Warners Errol Flynn Signature Collection Vol. 2 in March '07 (1 Viewer)

[Tim Tucker]

Hmmmm... interesting that WHV is changing the look of Signature Collection series.

 

[Corey]

hey you too. didn't Warners mention something about a Jessie Ralph set in 07??

 

[Jefty]

sadly, her best performances may have succumbed to absorption into other performers'/themes' sets (this will be especially true if those two hogs Powell and Loy grab Double Wedding!)

and speaking of great performers from Double Wedding--I'd like to see a Katharine Alexander box too!

(also--Alice Brady, although the studios would have to declare a cease-fire and put out a joint-set... and Glenda Farrell, too--if we can have charlie chan, why not Torchy Blane?)

 

[Corey]

damn, after watchin her play nanine in camille, it made me think that she would be getting her own set. she was truly a scene stealer. The Zasu Pitts Signature Collection would sell like hotcakes. I'm sure she'll put Bette Davis' dvd sales to shame. on a more serious note i sure hope stange cargo & a woman's face are in the next crawfor set!!!

 

[Jefty]

it doesn't get much more serious than that--and I agree!

if I were choosing Crawford v.2, I'd go with Strange Cargo (which I showed to a class of freshman students in 2005--and many of them seemed to like it quite a bit), Woman's Face, Possessed (1931), Flamingo Road, and Forsaking All Others... although, if the TCM poll factors into these things, I suppose we'll get Letty Lynton before any of these... I wouldn't say no--I've never seen it, and it sounds interesting! the more thirties star-vehicles, the merrier, I always say!

 

[Corey]

The perfect set to me would be:
-Flamingo Road
-Strange Cargo
-A Woman's Face
-Mannequin
-Sadie McKee

For the Harlow set, I bet it's like this:
-Red Dust
-Hold Your Man
-Bombshell
-Reckless
-Saratoga

 

[Steve...O]

In all seriousness, if Warners decides to continue with their "series" films releases they would do very well to release a Torchy Blane set. These films have very high entertainment value and are very popular among genre fans. Farrell is a true dynamo and the male leads of Barton MacLane and Tom Kennedy were some of the best character actors ever to come out of Hollywood. These films barely run an hour so using double features, the set could be done in a 5 DVD collection.

 

[Jefty]

no doubt about it Steve! My joking manner was prompted only by skepticism about the perceived commercial viability of these ventures--but I do love all of the performers and movies that I suggested, and would eagerly snap 'em up! (I've only seen a couple of the Blane movies, but I thought they were really fun!)

Corey:

I like your Harlow lineup quite a bit. Red Dust and Bombshell are my personal favourites--along with Libeled Lady and Wife vs Secretary (which isn't really much of a movie, but Harlow is amazing in it!)... I do hope they get around to releasing Beast of the City some day (in a precode set?)... I've never seen it, but I really want to!

 

[Ron68]

I like the artwork a lot but I wish they would put Flynn's picture on the spine instead of showing the artwork for each disc included. I think it would look much better.

 

[Ray_R]

Shouldn't the discussion about the boxsets other than for Errol Flynn be in the 200 classic titles thread?

The covers look quite nice and I thought the set looked like it'd house slimline cases. Can't wait to own the set!

Ron68:
The first volume has the covers on the spine of the boxset.

 

[Ron68]

Ray,

I know that the first Volume has them on the spine, I own the set. I just think the sets would look better without them on the spines.

 

[Brent Avery]

Thought it was time to add something to this thread. I've had this set since last Friday not realizing the official release date is the 27th. I have not seen any of these films previously which should make them that much more entertaining. So far I have watched Dive Bomber and Gentleman Jim, the Technicolor in Dive Bomber giving that degree of color and detail that is always great to watch, very good film too with Flynn's more subdued character a refreshing change. Gentleman Jim is very entertaining as well and had me looking forward to the boxing matches - something I'm not normally partial to - which is a real credit to how well this film was made. Looking forward to the other titles in the set.

 

[David_B_K]

I am eagerly awaiting my pre-order of this set. I like all these films a lot, with the exception of Dive Bomber, which is not at all bad, considering that it was wartime morale-boosting stuff.

The Charge of the Light Brigade is a tremendously underrated film, IMO. Some make light of it as "history", in that it attempts to connect the Indian Mutiny with the Crimean war. Aside from doing the Indian Mutiny first, it was reasonably accurate as far as fictionalized history goes. But what distinguishes it IMO is Flynn's charisma in the film. Considering that his starring debut was only a year before, he inhabits his role Charge of the Light Brigade as if he were a 10-year veteran of films. It's really one of the most charismatic screen appearances of all time, IMO.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Don't forget Flynn's swan song, Cuban Story, which is out on DVD on the Image label. Co-starring Fidel Castro! Shows kangaroo courts followed by pistol-shot executions, dumping the bodies in a ditch. Poor old Flynn was in poor mental health at this time and died shortly thereafter.

 

[David_B_K]

Don't forget that Fidel's T-Shirt/dorm room poster partner-Che also makes an appearance in the film! I think it was explained in a prologue that Flynn and his boozing partner woke up from a drunk in Cuba to find themselves in the revolution, and tried to make some sort of documentary while there. They should have just kept drinking.

If Cuban Story had been released as a double bill with Cuban Rebel Girls, starring the aging Flynn and his teenage girlfriend, it might have been more interesting. As it is, it's a snoozer. Too bad Flynn didn't go out with The Sun Also Rises, or even The Roots of Heaven.

 

[Roger Rollins]

I am counting the days until this collection is released. I love all five films, and always welcome the WB NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, but I must admit the one I'm looking forward to most is a Flynn with no mustache...in GENTLEMAN JIM, an underrated, beautifully made film that typifies the WB magic of the golden era.

 

[Corey]

order it from amazon. mine should arrive tomorrow.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Well said. Gentleman Jim is one of Flynn's best and very underrated. It also demonstrates what a great actor Flynn actually was but seldom got to demonstrate it much in his Swashbucklers.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

My review copy arrived today. I'll try to get the review posted before street date, but if you have any questions about a specific title, ask away. I have to (okay, it's more like "get to") watch them all eventually, so I'm flexible about the order.

Regards,

 

[David_B_K]

Well, for a start, could you look at the color titles to see if they are free if the registration problems that plagued the first Flynn set? Several shots in Dodge City and Elizabeth and Essex are not aligned properly. I posted some caps earlier in the thread.