Sergeant York (Two-Disc Special Edition)
by Howard Hawks
from Warner Home Video
Story of World War I hero who captured German position single-handedly. Film also portrays York's earlier life in the mountains of Tennessee.Running Time: 134 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569793750 Manufacturer No: 79375
Gary Cooper plays Alvin York, the real-life country lad and sharpshooter drafted to fight during World War I but blocked from killing by his pacifist sentiments. Howard Hawks makes a rousing, heroic film out of the tale, and Cooper gives one of his best performances (for which he won an Oscar). The 1941 feature seems as much a valentine to wartime America (and a not-so-subtle piece of propaganda) as anything, with Hawks capturing splendidly shot scenes of life in York's home state of Tennessee, which in turn provide a striking contrast to the battlefield. A key scene in the film, in which York is presented with an argument in favor of killing in war, is still thought provoking. --Tom Keogh
The Fountainhead
by King Vidor
from Warner Home Video
Based on the novel by philosopher Ayn Rand this is the story of architect Howard Roark. An idealist Roark believes he can balance his values with the needs of society. His mentor disagrees - encouraging him to compromise his integrity rather than suffer for his artistic goals.Running Time: 112 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569571624 Manufacturer No: 65716
Exhibiting a darker edge to his hero persona, the strapping Gary Cooper has the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff as architect Harold Roark, a "fool visionary" who refuses to conform his artistic ideas to popular taste. His inflexibility makes enemies out of a tabloid architecture critic and a tycoon (Raymond Massey), who proclaims, "All men can be bought... there are no men of integrity." Keating (Kent Smith), a former classmate, urges Roark to take "the middle of the road so it's sure to please everybody." But Roark will not compromise, and when one of his building designs is radically altered without his consent, he resorts to drastic measures. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand from her towering and controversial bestseller, The Fountainhead is about as subtle as that phallic drill Roark wields so impressively, which catches the frenzied eye of the formidable Dominique Francon (Patricia Neal in her film debut). She recognizes Roark's nobility, but fears he has no chance "in a world where beauty, genius and greatness have no chance." Rand did little to dilute her polemics for the screen, resulting in melodramatic scenes that border on high camp, such as Roark and Francon's rather sexually charged discussion about limestone. Rand practiced what she preached. According to a bonus featurette about the making of the film, she refused to trim Roark's then-unprecedented six-minute courtroom speech in which he defends his actions. Even for those who don't adhere to her philosophy, The Fountainhead does offer something rarely seen on screens these days, a man of unshakable principles. And Hollywood could sure note Rand's object lesson about the perils of mediocrity and catering to "the mob." For Cooper fans, The Fountainhead is an essential addition to your DVD library. --Donald Liebenson
The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 1 (Buck Privates / Hold That Ghost / In the Navy / Keep 'Em Flying / One Night in the Tropics / Pardon My Sarong / Ride 'Em Cowboy / Who Done It?)
by Charles Barton
from Universal Studios
Get ready for big laughs with Abbott and Costello, undeniably the most popular comedy team of all time! Now, the classic films of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are available on DVD in this hilarious collection.
The wildly popular comic duo has entertained audiences since 1931, conquering vaudeville, radio and the silver screen in nearly 40 films. Enjoy these side-splitting hits like Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost in this collection of eight full-length features. The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello: Volume 1 will have you laughing out loud again and again!
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
Bud and Lou get mixed up in a "Love Insurance" scheme.
Buck Privates (1941)
The duo accidentally enlists in the U.S. Army to avoid getting arrested!
In the Navy (1941)
Bud and Lou are sailors bound for duty on the high seas in this musical comedy.
Hold that Ghost (1941)
The boys inherit a haunted house formerly owned by a mobster.
Keep `Em Flying (1941)
Bud and Lou enlist in the Army Air Corps and get caught up in a love triangle.
Ride `Em Cowboy (1942)
The duo head to the Lazy S ranch to hide after Lou accidentally proposes to an Indian girl.
Pardon My Sarong (1942)
Bud and Lou travel to the South Seas where Lou is mistaken for a legendary god!
Who Done It? (1942)
The boys are suspected of murder while being targeted by the actual killer.
Mr. Wong, Detective - The Complete Collection (Mr. Wong, Detective / The Mystery of Mr. Wong / Mr. Wong in Chinatown / The Fatal Hour / Doomed to Die / Phantom of Chinatown)
by William Witney
from VCI Entertainment
Six Mr. Wong features you won't want to miss! Mr. Wong Detective; Mystery of Mr. Wong; Mr. Wong in Chinatown; Doomed to Die; The Fatal Hour and Phantom of Chinatown (1938-1940.) Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Photo Gallery| Bonus Serial Chapter: Red Barry (1938) - Chapter 1| Classic Boris Karloff Movie Trailers| Classic Cartoons of the Era Product Specs: 2-DVD9s; Dolby Digital; 403 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1938-1940; SRP - $19.99
The Paleface
by Norman Z. McLeod
from Universal Studios
Bob Hope brings his own brand of laughing gas to the Wild West as a would-be "painless" dentist lassoed into marrying Jane Russell. She's a shapely outlaw turned undercover agent on the trail of some varmints selling guns to a hostile Indian tribe, and he's her unwitting cover. Hope cowers and cracks self-effacing jokes while bodies fall around him ("Brave men run in my family," he quips, then runs), but he's even funnier swaggering and sneering like a kid playing cowboy in a flamboyant costume apparently stolen from the Oklahoma! road show. The Paleface is one of his best films, and the unflappable Russell is a great match. Theme song "Buttons and Bows" (which Hope delivers with a clowning mock twang) won an Oscar®, and the 1948 film spawned a sequel (Son of Paleface, costarring Roy Rogers and Trigger) and a remake (The Shakiest Gun in the West with Don Knotts). --Sean Axmaker
Libeled Lady
by Jack Conway
from Warner Home Video
Bill Chandler (William Powell) is one of America's great anglers a sports fisherman without peer. That's not the only fish story Chandler tells. Four of Hollywood's greatest stars - Powell Jean Harlow Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy - reel in this whopper of a screwball romantic comedy classic nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. It all starts when society diva Loy slaps newsman Tracy with a libel suit. Tracy enlists fiancee Harlow and down-on-his-luck Powell in a counter-maneuver involving a rigged marriage a phony seduction a fabulously funny fishing scene fisticuffs broken promises and hearts and eventually true love for all. This Lady is one fine catch.Running Time: 98 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 012569591929
Newspaper comedy doesn't seem like an MGM genre--ink-stained wretches don't go with Adrian gowns and white deco furniture--but Jack Conway, the designated bull in the Metro china shop (Boom Town, Too Hot to Handle) does what he can to bring some dash and flair to a wildly complicated script. Spencer Tracy is the tough city editor who goes to some spectacular extremes when socialite Myrna Loy files a $5 million libel suit against his paper for calling her a notorious home-wrecker; he hires celebrated ladies' man William Powell to seduce Loy and asks his long-suffering fiancée, Jean Harlow, to marry Powell temporarily so she can play the wronged wife when Loy and Powell are discovered together. The couples crisscross, with frenetic and not entirely unpredictable results, but much of the pleasure here lies in seeing these iconic stars being so thoroughly themselves. The dialogue strains for champagne wit, but the movie's most memorable moment is pure, rotgut slapstick--Powell's bout with an unruly fly-fishing rod. --Dave Kehr
Wing and a Prayer
by Henry Hathaway
from 20th Century Fox
Don Ameche, Dana Andrews, William Eythe and Richard Jaeckel star in this acclaimed film about newly-trained pilots assigned to an aircraft carrier immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Anticipating the battle of Midway, which will determine th
Tycoon
by Richard Wallace
from Turner Home Ent
An action-packed romantic movie about an engineer's attempt to build a railroad tunnel in the Andes Mountains.Johnny Munroe is a tough builder who along with partner Pop Mathews has been hired by tycoon Frederick Alexander to pull off the difficult task. Although Johnny and Pop think that it would be far easier to lay the train tracks on a bridge spanning a river Frederick insists on a tunnel. The contractors get to work despite their qualms over the project but complications quickly arise.Adding to the tension is a romance that blossoms between Johnny and Maura Frederick's daughter -- a relationship the magnate will do anything to end...System Requirements:Running Time: 129 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 053939786521 Manufacturer No: T7865
Shock (Fox Film Noir)
by Alfred L. Werker
from 20th Century Fox
Film noir a classic film style of the 40s and 50s is noted for its dark themes stark camera angles and high-contrast lighting. Comprising many of Hollywood s finest films film noir tells realistic stories about crime mystery femmes fatales and conflict.This post-World War II suspense thriller sets off an emotional roller coaster after the psychologically fragile wife of a POW (Anabel Shaw) witnesses a brutal murder from a hotel window while waiting to be reunited with her husband (Frank Latimer). By the time he arrives she s nearly comatose with shock. The hotel s psychiatrist (Vincent Price) is called in to help. But just as she begins to recognize him as the murderer she saw he realizes she was a witness to his crime. So he arranges to take her to his private sanitarium where he and his nurse-mistress (Lynn Bari) can insure that no one takes the young woman s ravings seriously and they can secretly administer enough "treatment" to silence her forever. Meanwhile her husband and the police begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems and as they get closer to the truth this complex mystery takes some unexpected twists!System Requirements:Running Time: 70 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 024543263609 Manufacturer No: 2236360
Shock is an enjoyable film noir that belongs in a subgenre--let's call it the psychoanalytic murder melodrama--which flourished after the success of Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound. Here, the set-up is delicious: nervous wife Anabel Shaw, already anxious about her soldier husband's delayed return home, witnesses a murder in a neighboring hotel room. Going into a deep state of--you guessed it--shock, she needs the care of San Francisco's leading psychiatrist, who just happens to be staying at the same hotel. Unfortunately, said analyst is none other than the murderer himself (Vincent Price), and he quickly realizes that if the lady comes out of her catatonic state, he'll be exposed for killing his wife. Things slow down once the action shifts to Price's private sanitarium, but Lynn Bari is fun to watch as his va-va-voom assistant/mistress/femme fatale, and Price himself indicates his young aptitude for the kind of sinister, tortured roles that would make him a mainstay of Edgar Allan Poe stories. There's also fun in listening to the psychoanalytic jargon spouted along the way, a distinctly Hollywood version of Freud. All in all, this unheralded 1946 picture counts at least as a minor rediscovery in the noir canon. --Robert Horton
Dressed to Kill
by Eugene Forde
from 20th Century Fox
Detective michael shayne solves the murders of actors.
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