has fallen into the public domain, and studios often will not release public domain films on DVD. When it comes to high demand titles like Santa Fe Trail, I think that this view is mistaken. Currently, I have a copy of Santa Fe Trail taped off of TCM. The print quality on it is poor, and I would love to be able to have a copy on DVD with a picture quality close to WHV’s other Flynn releases. For myself, and many others, the inclusion of Santa Fe Trail would be the number 1 reason to buy a new box set. Moreover, the inclusion of Santa Fe Trail in a box set would solve one of the main obstacles studios have to making releases of public domain films financially viable. Today’s classic movie audience is more selective than in the past and is more willing to pay extra for quality releases of favorite films (e.g., Criterion). As I see it, a big obstacle that studios have is that customers have a hard time discerning quality releases from the many low quality budget releases that popular public domain films receive. As an example, I can point to my experience with Vincent Price’s House on Haunted Hill. A few years ago, I bought a budget copy of it for $2.00. The image quality was terrible, so I looked on Amazon.com to see if a better copy had been released. When I searched on Amazon, my search generated a large number of editions of the film, and it was only by accident that I noticed that one of the editions had been released by WHV (you could not tell from the cover). The WHV edition is terrific, but I can see how the sales figures for it would be reduced by people ignorantly buying other editions. Putting Santa Fe Trail in another Signature Collection will solve much of that problem as it will be an easy way for customers to know that they are getting a quality product.
If WHV is going to put five films in a new Flynn box set, I would recommend Santa Fe Trail, Silver River, Desperate Journey, and Northern Pursuit. If they might put more than five films in a set, or two box sets, other possibilities would be Uncertain Glory, Footsteps in the Dark, Never Say Goodbye, and The Master of Ballantrae (released as a single and now OOP). Whatever WHV decides, the sales of any box set are certain to be enhanced by the presence of Santa Fe Trail!

 

[Thomas T]

I'm hoping one of the titles in the Flynn box set will be TOO MUCH TOO SOON where his performance as John Barrymore is very good.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Warner rescued "Royal Wediing" from PD purgatory, so this is not an insurmountable obstacle for them.

Originally Posted by JoeDoakes

...

A big obstacle to getting this on DVD is that Santa Fe Trail has fallen into the public domain, and studios often will not release public domain films on DVD....

 

[smithb]

I would like to see a nicer print of Santa Fe Trail. I have the other Flynn sets and this one as it came as part of a 50 pack of Westerns set. The print in the Western set is acceptable enough to watch on a big screen but could be better if any attempt was given to clean it up. I wondered how it got to be in this state given that it is a pretty good movie with an excellent cast.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Ken_McAlinden

Warner rescued "Royal Wediing" from PD purgatory, so this is not an insurmountable obstacle for them.

They also rescued THIS IS THE ARMY and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959). SANTA FE TRAIL would not be a big step for them to rescue and include, especially since it is known to be wanted.

 

[Marcel H.]

Barrie Maxwell wrote in one of his last columns, while announcing the upcoming Flynn box, that there are/were problems with the print and that's the reason why the title wasn't included in the Flynn Westerns box.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Marcel H.

Barrie Maxwell wrote in one of his last columns, while announcing the upcoming Flynn box, that there are/were problems with the print and that's the reason why the title wasn't included in the Flynn Westerns box.

But he went on to say "Warners has not said so, but given the studio's efforts at addressing these two films, I would guess that both will make their way to retail DVD eventually." The two films were Santa Fe Trail and Silver River. And this statement was made in September 09, just last month.

 

[Colin McGuigan]

Warners put both Santa Fe Trail and Silver River out on DVD in France a while back (looked at on my blog here and here). Neither transfer is what you'd call pristine, Silver River being the best and Santa Fe Trail looking a bit soft in places, but both are quite acceptable.

 

[Matt Hough]

Warners also rescued TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY in addition to others already mentioned. I keep hoping for LIFE WITH FATHER, but that's completely off topic for this thread.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

If the studio allows, I'll but it on pressed disc!