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Turner Classic Movies and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) have entered into an
extensive new partnership to offer classic movie fans rare vintage films, all digitally
remastered, on DVD on a made-to-order basis. The TCM Vault Collection Presented by
Universal marks USHE’s first foray into the manufactured-on-demand (MOD) arena. TCM began
offering MOD featuring lost titles from the RKO library.
TCM and USHE are working to remaster a number of great titles never before available on
DVD, with several never available on home video at all. The first titles made available
include five chilling horror films, three early Cary Grant pictures and the unsung 1940
holiday classic Remember the Night, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray and
scripted by the great Preston Sturges. The films will be made available by request on DVD
via TCM.com for the first time during the fourth quarter of 2009. TCM host Robert Osborne
will provide introductions for selected titles, which will also include supplemental
materials compiled by TCM and extensive material from the TCM archives. In addition, TCM
will present exclusive premieres of the movies over the next six months.
“Many terrific films have been unavailable on home video for far too long, especially the
holiday classic Remember the Night,” Osborne said. “It’s wonderful that today’s movie fans
will be able to enjoy these rare movies. TCM and Universal have worked hard to restore
them digitally and provide historical context, bonus content and behind-the-scenes
information, something DVD collectors are sure to appreicate. I’m proud to be part of this
great project with TCM and Universal.”
For Universal, the agreement is a great way to reach avid film fans. “Universal is very
proud of its prestigious collection of Hollywood screen gems,” said Craig Kornblau,
president, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “Like us, TCM is deeply dedicated to
honoring Hollywood’s golden age. This collaboration presents the perfect opportunity to
share Universal’s rich cinematic legacy and celebrate vintage works with classic film
fans.”
The launch of TCM/Universal DVDs will be divided into three initial releases:
Universal Cult Horror Collection (films also available as singles)
DVD Availability: Oct. 31
TCM Premiere of Murders in the Zoo: Oct. 31
Suggested Retail Price: Collection - $49.99; Individual Titles - $19.99
This collection will include five rarely seen horror gems from the Universal vault, most
appearing on home video for the first time. Special features include over a hundred
photos, posters and lobby cards, trivia, articles and more.
Murders in the Zoo (1933) – Censors had a heyday with this horror film about a
zoologist and sportsman who uses his zoo animals to kill his wife’s lovers. Lionel Atwill
plays the villain, with Kathleen Burke as his wife, a young Randolph Scott as the hero and
the ever lovable Charles Ruggles providing comic relief as the zoo’s press agent. Among
the men playing Burke’s doomed lovers is John Lodge, who later left acting to enter
politics, becoming governor of Vermont.
The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942) – Lionel Atwill plays a mad scientist who
places people into suspended animation and then revives them. When he is accused of murder
following the death of one of his subjects, he flees on a ship, becomes stranded on a
tropical island and soon becomes revered as a god by the natives. Una Merkel, Nat
Pendleton and Claire Dodd co-star.
The Strange Case of Dr. RX (1942) – A mysterious killer bumps off acquitted
murderers who have all been represented by the same laywer, played by Samuel S. Hinds.
Lionel Atwill, Patric Knowles and Anne Gwynne co-star, with Shemp Howard (on hiatus from
his work with The Three Stooges) providing comic relief.
The Mad Ghoul (1943) – This creepy tale follows a mad professor, played by George
Zucco, who has discovered an ancient Egyptian gas that turns anyone who sniffs it into a
heart-eating zombie. David Bruce plays the doctor’s assistant who gets dosed with the gas
and goes on a murderous rampage. Evelyn Ankers and Robert Armstrong co-star.
House of Horrors (1946) – The legendary Rondo Hatton, whose acromegaly deformed his
face and made him a frequent Hollywood villain, marked one of his last roles with this
offbeat film. Martin Kosleck plays a mad artist who, after saving Hatton and making a bust
of his face, uses the disfigured hulk to murder art critics. Hatton died of a heart attack
the year this film was released.
Remember the Night (1940)
DVD Availability: Nov. 22
TCM Telecasts: Dec. 6 and Dec. 24
Suggested Retail Price: $19.99
This heart-warming holiday romance – penned by Preston Sturges – marked the first of four
on-screen pairings of Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck and came four years before their
iconic work in Double Indemnity. MacMurray plays a prosecutor who finds himself falling in
love with a shoplifter (Stanwyck) during a court recess at Christmas time. The atmospheric
film co-stars Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson and Sterling Holloway and was directed by
Mitchell Leisen.
Remember the Night is rarely seen and received a brief home-video release on VHS.
It is being now remastered and brought back to life so it can take its rightful place as a
signature holiday classic. Special features on the DVD will include an introduction by
Robert Osborne; still galleries, including behind-the-scenes photos; never-before-seen
interview segments on the work of director Mitchell Leisen from the TCM Archives; and the
original movie trailer, trivia, biographies and more.
Cary Grant Collection (films also available as singles)
DVD Availability: January 2010
Three early Cary Grant films will populate this boxed set:
The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) – This vivid World War I drama stars Frederic March as
a disillusioned but fearless squadron leader and Cary Grant as his bullied gunner-observer.
The gripping interpersonal drama, anti-war sentiments and outstanding aerial dogfights
give this film an impact that remains vital today. Carole Lombard and Jack Oakie round out
a top-notch cast. The great director Mitchell Leisen, who is billed as associate director,
is believed to have directed most of this film.
The Devil and the Deep (1932) – This melodrama is headlined by Tallulah Bankhead,
Gary Cooper, Cary Grant and Charles Laughton. The setting is the northern coast of Africa,
where submarine commander Laughton is stationed and where his wife, Bankhead, is splitting
her time between suitors Cooper and Grant. This marked Laughton’s first American film and
one of his most underappreciated performances.
The Last Outpost (1935) – Cary Grant plays a British officer saved from a Kurdish
tribe by fellow officer Claude Rains. But when Grant unknowingly falls in love with Rains’
wife, tragedy looms. Gertrude Michael and Kathleen Burke co-star under the dual direction
of Charles Barton and Louis Gasnier.
Future Universal collections and titles for rollout on DVD and TCM include vintage films
from Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, Deanna Durbin, director Douglas Sirk and many
more.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of
Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal,
one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development,
production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC
Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a
premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading
television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by
General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.
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