Is the b&w era of TV on DVD slowly coming to an end? (2 Viewers)

[BobO'Link]

Interesting . You have to wonder what happened to the negatives , 35 MM , promo material etc. for these 6 or 7 shows , when Reed died .Could it be that they were considered of no value and discarded ?

Stuff like that happens all the time. Often the "masters" of early TV programs were discarded shortly after initial airings as few people saw their future worth. I've read in several sources (wish I could remember just where though) that this is what happened with many early productions. They were disposable entertainment and once aired, they disposed of them. Even if a major participant had the foresight to hang onto a copy for posterity, family members don't necessarily share that vision and enthusiasm and get rid of the materials.

For example: I'm no producer of entertainment but do have several collections, some of which have value in the collector's market, that I absolutely know my wife would simply dump in the trash should I beat her to the grave. She's said this on several occasions, in spite of me having a list to make things easier. She doesn't want to bother with proper disposal. Fortunately my kids and grandkids know of these and would intervene but they'd have to hurry to beat her to it. I'd imagine there are lots of families with identical issues and that's what happens to lots of "missing" material.

 

[JamesSmith]

St, that I absolutely know my wife would simply dump in the trash should I beat her to the grave. She's said this on several occasions, in spite of me having a list to make things easier. She doesn't want to bother with proper disposal. Fortunately my kids and grandkids know of these and would intervene but they'd have to hurry to beat her to it. I'd imagine there are lots of families with identical issues and that's what happens to lots of "missing" material.

I'm not married and have no children, but I feel your pain. My family members have complete contempt for my video and DVD collection. They are mean.

--Jthree

 

[Flashgear]

Oh, yes, never underestimate what Treasures will be thrown out to the dump, even by loved ones of the Dearly Departed...and not always in some malice, but just ignorance...

I have helped Curators and Preservation Archivists from a local Museum to recover such Treasures from a landfill...it boggles the mind, and sometimes breaks your heart...

What filled me with Rage? A family throwing out a recently deceased WW2 Veteran's Prisoner of War Diary and photos...including his Luftwaffe "Kriegsgefangener" files...this man was among the last survivors of the disastrous and bloody Raid on Dieppe France in 1942...a day on which Canada lost nearly a thousand men killed and nearly three thousand taken prisoner...my own Uncle among them...I can't tell you what I wanted to do with the Twenty Somethings of his descendants who so carelessly threw this out while obcessively checking their smart phones...

It's no wonder that our precious collections might be viewed by ignorant others as though they were Ancient Sumerian or Egyptian tablets...undecipherable and of no value...

 

[BobO'Link]

^I feel your pain. From my observations, "today's generations" have little respect for the past. Most aren't aware of how significant the events, and resolution, of WWII were to the world as a whole. They view it as "another old war" and go on about their business. But I can't say that my generation (60s kids) were much better. We had our own war that was incredibly divisive and somewhat blinded us to the past. It was only after I hit my 30s that I began to understand the significance of WWII and how close we came to a different world perspective.

 

[jcroy]

^I feel your pain. From my observations, "today's generations" have little respect for the past. Most aren't aware of how significant the events, and resolution, of WWII were to the world as a whole. They view it as "another old war" and go on about their business. But I can't say that my generation (60s kids) were much better. We had our own war that was incredibly divisive and somewhat blinded us to the past. It was only after I hit my 30s that I began to understand the significance of WWII and how close we came to a different world perspective.

(Going very very far offtopic).

Without going heavily into "politics", something similar with "no respect for the past" is going on with my younger relatives whom were born in Israel. Apparently some of my younger nephews + nieces have ended up moving permanently to Berlin, Germany for various "economic" type reasons. They have no notion of the sacrifices and hardships endured by older relatives.

On the other hand, the older generations of my extended family would have never contemplated ever moving back to Germany under any circumstances, in spite of being fluent German speakers and still having then-valid (West) German passports. (Apparently speaking German is very unpopular in Israel).

 

[LouA]

BobO'Link what you say is true , but at least two of the Roland Reed Shows were shown into the 1990's meaning they were dumped more recently . After Weiss Global ceased to exist My Little Margie was still showing daily on Christian Broadcasting Net. It's possible that Weiss Global assets (including the Roland Reed Shows ) are sitting somewhere , and I guess it's also possible they could have been trashed at that time . Interestingly enough I heard recently that the entire run of Beulah programs were found recently . If you look around , you can find every episode of Rocky Jones Space Ranger , so at least 16 MM exists for that show , and a collector mentioned on another site that most episodes of Waterfront ran on Channel 50 in Aurora , Texas about 20 years ago.
One thing seems certain , whether or not this material survives, we most likely won't see it's release on home video.

 

[BobO'Link]

You'd like to think something that aired that recently (but it seems odd to say that since the 90s were almost 20+ years ago) would still be in a vault somewhere. I'm of a general opinion that almost everything that ever aired is sitting somewhere in some format. It's just a matter of finding where. I'd expect most of the more obscure stuff is held by private collectors who may not know there's a demand for their holding(s). Material that has had more recent airings may be just collecting dust as the rights owners don't feel the demand is high enough to make a profit on a physical release. Then too, it could be the current rights holders have placed far too high a value on their holdings. People who are looking for that big payday that likely won't come.

 

[Regulus]

You'd like to think something that aired that recently (but it seems odd to say that since the 90s were almost 20+ years ago) would still be in a vault somewhere. I'm of a general opinion that almost everything that ever aired is sitting somewhere in some format. It's just a matter of finding where. I'd expect most of the more obscure stuff is held by private collectors who may not know there's a demand for their holding(s). Material that has had more recent airings may be just collecting dust as the rights owners don't feel the demand is high enough to make a profit on a physical release. Then too, it could be the current rights holders have placed far too high a value on their holdings. People who are looking for that big payday that likely won't come.

The Studios wonder why people (Including Me) turn to "Other Sources" to see what they want.

 

[Ron1973]

They don't wonder why people (Including Me) turn to "Other Sources" to see what they want.

At least you can find what you want from "other sources." Without opening up a can of worms here, my grail can't seemingly be obtained from legitimate "other sources." I see a few 16mm prints of The Beverly Hillbillies crop up now and again, but a lot of times they're shows I already have on VHS. I did stumble across one episode on 16mm for sale online; the guy was very helpful and said he would make sure he still had it and that it hadn't suffered from vinegar syndrome. I haven't heard back from him. It's looking like I'll have to settle for what I have on VHS and suffer through bad SD copies of edited shows on YouTube.

 

[LouA]

They don't wonder why people (Including Me) turn to "Other Sources" to see what they want.

Hopefully this won't get me suspended from the Forum , but...

Post edited by moderator.

No, it won't get you suspended this time, Lou...but, fellas, let's not repeat this behavior. It should be well-known to our longtime members that we do NOT allow the encouragement of piracy on the HTF.

We have noticed this infraction being repeated more and more often here in the TV subforum.

The topic of this thread is NOT about copyright theft.

Thanks. (Mike Frezon)

 

[GMBurns]

A really nice B&W surprise mentioned on TSOD today: the Beverly Garland show "Decoy" is being released late this month. I've seen some of the PD releases and have enjoyed the show, so this will be a fun treat to have the entire series.

 

[Regulus]

A really nice B&W surprise mentioned on TSOD today: the Beverly Garland show "Decoy" is being released late this month. I've seen some of the PD releases and have enjoyed the show, so this will be a fun treat to have the entire series.

SECONDED!

 

[Neil Brock]

BobO'Link what you say is true , but at least two of the Roland Reed Shows were shown into the 1990's meaning they were dumped more recently . After Weiss Global ceased to exist My Little Margie was still showing daily on Christian Broadcasting Net. It's possible that Weiss Global assets (including the Roland Reed Shows ) are sitting somewhere , and I guess it's also possible they could have been trashed at that time . Interestingly enough I heard recently that the entire run of Beulah programs were found recently . If you look around , you can find every episode of Rocky Jones Space Ranger , so at least 16 MM exists for that show , and a collector mentioned on another site that most episodes of Waterfront ran on Channel 50 in Aurora , Texas about 20 years ago.
One thing seems certain , whether or not this material survives, we most likely won't see it's release on home video.

I know where a full set of complete MLM is on tape uncut as well as I Married Joan. However, the person who bought the collection from Adrian Weiss's daughter passed away himself last year. I don't know what his window plans to do with the material. Waterfront, Craig Kennedy and any other Weiss Global shows were not among what he acquired so your guess is as good as mine as to where they wound up. The only other series he got was Make Room For Daddy.

 

[Bert Greene]

I know where a full set of complete MLM is on tape uncut as well as I Married Joan. However, the person who bought the collection from Adrian Weiss's daughter passed away himself last year. I don't know what his window plans to do with the material. Waterfront, Craig Kennedy and any other Weiss Global shows were not among what he acquired so your guess is as good as mine as to where they wound up. The only other series he got was Make Room For Daddy.

Some of the Weiss Brothers' stuff I really wish would turn up would be their various silent b-western series, featuring Wally Wales, Buddy Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill Jr. Always seemed like a lost cause, but who would have expected one of their long-believed lost serials,"The Mysterious Airman" (1928), to be found (in a marvelous print) and released on DVD this very month?

 

[LouA]

I know where a full set of complete MLM is on tape uncut as well as I Married Joan. However, the person who bought the collection from Adrian Weiss's daughter passed away himself last year. I don't know what his window plans to do with the material. Waterfront, Craig Kennedy and any other Weiss Global shows were not among what he acquired so your guess is as good as mine as to where they wound up. The only other series he got was Make Room For Daddy.

When you said "tape" did you mean film or on some type of video tape. Just wondering if the shows are in a format that would allow them to be released on DVD. Even so , I'm not sure at this late stage if anyone would be willing to take on such an undertaking : The Complete my Little Margie and The Complete I married Joan . I love to see it happen though.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

The words "film" and "tape" are used nowadays (by people who don't know or care about these things) interchangeably, even when referring to a video someone makes on his smartphone.

I suspect when Neil Brock uses the words, he uses them correctly. I think he's saying someone has those old filmed series on VHS tapes.

 

[LouA]

The words "film" and "tape" are used nowadays (by people who don't know or care about these things) interchangeably, even when referring to a video someone makes on his smartphone.

I suspect when Neil Brock uses the words, he uses them correctly. I think he's saying someone has those old filmed series on VHS tapes.

Okay , something that a company like VCI might be able to use , but someone like MPI might pass on . Hey if VCI got access to those tapes and released them on DVD I'd buy !!

 

[actionsub]

OK, based on Gary's post. Top Tier B&W Series still unreleased in DVD: 1. Ben Casey 2. Dr. Kildare 3. The Defenders 4. East Side/West Side 5. Twelve O'Clock High (except for final color season) 6. The Lineup
2nd Tier B&W Series : 1. Mr. Novak 2. The Gallant Men 3. The LIeutenant 4. The Breaking Point 5. The Human Jungle 6. The Eleventh Hour
All series not necessarily in that order. More nominations certainly welcome.

Interesting to read this thread five years down the road and see how many of the shows listed here did make it. I'll list them with their "released or not" status and who probably owns them now...
Top Tier
1. Ben Casey (unreleased, CBS Television Dist.)
2. Dr. Kildare (pretty much all released now, Warner Archive)
3. The Defenders (first season released last summer, Shout!)
4. East Side/West Side (unreleased, probably CBS or WB/MGM)
5. Twelve O'Clock High (unreleased, Fox)
6. The Lineup (unreleased, CBS)

2nd Tier
1. Mr. Novak (unreleased, Warner Bros.)
2. The Gallant Men (released, Warner Archive)
3. The Lieutenant (released, Warner Archive)
4. Breaking Point (unreleased, CBS TV Dist.)
5. The Human Jungle (unreleased, probably BBC)
6. The Eleventh Hour (released, Warner Archive)

Seems to be a pattern here. Almost all the unreleased shows seem to go back to CBS ownership. Warner Archive accounts for most of the releases!

 

[actionsub]

I'd say you are on the right track.


Gary "okay, the titles in question are Black Saddle & Trackdown - along with The Westerner they are all Four Star TV series" O.

For that matter, while Wichita Town was a Mirisch production, it was filmed by Four Star TV.

 

[actionsub]

Meanwhile, is there any possibility that The Life of Riley could see the light of day? I believe Fox controls this (bad news), but would Shout find a way to release this? Would Shout even know it exists?


Here's hoping we continue to see new b/w releases from the 50s and 60s.

More likely than not, since "Life of Riley" was produced by NBC television through (in the later years) the California National studios they owned, "Life of Riley" is either owned by NBC/Universal or out in limbo somewhere...