Warner's Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck films - any news? (1 Viewer)

[Miguel M Santos]

Hi,

Does anyone know if Warner has any plans to release soon more of their Bette Davis films? I'd love to get THE LETTER, OLD ACQUAINTANCE and THE OLD MAID, among others. Is also any hope of a release of any of the Errol Flynn/Bette Davis films later in the year in the rumored Flynn's collection?

I'd like to know if there are any news on some of their Barbara Stanwyck films, such as CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT and THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS.

 

[Jeff_HR]

In the WB chat before the last one I asked about Bette Davis films. WB said they loved those films but that they would have to wait behind the releases of Bogart, Flynn & Cagney films.

 

[RafaelPires]

I'd love to see Barabara Stanwyck in Cry Wolf with Errol Flynn.

 

[FrankXS]

Please, please, please bring out a Bette Davis collection.
She made some really great titles at Warner's throughout the 1930's and 1940's. Stanwyck/Crawford/Harlow/Shearer/Garson/Turner/Loy/Hepburn/McDonald all have the makings of great collections. I didn't mention Greta Garbo because the Chat with Warners in March said that a Garbo collection was forthcoming in 2005. Keep up the good work Warner. You seem to have an endless wealth of titles.

 

[Claude North]

I would love to see more Joan Crawford titles released on DVD. She made some really terrific films during her long career, but they are sadly overshadowed by her reputation as "Mommie Dearest." She is definitely deserving of a career reevaluation, as she was far more than the camp figure that she has been reduced to in recent years.

Of course, I love all of classic Hollywood, so as long as Warners (and others) continue to issue pre-1950s films on a regular basis, I will be very happy.

 

[oscar_merkx]

count me in for more of these as well

 

[Charles Ellis]

You'd think by now Warners would've put out a boxed set of the current WB Davis films on DVD (Jezebel, Dark Victory, Now, Voyager, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?)

The woman was the biggest box-office attraction in the studio's history, so much so that in the early 1940s she was called "The Fourth Warner Brother". For an actress who placed #2 on the AFI listing of Hollywood's greatest actresses (Katharine Hepburn was #1), she deserves better! And don't even get me started as to why she has yet to be on a postage stamp!

Dead Ringer is coming out soon, so there's hope.

But what about:

All This And Heaven, Too, The Letter, The Corn Is Green, Marked Woman, Dangerous, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, A Stolen Life, Mr. Skeffington, Beyond The Forest, The Old Maid, Juarez, The Man Who Played God, Deception, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Old Acquaintance, In This Our Life, The Great Lie, Watch On The Rhine, The Petrified Forest?


As for Stanwyck, I'd also love to see her Warners (and Paramount) stuff remastered. I'm the proud owner of my DVD of Sorry, Wrong Number, but I'd love to see a restored print of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers put out, along with The Furies (What Missy could do with a pair of scissors.....)

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I'd love to see more Bette on DVD also such as Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex! For Stanwyck, I would be very interested in !Christmas in Connecticut.

Although I am glad to see Warner releasing more Elizabeth Taylor films, especially with Courage of Lassie and Lassie Come Home arriving at the end of August!

Andy

 

[RafaelPires]

Jezebel and Dark Victory must have a restoration work before been rereleased on dvd. As for the others Bette Davis movies, I agree, that most of them, need to be avaiable on dvd.
And I just love Christmas in Connecticut.

 

[AlanP]

Well, here are a few
Crawford-"TORCH SONG", "FLAMINGO ROAD", "HARRIET CRAIG",
"JOHNNY GUITAR"
Lana-"MADAME X", "PORTRAIT IN BLACK" AND "LOVE HAS BEEN MANY FACES"
Bette-"THE STAR", "HUSH, HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE", "THE NANNY"
Rita Hayworth-"THEY CAME TO CORDURA", "THE STORY ON PAGE ONE", "CIRCUS WORLD"
Shirley MacLaine-"MY GEISHA", "SOME CAME RUNNING"
"ALL IN A NIGHTS WORK"
Stanwyck-"CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT", "ALL I DESIRE", "THE FURIES", "CATTLE QUEEN OF MONTANA"
Kate-"THE RAINMAKER", "SYLVIA SCARLETT", "BRINGING UP BABY",
Susan Hayward-"VALLEY OF THE DOLLS", "BACK STREET", "I'LL CRY TOMORROW", "I THANK A FOOL"
LIZ-"RAINTREE COUNTY", "ASH WEDNESDAY", "THE VIPS",
"REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE"

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Alan, are those titles you mentioned ones that are rumoured to be released on DVD? Where did you get your information?

Thanks,

Andy

 

[Thomas T]

Alan's is a wish list, nothing more Andrew!

However, Stanwyck's Cattle Queen Of Montana has been out on DVD since last year (I have a copy) and Hayworth's They Came To Cordura is scheduled for release in the next few months in its CinemaScope format.

 

[AlanP]

YES, THAT IS A REAL WISH LIST !!!!!!!!!

 

[Miguel M Santos]

THE LETTER is coming! Yeeeeeeeeeessssssssss!

Any news on the Errol Flynn collection? I'm hoping that it includes THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX...

As for Alan's wish list - wasn't SOME CAME RUNNING mentioned in the Warner chat along with other Minnelli melodramas?

 

[bob kaplan]

a big Bette Davis fan here. i am pleased that THE LETTER is on the way...and hope that others will follow in a big way!!

 

[Jeff_HR]

I want my Bette Box!!!!!!!!!

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Me too... What would be your choices for the Bette Box?

Mine would have to include THE OLD MAID and OLD ACQUAINTANCE, and perhaps a double-disc edition for Jezebel - I would have prefered THE LETTER to get it, but this one is more likely to get it. Everything else could almost be taken at random from her WB films from 1937 - 1946.

 

[John Hodson]

Just for a second Jeff, I thought you were pining for a legendary British producer

 

[RafaelPires]

For the Bette Davis box, I'd like to see a restored version of Dark Victory, plus The Great Lie, All this and Heaven too, In this our lives, Dangerous and The Petrified forest, at least.
And yes, Miguel, I would be very glad to know that a double-disc edition of Jezebel is on the way...

 

[Al (alweho)]

Why not a box set with a new anamorphic Baby Jane, the just released Dead Ringer and a fully restored (pre-edit) Beyond the Forest? If Universal can do Monster sets...

The lines "She's just a 12 o'clock girl in a 9 o'clock town" and "What a dump" are in real need of digital remastering I say.