Some 60s Rarities available in Germany (1 Viewer)

[Neil Brock]

Was doing some digging around on the internet last night and I discovered a few shows that have come out in Germany, which are quite rare. We all know about Mr. Terrific, which came out a while back. But I've now discovered that there are a couple of sets selling on the amazon germany website from that same vintage. Run Buddy Run they have out as well as Pistols n Petticoats. Not sure where their sources are from on these sets as apparently they are not complete runs. The Run Buddy Run set has 13 of the 16 episodes and Pistols has 17 of the 26 made. The good news is that both seem to be in color but the bad news is that I think they only have German dubbed audio. My guess is that someone over there got ahold of some old German TV broadcast tapes and decided to release these shows commercially, knowing full well that the companies that own the shows wouldn't know or care. Other than the pilot episodes, the only copies of those two series that have ever turned up in this country have been black and white prints.


Another rare sitcom that I found, which is far more expensive but looks to be a better release, is Tammy from 1965 with Debbie Watson. This seems to have the full run of episodes as well as having the English audio track. This is another show that has been bouncing around among collectors for around 20 years but with black and white prints of color.


Also, not one that I care about but some people might, is High Chapparal. They have put out the first 2 seasons with season 3 set for a few weeks from now. Since CBS seems to have all but stopped putting out old series, that will likely be the only place to get this series for those who are interested.

 

[Statskeeper]

I know about the expense. I went to order Mister Terrific and almost ordered Tammy at the same time. The cost for both shows together with shipping to the States was $85.00. A little pricey for 2 sets of shows lasting a season or less.

 

[Frank Soyke]

Are the High Chapparal sets German or English audio?

 

[Bob Gu]

Another one that has been out awhile in Germany with the English audio is THE ROGUES from 1964 with David Niven and Charles Boyer. It's not complete, with the set containing 20 of 30 episodes.


High Chapparal does have English audio as does Season 1 & 2 of THE BIG VALLEY.


I am still waiting for the German release of part two of IT TAKES A THIEF Season 2.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Have any of you read the reviews of Run Buddy Run on Amazon.de?

Absolutely scathing.


First there appear to be two versions of the set - the original 4-disc set and a "corrected" 2-disc version. It is unclear what the difference between the two actually is as neither seems to address any of the problems which include:

• Individual episodes when selected from the main menu cut off abruptly around the 8 minute mark - often in the middle of dialog.
• To play complete episodes, one must select "play all" from the main menu and forward through the chapter stops (approx. 3 per episode).
• Image quality in the first 7 episodes appears to be generally good. However the last 6 episodes apparently have many drop outs, an unusual amont of damage in the original source material, and perhaps tape roll. Reviewers noted "overall quality looks as though it was taken from cheap a VHS copied on dirty video heads and transferred to DVD. To top it off, the last episode ends in the middle, incomplete. My recommednation: for die-hard 'Buddy' fans only."
• Finally, the big dealbreaker: German audio only (and even this appears to be out-of-synch most of the time).

The only extra appears to be a text menu with basic background information on the programme. One reviewer mentions that even some of this is incorrect.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Re: Run Buddy Run,

A pity about this German release as I remember the series rather fondly.


Actually, I remember liking the opening theme song (which one can hear on YouTube).
Another unfortunate fault of this set I neglected to mention above is that all of the opening and closing sequences have been excised (ostensibly to save space!)

 

[Neil Brock]

I was a fan of the show myself. Bruce Gordon was great. I would have picked it up even with all of the problems if it had an English track on it. Sounds like its a real hack job and not the least bit legitimate. Too bad but maybe this will spur some German company to do an authorized release. That's about the best we could hope for because you know CBS isn't putting this out.


What do they say about the other two sitcoms?

 

[westumulka]

Originally Posted by Neil Brock
What do they say about the other two sitcoms?

The 'Mr Terrific' set is pretty good - I am about halfway through it and it looks fine to me. I do also have the two (so far) releases of 'The High Chapparal' and these look very nice.

 

[silverking]

I can confirm High Chaparral sets have English audio, appear to be uncut & excellent pic quality. Big Valley however, has some edited episodes + inserts of German titles cards. 'High Chaparral' is also being released in the Netherlands as is 'Cimarron Strip'.


Other German releases are 'Rifleman' in part season sets, unclear as to wether or not English audio, some sets mention it others don't. Another series available in Germany is 'Lassie', again can't say about audio.

 

[westumulka]

Originally Posted by silverking

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by westumulka





The 'Mr Terrific' set is pretty good - I am about halfway through it and it looks fine to me. I do also have the two (so far) releases of 'The High Chapparal' and these look very nice.

Actually have the Mr. Terrific for a long time already and I've no interest in High Chapparal.. The other 2 sets I was referring to were Tammy and Pistols n Petticoats.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Are we sure whether or not all these things are just cheap bootlegs?

 

[Mike*HTF]

Danny - Pistols and Petticoats is incomplete as you noted with only a German soundtrack. The solitary review makes no mention of whether episodes are cut - only that the visual quality is good and that it comes with a booklet.


By all accounts, the Tammy set appears to be quite nice. All 26 episodes on 5 DVDs, restored image (you can watch a video online), original English soundtrack option, 24 page booklet, and bonus CD soundtrack. Reviewers mention that episodes run approximately 23 minutes which may or may not indicate that they are cut. If you fancy the series, this may be the only (and presumably best) way to see it.

Originally Posted by Neil Brock
The other 2 sets I was referring to were Tammy and Pistols n Petticoats.

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by Mike*HTF

Danny - Pistols and Petticoats is incomplete as you noted with only a German soundtrack. The solitary review makes no mention of whether episodes are cut - only that the visual quality is good and that it comes with a booklet.


By all accounts, the Tammy set appears to be quite nice. All 26 episodes on 5 DVDs, restored image (you can watch a video online), original English soundtrack option, 24 page booklet, and bonus CD soundtrack. Reviewers mention that episodes run approximately 23 minutes which may or may not indicate that they are cut. If you fancy the series, this may be the only (and presumably best) way to see it.

Too bad that Pistols doesn't have an English option on it as these appear to be in color. All of the ones that have been around in the US, except for the unaired pilot with Chris Noel, have been black and white prints of color. I even thought about picking the set up and then dubbing the sound from the black and white ones onto the color but with the PAL speed-up, that would be just about impossible to do.


Tammy is another show that has been readily available for a long time, although only in black and white. Prints of that came out along with the flood of other Universal shows around 20 years ago. They come in at around 25 and change. Not sure if the 23 mins. would be accounted for by just the PAL thing or if there might be edits as well. I'll probably pick it up at some point if the price drops but since I already have most of the episodes anyway, I'm not in a big hurry. Interesting choice for a release. Probably they figure a tie in to the theatrical films or something. But I would say this seems to be the most legit release of the three.