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DVD from Fox Cinema Archives November 2012

posted 12 years ago by hobnob53
12 replies | jump to latest

FCA, Fox's new line of classic films on DVD-R, is giving Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie its first-ever home video release later this month, November, 2012. Specific date of availability varies slightly depending on the site. Retail price is $19.99 and there are no extras.

This is an extremely rare, almost forgotten film that proved to be a real surprise when I first saw it years ago. It sounds like a silly comedy or musical, but rest assured, it's anything but. It's actually a rather serious and heartfelt drama about small town life over the fifty years from 1895-1945, exceptionally well acted and not at all what you'd expect. Hopefully this DVD-R release will finally give this fine film wider exposure and new and appreciative audiences.

[–] mrshvd3 12 years ago

I can't thank you enough for this information! I have a list of old movie titles for which I'm watching on DVD, and this one is at the top!

The last time I recall seeing it on TV was back when American Movie Classics was still a non-commercial channel, and their broadcast of it was horrible. It was so dark, I had to turn the "bright" adjustment all the way up on my TV in order to see it. But it was still a wonderful film.

Is there a website for Fox's classic film line? I'd love to look it over.

Thanks again for sharing this great news.

The opposite of "pro" being "con" explains why the opposite of PROgress is...

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

Hi mrshvd3,

As far as I know there's no specific web link to listings for Fox Cinema Archives, though there may be one on Fox's own webstie (I don't have a link for that).

However, you can find a list of the titles available on the FCA line on some of the sites that sell them. The two best are probably (1) Screen Archives Entertainment (screenarchives.com); go to the SAE site, click on the link for "Company Labels", and from there click on the Fox Cinema Archives link. It'll give you all the titles in reverse order of their release. (The latest batch is now on that site, and there are many good titles.)

Or (2), you can also get the information from Classicflix (classicflix.com). At the moment they have the announcement of the latest releases on their home page, from which you can get a link to the FCA line, which you can choose to view alphabetically or by release date (in either forward or reverse order). Or you can type in "fox cinema archives" in the search space.

I believe Amazon also has such a list, but in their case it's random and embedded with extraneous titles, as is the case with all their lists. Try the other two.

The FCA line has been a big disappointment in one regard: most of the CinemaScope films released on its line have come out in crummy pan & scan prints instead of letterboxed. This is inexplicable and has caused a lot of negative comment. Of course, this is not an issue with Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie, which is in standard screen format (1.37:1), but it is a drawback with several titles.

If you ever find a direct link to Fox about FCA let us know as a lot of people would like to register their anger at this pointless and unnecessary insistence on issuing widescreen films in p&s. But that (major) issue aside, most other FCA DVDs have been of very good quality, so the WTTSSN disc should be good.

I also remember seeing this on AMC about 20 years ago, when it was still a decent channel, but not since, and I'm looking forward to it. Hope the information above helps.

[–] mrshvd3 12 years ago

Hi, Hobnob53 --

Thanks so much for the information. After I posted the question to you, I did some Binging (entered "Fox Cinema Archives") and first thing I found was SAE, showing "Wait Till..." on their webpage, so your advice is right on the money. I'll also have a look at ClassicFlix.

Actually, I've ordered from SAE in the past -- the soundtrack CD from "The Bishop's Wife", I believe.

You can enter "Fox Cinema Archives" in Amazon's search box; "Wait Till..." doesn't come up, only a limited number of titles with (as you say) others mixed in.

If I come across a direct link to FCA, I will let you know.

Thank you again for your reply and the information.

mrshvd3

The opposite of "pro" being "con" explains why the opposite of PROgress is...

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

You're most welcome, and thank you.

By the way, you'll find FCA DVDs cheaper at dvdplanet.com (and classicflix) than at SAE. (I order from SAE a lot, mostly CDs, but their DVDs are full price.) At dvdplanet they're usually $3 or $4 or so off their list price ($19.99), and you can get free shipping.

[–] Aunt-Peg 11 years ago

I watched the Fox MOD I ordered from Amazon today and will like to warn people that the quality of the disc is appalling. It's so dark you can barely make out the actors alot of the time, particularly in the night scenes.

FOX have been releasing some hideous transfers through the MOD program and should had it all over to Warners to handle as Warners who take pride in the product they sell to the paying product.

But then what can one expect from a company (Fox) owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch.

[–] hobnob53 11 years ago

I haven't seen the WTTSSN DVD yet, but you're right that the quality of FCA's titles is very variable. Some are fine, some okay, but the worst aspect is that most of their CinemaScope releases have been issued in pan & scan, which is both pointless and inexplicable. They're putting out a lot of titles but they obviously don't give much of a damn about quality. (Plus the list of titles swings wildly between major productions and minor, and lousy, films of no interest.) Let's hope they improve.

[–] manage-932-700755 11 years ago

I always loved the film. Actually I would call it a drama/musical, although mostly drama. I loved the title song. David Wayne was excellent in the film. I taped it on VHS about 15-18 years ago; a that time it was not out on video. Hugh Marlowe was also good in the film. I never checked if the town- Sevillinois (sp?) was real; I assume not.

They don't make barber shops like they used to (lol). How many places can you still get even a shave?

[–] hobnob53 11 years ago

I wouldn't call it a musical in any sense: while there are songs, there are no musical numbers in it, in the way that there are in true musicals. Comedy-drama, perhaps (always an awkward description, but one that's apt for some films). Its title is very misleading in that you'd assume it was a musical, or at least a flat-out comedy, neither of which it is by a long shot. I also liked Hugh Marlowe very much; interesting to see him playing a heel.

For some reason I never taped it when it was being shown on AMC in the mid-90s, so I'm glad this DVD is out. But there is no such place as Sevillinois -- just a sort-of clever name for a town in a story whose protagonist is a barber and which is located in Illinois. I wonder how many people got its operatic overtones?!

[–] manage-932-700755 11 years ago

I gather you like the movie, Hobnob, just as I do. I consider it a "feel good" movie, similar in that regard to the different "My Wild Irish Rose."

I see your point abou thre musical classification. Wasn't that song and dance routine a "msical number"? Well, perhaps it's a strtch to say so. But I would calssify it as 80% drama and 20% musical; so if we disagree here is another frindly agree to disagree. I don't see too much comedy.

HUhg Marlowe- "12 O'Clock High;" "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie": " The Day the Earth Stood Still;" and wasn't he also in "All About Eve," As for Wayne, he did very well in "With a Song in My Heart." (or "Your Heart"; I forget which.

I've been meaning to order DVDs of some of my favorite films that I taped or had taped for me in the 1990s. "The Hard Way," one of my all time favorites. "My Wild Irish Rose," which my good friend Dan Bubbeo (lol) taped for me. Not sure if "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" (also taped for me by Dan)is available yet on DVD. Also some of the films of my second fasvorite classic actress- Frances Farmer, althouhg I do have many of them. "Exclusive was taped by and and sent to me by Dan, as well as his favorite Ty Power film- "Nightmare Alley."

By the way, Hobnob, O may have asked you this before, but what is your all time favorite classic film, and your favorite clasic actors and actresses? "12 Angry Mne" is my favorite classic film. Gene Tierney and Frances Farmer, are my first and second fave classic actresses. My favorite classic actors are a bit harder to rate, so I'll say James Cagney and Gary Cooper. I know you like Greg Peck, and I like him also.

[–] hobnob53 11 years ago

Good news first, manage: both I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now and My Wild Irish Rose are now available on DVD (from Fox Cinema Archives and Warner Archives, respectively), both fairly recent additions. Shop around for the best price (you should be able to get them for under $19 each) and enjoy! (Nightmare Alley has long been available on DVD, in case you didn't know.)

Wait Till, as we've said, is mainly a drama, though it has a little music and comedy. That's why I find its title so misleading. I've seen completely inappropriate or inaccurate descriptions of some films in their ad campaigns (calling Stalag 17 a comedy, or It's a Wonderful Life a romance picture), but seldom right in their titles.

David Wayne was a hugely talented performer, but he wasn't really a leading man-type: Wait Till was one of his very few leads. But here's a good trivia question for you: who was Marilyn Monroe's most frequent leading man? The answer (of course) -- David Wayne. They co-starred in five films at Fox. No one ever guesses that one. (By the way, you're right the first time: the other Wayne film is called With a Song in My Heart, after the song's title. Same year as this movie, 1952.)

I've always liked Hugh Marlowe, too. Not a great actor, but I found him appealing. He was indeed in All About Eve -- that and the other films you mentioned he made during his time as a contract player at Fox, 1949-1954. Check out Come to the Stable (1949), also just out from FCA, starring Loretta Young, Celeste Holm and Marlowe; a very sweet movie. My other favorite Marlowe films include his two 1956 sci-fi movies, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and World Without End. Burt Lancaster must have liked him; he later played small supporting roles in three of his movies: Elmer Gantry (1960, as a liberal minister); Bird Man of Alcatraz (1962, as a harsh prison warden); and Seven Days in May (1964, as a right-wing broadcaster who's part of the military's plot to overthrow the government).

My favorite classic films? Where to start? The Guns of Navarone, Ace in the Hole, Destination Moon, Executive Suite, The Man From Planet X, Anatomy of a Murder, Rio Bravo...I wouldn't know how to limit the list to, say, a quick 10 or so, and I'm certainly leaving out many titles. (12 Angry Men is also one of mine.) Favorite classic actors? Besides Peck, I'd say, in no particular order, James Stewart, John Wayne, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, David Niven...the usual suspects, probably nobody startling. Favorite classic actresses would include Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Deborah Kerr, and just so many others -- again, the usual suspects. (I'll leave out the men and women I don't particularly care for!)

Do you have favorite foreign films, or specific countries' films? I love Japanese cinema, and also Russian.

[–] manage-932-700755 11 years ago

Thanks for the DVD info. about two of my favorite musical bios- "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" and "My Wild Irish Rose." Dennis Morgan is one of my favorite classic actors. I've never been real big on musicals, but I do like musical bios, with "The Jolson Story" my all time favorite, as a big Jolson fan. Still, of straight musicals, I've always liked "Showboat" (especially the 1936 version), "In the Good Old Summertime," and some of Astaire's films.

I don't recall Huhg Marlowe in "Birdman" and "Seven Days in May," and they are two films I like a lot.

Regarding "Executive Suite," I'm a big fan of Cameron Hawley, the author of the book on which the film was based. Perhaps because my career has been in business as a management consultant, I've thoroughly enjoyed all four of Hawley's novels. The only other one brought to the screen was "Cash McCall."

I've always liked "Guns of Navarone." In addtion to Peck, I especially liked Niven's performance.

I agree on the actors; of your favorite actrsses, I also like Ms. Kerr, but my all time favorite is Gene Tierney.

I confess to not being up on foreign films.

[–] hobnob53 11 years ago

I got to like Al Jolson after watching The Jolson Story a couple of dozen times on NYC TV in the early 60s. I think I've mentioned that I host classic films every week during the summer and this past year I ran TJS, which everyone liked. Next summer, the sequel, Jolson Sings Again, which is also pretty good.

I'm divided on musicals -- many I like a lot, others I don't care for much at all. Mostly depends on the actors and songs. Astaire is my favorite, but I don't necessarily like all his films, either. Not a huge fan of Dennis Morgan: he's okay, amiable, but nothing more in my book. (I also don't care for the fact that in the 50s he was a big supporter of Joseph McCarthy, HUAC's "investigations" into Hollywood, and the blacklist.) I liked him best opposite Jack Carson, particularly in a semi-musical (more a comedy) called It's a Great Feeling with Doris Day. The boys play themselves, trying to break waitress Doris into movies, but the best thing is that the film has cameos by many Warner Bros. stars from 1949, from Joan Crawford to Edward G. Robinson to director Micheal Curtiz...and it features both Ronald Reagan, the newly ex-Mrs. Reagan (Jane Wyman), and their eight-year-old daughter Maureen!

Next time you watch Bird Man and Seven Days look for Hugh Marlowe. He doesn't have a lot of scenes, but he's definitely noticeable.

Cash McCall as a movie (never read the book) was certainly no Executive Suite. I've read that book but feel the film is much better, which isn't often the case. (Though I also think that's the case with The Guns of Navarone.)

I like Gene Tierney too, but I can't honestly say she's one of my favorites. Beautiful, though. I also liked her in one of her last films, and one of my faves, Advise & Consent.