I find it neglectful of Fox Home Entertainment not to be releasing more of Grable's films on DVD. She was one of the top film stars of the 1940s. Fox has done right by both Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda, but for some reason has left Betty Grable behind. There are a few of her films available, but its just a small sampling of her work. Anyone know why Fox hasn't done better in this regard?
shareIt's economics! Duh! Grable films released so far haven't sold as well as the others. If Tin Pan Alley sold, it's more because of Alice Faye. Grable may have been a top star for several years and enjoyable to the audiences of her day, but most of her films don't hold up. Alice Faye has classics like Alexander's Ragtime Band, On The Avenue,In Old Chicago, and Hello Frisco Hello to her credit and she was much more talented than Grable. Grable was mostly a fun time gal in film, but the movie buffs who will buy the classics are more interested in collecting the films of more talented performers. Carmen Miranda was a unique performer and her production numbers were surreal and one of a kind. The talentedsinger or the surreal performer still has relevance to many. Betty Grable was an ordinary personality of her time. She doesn't appeal to audiences today in the way that others do. If we were to follow your logic, Joe E. Brown should also have a big collection because he was a top star of the thirties.
shareBarry,
You may be right, I don't know. But, Betty Grable was one of the most important performers in history. Every G.I. wanted her for his best girl. Every woman wanted her for her best friend.
"Faye was much more talented than Grable."
1. Singing. Faye but Betty could sing and sing well.
2. Dancing. Grable. No contest
3. Acting. They were both proficient.
Other factors:
1. Build including legs. Grable 10, Faye 1
2. Personality. Grable
3. Beauty. They were both beautiful.
She was given a box set with four films. Unfortunately, Fox also released every film individually which didn't give an incentive to spend the $44.99 on the box set. The set didn't sell well.
The only upside is that Fox Movie Channel seems to play Grable's films the most, sometimes even more than Marilyn Monroe. HBO/Cinemax also airs 1940s Fox films in their early morning slots and I have seen several Grable films pop up. Your best bet may be to make a copy to DVD for yourself. At this point, the only way we will see these films on DVD is if they are released in DVD-R format in some kind of DVD on demand program like Warner Brothers Archive. And even those retail for $19.99 each.
I love Betty Grable. I love her films. My favorite is Moon Over Miami. I saw it on TCM once and loved it. After a year, and not seeing it play again, I ordered it from Barnes and Noble. So now I have it on DVD. I also like Mother Wore Tights.
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