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Movie
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Nancy Drew
1 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$20 or US$20 or
£10
Carolyn Keene's series of mystery novels
debuted in 1930 and were an immediate success. In 1938 Warner Bros. purchased
the screen rights and found the perfect actress to bring Nancy to life:
Bonita Granville. Her Nancy is brainy, feisty, resourceful and full of
boundless energy. Frankie Thomas Jr. plays her boyfriend and crime-solving
cohort and John Litel is her attorney father. The series consisted of 4 films
each directed by William Clemens with typical Warner Bros zip and pace. They
were more densely plotted than most B pictures and as such enjoyed great
success across a broad demographic Nancy
Drew Movie Series Disc Nancy
Drew - Detective (1938) Nancy
Drew - Reporter (1939) Nancy
Drew - Trouble Shooter (1939) Nancy
Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939) |
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Nick Carter
1 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$20 or US$20 or
£10
Detective
Nick Cater was created in the 1886 and became the busiest crime solver in
American literature, being featured in hundreds of short stories in magazines
and books. MGM launched a three
movie series in 1939 with urbane Walter Pidgeon as the detective. Each was
fast paced, flippant and (like the original stories) somewhat outlandish,
with typical MGM polish distinguishing
them from the other studio's product. The chief distinction of the
films lay in the casting of Donald Meek as Bartholomew, The Beeman, an
off-center oddball who foists himself on Nick in each movie EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Nick
Carter Movie Series Disc Nick
Carter - Master Detective (1939) - Walter Pidgeon Phantom
Raiders (1940) - Walter Pidgeon Sky
Murders (1940) - Walter Pidgeon |
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Nurse Sarah Keate - see Sarah Keate below
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*** GREAT NEWS ***
*** WHOLELY NEW UPGRADES ***
SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE (1946) & BOMBAY WATERFRONT (1952) (aka PAUL
TEMPLE RETURNS) are now PERFECT PRINTS The DVDs (below) have now been
completely remastered Digital restoration procedures have
been used to enhance the other two films in the course of
the re-mastery Gratis upgrades to previous customers Paul Temple
2 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$25 or US$25 or
£13
One of the most popular private detectives of
all time, Paul Temple was a popular British private detective who made his
first appearance in a BBC radio serial in 1938 and went on to appear in
novels, film, television and even a daily comic strip. Temple is a crime writer and amateur private
eye, who is frequently "sent for" by Scotland Yard to help out.
Aiding him in his investigations are his faithful wife, Steve, and Sir Graham
Forbes of Scotland Yard. The creator of Paul Temple was Francis
Durbridge and he wrote the stories which were adapted for Paul Temple's four
big screen outings. Send for Paul Temple (1946) starred Anthony Hulme as Paul Temple whilst John Bentley played the title role in the following three
films: Calling Paul Temple (1948), Paul Temple's Triumph (1950) and Paul Temple Returns
(1952). All 4 films have now been unearthed
although the most recent "discovery", Paul Temple Returns (1952) is
only available under the title of its US release: Bombay Waterfront (1952) Quality Note: Send for Paul Temple & Bombay
Waterfront (1952) are excellent quality prints. Calling Paul Temple Paul Temple's
Triumph have undergone considerable restoration work
here as part of the mastery (to DVD) process. The print quality of the Calling
Paul Temple is a bit less than good whilst the quite rare Paul
Temple's Triumph is perhaps categorized
as "OK" Worth considering : The Paul Temple TV Series - its
in the TV Series section of this website Also worth a look : The Paul Temple Radio Shows - check
out the Old Time Radio section
of this website. These shows have been digitally restored & come on MP3
CDs which work in your DVD player. The shows are free - with conditions.
Check out the Old Time Radio
section for further details The
Paul Temple Movie Series Disc No. 1 Send for Paul Temple (1946) Calling Paul Temple (1948) The
Paul Temple Movie Series Disc No. 2 Paul Temple's Triumph (1950) Bombay Waterfront (1952) aka Paul Temple Returns (1952) |
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Perry Mason 2 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$25 or US$25 or £13
It certainly didn't take long for Perry Mason to
hit the silver screen. The first novel appeared in 1933, and the first film,
The Case of the Howling Dog (based on the fourth novel of the series)
appeared in 1934, starring Warren "The Lone Wolf" William as a
rather tough attorney with a definite eye for the ladies. Mason, in these
early films, was quite similar to the Mason of the books. He was tough,
thoroughly professional, and honest (though not always exactly ethical).
There were six films done by Warners in the period between 1934 and 1937, and
while it started out as decent, grade A entertainment, the series quickly
evolved into sterling B entertainment. Williams appeared in the first four
before bowing out. Ricardo Cortez got to play Mason once, as did Donald
Woods, in the last of the six Warner flicks, The Case of the Stuttering
Bishop. A success from the start, Mason was adored by the
public. Featured in more than 80 novels, several movies, and a popular 1940s
radio show, Mason was already a household word when in 1957 the long-running,
immensely popular Perry Mason television series began. The show ran for 10
years, during which time Gardner continued to produce novel after novel
starring the courtroom sleuth. EXCELLENT
quality throughout The Perry Mason Movie Series Disc No. 1 The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935) The Perry Mason Movie Series Disc No. 2 The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936) The Case of the Black Cat (1936) The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937) |
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Philo Vance 4 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$35 or US$35 or £18
Debonair detective Philo Vance, created by S. S. Van Dine enjoyed a long and varied screen career in the
guise of many different actors in 13 films made over almost twenty years. The
man most closely identified with the role was William Powell who starred in the first three mysteries : The
Canary Murder Case, The Greene Murder Case and The Benson Murder Case. Basil Rathbone (who won later fame as Sherlock Holmes also available from this website)
took on the role for a rival studio production with The Bishop
Murder Case. The Kennel Murder
Case saw William Powell return to the role for a fourth outing in what
critics agree to be the best Philo Vance movie. Brilliantly directed by Michael
Curtiz, the supporting cast included
Eugene Pallette returning as the skeptical Sergeant Heath. Warren
William (later to become both Perry
Mason & The Lone Wolf in later successful series - both also available
from this website) took on the role in two outings, the second of which (The
Gracie Allen Murder Case) had the
distinction of costarring Gracie Allen in a role written for her by Van Dine. Others to play the sleuth with one appearance
each included Paul Lukas, Edmund Lowe and James Stephenson. The Philo Vance series is further distinguished
by the fact that unlike many movie detective series, the last entries were
(almost) as good as the first. In 1947 PRC produced three well scripted Philo
Vance whodunits, the first with William Wright (Philo Vance Returns), while Alan Curtis starred in Philo Vance's Gamble and Philo Vance's Secret Mission. ALMOST ALL of the Prints are EXCELLENT The Philo Vance Movie Series - Disc No. 1 The Canary Murder Case (1929) - William
Powell The Greene Murder Case (1929) - William
Powell The Bishop Murder Case (1930) - Basil
Rathbone The Philo Vance Movie Series - Disc No. 12 The Benson Murder Case (1930) - William
Powell The Kennel Murder Case (1933) - William
Powell The Dragon Murder Case (1934) - Warren
William The Philo Vance Movie Series - Disc No. 3 The Casino Murder Case (1935) - Paul Lukas The Garden Murder Case (1936) - Edmund Lowe The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) - Warren
William The Philo Vance Movie Series - Disc No. 4 Calling Philo Vance (1940) - James Stephenson Philo Vance's Gamble (1947) - Alan Curtis Philo Vance Returns (1947) - William Wright Philo Vance's Secret Mission (1947) - Alan Curtis |
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Preston Foster's "Bill Crane" Crime Club Movie
Series
1 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$20 or US$20 or
£10
Doubleday began publishing books with the Crime
Club symbol (a
composite of a guy with a gun, a guy falling, and the letters C-R-I-M-E) in
1928, and continued into the 1990s. Many classic and popular works of detective
and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime
Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris as well as first editions in Sax
Rohmer's Fu Manchu
series. In 1937, Universal entered into a deal with Crime
Club, allowing it
to select up to four of its books annually for production as B-pictures. The
Crime Club series of films was produced by Irving Starr and eventually ran to
seven entries, the most popular of which being the "Bill Crane" trio of mysteries. With Preston
Foster as Bill Crane and Frank Jenks as his side-kick Doc Williams, these were fast paced, breezy
stories with good scripts and nice touches throughout. The interplay between
the Crane and Williams was always in good fun and mysteries themselves were
quite intriguing. Preston
Foster's "Bill Crane" Crime Club Series Disc The
Westland Case (1937) The Lady
in the Morgue (1938) The Last
Warning (1938) |
*** FURTHER NEW INCLUSIONS ***
Red's The Fuller Brush Man (1948) &
The Yellow Cab Man (1950) & now "The Sequels": Jack Carson's The Good Humor Man (1950)
& Lucille Ball's The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) Red Skelton's "Whistling" &
"Man" & "Sequels" Films
3 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs No. 1, 2 & 3) price: AU$30 or US$30 or £15
2 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs No. 1 & 2 - "Whistling" & "Man") price: AU$25 or US$25 or £13
2 DVD Boxed Set (Discs
No. 2 & 3 - "Man" & "Sequels") price: AU$25 or
US$25 or £13 1 DVD Boxed Set
(Disc No. 1 - "Whistling" only) price: AU$20 or US$20 or £10
1 DVD Boxed Set
(Disc No. 2 - "Man" only) price: AU$20 or US$20 or £10
1 DVD Boxed Set (Disc
No. 3 - "Sequels" only) price: AU$20 or
US$20 or £10 In the
early 40's, renown comic Red Skelton made three well received comedy mysteries
at MGM in which he played Wally "The Fox" Benton, a radio sleuth who also got mixed up in
real mysteries. Under the skilled direction of S. Sylvan Simon and with able
support from Ann Rutherford (as girlfriend, Carol Lambert) and Rags Ragland
(as valet, Sylvester 'Lester' Conway), Skelton's "Whistling" films
were always agreeable, at times very funny, and handsomely filmed. In 1948,
Red (on loan to Columbia)
and director Simon again combined for what was to be Red's signature role: The
Fuller Brush Man.
Following that success, Red was back in 1950 (and at MGM) with another
"Man" film - this time, The Yellow Cab Man. Both "Man" films shared
similarities with the previous "Whistling" films in that they cast
Red (perhaps now a little more clumsy and more of a malapropos) as an
innocent guy who stumbles upon a murder (or gets otherwise involved with
criminal activities) and must solve it and get/keep the girl whilst in the
process provide plenty of laughs along the way. Frank
Tashlin was a renown
director of Warner Bros cartoons in the 30s and 40s before he wrote the
wonderful screenplay for Columbia's The Fuller Brush Man (1948) starring Red
Skelton. After the box office success of this film, and with Red returning to
MGM to film an MGM
"version": The Yellow Cab Man (1950), Tashlin set to work on two
follow up sequels for Columbia. First up was The Good Humor Man (1950) starring Jack Carson (released a few months after The Yellow
Cab Man). Then came The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) starring Lucille Ball. Both of
these Columbia "sequels" made good use Tashlin's flair for the
sight gag and were well received by the public - The Fuller Brush Girl even
sports an hilarious cameo by Red Skelton as an all-too-cooperative customer.
Like the Red's "Whistling" & "Man" films, The Good
Humor Man & The Fuller Brush Girl have similar "set-ups": a
well-intentioned but bubbling hero (or heroine) who gets involved in murder
and looks guilty! Direction in both of Tashlin's "Sequels" was
provided by the experienced Lloyd Bacon. Whistling in the Dark (1941) Starring Red Skelton, Ann
Rutherford, Rags Ragland, Conrad Veidt & Virginia Grey Directed by S. Sylvan Simon Synopsis : The operators of
'Silver Haven', a cultish group bilking gullible rich people out of money, is
set to inherit a large sum after the deceased woman's heir also dies. The
leader Joseph Jones decides to hurry the process along and kidnaps Wally
Benton, his fiance and a friend to further this goal. Wally is "The
Fox", a radio sleuth who solves murders on the air. Jones wants him to
devise a perfect murder and isn't above killing others along the way to get
his foolproof murder plot. The lines go fast and furious in this film and it
is definitely worthwhile if you want some good laughs. Whistling in Dixie (1942) Starring Red Skelton, Ann
Rutherford, Rags Ragland, Diana Lewis & George Bancroft Directed by S. Sylvan Simon This second entry in MGM's
"Whistling" series is more elaborate than the first (Whistling in
the Dark) and equally as funny. Red Skelton returns as radio sleuth Wally
Benton, aka "The Fox", while Ann Rutherford is back as his
ever-patient fiancee Carol Lambert (Ann Rutherford). After receiving a
sorority pin in the mail, Carol heads southward to help out her old college
chum Ellamae Downs (Diana Lewis), who's enmeshed in a local mystery. Wally
tags along, only to find himself up to his neck in intrigue, murder and
buried treasure. Rag Ragland, who played the
comic villain Chester in Whistling in the Dark, returns in Whistling in Dixie
as Chester and his less odious twin brother, thereby permitting this lovable
character player to "redeem" himself and qualify to appear in the
third and last "Whistling" epic, Whistling in Brooklyn. Whistling in Brooklyn (1943) Starring Red Skelton, Ann
Rutherford, Rags Ragland, Jean Rogers & Ray Collins Directed by S. Sylvan Simon Wally
Benton, "The Fox", master detective on radio is about to go, with
his sweetheart, to Niagara Falls in order to get married. Unknown to him, his
valet has told a newspaper reporter that Benton is 'Constant Reader', someone
who has sent information to newspapers about murdered people and where to
find their bodies, thus making the police look bad. The police are sure that
'Constant Reader' is the murderer himself, no one else could know all of the
details. And so they begin a chase after Benton, a chase which leads to old
abandoned warehouses and old abandoned mansions. Wally is being chased not
only by the police, but also by the real 'Constant Reader'. The Fuller Brush Man (1948) Starring Red Skelton, Janet
Blair, Don McGuire, Hillary Brook, Adele Jergens & Donald Curtis Directed by S. Sylvan Simon Red
Jones just can't seem to hold down a job, but with the help of his girlfriend
Ann Elliot, Red gets a job as a Fuller Brush salesman, intending to take the
business world by storm with his can't-fail sales techniques. While trying to
make a sale at the home of Commissioner Trist, poor Red finds himself the
Number One Suspect when Trist is murdered. With Ann's help, Red eventually
stumbles onto the identity of the actual killer, and the chase is on. And
what a chase! Pursued by a battalion of thugs (played by several of
Hollywood's top stunt men), Red and Ann hotfoot it through a well-stocked war
surplus warehouse, wherein all the props rubber rafts, prefabricated houses,
camouflage tents, flare guns - are utilized to their utmost comic potential. A riot
from beginning to end, The Fuller Brush Man may well be Skelton's funniest
film. The Yellow Cab Man (1950) Starring Red Skelton, Gloria
DeHaven, Walter Slezak, Edward Arnold, James Gleason & Jay C. Flippen Directed by Jack Donohue Inspired
by the success of The Fuller Brush Man, The Yellow Cab Man stars Skelton as
an inventor who can't seem to stay out of trouble. He also can't hold down a
job, either, much to the consternation of his girl friend. Through
the auspices of cab driver James Gleason, Red is hired by the Yellow Cab
company, nearly losing his job on the very first day when he gets mixed up in
a chaotic wedding reception. But he also meets the crooked lawyer, Creavy who
learns about elastic-glass, Red's new invention, and makes plans to steal the
process. With the help of another con man named Doksteader, and his group,
Creavy will steal this million dollar invention no matter who gets hurt. Our hero
redeems himself by capturing a gang of crooks in an elaborate slapstick
finale involving a revolving model home, a hypodermic-shooting toaster, a
helium-filled balloon, and a Tarzan-like swing from the rafters of an empty
warehouse! The
Good Humor Man (1950) Starring
Jack Carson, Lola Albright, Jean Wallace, George Reeves & Peter Miles Directed
By Lloyd Bacon Biff
Jones (Jack Carson) is a driver/salesman for the Good Humor ice-cream
company. He hopes to marry his girl Margie Bellew (Lola Albright), who works
as a secretary for Stuart Nagel (George "TVs Superman" Reeves), an
insurance investigator. Margie won't marry Biff, though, because she is the
sole support of her kid brother, Johnny (Peter Miles). Then Biff gets
involved with Bonnie Conroy (Jean Wallace), a young woman he tries to rescue
from gangsters. But Biff's attempts to help her only get him accused of
murder. When the police refuse to believe his story, it's up to Biff and
Johnny to prove Biff's innocence and solve the crime. Jack
Carson in fine form! The
Fuller Brush Girl (1950) Starring
Lucille Ball, Eddie Albert, Jerome Cowan, Carl Benton Reed & Red Skelton
(Cameo) Directed
By Lloyd Bacon Scatterbrained
Sally Elliott gets a job as a Fuller brush girl and, as expected, her attempts
at selling cosmetics door-to-door are disastrous. Things get worse when one
of her customers is murdered and she becomes the prime suspect. She and her
poor fiancŽ Humphrey (Eddie "Green Acres" Albert) find themselves
dodging the police while trying to catch the real killer. A dress
rehearsal for I Love Lucy, in which our Lucille gets to try out some material
that would become familiar on the small screen very shortly. EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Red
Skelton's "Whistling" Movie Series (Disc No. 1) Whistling
in the Dark (1941) Whistling
in Dixie (1942) Whistling
in Brooklyn (1943) Red
Skelton's "Man" Movie Series (Disc No. 2) The
Fuller Brush Man (1948) The Yellow Cab Man (1950) The
"Sequels" Movie Series (Disc No. 3) The Good
Humor Man (1950) The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) |
The "Road" Movies
3 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$30
or US$30 or £15
One of the most popular series of films ever made,
Paramount's Road movies, still to this day, entertain audiences around the
world with their unique blend of action, romance, humor and song. The films'
successes were directly owed to their stars. Teaming up three of the studio's
top grossing performers, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, each movie
barely contained itself from exploding off the screen. Hope and Crosby were
the perfect pals, loyal to the end -- that is, until a beautiful woman
crossed their path. The plot of each film was basic. Lovable con man Crosby
and his gullible sidekick, Hope, were on the run from someone or something,
and they always ran right into Dorothy Lamour, the gorgeous damsel in
distress. They spent the rest of the movie both helping her and fighting over
her. Although a script was written for each film, it was only a loose path
for the action to follow. Both Hope and Crosby would have their own joke
writers punch it up before filming, and both men were great ad-libbers.
Lamour learned on the first day of filming that it was almost useless to try
to reconcile their shtick with the script. You can often see her and the other
actors stop dead in their tracks after a Hope or Crosby remark, both trying
to contain their laughter and trying to figure out what to say next. Lyricist
Johnny Burke penned the words to the films memorable songs, many of which
went on to become standards. Jimmy Van Heusen wrote the scores, with the
exception of Road to Singapore,
which was written by the film's director, Victor Schertzinger. Paramount
originally made five road movies before Dorothy Lamour retired from show
business in 1949. But they brought the cast back together again in 1952 after
she had made a comeback in Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. A seventh Road movie was made in 1961, The Road
to Hong Kong, starring Hope, Crosby
and Joan Collins, with Dorothy Lamour making a cameo appearance. Perfect Prints The "Road" Movie Series
(Starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour) Disc No. 1 Road
to Singapore (1940) Road
to Zanzibar (1941) Road
to Morocco (1942) The "Road" Movie Series
(Starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour) Disc No. 2 Road
to Utopia (1945) Road
to Rio (1947) The "Road" Movie Series
(Starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour) Disc No. 3 Road
to Bali (1952) The
Road to Hong Kong (1962) |
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(Nurse) Sarah Keate
Mysteries 2 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$25 or US$25 or £13
Mignon G. Eberhart was a prolific author of mysteries of the
mid-20th century. Her first mystery, The Patient in Room 18, was published in 1929; in it, she introduced the
sleuthing couple of nurse Sarah Keate, a middle-aged health practitioner and amateur sleuth, and police
detective Lance O'Leary, who
figured in four more novels together. Eberhart's books were built on fairly
complex mystery stories, with lots of detail and potential blind alleys to
keep the reader guessing, and, in terms of character and structure, were
offshoots of the old gothic romance school of fiction. Her Sarah Keate was a
mature, matronly crime-solver, somewhat similar to Charles Stewart Palmer's Hildegard
Withers character (Note that the
Hildegarde Withers Movie Series is available from this website) Eberhart's books began getting
adapted to the screen in 1935, when her second novel, While the Patient
Slept, was picked up by Warner
Bros B-movie unit and turned into a
pleasant 67-minute entry in its "Clue Club" series starring middle-aged Aline
MacMahon as crime-solving nurse Sarah
Keate and more than middle-aged Guy Kibbee as police detective Lance O'Leary under director Ray Enright. Eberhart's novel From the Dark Stairway was
altered when brought to the screen as The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
(1936). The character of Sarah Keate had
a different name (Sally Keating) and was in a much younger form with Kay
Linaker playing the young nurse/sleuth.
In the studio's third adaptation, Murder by an Aristocrat (1936), Sally Keating was played by Marguerite
Churchill. 20th Century Fox took over the Eberhart books in 1937 with The Great
Hospital Mystery, in which matronly Jane
Darwell played the nurse protagonist who
was this time called Sarah Keats. The most interesting of all the
Eberhart-based films was The Patient in Room 18 (1938), directed by Crane Wilbur and Bobby Connelly. Patric
Knowles plays a detective-story
enthusiast who is hospitalized for his own good, only to stumble upon a real
murder mystery; future A list star, Ann Sheridan played nurse Sara Keate, in this movie which is
an excellent whodunit. Sheridan was back for one more film as Eberhart's
nurse protagonist in Mystery House (1938), a nice little story in which Sarah (yes, the
"h" had been reinstated) Keate again helps Lance O'Leary played by
future Captain America, Dick
Purcell. EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Sarah Keate Mysteries Disc No. 1 While The Patient Slept
(1935) The Murder Of Dr.
Harrigan (1936) Murder By An Aristocrat
(1936) Sarah Keate Mysteries Disc No. 2 The Great Hospital Mystery (1937) The Patient in Room 18 (1938) Mystery House (1938) |
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The Saint (Movie
Series + Roger Moore's TV Series)
3 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs 1 to 3) price : AU$30
or US$30 or £15
4 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs 1 to 4) price : AU$35
or US$35 or £18
5 DVD Boxed Set (Discs 1
to 5) price : AU$40 or US$40 or £20 The Saint, Leslie Charteris' literate debonair detective
was the basis for RKO's nine above average movie series from 1938 to 1942.
Louis Hayward played Simon Templar in an engrossing first entry titled The
Saint in New York. George Sanders then made the role his own in five
subsequent movies before handing over Hugh Sinclair for two further entries.
Louis Hayward did return to the role which brought him fame, but not until 1954
with The Saint's Girl Friday, the ninth & final entry of the series.
In
late 1961, Leslie Charteris finally sold the television rights to The Saint
to producer Robert S. Baker, who teamed up with Lew Grade of ITC to film 71
black and white episodes. These episodes were based on the books and short
stories written by Leslie Charteris, with additional material added by the
screenwriters listed below including Harry Junkin. The show was well-received
by British audiences, but ITC could not find a network in the US to carry the
show. ITC syndicated The Saint in the US, and it became a huge hit, making it
one of the most successful first-run syndicated shows in history. The
TV series DVD (see below) features the first 5 episodes of the first series. Two
TV movies also came from the Roger Moore TV series: 1968's The Fiction-Makers and Vendetta For
The Saint (1969) EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Note that Return of The Saint - the superb (& big budget) late 1970s
TV series starring Ian Oligvy is available from the TV Series section of this website Also worth a look : The Saint on Radio -
Vincent Price played The Saint in a very successful US Radio series in the late 40's / early 50's. In the mid
90's the BBC dramatized three
Saint stories to resounding acclaim. Both are available from the Radio
Shows on MP3 CD section of this website.
These shows have been digitally restored & come on MP3 CDs which work in
your DVD player. The shows are free - with conditions. Check out the Radio
Shows on MP3 CD section for further
details Disc No. 1 - The Saint
Movie Series
The Saint
in New York (1938) - Louis Haywood The Saint
Strikes Back (1939) - George Sanders The Saint
in London (1939) - George Sanders Disc
No. 2 - The
Saint Movie Series The
Saint's Double Trouble (1940) - George Sanders The Saint
Takes Over (1940) - George Sanders The Saint
in Palm Springs (1941) - George Sanders Disc
No. 3 - The Saint Movie Series The
Saint's Vacation (1941) - Hugh Sinclair The Saint
Meets the Tiger (1943) - Hugh Sinclair The Saint's
Girl Friday (1954) - Louis Haywood Disc
No. 4 - The Saint TV Movies The
Fiction-Makers (1968) - Roger Moore Vendetta
For The Saint (1969) - Roger Moore Disc
No. 5 - The Saint TV Series (Roger Moore) The
Talented Husband The Latin
Touch The
Careful Terrorist The
Covetous Headsman The
Loaded Tourist |
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UPGRADED PRINTS
A new set of Kane Richmond's The Shadow prints (all 3 films) as well as a new print of The Shadow serial are now available So Disc No. 2 & Disc No. 3 below
now have nice prints throughout Gratis
upgrades to previous
purchasers (with one small condition) (Disc No. 1 has not been upgraded as
the prints were already perfect) The Shadow
1 DVD Boxed Set
(Disc No. 2 - Kane Richmond) price : AU$20 or US$20 or £10
2 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs No. 1 & 2) price : AU$25 or US$25 or £13
3 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs No. 1 to 3) price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15
"Lights from across the street
formed a background against which Koker saw his silhouetted foe. A cloaked shape of blackness, with eyes
that burned from beneath the brim of a
slouch hat. The Shadow..." Pulp magazine hero (and radio star) The
Shadow leaped to
the silver screen to fight sinister villains in two very different Movie as
well as a Movie Serial. All three representations make for interesting
comparisons as they each present very different interpretations of The
Shadow. Rod La Rocque portrays The Shadow as the persona of a radio broadcaster and
newspaper journalist; he never dons the hat or cloak of The Shadow, although
some of the other series elements are present. Victor Jory and Kane Richmond, the latter generally considered
the best of the screen Shadows play the character much closer to the radio
series and pulp magazine. The Shadow Strikes (1937) starring Rod La Rocque - Synopsis
: The Shadow impersonates a lawyer, trying to solve several murders. Low
budget is overcome by puzzling plot and fairly interesting portrayal by La
Rocque, but it never matches the radio or pulp magazine. International Crime (1938) starring Rod La Rocque - Synopsis
: The Shadow is tipped off about a robbery, but it's a diversion for
international agents, who murder a financier to stop an international deal.
Interesting story that strays a little too far from the Shadow's mythos. The Shadow (1940) : 15 Chapter Columbia Serial
starring Victor Jory - Synopsis : The Shadow battles a villain known as The
Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to
take over the world with his death ray. The Shadow Returns (1946) starring Kane Richmond - Synopsis
: People are literally flying off balconies to their deaths as Lamont
Cranston, aka the Shadow, tries to make sense out of a confusing jumble of
murders, disappearances, jewels that aren't jewels, hidden laboratories and
secret formulas. Behind The Mask (1946) starring Kane Richmond - Synopsis
: Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of
blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real
murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity,
but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence by his jealous,
interfering fiancŽe Margo Lane. Cranston perseveres and is rewarded with the
clue he needs at one of Mann's victims' nightclubs. The Missing Lady (1946) starring Kane Richmond - Synopsis
: A jade statue, the "missing lady", is stolen and its owner
killed. Lamont Cranston, alias the Shadow, sets out to catch the killer but
is blamed for the murders himself as each time he investigates some facet of
the case another suspect is killed. The Shadow also appeared in a one hour TV
pilot : The Invisible Avenger (1959) starring Richard Derr Also worth a look : The Shadow on Radio
- Orson Welles played The
Shadow to resounding acclaim in a very
successful US Radio series in the
late 1930s. The entire (surviving) series of episodes with Orson Welles
playing The Shadow is available from the Old Time Radio section of this website. These shows have been
digitally restored & come on an MP3 CD which work in your DVD player. The
shows are free - with conditions. Check out the Old Time Radio section for further details Disc
No. 1 - The Shadow Movie Series The
Shadow Strikes (1937) - Rod La Rocque International
Crime (1938) - Rod La Rocque Invisible
Avenger (1958) - Richard Derr (a 1959 TV pilot) Disc
No. 2 - The Shadow Movie Series The
Shadow Returns (1946) - Kane Richmond Behind
the Mask (1946) - Kane Richmond The
Missing Lady (1946) - Kane Richmond Disc No. 3 - The Shadow Movie Serial The
Shadow (1940) - see Movie Serials section for details |
|
Sherlock Holmes - Basil Rathbone &
Nigel Bruce 5 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$40 or US$40 or
£20
The definitive movie series of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle's master sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, consisted of the 14 movies starring
Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson. The first two, The
Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were set in
the late 19th Century while the remaining 12 outings featured the
Rathbone/Bruce combination facing spys & saboteurs in the early 1940's. EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Also worth a look : The Rathbone Bruce Sherlock Holmes Radio Shows - For seven years, the Sherlock Holmes Radio Show actually
starred both Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. They began in 1939 and continued
through the mid 40's, while the two were also cranking out 14 Hollywood films
- check out the Old Time Radio section of this website. These shows have been
digitally restored & come on MP3 CDs which work in your DVD player. The
shows are free - with conditions. Check out the Old Time Radio section for further details Other Sherlock
Holmes films available within the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this
website are A Study in Terror (1965), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976),
Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976) & Murder By Decree (1979) Sherlock Holmes Movie Series (Starring
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce) Disc No. 1 The Hound
of the Baskervilles (1939) The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) Sherlock Holmes Movie Series (Starring
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce) Disc No. 2 Sherlock
Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) Sherlock
Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) Sherlock
Holmes in Washington (1943) Sherlock Holmes Movie Series (Starring
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce) Disc No. 3 Sherlock
Holmes Faces Death (1943) The
Spider Woman (1944) The
Scarlet Claw (1944) Sherlock Holmes Movie Series (Starring
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce) Disc No. 4 The Pearl
of Death (1944) The House
of Fear (1945) The Woman
in Green (1945) Sherlock
Holmes Movie Series (Starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce) Disc No. 5 Pursuit
to Algiers (1945) Terror by
Night (1946) Dressed
to Kill (1946) |
|
Sherlock Holmes - Peter Cushing (Movies
& TV Series) 3 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$30 or US$30 or
£15
Noted British actor Peter Cushing portrayed Sherlock Holmes on only two occasions in
the movies: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) with AndrŽ Morell & The Masks of Death
(1984) with John Mills. Of historical significance is the fact that the
former film was the first color Sherlock Holmes film. Surprisingly, in between the quarter of a century which separated
these films, Cushing also played Holmes in an excellent BBC TV series in the
mid 60's. These were nice color 50 minute outings co-starring Nigel Stock as
Watson and featuring some of the classic Conan Doyle stories. Perfect Picture & Sound throughout Other Sherlock
Holmes films available within the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this
website are A Study in Terror (1965), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976),
Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976) & Murder By Decree (1979) Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes Movie
Series The Hound
of the Baskervilles (1959) The Masks
of Death (1984) Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes TV Series Disc No. 1 A Study
in Scarlet The Hound
of the Baskervilles (Part 1) The Hound
of the Baskervilles (Part 2) Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes TV Series Disc No. 2 The
Boscombe Valley Mystery The Sign
of Four The Blue
Carbuncle |
|
NEW ÉÉÉ NEW ÉÉÉ NEW
Smiley & its Sequel
1 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$20 or US$20 or
£10
Two
Australian made films were based on characters created by novelist Moore
Raymond: Smiley (1956) & Smiley Gets a Gun
(1958) They
tell of the fabulous outdoors adventures of Smiley, a mischievous boy living
in the Australian outback - a sort of 1950s Tom Sawyer! Each of the
films were expensive color productions helmed by director UK director Anthony
Kimmins who also worked
on the screenplay of each film with Raymond. Indeed the first film was
nominated for a BAFTA for Best Screenplay. Both
films were massive box office hits in Australia and again furthered the
credentials of "Australia's own" Chips Rafferty who played Police Sergeant Flaxman in each film. Smiley
Greevins is a cheeky,
mischievous, imaginative little boy who lives in the small town of
Murrumbilla in the Australian outback. In the first film, Smiley is
determined to buy himself a push bike and so he takes on odd jobs in an
effort to save up enough money. But Smiley always seems to get caught up in
some sort of misadventure and he ends up becoming unwittingly involved in an
illegal opium deal. With a
charismatic performance by Chips Rafferty as the Police Sergeant Flaxman who
has a soft spot for the boy, Smiley (1956) is a classic Australian film that will delight
audiences of all age Smiley
Gets a Gun (1958) sees
Police Sergeant Flaxman (Chips Rafferty) trying to help the rambunctious
Smiley settle down by promising the lad a new gun if he can stay out of
mischief and treat other people with respect. Smiley does his very best, but
when the locals begin teasing him and taking bets on whether or not he will
succeed, trouble ensues and the boy ends up getting blamed for robbing an
eccentric old woman. Smiley
& its Sequel Disc Smiley
(1956) Smiley
Gets a Gun (1958) |
|
Tailspin Tommy Movie Series
: 1 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$20 or US$20 or £10 OR Movie Series
+ both Movie Serials : 3 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15 Hoping to capitalize on the public's growing
fascination with aviation, which had built to an almost fever pitch with
Charles A. Lindbergh's transatlantic hop in May of 1927, John N. Wheeler of
the Bell Syndicate hired Glenn Chaffin, a former newspaper reporter and movie
studio press agent, and Hal Forrest, a former Army flyer and would-be
cartoonist, to create an airplane comic strip. Making its debut in the spring
of 1928, it was one of the first aviation comic strips to appear in the
nation's funny pages and it was called Tailspin Tommy. When readers first
meet the youthful Tommy Tomkins, he was living with his widowed mother in the
small hamlet of Littleville, about a hundred miles from Denver, Colorado.
Tommy worked on cars in the village garage, but he's always dreamed of being
an aviator. He has talked about flying so much that the locals nicknamed him
"Tailspin Tommy". Initially running in four newspapers in 1928,
Tailspin Tommy quickly gained in popularity, appearing in about 250 daily
papers and 200 Sunday papers by the early 1930s. Tommy's adventures centered around the Three Point
Air Lines managed by Paul Smith, young waitress from the airport's Aileron
CafŽ, Betty Lou Barnes and childhood pal, Clarence "Skeeter"
Milligan With public interest in Tailspin Tommy and his
friends nearing its peak, Universal Studios released a twelve-chapter movie
serial titles Tailspin Tommy
(available from the Movie Serial Section of this website) and based on the
young aviator's adventures in 1934, the first serial to be based on a comic
strip. Starring an enthusiastic Maurice Murphy as the nineteen year-old
Tommy, Noah Beery Jr. as an affably imbecilic Skeeter, and a spunky Patricia
Farr as Betty Lou, Tailspin Tommy incorporated a number of episodes that
would have been familiar to the strip's readers. The serial must have been a hit with the movie going
audience, because Universal Studios felt confident enough to make a sequel. Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery (available from the Movie Serial Section of this
website), released in 1935, while still borrowing a number of incidents from
the comic strip, had a stronger overall plot holding it all together. This
time around, Tommy, now played by an enthusiastic Clark Williams, and
Skeeter, again played by Noah Beery Jr., join Betty Lou Barnes, played here
by the striking Jean Rogers, Featuring run-ins with an active volcano, cannibal
tribesmen, mid-air collisions, and a flooding dungeon, Tailspin Tommy in the
Great Air Mystery is every bit as exciting as its predecessor. And with
higher production values and a stronger script, it's a more polished effort
than Tommy's earlier adventure. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed. A natural progression to movies followed with John
Trent assuming the role as a more adult Tailspin Tommy in 4 well received
movies made at Monogram in 1939. Betty Lou was played by Marjorie Reynolds,
Milburn Stone played Skeeter whilst Paul Smith was played by Jason Robards
Snr. These 4 films (Mystery Plane, Stunt Pilot, Sky Patrol & Danger
Flight) were full of high-flying
thrills with the second in fact dealing with a movie company shooting a war
picture at Three Points airport. Tailspin Tommy Movie Series Disc Mystery
Plane Stunt
Pilot Sky
Patrol Danger
Flight (Also
available 3 DVD set which combines the above
Movie Series disc with both Tailspin Tommy serials) |
|
- NEW PRINTS -
A completely new mastery of the Gordon SCOTT Tarzan films! All 6 films are now perfect prints! Customers of my earlier (2004) mastery
of these films are entitled to a gratis upgrade (with one small condition)
Tarzan -
Gordon Scott & Jock Mahoney films
3 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs 1 to 3) price : AU$30
or US$30 or £15
4 DVD Boxed Set
(Discs 1 to 4) price : AU$35
or US$35 or £18
Was
Gordon Scott the greatest of all Tarzans ? - Certainly the majority of the
baby boomers might agree. A physically imposing specimen who could excel in
the physical demands of the role as well as act. He also played Tarzan at a
time when producers felt it was time for the "A" list - spending
money on color, cinemascope and location filming. Tarzan and the Lost Safari was the first ever Tarzan film to be shot in color.
Question : Was Tarzan's Greatest Adventure the best ever Tarzan film? (it had Sean Connery and Anthony
Quayle as costars, was directed by John Guillermin and was shot on location
in Africa in Cinemascope and color). Interestingly Gordon Scott's last entry (Tarzan the Magnificent)
saw him battle a worthy adversary in (legendary stuntman) Jock Mahoney. Jock
then took over as the next Tarzan for a further two big budget and well
received entries. Print
Quality & Sound is Perfect throughout on all movies Note:
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) is available separately (as a single film
DVD) from within the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website. Gordon Scott Tarzan
Collection Disc No. 1
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955) - Gordon Scott Tarzan and the Trappers (1958) - Gordon Scott Gordon Scott Tarzan
Collection Disc No. 2
Tarzan and the Lost Safari
(1957) - Gordon Scott Tarzan's
Fight For Life (1958) - Gordon Scott Gordon Scott Tarzan
Collection Disc No. 3
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
(1959) - Gordon Scott Tarzan
the Magnificent (1960) - Gordon Scott Jock Mahoney Tarzan
Collection Disc No. 4
Tarzan Goes to India (1962) -
Jock Mahoney Tarzan's
Three Challenges (1963) - Jock
Mahoney |
*** NEW ADDITION ***
Johnny Weissmuller's MGM Tarzan
series (all 6 films)
Tarzan -
Johnny Weissmuller's films
Volume No. 1 - 3
DVD (Discs 1, 2 & 3) Boxed Set price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15
Volume No. 2 - 2
DVD (Disc 4 & 5) Boxed Set price : AU$25 or US$25 or £13
Volume No. 3 - 5
DVD (Discs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5) Boxed Set price : AU$40 or US$40 or £20
When
Jane Parker unexpectedly arrives in Africa to visit her father, she also
finds herself accompanying him and hunter Harry Holt on an expedition to a
mysterious escarpment to find the legendary elephants graveyard and its
treasure of ivory. Having reached the escarpment, they see a strange white
man living in the trees like an ape. He promptly kidnaps Jane but means her
no harm and he eventually sets her free, but not before her father and Holt
kill one of the apes. When local tribesmen take Jane and her father prisoner,
the strange white man comes to their rescue. Jane becomes infatuated with the
mysterious ape man and eventually she opts to make her life with him: he who
is called Tarzan! Such is
the plot of Tarzan the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan and Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane. Directed with consummate skill
by W.S. Van Dyke (The
Thin Man series, Trader Horn (1931), Manhattan Melodrama (1934) etc), and
boasting the big budget clout of MGM, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) was the
beginning of a major movie series with Olympic swimming champion Johnny
Weissmuller in the title role: a role that was to see him through a further 5
MGM outings and then another 6 with RKO Studios, before he moved on the Jungle
Jim after 1948's Tarzan
and the Mermaids. Maureen
O'Sullivan would likewise always be identified with Jane, and whilst she
played the role in all 6 of MGM series, she never moved across to the RKO
franchise with her co-star. (Benda Joyce took the role for the 4 RKO entries in which Jane
appeared). Johnny Sheffield, who took the role of "Boy" in Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
when MGM decided to move the series into a more "family"
environment, appeared in the role a total of 8 times, continuing to play the
role at RKO (5 times), before moving on to his own series as Bomba So in
summary, Johnny Weissmuller played Tarzan in 12 films - 6 with MGM and a
further 6 with RKO. These 12
films are available in a variety of packages as indicated below. Perfect print quality throughout Note
that both the entire Jungle Jim & Bomba Movies Series are available
elsewhere on this website Volume No. 1 - Johnny Weissmuller's MGM Tarzan series - 3 DVD set
(Disc Nos. 1, 2 & 3) Boxed
Set price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15 Johnny
Weissmuller's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 1 (MGM Series) Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) Tarzan and His Mate (1934) Johnny
Weissmuller's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 2 (MGM Series) Tarzan Escapes (1936) Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939) Johnny
Weissmuller's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 3 (MGM Series) Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) Tarzan's
New York Adventure (1942) Volume No. 2 - Johnny Weissmuller's MGM Tarzan series - 3 DVD set
(Disc Nos. 4 & 5) Boxed
Set price : AU$25 or US$25 or £13 Johnny
Weissmuller's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 4 (RKO Series) Tarzan Triumphs (1943) Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) Johnny
Weissmuller's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 5 (RKO Series) Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) Tarzan and the Huntress (1947) Tarzan
and the Mermaids (1948) Volume No. 3 - Johnny Weissmuller's MGM & RKO Tarzan series
(see film list above) -
5 DVD (Discs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5) Boxed Set price : AU$40 or US$40 or £20 |
*** UPGRADED PRINTS ***
All 5 Lex Barker Tarzan films are now perfect prints!
If you've already purchased the
previously mastered set, please contact Trev for a free upgrade
(both discs) There is one small condition on this
gratis provision Tarzan -
Lex Barker's films
2 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$25 or
US$25 or £13
When
Johnny Weissmuller bowed out,
Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle king role went to track star Lex
Barker. This 10th screen
Tarzan made 5 well received movies over a 4 year period for RKO Pictures. Lex was
actually quite good in the role (Weissmuller did leave big shoes to fill) and
his 5 RKO entries remain favorites amongst junglephiles - nicely budgeted,
good stories and the physical presence of Lex make for a very satisfying
series of Tarzan films Perfect print quality throughout Also worth a look : The Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle Radio Shows -
check out
the Old Time Radio section of this website. These shows have been digitally restored
& come on MP3 CDs which work in your DVD player. The shows are free -
with conditions. Check out the Old Time Radio section for further details Lex
Barker's Tarzan Collection Disc No. 1 Tarzan' Magic Fountain (1949) Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) Tarzan's Peril (1951) Lex
Barker's RKO Tarzan Collection Disc No. 2 Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952) Tarzan
and the She-Devil (1953) |
|
The Thin Man Volume One - 3 DVD (Disc No. 1
to 3) Boxed Set price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15
Volume Two - 4 DVD (Discs No. 1
to 4) Boxed Set price : AU$35 or US$35 or £18
Volume Three - 4 DVD (Discs No.
1, 2, 3 & 5) Boxed Set price : AU$35 or US$35 or £18
Volume Four - 5 DVD (Discs No. 1 to 5) Boxed Set price : AU$40 or US$40
or £20
One movie series stands apart from the others;
its entries were filmed two and three years apart; its stars were of the
major rank; and the films were not looked upon as B grade efforts. This was The
Thin Man, a highly successful movie
series launched in 1934 with a
delightfully unpretentious blend of screwball comedy and murder mystery from
a story by Dashiell Hammett.
William Powell and Myrna Loy played Nick and Nora Charles, a perfectly happy,
sophisticated couple whose marriage never stood in the way of their having
fun and going off on detective capers. It garnered four Academy Award
nominations : Best Picture, Actor, Director & Adapted Screenplay. A
further five sequels followed from 1936 to 1947 each retaining the same charm
and infallible byplay of the two stars, aided by their dog Asta, who soon
became a star in his own right. A young James Stewart featured in After
the Thin Man (1936), while Another
Thin Man (1939) introduced Nick Jr as
their baby who grew up in succeeding entries. Nick & Nora sleuthed at the
racetrack in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) - a witty entry that featured Donna Reed and
famed acting teacher Stella Adler in supporting roles. The Thin Man
Goes Home (1944) presented Nick's
parents (Harry Davenport & Lucille Watson), while the final outing of the
series, Song of the Thin Man (1947) featured an 11 year old Dean Stockwell as Nick Jr and had the pair
frequenting many jazz hangouts for some offbeat sequences. Following the success of MGM's first The Thin Man
film, RKO studios stepped in and starred William Powell in two similar
vehicles, directed by Stephen Roberts and featuring, in turn Ginger Rogers
& Jean Arthur : Star of Midnight (1935) and The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936). Star of Midnight (1935) When a dancer disappears from a theatre, criminal
lawyer and amateur detective Clay Dalzell (William Powell) and society beauty
Donna Mantin (Ginger Rogers) join forces in a sparkling, mystery drama
reminiscent of MGM's The Thin Man. The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936) William Powell recreates, for RKO, his Nick
Charles character, now as Dr. Bradford, M.D. and Jean Arthur substitutes as
Nora. This film works because Powell and Arthur have terrific chemistry, and
a crackerjack good comic-mystery script. The mystery is clever, and the humor
urbane and lighthearted. If you have enjoyed MGM's The Thin Man films, do
yourself a favor and watch this. Made after The Thin Man (1934) but before
any of The Thin Man sequels, it was the top grossing film of 1936! EXCELLENT
print quality throughout The Thin Man TV Series A follow up to the successful movies , this 1957
- 59 30 minute TV series starred Peter Lawford & Phyllis Kirk. Nick
Charles, an ex-private detective, marries Nora and lives in a luxurious Park
Avenue apartment in New York City. Nick's former underworld friends still hang around and get him
involved in a number of crimes that he solves. Beatrice Dane is a beautiful
con artist using the alias "Blondie Collins" and Nora finds it
difficult to be hospitable to her Also worth a look : The Thin Man Radio Shows - check out the Old
Time Radio section of this website.
These shows have been digitally restored & come on MP3 CDs which work in
your DVD player. The shows are free - with conditions. Check out the Old
Time Radio section for further details Disc
No. 1 - The Thin Man Movie Series (Starring William Powell & Myrna Loy) The
Thin Man (1934) After
the Thin Man (1936) Disc
No. 2 - The Thin Man Movie Series (Starring William Powell & Myrna Loy) Another
Thin Man (1939) Shadow
of the Thin Man (1941) Disc
No. 3 - The Thin Man Movie Series (Starring William Powell & Myrna Loy) The
Thin Man Goes Home (1944) Song
of the Thin Man (1947)
Disc
No. 4 - RKO's "The Thin Man" Clones Disc Star
of Midnight (1935) The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936) Disc No. 5 - The Thin Man TV series (starring Peter
Lawford) I Loathe You, Darling The Angel Biz Acrostic Murders La Sabre Invecta Est? Lost Last Chapter Maine Thing Dead Duck The Dollar Doodle Asta Day Beauty and the Bath |
|
Topper É the Movie Series É
1 DVD Boxed Set
price : AU$20 or US$20 or
£10
The publication of Topper brought Thorne Smith immediate acclaim when it
appeared in 1926. A sophisticated spoof of middle-class manners and morals,
it chronicled the madcap adventures of Cosmo Topper, a mild-mannered bank
executive who is rescued from his drab "summer of suburban Sundays"
by fun-loving ghosts George and Marion Kerby. A sequel, Topper Takes a Trip, records the further ribald escapades of
Topper and the Kerbys on the French Riviera. The improbable trio went on to
three movies, a radio series and a hit television series. The movie series is distinguished by
the fact that all 3 entries gained Academy Award Nominations in a variety of
categories. All three films starred Roland Young as Cosmo Topper and Billie Burke as his wife, Clara. They formed a
great duo throughout the series with Roland Young gaining an Academy Award
Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the first of the series Topper
(1937). Young became so identified
with the role that he went on to play it in a successful radio series (The
Adventures of Topper) which was made several years after the series
concluded. The first two Topper films were directed by Norman
Z. McLeod with Roy
Del Ruth helming
the third. "Incidental comic relief" came from Alan Mowbray as the Topper's long-suffering butler in Topper &
Topper Takes a Trip (1938) whilst Eddie "Rochester" Anderson performed such duties as the
couple's eternally frightened chauffeur in Topper Returns (1941). The genesis of the series comes down to Hal
Roach who
selected the racy Thorne Smith fantasy novel for adaptation, resulting was
one of the most endearingly funny films of the decade. In Topper (1937), Constance
Bennett and Cary Grant play Marion and George Kerby, a wealthy, freewheeling young married
couple whose uninhibited lifestyle is the talk of the town. After a
particularly bibulous evening on the town, the Kerbys race homeward in their
gleaming new roadster. George fails to negotiate a curve, and the car plows
into a tree, killing both its occupants. Seconds later, the ghosts of George
and Marion emerge from the wreckage, behaving as frivolously as if nothing
had happened. Upon realizing that they're dead, the Kerbys also realize that
they haven't been immediately snatched up into Heaven. Determining that
they're required to perform one good deed before being allowed past the
Pearly Gates, George and Marion set about to "liberate" stuffy,
sedate, henpecked banker Cosmo Topper. At first resistant to the charms of
his invisible benefactors, Topper begins to loosen up and truly enjoy life
for the first time. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with Topper's
supercilious wife, especially during a climactic free-for-all at a vacation
resort. Though special effects abound, most of the humor derives from the
embarrassed reactions of Roland Young as he tries to fend off the flirtatious
advances of the ghostly Marion and the benignly strongman tactics of the
spectral George The movie was such a hit that a sequel
followed with 1938's Topper Takes a Trip. Picking up where the first film left off, we
find mild-mannered banker Cosmo Topper being sued for divorce by his wife
Clara. It's all because of Topper's questionable behavior while at the mercy
of mischievous ghosts George and Marion Kerby. Following the first film
George Kirby was permitted to ascend to Heaven, but for obscure reasons the
spirit of Marion was left behind. She decides that the only way she'll be
allowed past the Pearly Gates is to reunite Mr. and Mrs. Topper, and to that
end follows Clara to Paris and Monte Carlo. This time, Marion is joined in
her mission by Skippy, a ghostly pooch who, like his mistress, can appear and
disappear at will. Cary Grant is absent from the proceedings here (except for
a few clips from 1937's Topper) but Constance Bennett is back and in fine
fettles as Marion. The third of producer Hal Roach's Topper
films, Topper Returns (1941) eschews the frothy "screwball" format of the first two in
favor of an "old dark house" comedy-mystery. Roland Young returns as banker
Cosmo Topper, who gallantly offers a lift to pretty hitchhikers Gail Richards
(Joan Blondell) and Ann Carrington (Carole Landis). This results in a few
baleful glances from Topper's wife, Clara (Billie Burke), but the worst is
still to come. It seems that Gail and Ann are en route to a chilly old
mansion, recently inherited by Ann and populated by all manner of sinister
types, including old reliable menaces Dr. Jeris (George Zucco) and Lillian
(Rafaela Ottiano). The only person whom the girls can trust - or can they? -
is Ann' father (H.B. Warner). Unable to sleep in the creepy mansion, Gail
suggests that she and Ann exchange bedrooms. This proves to be a major
mistake when a mysterious, hooded assailant, intending to murder Ann, kills
Gail instead. Seconds later, Gail's ghost arises from her body and heads to
the nearby summer house where Mr. and Mrs. Topper are staying. Having had his
fill of ghosts in the first two Topper films, Topper wants nothing to do with
Gail's spirit, but she finally convinces him to help her identity her killer,
and to rescue Ann from a similar fate. Some of the film's best moments belong
to Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as Young's eternally frightened
chauffeur (at one point, Anderson threatens to quit the Toppers and go back
to Jack Benny)! EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Note: Trev well remembers his first viewing of
this 3rd Topper entry - one of very best "haunted house"
comedy-mysteries ever! Topper É the Movie Series É Disc Topper (1937) Topper Takes a Trip (1938) Topper Returns (1941) |
|
Torchy Blane
3 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$30
or US$30 or £15
A series of pulp magazine stories by Frederick Nebel
called Kennedy of the Free Press surprisingly became the basis for an
excellent Warner Bothers movie series detailing the adventures of Torchy
Blane. Torchy was "a gutsy, beautiful headline-hunting reporter"
who matched wits with Police Lieutenant Steve McBride - the latter never
seeming to get it right as Torchy usually ended up solving the case right in
front of him - not so good, considering the pair are engaged to be married. The inspired casting of zippy leading light Glenda
Farrell as Torchy, former movie heavy Barton MacLane as McBride and comic
actor Tom Kennedy as Detective Gahagan, brought great energy to this polished
WB movie series. There were 9 films in the series but, interestingly,
Farrell & MacLane after appearing in the first 3 entries were dropped
from the 4th (Torchy Blane in Panama), being replaced by Lola Lane & Paul
Kelly. But Farrell & MacLane were back for numbers 5 through 8 of the
series. The final film of the series (Torchy Blane É Playing with Dynamite)
starred a young Jane Wyman (in one of her early lead roles) and the erstwhile
Allen Jenkins. Tom Kennedy appeared as Detective Gahagan in all 9 films of
the series. Another relevant note about the series is that in
1988, Jerry Siegel co-creator of Superman affirmed that his inspiration for
the character of Lois Lane came from Glenda Farrell's portrayal of Torchy
Blane whilst the name of Lois Lane came from Lola Lane, the actress who
played Torchy in the 4th film of the series: Torchy in Panama. EXCELLENT
print quality throughout Note:
To maintain continuity with main players (Farrell & MacLane), their 7
films (Nos. 1 to 3 and 5 to 8) are presented in sequence, with the 4th film
(Lane & Kelly) presented 8th followed by 9th (Wyman & Jenkins) in its
proper position. The Torchy Blane Series Disc No. 1 Smart
Blonde (1936) Fly
Away Baby (1937) The
Adventurous Blonde (1937) The Torchy Blane Series Disc No. 2 Blondes
at Work (1938) Torchy
Gets Her Man (1938) Torchy
Blane in Chinatown (1939) The Torchy Blane Series Disc No. 3 Torchy
Runs for Mayor (1939) Torchy
Blane in Panama (1938) Torchy
Blane É Playing with Dynamite (1939) |
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The Whistler 3 DVD Boxed Set price : AU$30 or US$30 or £15
One of the most unusual - and one of the best -
The Whistler mystery series was based on the popular radio show of the same
name. The premise of the show was a mysterious figure who walked along
whistling a haunting tune. He would say : "I am the
Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange
tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the
shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak." The Whistler would introduce the current mystery
and reappear from time to time to bridge gaps from one setting to another.
Veteran Richard Dix starred in all but the last Whistler film, but he
alternated from hero to villian in various entries. The one non-Dix, The
Return of The Whistler followed the radio format of the mysterious narrator
with excellent results. That entry and several others had stories by Cornell
Woolrich, while others were written by Eric Taylor. They were all tightly
knitted, engrossing mysteries. Great Print Quality The Whistler Movie Series Disc No. 1 The Whistler (1944) The Mark of The Whistler (1944) The Power of The Whistler (1945) The Whistler Movie Series Disc No. 2 Voice
of The Whistler (1945) Mysterious Intruder (1946) The Secret of The Whistler (1946) The
Whistler Movie Series Disc No. 3 The Thirteenth Hour (1947) The Return of The Whistler (1948) |