I hope that whoever is holding the copyright of this movie or Paramount decides to release this movie on DVD - hopefully with bonuses - deleted scenes & other movie footage on the movie and it's stars. It should not be forgotten.
shareUniversal owns the rights to this and most of Mitchell Leisen's other great movies like 'Midnight' and 'Easy Living'.....they're the ones you would need to email to urge a DVD release....
shareThank you for the info. I will write to them with a request. All the best!
Ginetta
I would also love to see this one come out on DVD. I taped it off TCM and watch it A LOT. I can't get enough of Boyer's Georges Iscovescu character. Where can I find a man like that?! The "reformed" Georges of course.
shareParamount ought to package this with other Olivia de Havilland films at that studio: HOLD BACK THE DAWN, THE WELL-GROOMED BRIDE, TO EACH HIS OWN, THE HEIRESS. She had some of her best roles away from her home studio, Warner Bros.
Both of her Oscar-winning roles were at Paramount.
Yes I agree.
shareHi,
I agree with you. I'd love to see this movie released on DVD with bonuses as well as To Each His Own and and The Heiress (which I think is one of her best roles - I can't understand that they haven't release it yet). I'm also a big fan of Charles Boyer. I want to write to Paramount to suggest these movies to them - do you have their address? It would be nice if many people would send these suggestions to Paramount - this way they would release them. What do you think?
Ginetta
Also, it would be great to have de Havilland do the commentary on her two Oscar-winning performances. I'm sure there's a lot to reveal about the making of TO EACH HIS OWN and THE HEIRESS...but maybe she's saving it for her autobiography.
shareHi,
Do you know if she's writing her autobiography? If I find the address for Paramount, I'll post it here in case you want to write to them for suggestions. Thanks.
Ginetta
She's been working on her autobiography for years--don't know when or if she will ever finish it. She was such a big part of Hollywood's Golden Age, so I hope she gets back to work on it.
shareWell that's interesting. I hope she does publish it. I wonder what she had to say working with Charles Boyer in Hold Back the Dawn.
Ginetta
She loved working with Boyer. He was one of her favorite male co-stars. In fact, she showed the love in her eyes too much in an early scene from the movie and it had to be re-shot for the director who wanted her to show more restraint at that point in the story.
shareHi, Thanks for the information. I would love to talk to Olivia De Havilland and get more details on the shooting of this film. Maybe she'll write about it in her autobiography. Do you have her address to write to her?
Ginetta
Ginetta
I, too, am hoping Ms. De Havilland will write about Boyer in her autobiography. Hold Back the Dawn is probably my favorite movie of all time and I think it is a terrible shame more people have not seen it. A DVD release would be great but seems pretty far-fetched at this point. A letter writing campaign to Universal might help. What do you think? If you love Boyer in HBTD you really owe it to yourself to see History is Made at Night if you haven't already. It's a killer!
shareHi, Thanks for the information. I would love to talk to Olivia De Havilland and get more details on the shooting of this film. Maybe she'll write about it in her autobiography. Do you have her address to write to her?
Ginetta
Mdme. Olivia DeHavilland
BP 156-75764
Paris, France, Cedex 16
This is NOT her home address, but I have successfully written to her here
not so long ago.
Tell her "Jerry" sends his love.
Hi,
Thank you very very much! I will write to her. All the best!
Ginetta
My Pleasure Ginetta. She WILL write. Give her time.
Regards,
Jerry
Hi,
Thanks- I will ask her about the filming of "Hold Back the Dawn" as it's one of my favorite movies and her experience working with Charles Boyer. Do you think that she'll want to respond to this? Thank you.
Ginetta
She may not go into detail, as her replies these days tend to be brief "Thank You's". She sent me a signed photo once, a 4 x 5 of her as Melanie Wilkes and personalized it to me. Small enough to fit into her stationary, which is blue.
The Boyer details might be in her forever forthcoming memoirs.
I think she'd be happy just to hear from you and know she is in your thoughts.
She has made personal references to a mutual friend she and I had, so our letters may have had some more substance. Maybe she'll mention Boyer for you.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Regards,
Jerry
Thanks Jerry - I'll write to her and we'll see what happens.
All the best,
Ginetta
She's been rejecting all autograph requests since the '80s with the claim that she's too busy writing her autobiography to sign anything. Puh-LEEZE, by this time her book must be twice the length of Margaret Mitchell's GWTW.
shareThank you - I have already found one. All the best.
Ginetta
This film was once very well known - with Oscar nominations and critical praise. But in the age of home theatre, with no release in any format, this great picture has now become obscure. It's not right. Billy Wilder's final script before graduating to writer/director features his delicious touch in spades. 'Hold Back The Dawn' should not be relegated to the dustbin! There's an audience out there waiting to discover this gem. Wake up Paramount!
shareI totally agree with you... but when will Paramount or any other studio release this. Do you know where we can write to request this?
All I can suggest is a letter to Paramount. There's also voting for its release at the TCM website and offering it as a suggested future release at criterian.com.
shareThanks for the info. Will do.
shareJesus Christ, it's been long established that Paramount no longer owns this film. For decades, Universal has owned exclusive rights to the pre-1950 Paramount library of films, and they've released damn few of them. Why is everyone talking about writing Paramount?
shareI believe that this is one of many films that were sold to Universal/Revue for showing on television. If that's correct, then Universal owns the rights. Double Indemnity is going to be released on DVD this summer, by Universal, and it's an original Paramount release from the early 40s too. Maybe the info on *DI* would lead you to the decision-makers for reissues. As for me, I've been deprived of seeing so many of the films of my favorite actress that I actually ate up *They Died With Their Boots On*! But her best work was done at Paramount and I hope you can persuade Universal to recognize that.
shareThanks - I'll see if I can reach these people and suggest this title to them.
Now that Warner's has obtained the home theatre rights to some 600 Paramount titles, perhaps a long-overdue release of this great film is forthcoming!
shareI don't know if a DVD has been released in the US in the meanwhile... But tonight I have watched the Italian DVD of this great movie: it is of very decent quality, and with the English track. So glad to see it after 20 years... still the masterpiece I remembered! Just beware that it's a R2 DVD...
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