My Universal Wish List From the Kino Deal (1 Viewer)

[Bernard McNair]

The westerns and musicals named in the lists have great appeal. I have an excellent Ruggles of Red Gap from the UK on Blu.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Since Kino did not get Abbott and Costello hopefully that means that Universal has plans to release them chronological in four 7 film volumes like the 1st DVD releases. This may be their plan since they are releasing the monster films in collections. Releasing individual A & C titles doesn't make sense as it will take forever to release them all and they are good sellers for Universal. All 28 Universal titles were released complete on VHS, Partially on Laserdisc and complete twice on DVD.

 

[CinemaCynic]

I’ve put together a short ‘wish list’ that combine Universal owned Paramounts as well as their own branded library. Strictly my own fantasy releases but if anyone official even looks into one or two of these I’d be deeply grateful.

1) On the ‘mystery series’ or famous detective characters lists this opportunity presents a rare shot at getting a few sought after titles out of the vaults:

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929) - a major missing release in the film cannon of Holmes. Other later Holmes films to look a are The Seven Percent Solution & They Might Be Giants!

There is an opportunity to also release the Philo Vance films with William Powell as well as Warner Oland’s ‘Fu Manchu’ trilogy.

These are for Vance:
The Greene Murder Case
The Canary Murder Case
The Benson Murder Case

and for Oland:
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Daughter of the Dragon

And finally there was a lovely ‘studio all-stars’ picture entitled Paramount on Parade which includes a vignette spoofing the above detectives and villain!

2) Some DeMille films stand out but The Crusades and The Sign of the Cross at a minimum seem much overdue on blu ray.

3) Some are just self evident (WC Fields, Mae West, the various Twain adaptations, etc) but I do make an appeal for a couple of more obscure titles that should find their revival, namely:
Little Miss Marker - a rare non-Fox Shirley Temple
Crime Without Passion - Brilliant debut independent film by Hecht & MacArthur
The Story of Temple Drake
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
The Road Back (recent restoration run at MoMA)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949 film)
Flesh and Fantasy - a wonderful portamento film, a sort of companion to Fox’s ‘Tales of Manhattan’. By rights it should be paired with Destiny, a film expanded from a cut segment.
Gung Ho! (1943 film)
The Private War of Major Benson
Man of a Thousand Faces - just give in and do it, every Chaney nut will buy it twice!
Freud: The Secret Passion - a CRIMINALLY overlooked John Huston masterpiece!!!
Minnie and Moskowitz

I’m sure I’ll be corrected on what can/cannot be accomplished but in any event, thanks for reading!!!

 

[Thomas T]

I've noticed a couple of people putting the 1931 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde on their lists. I stand to be corrected but I believe the rights to that are now held by Warners, not Universal. Like Universal's 1936 Show Boat, MGM got the rights when they made the remakes. The 1931 Jekyll was released on a double feature DVD with the 1941 remake by Warners (who controls the MGM library)..

 

[Danny Burk]

Yes, that's correct. Also, Fox now owns STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE. It was restored not so long ago, and has appeared (in gorgeous quality) on TCM once or twice.

 

[Astairefan]

I've noticed a couple of people putting the 1931 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde on their lists. I stand to be corrected but I believe the rights to that are now held by Warners, not Universal. Like Universal's 1936 Show Boat, MGM got the rights when they made the remakes. The 1931 Jekyll was released on a double feature DVD with the 1941 remake by Warners (who controls the MGM library)..

Well, I can think of another reason why the 1931 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (and several other titles mentioned) wouldn't be included in this specific deal: we were told that the movies included in this deal cover the years from 1932-2009. So a number of titles mentioned prior to that are unlikely to come from Kino at this time.

 

[cadavra]

The rights to the three Fu Manchu titles are also up in the air.

Mike S.

 

[Malachi8]

How about Madigan. I could watch that 100 times.

 

[Dick]

I've noticed a couple of people putting the 1931 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde on their lists. I stand to be corrected but I believe the rights to that are now held by Warners, not Universal. Like Universal's 1936 Show Boat, MGM got the rights when they made the remakes. The 1931 Jekyll was released on a double feature DVD with the 1941 remake by Warners (who controls the MGM library)..

Warner Bros. does indeed hold the rights for the '32 JEKYLL & HYDE. Maybe an eventual Archives title.

 

[PaulaJ]

I'd love to see this really obscure David Carradine Universal pic released on Blu-ray (I don't think it even got a DVD release): Fast Charlie...the Moonbeam Rider. Cast includes Brenda Vaccaro, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong and Noble Willingham.

 

[Big Gay Andy]

40 Pounds of Trouble (1962, Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette -- after turning down literally hundreds of requests, this was the first time Walt Disney allowed a non-Disney production to film in Disneyland)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963, Dean Martin, Elizabeth Montgomery {one year before she got Bewitched}, Carol Burnett)
Rosie! (1967, Rosalind Russell, Sandra Dee, Audrey Meadows, Leslie Nielsen -- this neglected gem has never been released on home video in any format)

 

[Scott_Morris]

I can't wait to see what sort of true classic goodies Kino has in store for us, but in the meantime, here's a random (newer) pairing I'd like to throw into the mix:

Cry Freedom (1987)
W.C. Fields and Me (1976) [Guilty Pleasure ]

 

[F451]

All the James Stewart westerns plus a fully restored, feature-laden THIS ISLAND EARTH!

 

[filmnoirguy]

Enjoyed all of the lists with lots of terrific choices. Especially all of the Preston Sturges comedies on Blu-ray. Plus I too have been looking for 1951's Bright Victory with Arthur Kennedy. I'd like to add Paramount's 1947 comedy, Dear Ruth with William Holden, Joan Caulfield and Mona Freeman, based on the Broadway smash hit.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

W.C. Fields and Me (1976) [Guilty Pleasure ]

If I remember correctly, a rights issue is holding this one back from release; it probably has something to do with Fields' grandson.

 

[ChromeJob]

Some great titles in the OP list, THIS ISLAND EARTH, SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, THE MONOLITH MONSTERS would be easy immediate buys for me, so long as the transfer was adequate. The Monolith Monsters could use a restoration (if possible), the others surely should get 2K or even 4K remasters with associated gentle clean up (NO DNR!!).

W.C. Fields and Me (1976) [Guilty Pleasure ]

I remember seeing that in theaters...!

 

[Steven Ward]

Still waiting for ISTANBUL (1957) VOICE IN THE MIRROR (1958) BEDTIME STORY (1964) FREUD (1963) IPCRESS FILE (1965) SINGAPORE(1947) HERE COME THE NELSONS (1951). Why is it that one cannot obtain a rare film that has been shown on TCM? :> THE SHARKFIGHTERS (1956) United Artists<?? DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1932) is already out from Warner Archives! and with restored missing footage, and it's BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Egbert Souse]

W. C. Fields definitely tops my list. A box set would be a dream come true. Thanks for the info.

 

[JimmieL]

If you hate lists, please move on rather than simply criticizing this one. Thanks.

Now that Kino has told us there are 100 films in their new Universal deal, I have pulled that studio's titles from my wist list and am replicating it below. Obviously, those in the spirit of this kind of post are encouraged to add to it. There are several pre-1949 Paramount titles which I assume Universal now owns. List does not include silent films.

Abbott and Costello: HOLD THAT GHOST; TIME OF THEIR LIVES; MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE; BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME; MEET THE KILLER; RIDE 'EM COWBOY

W.C. Fields: THE BANK DICK; NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK; IT'S A GIFT...basically, all the Paramounts, perhaps as a box set?

All unreleased (domestically on Blu-ray) Paramount Preston Sturges films.

AFFLICTION
ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES
ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS
ARABESQUE
BEAU GESTE
BEND OF THE RIVER (with Technicolor registration issues corrected)
BIG CLOCK, THE
BIX FIX, THE
BLUE COLLAR
BRAVE ONE, THE
CAPTAIN NEWMAN, M.D.
CAT AND THE CANARY (Bob Hope, Paramount)
CAT CREEPS, THE (1930)
CHALK GARDEN, THE
COUNSELLOR [sic] AT LAW
CRISS CROSS
CROOKLYN
DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
DR. CYCLOPS
FAR COUNTRY, THE
FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO
FLOWER DRUM SONG
GHOST BREAKERS, THE
GLASS WEB, THE (3D)
GOING MY WAY
GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID, THE
GREAT WALDO PEPPER, THE
HEIRESS, THE
ICEMAN
INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, THE
IPCRESS FILE, THE
ISADORA (aka THE LIVES OF ISODORA)
LAND UNKNOWN, THE
MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES
MAN ON THE MOON
MAN WITHOUT A STAR, THE
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS
MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR, THE
MIRAGE
MONOLITH MONSTERS, THE
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)
NIGHT PASSAGE
ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL
PARADISE ALLEY
PRIMARY COLORS
RAVEN, THE (1935)
RESURRECTION (1980)
ROAD TO MOROCCO, THE
ROAD TO ZANZIBAR, THE
SHENANDOAH
SHOWBOAT (1936)
SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE
SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE
SUSPECT, THE (1944)
SWASHBUCKLER
SWEET CHARITY
TARANTULA
TAZA, SON OF COCHISE (3D)
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
THIS GUN FOR HIRE
THIS ISLAND EARTH
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
THREE SMART GIRLS
UGLY AMERICAN, THE
UNDERTOW
WAKE ISLAND
WAR LORD, THE
WEB, THE
WINCHESTER '73
WINGS OF THE HAWK (3D)

 

[JimmieL]

I would love to see THIS ISLAND EARTH TARANTULA AND THE MONOLITH MONSTERS IN BLURAY