Posted Wed Apr 24, 2024 at 05:29 PM PDT by Tom Landy
What were you planning to do in June? Four films and a pair of complete series make up Warner Archive Collection's June wave arriving on the 14th.
The titles in this batch include Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), The Man I Love (1947), The Shining Hour (1938), Act of Violence (1948), plus The Alaskans: The Complete Series (1959-60) featuring Roger Moore and The Flash: The Original Series from 1990. Needless to say, June is going to be a busy, expensive, and very exciting month!
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) - Warner Archive Collection
“If you had it to do all over again, would you have married me?” Yes, gentlemen, there is a right answer. That’s something David Smith learns the hard way when his bubbly and beautiful wife Ann queries him over breakfast.
Also right are radiant Carole Lombard and easygoing Robert Montgomery as the stars of this breezy Alfred Hitchcock comedy. For three years, the Smiths have been blissed but battling. When a technicality voids their union, Mr. misses Mrs., orbiting the tale into the delightful confection of the screwball genre. From a script by Academy Award® winner Norman Krasna, Hitchcock made his change-of-pace foray into the all-out humor memorable. “Here again are his unmistakable touches” Look Magazine declared. “The net effect is the same, too: another Alfred Hitchcock hit.”
SPECIAL FEATURES: Featurette: “Mr. Hitchcock Meets the Smiths”, Classic cartoons: THE CAT’S TALE and SPORTS CHUMPIONS ; Two Audio only radio broadcasts: Lux Radio Theater broadcast with Carole Lombard and Bob Hope, and Screen Guild Players broadcast with Errol Flynn and Lana Turner. Original Theatrical Trailer
The Man I Love (1947) - Warner Archive Collection
Torch singer Petey Brown is beautiful and smart. The beautiful gets her in trouble. She’ll need all the smarts to get out of it in this bluesy, boozy noir salute to tough dames in tough times. On a holiday visit to her family in the waning days of World War II, Petey expects a merry Christmas. Instead, she gets a tangled web of mobsters, cheating wives, war-traumatized vets and the kind of love that grabs hold fast and goes wrong faster. Ida Lupino portrays Petey, scoring a triumph under the direction of Raoul Walsh, who helped put her on the road to stardom in the Bogart classic High Sierra. The Man I Love is also notable for its songbook of sophisticated standards and as one of the inspirations for Martin Scorsese’s “New York, New York”. This new Blu-ray presentation restores 6 minutes cut from the film and unseen for nearly seven decades. Now, newly remastered the film can finally be experienced as first shown in its original theatrical release.
Special features: Classic WB cartoons “ROUGHLY SQUEAKING”, “SLICK HARE”. Includes the Original Theatrical Trailer
The Shining Hour (1938) - Warner Archive Collection
When Joan Crawford saw The Shining Hour on the Broadway stage, she pleaded with M-G-M executives to let her spread her acting wings in the film version. Ms. Crawford got her way, playing a New York siren who marries a prosperous farmer (Melvyn Douglas) and moves to Wisconsin. There she is drawn to his handsome brother (Robert Young) , even as she befriends the brother’s selfless wife (Margaret Sullavan, Crawford’s choice for the role). The passionate triangle plays out in the best tradition of classic screen melodrama, glossy and chic, but resonant with honest emotion, all under the expert direction of the great Frank Borzage. The film’s heart-stopping climax with Crawford battling flames to rescue Sullavan from certain death is both literally and figuratively, incendiary filmmaking.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio only vintage M-G-M radio program GOOD NEWS OF 1939, with scenes from THE SHINING HOUR, Classic cartoons: LOVE AND CURSES and THE SNEEZING WEASEL, Original Theatrical Trailer
Act of Violence (1948) - Warner Archive Collection
When two World War II veterans meet again--one a decorated war hero and successful, married businessman; the other permanently crippled and mentally deranged--the encounter will lead to a shocking Act of Violence. Frank Enly (Van Heflin) survived a German concentration camp to return home a hero and build a good life for himself. But when Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) comes to town, Enly flees. Now, as his life and sanity rapidly unravel, is Enly really a lying traitor who sold the lives of fellow concentration camp inmates for his own survival as the mentally unstable Parkson claims, or is he a victim of survivor's guilt that has suddenly resurfaced with Parkson's return? And will the enmity between the two lead to murder in this acclaimed film noir thriller, from masterful director Fred Zinnemann.
Special features: Feature commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper, Featurette “Act of Violence: Dealing with the Devil”, Original Theatrical Trailer
The Alaskans: The Complete Series (1959-60) - Warner Archive Collection
Set against the backdrop of the 1890s gold rush in the Yukon, Roger Moore, Jeff York and Dorothy Provine star in The Alaskans. This Warner Bros. Television series built on the growing popularity of the studio’s westerns which became a mainstay on ABC in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with . Years before establishing himself as The Saint and later James Bond, Moore brought his unique stylish swagger to the series, adding distinctive class to the role of Silky Harris, an adventurer who teams up with his friend Reno McKeean (Jeff York). Joined in their ever-exciting activities by showgirl Rocky Shaw (Dorothy Provine), the trio stake their luck, love and lives on ice-coated gambles for riches and survival. The series also had the benefit of an impressive array of guest stars including James Coburn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Troy Donahue, Lee Van Cleef, Neil Hamilton, Alan Hale, Werner Klemperer, and Julie Adams to name but a few. Long unavailable for viewing in any media, the series has now been remastered in 1080p HD for this Warner Archive Blu-ray™ release, derived from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives.
The Flash: The Original Series - Warner Archive Collection
Who-o-o-o-osh! The origins and exploits of the crimefighting DC Comics superhero come your way in this 22-episode live-action series, from the 1990-91 television season. John Wesley Shipp portrays Barry Allen, a police crime technologist endowed with sudden talents after a fluke lab accident. He pledges to use his new powers for good, powers that include ultra-speed reflexes and the ability to vibrate his molecules so rapidly he can pass through solid walls. Amanda Pays is medical researcher Tina McGee, who monitors Allen’s accelerated metabolism and guards his secret identity. The Tricksters, Captain Cold, the Ghost, mad inventors: Central City is rife with criminals. Now there’s a hero to keep pace with them. He’s called The Flash. And in our era of instant communications, he’s more in step with the times than ever.
Pre-orders for all six Blu-ray releases should be available soon and full details can be found on Warner Archive Collection's Facebook Page.
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