Universal Horror for 2009.............. (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

And Universal -- please do not forget -- that one man's "garbage" is another man's treasure.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

Too bad they're so expensive -- it would cost something like $130 or more to import both of these after the exchange rate and shipping costs. Guess I'll wait for a domestic release, if it ever happens :frowning:

 

[Joe Lugoff]

It's all about nostalgia to me. I remember when THE MAD GHOUL first came on television when I was still in single digits ... and how much I looked forward to it all week ... and how much fun it was to watch on a late Saturday night.

That's why I'd like to have it on DVD -- to bring back those memories, not because it's a good movie.

And that's not to say it's bad, either. It's what it was supposed to be -- something to watch for an hour in 1943 as a co-feature with "Son of Dracula," and then forget about. They never dreamed anyone would still be discussing it 66 years later, much less wanting it on DVD.

Personally, I'd like another Universal set with "The Mad Ghoul," "The Mad Doctor of Market Street," "House of Horrors," "Jungle Captive" and "The Spider Woman Strikes Back." Come on, Universal, you can't deprive the fans of something like that!

 

[BrianRi]

"plant such a seed"?!? Jesus H. Christ, gimme a break! Mr. Karlosi, I'm not targeting you personally, but your quote is just one of many that shows an inflated sense of importance that one guy's opinion on an internet message board is going to have on a major studio. Heck, let's say I'm wrong; we'll still never know which opinion was "the straw that broke the camel's back" in terms of a studio deciding whether or not to release a title.

"Universal's Mediocrity Collection" Again I say, Chee-rist! It's funny, fer gawd's sake! You know? Funny? Ha-ha? A chuckle? That sensation you get in your belly that's supposed to release tension? Humor--I beg for it, I plead for it, I prostrate myself in praise of those who practice it! Humor--it's something much more sorely needed on HTF. And Mr. Theakston's phrase was FUNNY!

 

[Jack Theakston]

At least somebody got the joke :rolleyes

 

[John Morgan]

Well, I was hoping for a nice DVD box set of those Technicolor Montez/Hall films, but with Arabian Nights out and Ali Baba coming soon, I guess that is not in the cards. Years ago, AMC showed these films and the color was amazingly good with then new transfers:
ARABIAN NIGHTS
WHITE SAVAGE
ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES
COBRA WOMAN (my favorite too)
GYPSY WILDCAT
SUDAN

What a perfect set it would make....6 films, 2 discs, non flippers.

 

[John Morgan]

I would love these too, and would add such things as:
HALF WAY TO SHANGHAI
BOMBAY MAIL
BOMBAY CLIPPER
I STOLE A MILLION
NIGHTMARE (1942)
NORTH TO THE KLONDIKE
THE STRANGE DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER
THE SUN NEVER SETS
GREEN HELL
THE SUSPECT (1945)
THIS WOMAN IS MINE
THE WEB
THE RUNAROUND
ZANZIBAR
SUTTER'S GOLD
SAN DIEGO, I LOVE YOU

and the rest of the James Whale Universal films as well as the four Universal Olsen and Johnson films.

The Paramount's deserve their own thread.

 

[Jack Theakston]

My understanding is that the Olsen and Johnson films are in rights hell.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

If you go back and check my original response, it was not written in response to Jack Theakston's "Universal's Mediocrity Collection" joke.

 

[John_S]

For those that have mentioned "Svengali (1931)", it was recently included as a bonus feature on the VCI release of "Svengali (1955)".

The 1931 transfer looks MUCH better than the old Alpha edition. The URL for the Amazon listing is HERE and a review at DVD Talk is HERE.

 

[JeffT.]

THE MAD GHOUL (1943) is a competently produced and entertaining effort coming from the "middle" 1940s period of Universal Pictures B-film doublebill programmer output.

It's somewhat (truly) grisly (albeit tastefully done) premise of a young zombified medical student (David Bruce) forced by a deranged scientist (George Zucco) to surgically remove the hearts of their intended victims is remarkably guite strong fare for its time to be sure.

One of the most effective moments is the (unexpected) murder of the over-inquistive (and negligently careless) newspaper reporter "Scoop" McGuire (Robert Armstrong).

Fortunately the always arrogantly egocentrical George Zucco not only pays for his misdeeds in THE MAD GHOUL (1943) but later in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) as well when the dastardly scoundrel meets his match in Boris Karloff and J. Carrol Naish!

I certainly wouldn't rank it with Universal's less memorable horror films of the period.

I welcome its (eventual?!) release on DVD.

Jeff T.

 

[MichaelEl]

I wasn't really denouncing those films, but it's understandable why they haven't been released. They're unfamiliar and likely have limited cult appeal, even among the sort of people who used to scour TV listings for old horror films. On the other hand, the ones I listed from the 60s and 70s were shown on TV quite a lot in the 80s and 90s and have more of a built-in audience. For example, THE SATAN BUG stills airs occasionally on cable and has a cast loaded with familiar character actors. One would think a film like that or a Vincent Price picture would be a more likely candidate for release than THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE or THE MAD GHOUL.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I don't see that it has to be "either/or", though ("only 30s/40s/50s" or "only 60s/70s/80s"). I'd also suggest that Vincent Price is just as "obscure" in today's market as the old Universal films are.

If it's true that some of the older Universal titles are more obscure, then all the more reason to get them released ASAP; because the unfamiliarity can only grow worse as the older core audience who remembers and grew up with them dies out. As it stands already there is a built-in audience for those films; heck, just look at the support here in this thread!

UNIVERSAL CLASSIC HORROR ARCHIVES VOLUME 2 is a catchy-enough title that might sell these films on their own, even if nobody heard of "THE MAD GHOUL" before (I've heard of THE MAD GHOUL while THE SATAN BUG is a rather unfamiliar title to me, but then again I'm not everybody).

 

[Richard--W]

!! and punctuate it with a ! and a !!
If I see "Universal Mediocrity Collection" on a DVD box-set I'm buying it instantly! Likewise if I saw the officially released "The Worst of John Wayne," as they used to call his 1930s programmers on late-night TV, I'm buying it instantly!

 

[Fabian Kusch]

Does it look better than the old OOP and hard-to-get Roan Group release?

After hunting it down for months I finally got a copy at ebay for a reasonable price last year. Don't tell me I could have waited for VCI to simply use the Roan transfer for one of their new releases.
If I remember correctly the titles on the Roan edition were windowboxed as well. So it could be the same transfer after all...

 

[Fabian Kusch]

I hate to disappoint you but my Spanish boxed set including ISLAND OF LOST SOULS arrived today.

Well, almost everything looks splendid. It's a colorful set containing three DVDs in slim cases housing two movies each.
It's bathed in original poster art and has a marvellous 38 page booklet (in Spanish language).
DVDs are region free and in the PAL format. Each feature has Spanish and French subtitles. There are trailers for THE DEVIL DOLL and THE UNDYING MONSTER.

Transfers of THE BLACK ROOM, THE UNDYING MONSTER and THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE are excellent, probably on par with their North American counterparts. THE DEVIL DOLL is ok but worse than the Warner RC 1 release and is missing the MGM lion. THE VAMPIRE BAT looks ok for a PD transfer.

The big disappointment (yes, I was coming to that) is, sadly, the transfer of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS!
It's really murky, blurry, interlaced, and suffers from bad contrast and a bad audio track. What a mess! Even my digital recording of a TCM broadcast looks better!

I'm sorry for stirring up expectations, but at least I pioneered. This boxed set could have been a winner, but sadly it isn't. For those who haven't got most of these movies yet and like the thought of owning ISLAND as a bonus feature - even in a substandard form - go ahead! All others beware.

Information on the status of THE UNINVITED, contained in "Volumen 2", follows as soon as I recieve it.

I prepare for the worst....

 

[Fabian Kusch]

No better news for THE UNINVITED.

Although the transfer is progressive this time and a bit better than that for ISLAND, it's still fuzzy, dark and suffers from heavy video artefacts. Most likely it's an 80s transfer badly transferred to the PAL standard.

With the exeption of KING OF THE ZOMBIES all other films have ok transfers.

The package is lovely again with a lot of original poster artwork and a 34 page booklet, but too bad the main attraction is in such a bad shape...

 

[John_S]

Originally Posted by Fabian Kusch

Does it look better than the old OOP and hard-to-get Roan Group release?

After hunting it down for months I finally got a copy at ebay for a reasonable price last year. Don't tell me I could have waited for VCI to simply use the Roan transfer for one of their new releases.
If I remember correctly the titles on the Roan edition were windowboxed as well. So it could be the same transfer after all...
I'm not sure, as I haven't seen the Roan transfer. But I will say it looks quite decent.

 

[IanUngstad]

Criterion confirmed they have the rights to Island of Lost Souls on their Facebook page.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Originally Posted by IanUngstad

Great news if true!