February 10, 2025 • 61 mins
George Feltenstein joins the podcast to announce six March Blu-ray releases, PLUS he provides an update on why there were no February releases. George includes background on each film or TV series, the new HD master, and more clarification on the extras that will be included. And he always drops some knowledge about what is being worked on for the future. There is no better way to learn about what is on the Warner Archive schedule than to hear directly from George.
Purchase links:
THE MAGILLA GORILLA SHOW: The Complete Animated Series (1964-66) Blu-ray
MONOGRAM MATINEE VOL. 1 (1949) Blu-ray
THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1921)-1993 PHOTOPLAY RESTORATION Blu-ray
REVIEW - THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE with Tim Millard, host of The Extras Podcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tim Millard (00:05):
Hello and welcome to the Extras.
I'm Tim Millard, your host andjoining me is George Feltenstein
, and we're going to be talkingabout the March Blu-ray releases
from the Warner Archive.
Hi, george.
George Feltenstein (00:16):
Hey Tim, how are you?
Tim Millard (00:17):
Good.
Well, before we dive in, george, I know people are anxious to
hear about what's coming inMarch, but before we dive in, I
did want to take a minute tothank the listeners of the
Extras, all of you who reachedout with your concerns and well
wishes for myself and for Georgeand other guests that we've had
here that you know live in theLA area.
(00:37):
When we were dealing with thehorrible fires here in January
here in LA and I was underevacuation orders for a short
time as one of the fires brokeout on the hill behind my house,
but fortunately the fire movedaway from us so we were okay.
But this has had a huge impacton LA, on the industry and, I'm
(01:01):
assuming, george, for WarnerBrothers as well on the industry
and I'm assuming, george, forWarner Brothers as well.
George Feltenstein (01:15):
Oh, absolutely, the studio was never
in the direct line of fire, butmany people who work here,
their homes, were threatened andsome people lost their homes.
We basically were workingremotely for about two weeks and
my own personal situation isthat I was between the two fires
, but I also live in an areathat is prone to fires, so it
(01:39):
was very touch and go anddifficult.
But all the kind words frompeople there were many who I
noticed had empathy for what wewere dealing with here and as we
record this, it's raining out,which is really a wonderful
(02:00):
thing for the area, so we'regrateful.
But it did also hamstring a lotof what we had planned and
there was just no way we weregoing to be able to move forward
with February releases.
So we have our March lineup totalk about today and then also
(02:23):
I'm confirming that two titlesthat had been previously
announced for January, where weran into production issues, that
are now on the street date ofMarch 25th along with the new
releases, and that is Cheyenne,the Complete Series, as well as
(02:43):
the Ryan Reynolds comedy from2005, just Friends.
So there'll be actually eightnew titles hitting the market on
that very clogged day, butit'll be one with a little
something for everyone, which Ithink is kind of cool.
Tim Millard (03:02):
Yeah, in some ways it's surprising that maybe there
weren't more delays, you knowfrom the January releases.
So to have those two move intoMarch is fortunate that it's
just just those two, becausethat was obviously.
The focus is on everybody beingsafe and and your home and your
(03:22):
family and everything.
So we're just glad to kind ofhave the rain now and hopefully
have that behind us and and getto back to the business of of
doing what we do.
So and I know, george, you lookat all the physical media in
your house and you think, oh, mygosh, what a loss.
You know it's scary.
George Feltenstein (03:41):
Oh, I couldn't even think that it's
scary decades and decades ofcollecting.
Tim Millard (03:44):
And so, oh, I couldn't even think that scary
decades and decades ofcollecting, and so, thankfully,
I couldn't even let yeah yeahexactly, but in terms of all of
my research materials andeverything, it's just not
anything I could think of.
George Feltenstein (03:59):
I had packed a go bag for, you know,
essential items, medications,food for the dogs, that kind of
thing.
We had to be ready to move atany time.
Tim Millard (04:10):
Yeah, that was just hair raising two, three weeks.
It did really, it sure was.
George Feltenstein (04:15):
But we're here to talk about good things
that are coming the way ofconsumers in March and we're
excited about that.
Tim Millard (04:25):
Yeah, and there's a fantastic lineup here for March
and I know many people areexcited about these releases and
I thought we would start withthe oldest of the releases,
because they go all the way backto 1921 and the silent film,
the Four Horsemen of theApocalypse.
What can you tell us about thisrelease, george?
George Feltenstein (04:48):
Well, this is something we've been working
on since 2022.
I think this is probably thelongest project in terms of
initializing it and getting tocompleted final master that
could go into production.
It was complex in the sensethat we were working with
(05:41):
multiple film elements and therewas a new 35 millimeter print
made by our very small pieces offootage that weren't in the MGM
.
Preservation elements had to dowas pull all the film that we
(06:03):
had and then match exactly whatKevin Brownlow and Patrick
Stanbury had done in terms oftinting and toning and so forth
and so on.
For that 1993 35 millimeterprint, which also became a Video
(06:26):
Master.
That was never released on tapeand never released on DVD.
It did get released as aLaserDisc in 1997.
That was something that I wasnot involved with because it was
after I had left MGMUA and hadcome to Time Warner.
(06:46):
So there were very few of thoseprinted and that 1993 Master
has standard definition Masterhas been running on Turner
Classic Movies basically sinceits inception.
But people have basically sinceits inception.
(07:11):
But people have wanted thisfilm on DVD and, more
importantly, to be able to do iton Blu-ray, scan everything at
4K, have a beautiful new masterfor the Blu-ray for the Blu-ray
and, most importantly, I neededto make sure that Kevin Brownlow
and Patrick Stanberry atPhotoPlay approved of our work
(07:32):
and that it matched what theyhad intended, because their name
is on this restoration.
It's a new master based on thecreative choices they made in
terms of the tints, and it has amagnificent orchestral score.
(07:52):
We had to make sure that stayedin sync with the picture.
It was an enormous amount ofwork for our folks at Warner
Brothers Motion Picture Imaging,folks at Warner Brothers Motion
Picture Imaging, and we weresending files back and forth to
the UK to make sure we were ontrack.
And ultimately we got theenthusiastic approval of Kevin
(08:17):
Brownlow and Patrick Stanberryat PhotoPlay to move forward,
which I could not be moregrateful for, and I wanted to
make sure that they were pleased.
This film was made by MetroPictures Corporation before
Metro was merged with GoldmanPictures under the aegis of
(08:41):
Lowe's Incorporated and Louis BMayer joined that company and
that became MGM.
So this is a pre-MGM MetroPictures production and it's
most notable, I think, for tworeasons.
First of all, it is a veryvisually stunning film directed
(09:03):
by Rex Ingram, who made somemagnificent silent films and did
not transition into the soundera for all intents and purposes
.
But his silent films are quiteremarkable and this film has a
very strong anti-war sentimentto it and it is also notable for
(09:25):
having been the breakthroughfilm for the leading man,
rudolph Valentino.
There's a tango sequence inthis film that is very, very
famous for having catapulted himinto public stardom.
But the importance of Ingram'swork and what is done
cinematically here for a filmthat is now 103, no, 104 years
(09:53):
old.
Fortunately this 1993 iterationthat we have now upgraded with
the 4K scans of the elements andthe HD master finish that's on
the Blu-ray people will seeclarity and most importantly and
(10:14):
I think this is something thatKevin always strives for in his
work his late producing partner,david Gill, worked with him on
this 1993 iteration and PatrickStanbury is now Kevin's partner
(10:34):
and has been for decades, andthey have done so much
magnificent work, including workon several films in our library
and many films that they didwork on that come from the early
days of MGM and the silent era.
(10:55):
A lot of people have beenwanting to see those arrive on
Blu-ray and the only thing I cansay about that is that several
of the most important films arelicensed to one of our partners
and have been for many years,and people should start to see
(11:16):
them released soon.
I don't want to discuss whatour partner's plans are that's
not my place to do so but I dowant people to know that the
other films are certainly notbeing ignored and, more
importantly, I really would loveto do more of our silence in
(11:39):
this fashion, with a class A,four-star treatment.
And if this release is aspopular as I believe it will be,
this very special film and thework done here is quite
remarkable.
The success of that will pavethe way for more from the silent
(11:59):
era to come with that kind ofgravitas.
So it's a very, very importantpart of film history.
Rex Ingram is not as well-knownbeyond silent film enthusiasts
and deserves to be.
A lot of the directors from theSilent Ear made their
(12:22):
transition into sound, so theirreputation continued.
The people who really knowabout the work of Rex Ingram are
few in number outside of asmall circle of cinephiles.
Release will really grab newaudiences who may be turned off
(12:53):
to silent films or think thatthey're.
You know, people who are notenlightened about silent films
are not supposed to look allsped up and rickety and it was a
purely visual art form andthere has been tremendous
progress.
And I do say that no oneindividual did more and has done
(13:16):
more to continue popularizingand teaching and exposing people
to the art of the silent cinemathan Kevin Brownlow.
I read a book of his in mychildhood called the Parade's
Gone by and it was all about thesilent era.
Kevin and his partner, davidGill, did this amazing
(13:39):
miniseries about the silent eracalled Hollywood, which is a
remarkable multi-part work.
They did a great service tofilm history by Teaching people
through that miniseries how tolook at silent film and how to
(14:02):
understand it and appreciate.
Itmen of the Apocalypse is oneof the early examples of that.
Smaller parts, a young WallaceBerry and Alan Hale, who is a
(14:46):
stalwart supporting player hereat Warner Brothers for years.
People know him from theAdventures of Robin Hood and
hundreds of other films nothundreds but dozens of other
films and they have small partsin this to.
It's just really remarkable themusical score created for the
1993 restoration, of which ourpresentation is a digital
(15:10):
remaster, taking advantage ofthe tools to help remove more
dirt and film damage so you'regoing to see the film clearer
than you ever did before andCarl Davis, who just passed away
, I believe in the last year oryear and a half, was this
(15:31):
amazing composer and conductorwho wrote magnificent scores for
so many silent films,magnificent scores for so many
silent films, usually workingwith Kevin Brownlow and his
associates.
And Carl Davis's score for theFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse
to me may have been one of hisbest, if not his best.
(15:56):
But it's kind of like sayingwhich one of your children do
you like the most?
Because his work is just.
It was beyond compare, andthere are so many very talented
(16:25):
people that did and continue tocreate their own music for
silent films to make them moreexciting, a presentation for
contemporary audiences.
I don't think very many peoplewould argue with my belief that
Carl Davis was truly among thetop people to do so, and he
recorded these scores withmassive orchestras, these scores
(16:47):
with massive orchestras, andthen, in concert with Kevin and
Patrick and Photoplay, therewould be 35 millimeter print
screenings with live orchestraplaying for the films, just the
way that in big cities duringthe silent era, big films were
accompanied in big theaters inbig cities by full symphonic
orchestras that were residentsof that particular theater.
(17:10):
The coming of sound put a lot ofmusicians out of work.
But in small towns there was apianist.
There was always musicassociated with film.
Small towns, there was apianist.
There was always musicassociated with film.
But this presentation hasglorious stereophonic music
written by Carl Davis andbeautiful picture quality.
It is astounding when I lookedat it.
(17:33):
This is over 100 years old.
Look at how great it looks.
So the proof will be in thepudding.
And when people do get theirdisks and see this, I really
hope it will enable me andempower me to go to management
and ask for more.
And that leads to a veryimportant point.
(17:56):
I am not empowered to selectwhatever I want from our library
and have it come out.
Those decisions are.
I can suggest and plead and begand I have done all of those
and I have to also be able todefend our expenses financially.
And with results like this, interms of what I've seen and what
(18:22):
this disc will look like andthis presentation will look like
, if the sales are strong enough, it will open up the door for
more, as well as the films thatare planned to be released by
our partners.
So there will be more silencecoming from us.
(18:42):
Fans of silent film and I'mamong them are very vocal in
their desire to see a lot of thefilms in our library with
phenomenal quality, and I reallyhope this will be the beginning
of that kind of nextrenaissance.
Tim Millard (19:01):
Yeah, well, that's an amazing backstory to this
film and the importance of thisfilm so great that you finally
have it available for the fans,so let's hope that people
support it.
George Feltenstein (19:14):
I certainly hope so.
Tim Millard (19:16):
Well, our next film is going to make a lot of Joan
Crawford fans very happy, andthat is Sadie McKee from 1934.
What can you tell us about thisone, George?
George Feltenstein (19:57):
French O'Tone, edward Arnold, gene
Raymond.
People don't necessarily knowthis film as well on its own, as
they'll recognize a clip fromit that was excerpted in
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,for the Blanche Hudson character
watching her movies on TV.
And also this film was thevehicle to provide the
introduction to the famous songAll I Do Is Dream of you, which
is throughout Singing in theRain.
It was written for this picture.
It's not a musical at all, butthe song is prominently featured
(20:18):
in the film.
No-transcript.
(20:40):
There's a good guy and there'sa bad guy, and then there's old,
drunk, rich Edward Arnold, whois not right for Sadie McKee,
but he's got money.
So the story on which thisscreenplay was built was written
(21:00):
by a popular, auth, popularauthor of the era, veena Del Mar
.
It's got a nice brisk runningtime of 93 minutes and it's one
of many 1930s MGM hits that Iwould like to see more of come
(21:21):
out through our efforts.
So anytime we're able to do this, this film previously was on
DVD with a not particularly nicelooking master.
This is also one of those filmswhere the original negative
burnt in the fire.
(21:42):
So we worked from the safetypreservation elements made in
the 1960s to scan it 4K and comeup with the new master.
It looks absolutely gorgeous.
It's got a great art deco.
Look to it Because it was maderight before the production code
(22:02):
enforcement.
It's a little bit more on therisque side than the later
Crawford pictures of the 30s atMGM were.
We had put this in a JoanCrawford DVD collection probably
about 17 years ago sometimearound then, and it was
well-received at the time.
But now it's on its own.
(22:25):
It's on Blu-ray.
We've thrown three wonderful1934 cartoons in HD onto the
program, as well as the trailer,and it's a nifty disc and I
think people are really, reallygoing to enjoy it Because
Crawford is terrific in it.
So is everybody Right, right?
Tim Millard (22:43):
Yep, and it's a great team up.
Of course, crawford, clarenceBrown, great cast.
So looking forward to seeingthat one with this restoration.
Well, our next release issomething a little bit different
, at least for me, george.
So I'm excited to hear aboutthis Monogram Matinee Volume 1
release.
What is it and what films areincluded with this?
George Feltenstein (23:05):
Well, this opens up a whole larger
discussion, which I will for thesake of time.
A poverty row studio, as itwere, that made low-budget films
(23:26):
.
They were always kind ofteeter-tottering on financial
instability.
Their most famous work includesthe films of the Bowery Boys,
the 48 films that they madeafter they stopped being the
East Side Kids, which they alsodid for Monogram.
(23:48):
And Monogram also was primarilya home for Western cowboy movie
heroes, cowboy movie heroes,and throughout the early 1930s
John Wayne did some small filmsthat were released by Monogram,
and as you hit the 1940s you hadother cowboy heroes, kind of
(24:13):
Saturday matinee movies, as Ilike to call it.
That's why we're calling thisthe Monogram Matinee, volume 1.
I'm hoping that this is thefirst in a series of films that
we can bring to Blu-ray ofmonogram films.
And Monogram in 1947, I believe,decided to dip their toe in the
(24:37):
water of making bigger budgetfilms A-movies as you may call
them and that new division wascalled Allied Artists Pictures
and eventually the AlliedArtists name became the name of
the whole company and Monogramwent away.
(25:00):
Monogram B pictures were stillproduced by the entity, but
after 1950, I think late 1953,everything went out as Allied
Artists.
So you know, the Bowery Boysseries ran from 1946 to 1958.
They made 48 of those featuresduring that time and at a
(25:23):
certain point the productions gofrom being monogram pictures to
allied artist pictures.
So we came to own this libraryof monogram films by virtue of
allied artists, went bankruptand were purchased by Lorimar.
(25:44):
Warner Brothers purchasedLorimar in the late 1980s and
the films came to us.
Now what's really importanthere is that I have
documentation from alliedartists, from Laura Marr and
even from early days at WarnerBrothers Television in the early
(26:05):
90s where people were saying,with rare exception, these films
are worthless, these films haveno audience, it's okay to let
them rot.
Nobody at Warner Brothers saidthat, by the way, but people
certainly we have it in printwhere they said it's okay if we
don't want to do anything toprotect them of the film
(26:28):
elements.
And this had been ongoingreally through the 90s and
continues up till today.
The Monogram Library was alsocherry-picked twice.
(26:51):
There were close to 200 filmsthat were sold off that are
mostly pre-1946.
And there's no rhyme or reasonto what was cherry-picked for
the most part and those are withthe current MGM company.
(27:13):
So there's a lot of monogrammovies that we have no rights to
that.
We have no rights to Prettymuch everything.
It starts in the mid-30s and iskind of checkerboard as to what
we have and what we don't, andthe ownership pretty much gets
locked in around 1946.
To add to the confusion, therewas a sale made by Allied
(27:37):
Artists of Allied Artists andMonogram movies to a company
called National TelefilmAssociates, which later changed
its name to Republic Picturesand, through various
machinations, is now withParamount.
So there's always a question asto well, what Monogram stuff and
(27:59):
what allied artist stuff doesWarner Brothers have?
So I made it a mission many,many years ago to clarify what
we owned, what had copyrightprotection, what films were
protected, what films needed tobe preserved needed to be
(28:23):
preserved, and this has been anongoing project for so many,
many years.
We did 10 DVD sets of theMonogram Cowboy collection and
those were primarily Western,starring Johnny Mac Brown, jimmy
Wakely, rod Cameron, whipWilson, and those sets were very
, very popular on DVD.
(28:44):
But there were a lot of thefilms that we hadn't been able
to get to yet, especiallybecause what survived of the
nitrate was in many cases somereels were at one archive and
then the rest of the featurewould be at another archive and
(29:06):
we wouldn't know until webrought the nitrate in if we had
the whole feature.
And I'm heartbroken to saythere are some monogrammed films
where we just have no filmelements because people were
careless in prior decades,pre-warner Brothers ownership.
(29:27):
But there has been a continual,perpetual motion to master and
protect these films and createpreservation materials and so
these three 1949 moviesrepresent, in my estimation,
(29:51):
what it might have been like ifyou went to see a triple feature
of monogram movies on aSaturday in 1949.
So the first film is calledMississippi Rhythm and it's hard
to call it a Western becausethere are no cowboys, no cowboy
(30:13):
hats, no horses, no elementsthat are that specific to the
genre.
But there's bad guys and goodguys and it takes place on a
riverboat on the MississippiRiver and the hero is a
gentleman named Jimmy Davis whois a country music performer who
had done some films previouslyand he made one film for
(30:45):
Monogram before this, calledLouisiana, which I'm happy to
say was recently preserved andprotected.
That could be a future release.
But the success of Louisianaled to Monogram casting him in
Mississippi Rhythm, which isbasically a Western on a
riverboat, for lack of a betterword.
This was also kind of anA-level picture for Monogram in
(31:09):
the sense that it runs over anhour.
The other two films on the billare Crashing Through with Whip
Wilson, who's the cowboy hero inthat movie, and the monogram.
Western cowboy movies usuallyran between 53 and 55 minutes
(31:30):
each.
They were really like atelevision hour-long program and
, as a matter of fact, becauseMonogram wasn't a major studio,
their films ended up ontelevision years before any
Warner Brothers, mgm, paramount,20th Century Fox, columbia
(31:51):
movies, universal Major studiomovies didn't really start to
hit until the RKO Library wassold for television in 1955.
So in those early days thesewere among the first the
Monogram movies and other smallstudios like it.
Their movies were the first tohit television, along with a lot
(32:15):
of British films as televisionstarted to permeate America in
the late 40s.
So we have Whip Wilson inCrashing Through and then a
personal favorite of mine who Ididn't even know about until I
started working on this project.
(32:36):
I knew the name but I reallydidn't know the films and I
didn't know how much fun theywere, and that was Johnny Mac
Brown.
He was a big cowboy B-pictureWestern star.
Before Monogram he worked atother studios and then he was at
Monogram for almost 10 yearsand before that MGM tried to
(33:00):
make him into a leading man andhe was in some important films,
like the early version of Billythe Kid, I believe and it didn't
work for him at MGM and hefound his home in B pictures and
being a Western hero, gm.
(33:23):
And he found his home in BeePictures and being a Western
hero and he made dozens anddozens of these Bee Westerns as
well as serials and this oneWestern Renegades.
He's a US Marshal.
The pictures all follow a verysimilar theme but they're very,
very endearing.
They have good supportingplayers.
There's nothing particularly,you know, remarkable between one
(33:48):
versus the other.
They all follow a very specificformula and the formula works
and the only thing that endedthe making of these kind of
films was in fact the importanceof television and a lot of film
cowboys made the transition tobeing TV stars.
(34:11):
You had Hopalong, cassidy, billBoyd specifically, and Roy
Rogers.
Their films were so popularthey were made in other studios.
They were so popular when theyhit television that eventually
they started making new TV shows.
So Johnny Mac Brown did not dothat, but when we were putting
(34:33):
the Monogram Cowboy Collectionson DVD together, which are still
very much available.
All 10 volumes.
It was a real crash course forme in learning and seeing these
films and finding them veryenjoyable.
And the sidekicks.
And I also liked the fact thatnot in Western Renegades but in
(34:54):
some of the earlier movies, theyused the same pieces of stock
music in every film.
So it was like the Argancomedies or the Laurel and Hardy
comedies used the Leroy Shieldand Marvin Hatley score stock
music pieces.
In all the Hal Roach comediesIn the Monogram movies there
(35:15):
were their own particular piecesof music that were used over
and over again.
So you put these three filmstogether.
They've all been scanned in 4Kand the new HD masters we've
created have gotten all the sameTLC that we give everything
(35:36):
else, so they look reallyterrific.
That we give everything else,so they look really terrific.
And this is going to be reallya trip back in time to what it
would have been like for amonogram matinee in 1949.
We say volume one because wehave several other volumes
planned.
That will happen if Right, ifthis is welcomed by the public,
(36:03):
that will give me the ammunition.
I need to have more follow andI've got them all planned out in
terms of what films and thingabout these three films is they
were never on videotape, theywere never on DVD.
This is their home video debutand I'm not in the least way
(36:27):
saying that these are cinematicmasterpieces.
They're just a lot of fun andit's a whole different kind of
experience that I know there arepassionate enthusiasts for
these movies and they havecommunicated with us, especially
(36:48):
when we released the MonogramCowboy collections in the past.
We had a lot of people lettingus know how much they enjoyed
that Right, and we have manyseries films that I would like
to see more of come to Blu-ray.
So that's what this is.
It's good value three films forthe price of one.
(37:09):
And their rarity, I think, alsounderscores the importance of
it why there are holes likeSwiss cheese in our monogram
holdings because so much hadbeen sold off prior to what we
ended up with when we boughtLorimar.
(37:31):
And I'm very, very grateful tobe able to share the film
preservation story that once itbecame under Warner Brothers, we
finally had the approval toaggressively go after these
films and protect them so thatmore of them aren't extinct.
(37:55):
So that is Monogram MatineeVolume 1.
Tim Millard (37:59):
Yeah, that's fascinating.
I'm really looking forward toit.
I mean, this is one that fallsdirectly in the nostalgia, I
think, category.
If you grew up seeing these, oryou remember them on TV or you
just, you know, want to seethese B-level films.
I love the concept of thematinee and I hope that people
will embrace this so that youcan bring out those additional
(38:21):
volumes.
George Feltenstein (38:22):
Thank you, sir, from your lips to the
universe's ears.
Tim Millard (38:43):
Well, and the thing of it is is that we talk about
this all the time, george, isthat when you see the older
films and you haven't seen themin decades- or they haven't been
restored like this and you seethem in HD.
It gives you a whole newperspective and appreciation for
these.
Absolutely so.
I think that'll be the casehere.
I'm looking forward to it.
So well, george, you've beenreleasing a lot of films from
the 1970s, and you have twocoming out in March as well.
They both look very interesting.
The first one I thought wewould talk about is this sci-fi
film, earth 2, from 1971.
(39:06):
What can you tell us about thisrelease?
George Feltenstein (39:09):
Well, this was a very ambitious project for
MGM.
The intention was for MGMTelevision to turn this into a
series and they made a telefilmpilot that would go into a
two-hour network time slot, andI believe the reason that it
(39:36):
never went to series was becauseof the expense.
Was because of the expenseBecause I did research the
production files and I found outthat they spent $250,000 on the
special effects.
Wow, now that might not seemlike a lot of money today, but
that would be like spending $3billion, let's say, on special
(40:02):
effects for a pilot in 2025.
So they put a lot of moneybehind this.
I think MGM deliberately castGary Lockwood in the lead of
Earth 2 and the Perspectiveseries 2 and the Perspective
(40:27):
series because he had just beenone of the two stars of 2001 A
Space Odyssey as Dr Frank Poole.
They also spent a great deal ofmoney on research for this, and
the people that wrote thescreenplay or the teleplay,
depending on how you want totalk about it were also the
producers of the series.
So I tried to find studio filesindicating why it didn't go
(40:52):
into series, but I could notfind that.
I did find the bill for howmuch they were charged for the
special effects and I thoughtthat might be the clue as to why
it didn't go to series Right.
There are some great supportingpeople in here, including Gary
(41:13):
Merrill, the actor Hari Rhodes,who was on the Doctari
television series for MGM TV.
And talk about series films.
You've got Lou Ayers in aspecial guest star role, and Lou
Ayers of course, had manyimportant screen roles going
(41:34):
back to All Quiet on the WesternFront at Universal, but at MGM
he found a home as Dr Kildare Inall the Dr Kildare movies.
He made nine of those, so theyreally had a good group.
Marriott Hartley is in thisfilm, a good supporting cast.
And here's the best part we scanthe original camera negative at
(41:57):
4K and the quality is gorgeous.
Earth 2 is one of the manytelefilms.
When we started Warner ArchiveCollection as a DVD business, we
tried to put out as manymade-for-television movies as we
could, because that was acategory that had been neglected
(42:18):
internally, and so we releasedEarth 2, probably around 2010.
I never anticipated we'd beable to do a 4K scan of the
camera negative and release itas a Blu-ray.
But here we are and there areabout four or five extra minutes
(42:39):
of running time in this versionbecause the intention was to
possibly get a theatricalrelease internationally.
So we've kept that footage in.
It's longer now.
But we've also maintained thefour by three television aspect
(43:00):
ratio because I looked at thefilm.
The film will always tell youwhat it's supposed to look like
and a lot of heads would havebeen cut off if we had gone for
the 16 by nine, 185 or 166 evenso.
That's why we're maintainingthat television aspect ratio.
But I think people are reallygoing to enjoy this and it sold
(43:24):
well as a DVD, so I'm hoping itwill continue that trend as a
beautiful Blu-ray.
Tim Millard (43:32):
Well, I watched the trailer and I think that's
included in the yes yeah andit's a fascinating trailer.
It's really got that feel andyou can see all you could just
see how much it costs for theeffects, because they're pretty
good in that trailer.
So I'm looking forward toseeing the whole film.
George Feltenstein (43:52):
Well, I think you're going to be very
impressed with it and I'mlooking forward to the disc
arriving at your door.
That won't happen for a while,but it will.
Tim Millard (43:58):
Right.
Well, you have another 70s filmhere, from 1972, and it's
another urban action film.
What can you tell us aboutHitman?
George Feltenstein (44:12):
Well, hitman is one of the many urban action
films sometimes referred to.
We're going back to the 70s inthe industry and variety doc
black exploitation movies.
Mgm had such huge success withRichard Roundtree as Shaft that
(44:37):
they made it their mission tomake more films that had an
urban feel to them and gave workto a lot of actors and
actresses that didn't have muchopportunity to be stars on the
screen.
And MGM was not the only studioto do this.
(44:58):
The whole industry was payingmore attention and making more
films that could be enjoyed byeveryone.
Frankly and this is actually aremake of the movie Get Carter
with Michael Caine it'sbasically the same story but
it's set, you know, in a not inthe UK, but in American big city
(45:24):
.
And what's notable for me isthe two leads really were
becoming big stars on the bigscreen because of the many
movies they were doing at thetime.
Of the many movies they weredoing at the time.
(45:46):
The leading man is Bernie Casey, but the leading lady is the
amazing Pam Grier who even todayis still known by so many
people thanks to QuentinTarantino casting her as Jackie
Brown in 1997, which wasTarantino's own homage to all
the films that Pam Greer did inthe 70s that made her really a
(46:08):
screen superstar, and she wasprobably only about 22 years old
when she did this movie.
This is very early in hercareer.
It's very fast-paced, verywell-directed and it is also a
4K scan off the camera negativefor this brand-new master, so it
(46:30):
looks a lot better than our DVDdid.
I will say that with 100%confidence.
So there is a very, very bigfan base for these particular
kind of films and if you look atwhat we're releasing this month
, this represents a very broadand varied group of releases
(46:58):
that appeal to differentaudiences, different likes and
dislikes, and you know there arepeople, of course anybody will
take the opportunity to, youknow, throw us under the bus.
Why are you releasing X whenthe fact is that X actually has
a huge fan base that the personcomplaining has no affiliation
(47:22):
with?
That other person likes adifferent film.
There are people that may wantthe Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse 1921 as well asHitman, and there will obviously
be other people who would notbe interested in one or not
interested in the other.
What we're trying to do isbring a varied group of
(47:47):
different pockets from ourlibrary that we feel will appeal
to someone and we're nevergoing to keep everybody happy
it's impossible but we're doingour best to serve the library
and serve the shareholders withprofits.
Tim Millard (48:04):
Yeah, and if you're a fan of Pam Greer, I know that
the 4K of Jackie Brown came out.
So what a great time to bereleasing this, because you know
those who are adding that totheir collection.
They can now get this inBlu-ray and I think that's part
of it.
You have such a diversity inyour catalog the Warner Brothers
catalog, the MGM catalog, youknow, just as you've talked
(48:26):
about in this podcast todaymonitoring and everything.
It's just a huge diversity.
So of course, you're not goingto be some niche company
releasing only one specificthing.
The Warner Archive is going tobe releasing the breadth of this
catalog, and so there's alwaysgoing to be something for
somebody that.
George Feltenstein (48:48):
That's the goal.
Tim Millard (48:49):
That's what we're trying to do well, speaking of
that, animation fans shouldn'tfeel left out, because we have
one more uh release and it's avery special hannah barbara
release that you have.
Maybe you could tell us aboutit.
George Feltenstein (49:05):
Well, this is a big one in that it does a
great deal to repair errors ofthe past.
This is the McGilligurrillaShow which premiered in January
of 1964 from Hanna-Barbera insyndication and there were 23
(49:26):
half hours.
Magilla is the gorilla for salein the window of Mr Peebles
know very well, and when priorcolleagues decided to release
(49:49):
the McGilligarilla show on DVDthey left out the theme song and
there was no legal reason to dothat.
I don't know what the thinkingwas, but it was like are you
kidding, right?
So what we've done is we'vescanned the original negative
(50:10):
Z4K.
We have not only included theoriginal theme song, the
openings and the end andeverything, but the McGillicuddy
Gorilla Show and the PeterPotamus Show were produced
pretty much at the same timeunder the sponsorship of the now
(50:31):
defunct Ideal Toy Corporationand Ideal Toys and their logo
were visibly seen in the mainand end titles and the word
ideal was even in the theme songfor both McGillig gorilla and
Peter Potamus.
Within a few years, everythingrelating to ideal visually,
(50:56):
because they were no longer thesponsor you'd hear
McGilligurilla.
They'd say he's really ideal,which is fine, but it was not
particularly saying the toycompany, but where you'd see the
Ideal Toy Corporation logo in aballoon.
Instead it was just McGill'sface.
(51:17):
Restored the ideal toy openingand closings, and that's a big
deal because people need to seethese and experience them as
they originally were.
And we did it for Peter Potamuson DVD about, I'm going to say,
nine years ago, maybe a littlemore than that.
(51:38):
But now we have these great,beautiful new masters from the
negatives and we also havebridges, little, you know,
little 20 second things that gobetween the titles and the
cartoons.
And all of these materials werebasically ignored or people were
(52:03):
too lazy to put the showstogether as they originally were
.
Um, it was only about thesegments.
So the segments withmcgilligarilla and his four
companion characters, there'sricochet, rabbit and droop
cartoons and there's Mushmouseand Pumpkinpuss cartoons, so you
(52:24):
get one cartoon of eachcharacter in a half-hour slot
program.
There's also a little musicalcurtain call before the end
credits and you didn't see thaton the previous release.
All of that was gone.
We went to great lengths to tryto piece together everything we
(52:47):
could and this extraneousmaterial was basically left for
dead and our preservation,restoration and mastering people
and I helped.
We were on a huge treasure huntto find these pieces, not just
(53:08):
for Megillah but for other showsthat we're putting back
together to the best of ourability.
Megillah and Peter Potamus cameout at the same time, around
the same time.
They were produced at the sametime, but Magilla ended up being
the breakout star, peterPotamus not so much.
(53:28):
And then Hanna-Barbera flippedthings around and they moved
Ricochet Rabbit into PeterPotamus and some of Peter
Potamus' compadres went into theMagilla show and everything got
very messed up.
So it was much easier to justkeep everything in segments and
that's how you saw them onCartoon Network and the USA
(53:50):
Express.
A great deal of work went intoreconstructing these shows as
they were, and we've got theeight additional McGillis
Gorilla cartoons, the eightadditional McGilligurilla
cartoons.
And then we have as bonusmaterial featurette that ran on
(54:13):
stations that were about topremiere McGilligurilla called
here Comes the Star or hereComes the Star, which shows how
they develop character and whatHanna-bara did.
It's really quite fascinatingand unique on its own.
Then there is a series ofinterviews with a guy named
jerry beck, who's this animationhistorian you may have heard of
(54:35):
right oh he's, he's part of it.
and then, uh, jerry eisenberg,an animator that worked on this
series, and alan melvinvin, whoprovided the voice for
McGilligurla.
They were all part of thisinterview.
All these interviews were shotfor the DVD release in 2004.
Interesting piece of film ofBill Hanna and Hanna-Barbera
(55:05):
musical director Hoyt Curtinsinging the McGilligorella theme
song.
So a nifty little bunch ofextras that are carried over
from the DVD on this Blu-ray setand I think the fans are going
to be very, very happy aboutthat.
Tim Millard (55:16):
Yeah, I mean, what a terrific release.
I mean I'm so excited that it'snow back to you know the way
that it should be, with thetheme song and all the things
that you've done for it, so it'sfantastic that the fans can now
get it in HD.
With all of these extras, thissounds like a home run and
(55:36):
hopefully people will step upand purchase this and it's kind
of like a a string now, georgeof great hannah barbera releases
that you've had in the lastthree, four months, um, and it's
going to continue.
George Feltenstein (55:51):
Is that right?
Okay, that will make a lot ofpeople really happy, and then
people who don't particularlycare for this stuff think it's
yeah.
Yeah, of course they need themand sorry we're we're we're
going to give a lot of fans whatthey want.
Yes, depending what fan groupyou're in or if you're in a lot
(56:11):
of them, my hope is that we'llhave something for everyone and
be able to continue on aconsistent cadence.
That will be rewarding for ourcustomers, to whom we are always
grateful.
Tim Millard (56:27):
Yeah, this is a great month, George.
Thanks for coming on the Extrasas always to take us through
this, because you just give somuch more background than a
simple press release or socialmedia post can do, and this
allows people to hear directlyfrom you about all that history
and the restoration andremastering that went into these
(56:48):
and what a great package theyare.
So thank you.
George Feltenstein (56:52):
Well, thank you, tim.
And I do want to again thankall my colleagues in our
preservation department, ourrestoration department, our
mastering team and our amazingcolorists and scanners at Warner
Brothers Motion Picture Imaging, because for many of these
projects, they've gone far abovethe call of duty to make them a
(57:16):
reality.
So if I was wearing a hat, I'dtip it to them, but I'm not
wearing a hat, right, right.
Tim Millard (57:29):
It's always great to hear from George directly
about these new Blu-rays thatare coming from the Warner
Archive.
There's just so muchinformation that we get directly
from George, so hope you'reenjoying them.
If you are and you haven't yetstarted following the show,
appreciate it if you would dothat at your favorite podcast
provider.
And just as a reminder, twotitles from January did move out
(57:50):
to that same March release date, and that is the TV series
Cheyenne and the film starringRyan Reynolds, just Friends.
So there's now a total of eightreleases for March.
As always, thanks for listeningto the Extras.
Stay slightly obsessed.
Hello and welcome to the Extras.
I'm Tim Millard, your host andjoining me is George Feltenstein
, and we're going to be talkingabout the March Blu-ray releases
from the Warner Archive.
Hi, george.
George Feltenstein (00:16):
Hey Tim, how are you?
Tim Millard (00:17):
Good.
Well, before we dive in, george, I know people are anxious to
hear about what's coming inMarch, but before we dive in, I
did want to take a minute tothank the listeners of the
Extras, all of you who reachedout with your concerns and well
wishes for myself and for Georgeand other guests that we've had
here that you know live in theLA area.
(00:37):
When we were dealing with thehorrible fires here in January
here in LA and I was underevacuation orders for a short
time as one of the fires brokeout on the hill behind my house,
but fortunately the fire movedaway from us so we were okay.
But this has had a huge impacton LA, on the industry and, I'm
(01:01):
assuming, george, for WarnerBrothers as well on the industry
and I'm assuming, george, forWarner Brothers as well.
George Feltenstein (01:15):
Oh, absolutely, the studio was never
in the direct line of fire, butmany people who work here,
their homes, were threatened andsome people lost their homes.
We basically were workingremotely for about two weeks and
my own personal situation isthat I was between the two fires
, but I also live in an areathat is prone to fires, so it
(01:39):
was very touch and go anddifficult.
But all the kind words frompeople there were many who I
noticed had empathy for what wewere dealing with here and as we
record this, it's raining out,which is really a wonderful
(02:00):
thing for the area, so we'regrateful.
But it did also hamstring a lotof what we had planned and
there was just no way we weregoing to be able to move forward
with February releases.
So we have our March lineup totalk about today and then also
(02:23):
I'm confirming that two titlesthat had been previously
announced for January, where weran into production issues, that
are now on the street date ofMarch 25th along with the new
releases, and that is Cheyenne,the Complete Series, as well as
(02:43):
the Ryan Reynolds comedy from2005, just Friends.
So there'll be actually eightnew titles hitting the market on
that very clogged day, butit'll be one with a little
something for everyone, which Ithink is kind of cool.
Tim Millard (03:02):
Yeah, in some ways it's surprising that maybe there
weren't more delays, you knowfrom the January releases.
So to have those two move intoMarch is fortunate that it's
just just those two, becausethat was obviously.
The focus is on everybody beingsafe and and your home and your
(03:22):
family and everything.
So we're just glad to kind ofhave the rain now and hopefully
have that behind us and and getto back to the business of of
doing what we do.
So and I know, george, you lookat all the physical media in
your house and you think, oh, mygosh, what a loss.
You know it's scary.
George Feltenstein (03:41):
Oh, I couldn't even think that it's
scary decades and decades ofcollecting.
Tim Millard (03:44):
And so, oh, I couldn't even think that scary
decades and decades ofcollecting, and so, thankfully,
I couldn't even let yeah yeahexactly, but in terms of all of
my research materials andeverything, it's just not
anything I could think of.
George Feltenstein (03:59):
I had packed a go bag for, you know,
essential items, medications,food for the dogs, that kind of
thing.
We had to be ready to move atany time.
Tim Millard (04:10):
Yeah, that was just hair raising two, three weeks.
It did really, it sure was.
George Feltenstein (04:15):
But we're here to talk about good things
that are coming the way ofconsumers in March and we're
excited about that.
Tim Millard (04:25):
Yeah, and there's a fantastic lineup here for March
and I know many people areexcited about these releases and
I thought we would start withthe oldest of the releases,
because they go all the way backto 1921 and the silent film,
the Four Horsemen of theApocalypse.
What can you tell us about thisrelease, george?
George Feltenstein (04:48):
Well, this is something we've been working
on since 2022.
I think this is probably thelongest project in terms of
initializing it and getting tocompleted final master that
could go into production.
It was complex in the sensethat we were working with
(05:41):
multiple film elements and therewas a new 35 millimeter print
made by our very small pieces offootage that weren't in the MGM
.
Preservation elements had to dowas pull all the film that we
(06:03):
had and then match exactly whatKevin Brownlow and Patrick
Stanbury had done in terms oftinting and toning and so forth
and so on.
For that 1993 35 millimeterprint, which also became a Video
(06:26):
Master.
That was never released on tapeand never released on DVD.
It did get released as aLaserDisc in 1997.
That was something that I wasnot involved with because it was
after I had left MGMUA and hadcome to Time Warner.
(06:46):
So there were very few of thoseprinted and that 1993 Master
has standard definition Masterhas been running on Turner
Classic Movies basically sinceits inception.
But people have basically sinceits inception.
(07:11):
But people have wanted thisfilm on DVD and, more
importantly, to be able to do iton Blu-ray, scan everything at
4K, have a beautiful new masterfor the Blu-ray for the Blu-ray
and, most importantly, I neededto make sure that Kevin Brownlow
and Patrick Stanberry atPhotoPlay approved of our work
(07:32):
and that it matched what theyhad intended, because their name
is on this restoration.
It's a new master based on thecreative choices they made in
terms of the tints, and it has amagnificent orchestral score.
(07:52):
We had to make sure that stayedin sync with the picture.
It was an enormous amount ofwork for our folks at Warner
Brothers Motion Picture Imaging,folks at Warner Brothers Motion
Picture Imaging, and we weresending files back and forth to
the UK to make sure we were ontrack.
And ultimately we got theenthusiastic approval of Kevin
(08:17):
Brownlow and Patrick Stanberryat PhotoPlay to move forward,
which I could not be moregrateful for, and I wanted to
make sure that they were pleased.
This film was made by MetroPictures Corporation before
Metro was merged with GoldmanPictures under the aegis of
(08:41):
Lowe's Incorporated and Louis BMayer joined that company and
that became MGM.
So this is a pre-MGM MetroPictures production and it's
most notable, I think, for tworeasons.
First of all, it is a veryvisually stunning film directed
(09:03):
by Rex Ingram, who made somemagnificent silent films and did
not transition into the soundera for all intents and purposes
.
But his silent films are quiteremarkable and this film has a
very strong anti-war sentimentto it and it is also notable for
(09:25):
having been the breakthroughfilm for the leading man,
rudolph Valentino.
There's a tango sequence inthis film that is very, very
famous for having catapulted himinto public stardom.
But the importance of Ingram'swork and what is done
cinematically here for a filmthat is now 103, no, 104 years
(09:53):
old.
Fortunately this 1993 iterationthat we have now upgraded with
the 4K scans of the elements andthe HD master finish that's on
the Blu-ray people will seeclarity and most importantly and
(10:14):
I think this is something thatKevin always strives for in his
work his late producing partner,david Gill, worked with him on
this 1993 iteration and PatrickStanbury is now Kevin's partner
(10:34):
and has been for decades, andthey have done so much
magnificent work, including workon several films in our library
and many films that they didwork on that come from the early
days of MGM and the silent era.
(10:55):
A lot of people have beenwanting to see those arrive on
Blu-ray and the only thing I cansay about that is that several
of the most important films arelicensed to one of our partners
and have been for many years,and people should start to see
(11:16):
them released soon.
I don't want to discuss whatour partner's plans are that's
not my place to do so but I dowant people to know that the
other films are certainly notbeing ignored and, more
importantly, I really would loveto do more of our silence in
(11:39):
this fashion, with a class A,four-star treatment.
And if this release is aspopular as I believe it will be,
this very special film and thework done here is quite
remarkable.
The success of that will pavethe way for more from the silent
(11:59):
era to come with that kind ofgravitas.
So it's a very, very importantpart of film history.
Rex Ingram is not as well-knownbeyond silent film enthusiasts
and deserves to be.
A lot of the directors from theSilent Ear made their
(12:22):
transition into sound, so theirreputation continued.
The people who really knowabout the work of Rex Ingram are
few in number outside of asmall circle of cinephiles.
Release will really grab newaudiences who may be turned off
(12:53):
to silent films or think thatthey're.
You know, people who are notenlightened about silent films
are not supposed to look allsped up and rickety and it was a
purely visual art form andthere has been tremendous
progress.
And I do say that no oneindividual did more and has done
(13:16):
more to continue popularizingand teaching and exposing people
to the art of the silent cinemathan Kevin Brownlow.
I read a book of his in mychildhood called the Parade's
Gone by and it was all about thesilent era.
Kevin and his partner, davidGill, did this amazing
(13:39):
miniseries about the silent eracalled Hollywood, which is a
remarkable multi-part work.
They did a great service tofilm history by Teaching people
through that miniseries how tolook at silent film and how to
(14:02):
understand it and appreciate.
Itmen of the Apocalypse is oneof the early examples of that.
Smaller parts, a young WallaceBerry and Alan Hale, who is a
(14:46):
stalwart supporting player hereat Warner Brothers for years.
People know him from theAdventures of Robin Hood and
hundreds of other films nothundreds but dozens of other
films and they have small partsin this to.
It's just really remarkable themusical score created for the
1993 restoration, of which ourpresentation is a digital
(15:10):
remaster, taking advantage ofthe tools to help remove more
dirt and film damage so you'regoing to see the film clearer
than you ever did before andCarl Davis, who just passed away
, I believe in the last year oryear and a half, was this
(15:31):
amazing composer and conductorwho wrote magnificent scores for
so many silent films,magnificent scores for so many
silent films, usually workingwith Kevin Brownlow and his
associates.
And Carl Davis's score for theFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse
to me may have been one of hisbest, if not his best.
(15:56):
But it's kind of like sayingwhich one of your children do
you like the most?
Because his work is just.
It was beyond compare, andthere are so many very talented
(16:25):
people that did and continue tocreate their own music for
silent films to make them moreexciting, a presentation for
contemporary audiences.
I don't think very many peoplewould argue with my belief that
Carl Davis was truly among thetop people to do so, and he
recorded these scores withmassive orchestras, these scores
(16:47):
with massive orchestras, andthen, in concert with Kevin and
Patrick and Photoplay, therewould be 35 millimeter print
screenings with live orchestraplaying for the films, just the
way that in big cities duringthe silent era, big films were
accompanied in big theaters inbig cities by full symphonic
orchestras that were residentsof that particular theater.
(17:10):
The coming of sound put a lot ofmusicians out of work.
But in small towns there was apianist.
There was always musicassociated with film.
Small towns, there was apianist.
There was always musicassociated with film.
But this presentation hasglorious stereophonic music
written by Carl Davis andbeautiful picture quality.
It is astounding when I lookedat it.
(17:33):
This is over 100 years old.
Look at how great it looks.
So the proof will be in thepudding.
And when people do get theirdisks and see this, I really
hope it will enable me andempower me to go to management
and ask for more.
And that leads to a veryimportant point.
(17:56):
I am not empowered to selectwhatever I want from our library
and have it come out.
Those decisions are.
I can suggest and plead and begand I have done all of those
and I have to also be able todefend our expenses financially.
And with results like this, interms of what I've seen and what
(18:22):
this disc will look like andthis presentation will look like
, if the sales are strong enough, it will open up the door for
more, as well as the films thatare planned to be released by
our partners.
So there will be more silencecoming from us.
(18:42):
Fans of silent film and I'mamong them are very vocal in
their desire to see a lot of thefilms in our library with
phenomenal quality, and I reallyhope this will be the beginning
of that kind of nextrenaissance.
Tim Millard (19:01):
Yeah, well, that's an amazing backstory to this
film and the importance of thisfilm so great that you finally
have it available for the fans,so let's hope that people
support it.
George Feltenstein (19:14):
I certainly hope so.
Tim Millard (19:16):
Well, our next film is going to make a lot of Joan
Crawford fans very happy, andthat is Sadie McKee from 1934.
What can you tell us about thisone, George?
George Feltenstein (19:57):
French O'Tone, edward Arnold, gene
Raymond.
People don't necessarily knowthis film as well on its own, as
they'll recognize a clip fromit that was excerpted in
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,for the Blanche Hudson character
watching her movies on TV.
And also this film was thevehicle to provide the
introduction to the famous songAll I Do Is Dream of you, which
is throughout Singing in theRain.
It was written for this picture.
It's not a musical at all, butthe song is prominently featured
(20:18):
in the film.
No-transcript.
(20:40):
There's a good guy and there'sa bad guy, and then there's old,
drunk, rich Edward Arnold, whois not right for Sadie McKee,
but he's got money.
So the story on which thisscreenplay was built was written
(21:00):
by a popular, auth, popularauthor of the era, veena Del Mar
.
It's got a nice brisk runningtime of 93 minutes and it's one
of many 1930s MGM hits that Iwould like to see more of come
(21:21):
out through our efforts.
So anytime we're able to do this, this film previously was on
DVD with a not particularly nicelooking master.
This is also one of those filmswhere the original negative
burnt in the fire.
(21:42):
So we worked from the safetypreservation elements made in
the 1960s to scan it 4K and comeup with the new master.
It looks absolutely gorgeous.
It's got a great art deco.
Look to it Because it was maderight before the production code
(22:02):
enforcement.
It's a little bit more on therisque side than the later
Crawford pictures of the 30s atMGM were.
We had put this in a JoanCrawford DVD collection probably
about 17 years ago sometimearound then, and it was
well-received at the time.
But now it's on its own.
(22:25):
It's on Blu-ray.
We've thrown three wonderful1934 cartoons in HD onto the
program, as well as the trailer,and it's a nifty disc and I
think people are really, reallygoing to enjoy it Because
Crawford is terrific in it.
So is everybody Right, right?
Tim Millard (22:43):
Yep, and it's a great team up.
Of course, crawford, clarenceBrown, great cast.
So looking forward to seeingthat one with this restoration.
Well, our next release issomething a little bit different
, at least for me, george.
So I'm excited to hear aboutthis Monogram Matinee Volume 1
release.
What is it and what films areincluded with this?
George Feltenstein (23:05):
Well, this opens up a whole larger
discussion, which I will for thesake of time.
A poverty row studio, as itwere, that made low-budget films
(23:26):
.
They were always kind ofteeter-tottering on financial
instability.
Their most famous work includesthe films of the Bowery Boys,
the 48 films that they madeafter they stopped being the
East Side Kids, which they alsodid for Monogram.
(23:48):
And Monogram also was primarilya home for Western cowboy movie
heroes, cowboy movie heroes,and throughout the early 1930s
John Wayne did some small filmsthat were released by Monogram,
and as you hit the 1940s you hadother cowboy heroes, kind of
(24:13):
Saturday matinee movies, as Ilike to call it.
That's why we're calling thisthe Monogram Matinee, volume 1.
I'm hoping that this is thefirst in a series of films that
we can bring to Blu-ray ofmonogram films.
And Monogram in 1947, I believe,decided to dip their toe in the
(24:37):
water of making bigger budgetfilms A-movies as you may call
them and that new division wascalled Allied Artists Pictures
and eventually the AlliedArtists name became the name of
the whole company and Monogramwent away.
(25:00):
Monogram B pictures were stillproduced by the entity, but
after 1950, I think late 1953,everything went out as Allied
Artists.
So you know, the Bowery Boysseries ran from 1946 to 1958.
They made 48 of those featuresduring that time and at a
(25:23):
certain point the productions gofrom being monogram pictures to
allied artist pictures.
So we came to own this libraryof monogram films by virtue of
allied artists, went bankruptand were purchased by Lorimar.
(25:44):
Warner Brothers purchasedLorimar in the late 1980s and
the films came to us.
Now what's really importanthere is that I have
documentation from alliedartists, from Laura Marr and
even from early days at WarnerBrothers Television in the early
(26:05):
90s where people were saying,with rare exception, these films
are worthless, these films haveno audience, it's okay to let
them rot.
Nobody at Warner Brothers saidthat, by the way, but people
certainly we have it in printwhere they said it's okay if we
don't want to do anything toprotect them of the film
(26:28):
elements.
And this had been ongoingreally through the 90s and
continues up till today.
The Monogram Library was alsocherry-picked twice.
(26:51):
There were close to 200 filmsthat were sold off that are
mostly pre-1946.
And there's no rhyme or reasonto what was cherry-picked for
the most part and those are withthe current MGM company.
(27:13):
So there's a lot of monogrammovies that we have no rights to
that.
We have no rights to Prettymuch everything.
It starts in the mid-30s and iskind of checkerboard as to what
we have and what we don't, andthe ownership pretty much gets
locked in around 1946.
To add to the confusion, therewas a sale made by Allied
(27:37):
Artists of Allied Artists andMonogram movies to a company
called National TelefilmAssociates, which later changed
its name to Republic Picturesand, through various
machinations, is now withParamount.
So there's always a question asto well, what Monogram stuff and
(27:59):
what allied artist stuff doesWarner Brothers have?
So I made it a mission many,many years ago to clarify what
we owned, what had copyrightprotection, what films were
protected, what films needed tobe preserved needed to be
(28:23):
preserved, and this has been anongoing project for so many,
many years.
We did 10 DVD sets of theMonogram Cowboy collection and
those were primarily Western,starring Johnny Mac Brown, jimmy
Wakely, rod Cameron, whipWilson, and those sets were very
, very popular on DVD.
(28:44):
But there were a lot of thefilms that we hadn't been able
to get to yet, especiallybecause what survived of the
nitrate was in many cases somereels were at one archive and
then the rest of the featurewould be at another archive and
(29:06):
we wouldn't know until webrought the nitrate in if we had
the whole feature.
And I'm heartbroken to saythere are some monogrammed films
where we just have no filmelements because people were
careless in prior decades,pre-warner Brothers ownership.
(29:27):
But there has been a continual,perpetual motion to master and
protect these films and createpreservation materials and so
these three 1949 moviesrepresent, in my estimation,
(29:51):
what it might have been like ifyou went to see a triple feature
of monogram movies on aSaturday in 1949.
So the first film is calledMississippi Rhythm and it's hard
to call it a Western becausethere are no cowboys, no cowboy
(30:13):
hats, no horses, no elementsthat are that specific to the
genre.
But there's bad guys and goodguys and it takes place on a
riverboat on the MississippiRiver and the hero is a
gentleman named Jimmy Davis whois a country music performer who
had done some films previouslyand he made one film for
(30:45):
Monogram before this, calledLouisiana, which I'm happy to
say was recently preserved andprotected.
That could be a future release.
But the success of Louisianaled to Monogram casting him in
Mississippi Rhythm, which isbasically a Western on a
riverboat, for lack of a betterword.
This was also kind of anA-level picture for Monogram in
(31:09):
the sense that it runs over anhour.
The other two films on the billare Crashing Through with Whip
Wilson, who's the cowboy hero inthat movie, and the monogram.
Western cowboy movies usuallyran between 53 and 55 minutes
(31:30):
each.
They were really like atelevision hour-long program and
, as a matter of fact, becauseMonogram wasn't a major studio,
their films ended up ontelevision years before any
Warner Brothers, mgm, paramount,20th Century Fox, columbia
(31:51):
movies, universal Major studiomovies didn't really start to
hit until the RKO Library wassold for television in 1955.
So in those early days thesewere among the first the
Monogram movies and other smallstudios like it.
Their movies were the first tohit television, along with a lot
(32:15):
of British films as televisionstarted to permeate America in
the late 40s.
So we have Whip Wilson inCrashing Through and then a
personal favorite of mine who Ididn't even know about until I
started working on this project.
(32:36):
I knew the name but I reallydidn't know the films and I
didn't know how much fun theywere, and that was Johnny Mac
Brown.
He was a big cowboy B-pictureWestern star.
Before Monogram he worked atother studios and then he was at
Monogram for almost 10 yearsand before that MGM tried to
(33:00):
make him into a leading man andhe was in some important films,
like the early version of Billythe Kid, I believe and it didn't
work for him at MGM and hefound his home in B pictures and
being a Western hero, gm.
(33:23):
And he found his home in BeePictures and being a Western
hero and he made dozens anddozens of these Bee Westerns as
well as serials and this oneWestern Renegades.
He's a US Marshal.
The pictures all follow a verysimilar theme but they're very,
very endearing.
They have good supportingplayers.
There's nothing particularly,you know, remarkable between one
(33:48):
versus the other.
They all follow a very specificformula and the formula works
and the only thing that endedthe making of these kind of
films was in fact the importanceof television and a lot of film
cowboys made the transition tobeing TV stars.
(34:11):
You had Hopalong, cassidy, billBoyd specifically, and Roy
Rogers.
Their films were so popularthey were made in other studios.
They were so popular when theyhit television that eventually
they started making new TV shows.
So Johnny Mac Brown did not dothat, but when we were putting
(34:33):
the Monogram Cowboy Collectionson DVD together, which are still
very much available.
All 10 volumes.
It was a real crash course forme in learning and seeing these
films and finding them veryenjoyable.
And the sidekicks.
And I also liked the fact thatnot in Western Renegades but in
(34:54):
some of the earlier movies, theyused the same pieces of stock
music in every film.
So it was like the Argancomedies or the Laurel and Hardy
comedies used the Leroy Shieldand Marvin Hatley score stock
music pieces.
In all the Hal Roach comediesIn the Monogram movies there
(35:15):
were their own particular piecesof music that were used over
and over again.
So you put these three filmstogether.
They've all been scanned in 4Kand the new HD masters we've
created have gotten all the sameTLC that we give everything
(35:36):
else, so they look reallyterrific.
That we give everything else,so they look really terrific.
And this is going to be reallya trip back in time to what it
would have been like for amonogram matinee in 1949.
We say volume one because wehave several other volumes
planned.
That will happen if Right, ifthis is welcomed by the public,
(36:03):
that will give me the ammunition.
I need to have more follow andI've got them all planned out in
terms of what films and thingabout these three films is they
were never on videotape, theywere never on DVD.
This is their home video debutand I'm not in the least way
(36:27):
saying that these are cinematicmasterpieces.
They're just a lot of fun andit's a whole different kind of
experience that I know there arepassionate enthusiasts for
these movies and they havecommunicated with us, especially
(36:48):
when we released the MonogramCowboy collections in the past.
We had a lot of people lettingus know how much they enjoyed
that Right, and we have manyseries films that I would like
to see more of come to Blu-ray.
So that's what this is.
It's good value three films forthe price of one.
(37:09):
And their rarity, I think, alsounderscores the importance of
it why there are holes likeSwiss cheese in our monogram
holdings because so much hadbeen sold off prior to what we
ended up with when we boughtLorimar.
(37:31):
And I'm very, very grateful tobe able to share the film
preservation story that once itbecame under Warner Brothers, we
finally had the approval toaggressively go after these
films and protect them so thatmore of them aren't extinct.
(37:55):
So that is Monogram MatineeVolume 1.
Tim Millard (37:59):
Yeah, that's fascinating.
I'm really looking forward toit.
I mean, this is one that fallsdirectly in the nostalgia, I
think, category.
If you grew up seeing these, oryou remember them on TV or you
just, you know, want to seethese B-level films.
I love the concept of thematinee and I hope that people
will embrace this so that youcan bring out those additional
(38:21):
volumes.
George Feltenstein (38:22):
Thank you, sir, from your lips to the
universe's ears.
Tim Millard (38:43):
Well, and the thing of it is is that we talk about
this all the time, george, isthat when you see the older
films and you haven't seen themin decades- or they haven't been
restored like this and you seethem in HD.
It gives you a whole newperspective and appreciation for
these.
Absolutely so.
I think that'll be the casehere.
I'm looking forward to it.
So well, george, you've beenreleasing a lot of films from
the 1970s, and you have twocoming out in March as well.
They both look very interesting.
The first one I thought wewould talk about is this sci-fi
film, earth 2, from 1971.
(39:06):
What can you tell us about thisrelease?
George Feltenstein (39:09):
Well, this was a very ambitious project for
MGM.
The intention was for MGMTelevision to turn this into a
series and they made a telefilmpilot that would go into a
two-hour network time slot, andI believe the reason that it
(39:36):
never went to series was becauseof the expense.
Was because of the expenseBecause I did research the
production files and I found outthat they spent $250,000 on the
special effects.
Wow, now that might not seemlike a lot of money today, but
that would be like spending $3billion, let's say, on special
(40:02):
effects for a pilot in 2025.
So they put a lot of moneybehind this.
I think MGM deliberately castGary Lockwood in the lead of
Earth 2 and the Perspectiveseries 2 and the Perspective
(40:27):
series because he had just beenone of the two stars of 2001 A
Space Odyssey as Dr Frank Poole.
They also spent a great deal ofmoney on research for this, and
the people that wrote thescreenplay or the teleplay,
depending on how you want totalk about it were also the
producers of the series.
So I tried to find studio filesindicating why it didn't go
(40:52):
into series, but I could notfind that.
I did find the bill for howmuch they were charged for the
special effects and I thoughtthat might be the clue as to why
it didn't go to series Right.
There are some great supportingpeople in here, including Gary
(41:13):
Merrill, the actor Hari Rhodes,who was on the Doctari
television series for MGM TV.
And talk about series films.
You've got Lou Ayers in aspecial guest star role, and Lou
Ayers of course, had manyimportant screen roles going
(41:34):
back to All Quiet on the WesternFront at Universal, but at MGM
he found a home as Dr Kildare Inall the Dr Kildare movies.
He made nine of those, so theyreally had a good group.
Marriott Hartley is in thisfilm, a good supporting cast.
And here's the best part we scanthe original camera negative at
(41:57):
4K and the quality is gorgeous.
Earth 2 is one of the manytelefilms.
When we started Warner ArchiveCollection as a DVD business, we
tried to put out as manymade-for-television movies as we
could, because that was acategory that had been neglected
(42:18):
internally, and so we releasedEarth 2, probably around 2010.
I never anticipated we'd beable to do a 4K scan of the
camera negative and release itas a Blu-ray.
But here we are and there areabout four or five extra minutes
(42:39):
of running time in this versionbecause the intention was to
possibly get a theatricalrelease internationally.
So we've kept that footage in.
It's longer now.
But we've also maintained thefour by three television aspect
(43:00):
ratio because I looked at thefilm.
The film will always tell youwhat it's supposed to look like
and a lot of heads would havebeen cut off if we had gone for
the 16 by nine, 185 or 166 evenso.
That's why we're maintainingthat television aspect ratio.
But I think people are reallygoing to enjoy this and it sold
(43:24):
well as a DVD, so I'm hoping itwill continue that trend as a
beautiful Blu-ray.
Tim Millard (43:32):
Well, I watched the trailer and I think that's
included in the yes yeah andit's a fascinating trailer.
It's really got that feel andyou can see all you could just
see how much it costs for theeffects, because they're pretty
good in that trailer.
So I'm looking forward toseeing the whole film.
George Feltenstein (43:52):
Well, I think you're going to be very
impressed with it and I'mlooking forward to the disc
arriving at your door.
That won't happen for a while,but it will.
Tim Millard (43:58):
Right.
Well, you have another 70s filmhere, from 1972, and it's
another urban action film.
What can you tell us aboutHitman?
George Feltenstein (44:12):
Well, hitman is one of the many urban action
films sometimes referred to.
We're going back to the 70s inthe industry and variety doc
black exploitation movies.
Mgm had such huge success withRichard Roundtree as Shaft that
(44:37):
they made it their mission tomake more films that had an
urban feel to them and gave workto a lot of actors and
actresses that didn't have muchopportunity to be stars on the
screen.
And MGM was not the only studioto do this.
(44:58):
The whole industry was payingmore attention and making more
films that could be enjoyed byeveryone.
Frankly and this is actually aremake of the movie Get Carter
with Michael Caine it'sbasically the same story but
it's set, you know, in a not inthe UK, but in American big city
(45:24):
.
And what's notable for me isthe two leads really were
becoming big stars on the bigscreen because of the many
movies they were doing at thetime.
Of the many movies they weredoing at the time.
(45:46):
The leading man is Bernie Casey, but the leading lady is the
amazing Pam Grier who even todayis still known by so many
people thanks to QuentinTarantino casting her as Jackie
Brown in 1997, which wasTarantino's own homage to all
the films that Pam Greer did inthe 70s that made her really a
(46:08):
screen superstar, and she wasprobably only about 22 years old
when she did this movie.
This is very early in hercareer.
It's very fast-paced, verywell-directed and it is also a
4K scan off the camera negativefor this brand-new master, so it
(46:30):
looks a lot better than our DVDdid.
I will say that with 100%confidence.
So there is a very, very bigfan base for these particular
kind of films and if you look atwhat we're releasing this month
, this represents a very broadand varied group of releases
(46:58):
that appeal to differentaudiences, different likes and
dislikes, and you know there arepeople, of course anybody will
take the opportunity to, youknow, throw us under the bus.
Why are you releasing X whenthe fact is that X actually has
a huge fan base that the personcomplaining has no affiliation
(47:22):
with?
That other person likes adifferent film.
There are people that may wantthe Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse 1921 as well asHitman, and there will obviously
be other people who would notbe interested in one or not
interested in the other.
What we're trying to do isbring a varied group of
(47:47):
different pockets from ourlibrary that we feel will appeal
to someone and we're nevergoing to keep everybody happy
it's impossible but we're doingour best to serve the library
and serve the shareholders withprofits.
Tim Millard (48:04):
Yeah, and if you're a fan of Pam Greer, I know that
the 4K of Jackie Brown came out.
So what a great time to bereleasing this, because you know
those who are adding that totheir collection.
They can now get this inBlu-ray and I think that's part
of it.
You have such a diversity inyour catalog the Warner Brothers
catalog, the MGM catalog, youknow, just as you've talked
(48:26):
about in this podcast todaymonitoring and everything.
It's just a huge diversity.
So of course, you're not goingto be some niche company
releasing only one specificthing.
The Warner Archive is going tobe releasing the breadth of this
catalog, and so there's alwaysgoing to be something for
somebody that.
George Feltenstein (48:48):
That's the goal.
Tim Millard (48:49):
That's what we're trying to do well, speaking of
that, animation fans shouldn'tfeel left out, because we have
one more uh release and it's avery special hannah barbara
release that you have.
Maybe you could tell us aboutit.
George Feltenstein (49:05):
Well, this is a big one in that it does a
great deal to repair errors ofthe past.
This is the McGilligurrillaShow which premiered in January
of 1964 from Hanna-Barbera insyndication and there were 23
(49:26):
half hours.
Magilla is the gorilla for salein the window of Mr Peebles
know very well, and when priorcolleagues decided to release
(49:49):
the McGilligarilla show on DVDthey left out the theme song and
there was no legal reason to dothat.
I don't know what the thinkingwas, but it was like are you
kidding, right?
So what we've done is we'vescanned the original negative
(50:10):
Z4K.
We have not only included theoriginal theme song, the
openings and the end andeverything, but the McGillicuddy
Gorilla Show and the PeterPotamus Show were produced
pretty much at the same timeunder the sponsorship of the now
(50:31):
defunct Ideal Toy Corporationand Ideal Toys and their logo
were visibly seen in the mainand end titles and the word
ideal was even in the theme songfor both McGillig gorilla and
Peter Potamus.
Within a few years, everythingrelating to ideal visually,
(50:56):
because they were no longer thesponsor you'd hear
McGilligurilla.
They'd say he's really ideal,which is fine, but it was not
particularly saying the toycompany, but where you'd see the
Ideal Toy Corporation logo in aballoon.
Instead it was just McGill'sface.
(51:17):
Restored the ideal toy openingand closings, and that's a big
deal because people need to seethese and experience them as
they originally were.
And we did it for Peter Potamuson DVD about, I'm going to say,
nine years ago, maybe a littlemore than that.
(51:38):
But now we have these great,beautiful new masters from the
negatives and we also havebridges, little, you know,
little 20 second things that gobetween the titles and the
cartoons.
And all of these materials werebasically ignored or people were
(52:03):
too lazy to put the showstogether as they originally were
.
Um, it was only about thesegments.
So the segments withmcgilligarilla and his four
companion characters, there'sricochet, rabbit and droop
cartoons and there's Mushmouseand Pumpkinpuss cartoons, so you
(52:24):
get one cartoon of eachcharacter in a half-hour slot
program.
There's also a little musicalcurtain call before the end
credits and you didn't see thaton the previous release.
All of that was gone.
We went to great lengths to tryto piece together everything we
(52:47):
could and this extraneousmaterial was basically left for
dead and our preservation,restoration and mastering people
and I helped.
We were on a huge treasure huntto find these pieces, not just
(53:08):
for Megillah but for other showsthat we're putting back
together to the best of ourability.
Megillah and Peter Potamus cameout at the same time, around
the same time.
They were produced at the sametime, but Magilla ended up being
the breakout star, peterPotamus not so much.
(53:28):
And then Hanna-Barbera flippedthings around and they moved
Ricochet Rabbit into PeterPotamus and some of Peter
Potamus' compadres went into theMagilla show and everything got
very messed up.
So it was much easier to justkeep everything in segments and
that's how you saw them onCartoon Network and the USA
(53:50):
Express.
A great deal of work went intoreconstructing these shows as
they were, and we've got theeight additional McGillis
Gorilla cartoons, the eightadditional McGilligurilla
cartoons.
And then we have as bonusmaterial featurette that ran on
(54:13):
stations that were about topremiere McGilligurilla called
here Comes the Star or hereComes the Star, which shows how
they develop character and whatHanna-bara did.
It's really quite fascinatingand unique on its own.
Then there is a series ofinterviews with a guy named
jerry beck, who's this animationhistorian you may have heard of
(54:35):
right oh he's, he's part of it.
and then, uh, jerry eisenberg,an animator that worked on this
series, and alan melvinvin, whoprovided the voice for
McGilligurla.
They were all part of thisinterview.
All these interviews were shotfor the DVD release in 2004.
Interesting piece of film ofBill Hanna and Hanna-Barbera
(55:05):
musical director Hoyt Curtinsinging the McGilligorella theme
song.
So a nifty little bunch ofextras that are carried over
from the DVD on this Blu-ray setand I think the fans are going
to be very, very happy aboutthat.
Tim Millard (55:16):
Yeah, I mean, what a terrific release.
I mean I'm so excited that it'snow back to you know the way
that it should be, with thetheme song and all the things
that you've done for it, so it'sfantastic that the fans can now
get it in HD.
With all of these extras, thissounds like a home run and
(55:36):
hopefully people will step upand purchase this and it's kind
of like a a string now, georgeof great hannah barbera releases
that you've had in the lastthree, four months, um, and it's
going to continue.
George Feltenstein (55:51):
Is that right?
Okay, that will make a lot ofpeople really happy, and then
people who don't particularlycare for this stuff think it's
yeah.
Yeah, of course they need themand sorry we're we're we're
going to give a lot of fans whatthey want.
Yes, depending what fan groupyou're in or if you're in a lot
(56:11):
of them, my hope is that we'llhave something for everyone and
be able to continue on aconsistent cadence.
That will be rewarding for ourcustomers, to whom we are always
grateful.
Tim Millard (56:27):
Yeah, this is a great month, George.
Thanks for coming on the Extrasas always to take us through
this, because you just give somuch more background than a
simple press release or socialmedia post can do, and this
allows people to hear directlyfrom you about all that history
and the restoration andremastering that went into these
(56:48):
and what a great package theyare.
So thank you.
George Feltenstein (56:52):
Well, thank you, tim.
And I do want to again thankall my colleagues in our
preservation department, ourrestoration department, our
mastering team and our amazingcolorists and scanners at Warner
Brothers Motion Picture Imaging, because for many of these
projects, they've gone far abovethe call of duty to make them a
(57:16):
reality.
So if I was wearing a hat, I'dtip it to them, but I'm not
wearing a hat, right, right.
Tim Millard (57:29):
It's always great to hear from George directly
about these new Blu-rays thatare coming from the Warner
Archive.
There's just so muchinformation that we get directly
from George, so hope you'reenjoying them.
If you are and you haven't yetstarted following the show,
appreciate it if you would dothat at your favorite podcast
provider.
And just as a reminder, twotitles from January did move out
(57:50):
to that same March release date, and that is the TV series
Cheyenne and the film starringRyan Reynolds, just Friends.
So there's now a total of eightreleases for March.
As always, thanks for listeningto the Extras.
Stay slightly obsessed.
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