SILVER SCREAMS CINEMA Imprint Box Set (1 Viewer)

[J. Casey]

For those interested, this is a great collection of grade B horror films from Via Vision. It includes RETURN OF THE APE MAN (1944, Monogram), THE PHANTOM SPEAKS (1945, Republic), THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST (1945, Republic), VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES (1946, Republic), SHE DEVIL (1957, Regalscope), and THE UNKNOWN TERROR (1957,Regalscope). They also include a "bonus film," THE LADY AND THE MONSTER (1944, Republic), which is the first version of Donovan's Brain. As a bonus, I assumed it would be in SD, but it's full HD. All content is spread over 3 dual layered discs, which isn't much of a stretch given that 4 of them are less than an hour in length. All transfers licensed from Paramount.

All of the films have audio commentaries (VALLEY and PHANTOM have two each!) from folks like Tom Weaver, Tim Lucas, Kim Newman, Gary Rhodes, and Stephen Jones. There is also a radio adaptation and an episode of TALES OF TOMORROW. LADY doesn't have any bonus features given that it is one.

RETURN OF THE APE MAN and THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST were released in Region A by Olive Films in bare bones editions.

The box is not cheap, though, given it's an Australian import. Got mine at Deep Discount.

 

[borisfw]

Agree 100%. I also got mine from DD for a decent price. Have watched all the films and listened to a couple of the commentaries. Very satisfied.

 

[ABaglivi]

Link to DeepDiscount listing?

 

[J. Casey]

It appears sold out at DD, not even a backorder listing at this time. The set is limited (2000 copies) and they might have sold out of their allotment. It's still in stock on Imprint's site and they could reissue in standard editions in future.

 

[Randy Korstick]

For those interested, this is a great collection of grade B horror films from Via Vision. It includes RETURN OF THE APE MAN (1944, Monogram), THE PHANTOM SPEAKS (1945, Republic), THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST (1945, Republic), VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES (1946, Republic), SHE DEVIL (1957, Regalscope), and THE UNKNOWN TERROR (1957,Regalscope). They also include a "bonus film," THE LADY AND THE MONSTER (1944, Republic), which is the first version of Donovan's Brain. As a bonus, I assumed it would be in SD, but it's full HD. All content is spread over 3 dual layered discs, which isn't much of a stretch given that 4 of them are less than an hour in length. All transfers licensed from Paramount.

All of the films have audio commentaries (VALLEY and PHANTOM have two each!) from folks like Tom Weaver, Tim Lucas, Kim Newman, Gary Rhodes, and Stephen Jones. There is also a radio adaptation and an episode of TALES OF TOMORROW. LADY doesn't have any bonus features given that it is one.

RETURN OF THE APE MAN and THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST were released in Region A by Olive Films in bare bones editions.

The box is not cheap, though, given it's an Australian import. Got mine at Deep Discount.

Agreed this is a great set. I just got mine a week ago. I surprisingly had not seen most of these. I have watched The Phantom Speaks and the Vampires Ghost and both were pleasant surprises and better than I expected. Fun B movies. Picture Quality is great too. Very crisp with good contrast.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Diabolik DVD has this set available.https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/silver-screams-cinema-imprint-limited-edition-boxset-blu-ray-all-region/

 

[J. Casey]

Agreed this is a great set. I just got mine a week ago. I surprisingly had not seen most of these. I have watched The Phantom Speaks and the Vampires Ghost and both were pleasant surprises and better than I expected. Fun B movies. Picture Quality is great too. Very crisp with good contrast.

I was attracted to this set because of the Republic horror films included. It was not a studio known for them....in fact, they only made a very few. If THE CATMAN OF PARIS (1946) had been included, this set would have contained just about all of the Republic horrors! So glad THE MONSTER AND THE LADY was included on HD. Although a vehicle for studio head Herbert Yates' "protegee" and future wife, Vera Hruba Ralston, Erich von Stroheim is the main attraction. Opinions vary as to which is the best film, but LADY certainly had a higher budget (and running time) due to Ralston's involvement.

 

[bujaki]

Diabolik DVD has this set available.

Thanks. Ordered.

 

[Camps]

If THE CATMAN OF PARIS (1946) had been included, this set would have contained just about all of the Republic horrors!

If they had included Catman and 1957's Back from the Dead, they would have provided us all the Republic (and Regal) straight horrors.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Thanks. Ordered

 

[dana martin]

damn it, finally had to jump into the fray and get my copy as well

 

[ahollis]

Same here. Got it ordered, so thanks for the heads up.

 

[dana martin]

Question, for the group, did any jump on the Hammer set as well, and if so how does it compare to the US ingle releases, in terms of presentation, extras just seeing if it is worth the extra funds, i do realize that it has a 5th disc that contains the Hammer Doc that had to be upscaled.

just looking for some more info.

 

[Bob Cashill]

From what I gather from other sources these are pretty much the same transfers as before but with good extras. (I haven’t purchased it.) https://trailersfromhell.com/hammer-horror-four-gothic-horror-films/

 

[Randy Korstick]

Question, for the group, did any jump on the Hammer set as well, and if so how does it compare to the US ingle releases, in terms of presentation, extras just seeing if it is worth the extra funds, i do realize that it has a 5th disc that contains the Hammer Doc that had to be upscaled.

just looking for some more info.

All 4 films have some additional extra features and some nice ones. They are the same transfers but with some additional work done. Vampire Circus shows the biggest improvement. The previous version was too dark in the night scenes this one is nowhere near as dark and the bat at the end can now clearly be seen instead of just heard. They also fixed a line of missing dialog. The other 3 films show very minor improvements. Its a pricey set and I wasn't going to do it at 1st but I did like all the new extras and when I read about the big improvements on Vampire Circus that made me go for it. The 15% off coupon at deep discount at the time helped too.

 

[dawnshadow]

Bah! Not too impressed with Via Vision ...

I wrote them back in late November asking whether the Silver Screams Cinema collection whether it was just out of stock, as the website said, or whether it had gone OOP.

Lester from VV wrote me back and said it was only out of stock. So, instead of rushing out and picking it up from any other shop which still had it in stock, I decided to wait for it to be restocked at VV. I figured I might as well add a few other items to my order, since the shipping from Australia is rather expensive, and I would have to pay my local 25% sales tax and $30 (AU) handling fee on top of that.

Well, I have waited and waited ... I have constantly had a tap open of the relevant page on VV, which was refreshed on almost a daily basis. At no point have I seen it back in stock. So yesterday I wrote VV again and asked if it was indeed still coming back, and Lester now wrote to me that it was OOP.

So, thanks for nothing, Lester!

I could have grabbed this at a reasonable price two months ago, when other stores still had stock. Now I will have to pay stupid prices on eBay ...

(I know, I know, I should just have picked it up months earlier while they still had stock at VV. But hey, it can be hard to keep up with everything. And who really would have thought that this somewhat over-expensive set of, what is at best, mediocre 1940s B-horror would sell out in three-four months. I mean, when I look around at the different boards that discusses these kinds of movies, I would never have guessed that a set like this would sell 2,000 copies.)

Sorry for ranting. Just needed to vent.

This is now confirmed out of print for those who may have been expecting it to return.

 

[brynmill]

How come Paramount has ownership of the Monogram films here. Do they own any other Monogram titles? Is it just Paramount in Australia?