Betty Grable on Bluray and DVD

[UnionJackMix]

Let's celebrate this icon and top box-office draw of her times.

Sadly underrepresented on BlurayDisc and even on DVD.
As such please find both formats below and I would appreciate any updates in case I miss any, of titles to be released on BD or DVD.
I haven't listed all versions of each title, but only the main or first one. There aren't many versions anyway so until such time, I guess it's good enough.
https://www.blu-ray.com/Betty-Grable/135016/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Grable

Bluray Disc titles:

Pre-Starring roles
Cavalcade, 1933, Fox Film Corporation - Fox
The Gay Divorcee, 1934, RKO Radio Pictures - IVC
Follow The Fleet, 1936, RKO Radio Pictures - IVC


Starring roles
I Wake Up Screaming, 1941, 20th Century Fox - Kino Lorber
Coney Island, 20th Century Fox,1943 - Fox Cinema Archives (OOP)
Pin Up Girl, 20th Century Fox, 1944 - Twilight Time (OOP)
Mother Wore Tights, 20th Century Fox, 1947 - Twilight Time (OOP)
The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, 20th Century Fox, 1949 - Kino Lorber
How To Marry A Millionaire, 20th Century Fox, 1953 - Fox


DVD titles, if not upgraded to BD*:

Whoopee, 1930, United Artists - Warner Archive Collection MOD
Probation, 1932, Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation - Reel Vault MOD - Synergy Entertainment
The Age Of Consent, 1932, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Bros
Hold 'em Jail, 1932, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Bros (part of the Wheeler and Woolsey: RKO Comedy Classics Collection: Volume 1)
The Kid From Spain, 1932, United Artists - Warner Archive Collection MOD
Melody Cruise, 1933, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Archive Collection MOD
The Gay Divorcee, 1934, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Bros*
The Nitwits, 1935, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Bros (part of the Wheeler and Woolsey: RKO Comedy Classics Collection: Volume 1)
Old Man Rhythm, 1935, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Archive Collection MOD
Follow The Fleet, 1936, RKO Radio Pictures - Warner Bros*
Pigskin Parade, 1936, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals)
College Swing, 1938, Universal - Universal (Vault Series)
Give Me A Sailor, 1938, Universal - Universal
Down Argentine Way, 1940, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals) (also part of The Betty Grable Collection Vol.1)
Moon Over Miami, 1941, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals) (also part of The Betty Grable Collection Vol.1)
A Yank In The R.A.F., 1941, 20th Century Fox - Fox (War Classics)
Song Of The Islands, 1942, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
Footlight Serenade, 1942, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD (OOP)
Springtime In The Rockies, 1942, 20th Century Fox -Fox MOD
Sweet Rosie O' Grady, 1943, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
Wing And A Prayer, 1944, 20th Century Fox - Fox (War Classics) (edited footage from her appearance in Tin Pan Alley from 1940, which is to this day unreleased on DVD or BD, hence its inclusion here)
Four Jills In A Jeep, 1945, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals) (also part of The Alice Faye Collection Volume 2)
The Dolly Sisters, 1945, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals) (also part of The Betty Grable Collection Vol.1)
Do You Love Me, 1946, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, 1947, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
That Lady In Ermine, 1948, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
Wabash Avenue, 1950, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
My Blue Heaven, 1950, 20th Century Fox - Fox (Marquee Musicals) (also part of The Betty Grable Collection Vol.1)
Call Me Mister, 1951, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
Meet Me After The Show, 1951, 20th Century Fox - Fox MOD
Three For The Show, 1955, Columbia Pictures - Sony MOD (this is her last movie that was released to home video. Her actual last one, How To Be Very Very Popular, a sort of follow-up to How To Marry A Millionaire, and my personal most-wanted on any format, co-starring Sheree North, has never been released on home video in any format.



Need help from forum: there is this listing on DeepDiscount but no information on what Betty Grable short is included here: Rare Shorts From The Golden Age Of Hollywood, Volume 2 (https://www.deepdiscount.com/rare-sh...2/089218801999 )
Most wanted:

[whiteberry]

I wish we could have gotten more of her Fox movies released on blu-ray before Disney bought Fox.

Since winter will be here in a few months, here's my favorite scene from Coney Island:

Batty Grable's Winter Show - YouTube

[UnionJackMix]

What's the deal with Coney Island, I never saw a Bluray from their Cinema Archives series, only DVDs. Was it a short-lived thing or only this title? Somehow I also thought, why would they ever discontinue a MOD title, it's a contradiction!

[Beckford]

I'm always impressed at how effective Betty Grable was in her two non musicals from 1941 - "I Wake Up Screaming" and "A Yank in the R.A.F.". Really pleasing work. I own the former on Blu-ray. Also "Mother Wore Tights" and "How to Marry a Millionaire". But my favorite Grable film is "The Farmer Takes a Wife" from '53. It flopped in its day and - as far as home video goes - I don't think it made it past VHS. But i think the movie's a real charmer - filmed outdoors with musical numbers nicely integrated into the plot - a definite departure from her usual formula. There's an original score by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields. And I think leading man Dale Robertson's a real plus. He even gets to sing the show's loveliest song "With the Sun Warm Upon Me" and does a fine job. Guess we'll never see it on Blu-ray. But I'll continue to dream.

[HaroldnMaude]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

What's the deal with Coney Island, I never saw a Bluray from their Cinema Archives series, only DVDs. Was it a short-lived thing or only this title? Somehow I also thought, why would they ever discontinue a MOD title, it's a contradiction!

It's not really MOD, since it is a pressed disc. More like a limited release. Must have been something they briefly were trying out to see what demand would be. I think this is the only other one I own:

[UnionJackMix]

Ok OP has been completed.
I might have a look to see if I can provide a VHS (or even LaserDisc) section for those titles that were not upgraded to DVD/BD, for those who love her so much and would like to get all her movies as I intend to do. Might be harder and there is no real database for this and there might be local releases that aren't easy to find.

[HaroldnMaude]

There are more titles that were released as dvd's through the Fox Cinema Archives line, though they may not be included in this sites archive:
That Lady in Ermine
Song of the Islands
Meet Me After the Show
Call Me Mister

[Akibiyori]

Betty Grable also appeared in a few of Eddie Cantor’s early talkies as a Goldwyn Girl, most notably Whoopee!, which is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by HaroldnMaude

There are more titles that were released as dvd's through the Fox Cinema Archives line, though they may not be included in this sites archive:
That Lady in Ermine
Song of the Islands
Meet Me After the Show
Call Me Mister

Originally Posted by Akibiyori

Betty Grable also appeared in a few of Eddie Cantor’s early talkies as a Goldwyn Girl, most notably Whoopee!, which is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

Thank you! I will look them up and update the OP. While udpating it I forgot I meant to check titles on DeedDiscount and amazon for missing titles.
Edit: I see they are listed here but there is no cast for any of those titles! I was able to add some case to That Lady in Ermine, but there is no actual link to edit cast and crew on the others. Initially I thought because someone might have just created the entries to help me out but they are small numbers so what's the deal, how can I add cast?
I have now added on DVD listings I could find on DD, but I see that sadly there are discountinued titles from the Fox MOD Cinema Archives series, which I just don't understand why they would do it. I'll check those later.

[UnionJackMix]

Finished. All DVD titles have been added using searches in amazon and DeepDiscount. I will do another broader-based search when I have a moment.
In the meantime let's watch how beautiful she was when she stopped making movies:

Betty Grable - Let Me Entertain You, 1959 - YouTube

Betty Grable - Stepping Out With My Baby, 1972 - YouTube

[HaroldnMaude]

That second clip says 1972, so she was 55 years old, and would be dead the next year due to lung cancer.
What a terrible thing that Grable & so many of her generation smoked, unaware of the damage they were doing to themselves. She might have otherwise performed well into the 1980's.
For comparison, Madonna is currently 62 years old, and did a string of concerts last year - though some had to be cancelled due to leg strains from all the dancing she did in the show.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by HaroldnMaude

That second clip says 1972, so she was 55 years old, and would be dead the next year due to lung cancer.
What a terrible thing that Grable & so many of her generation smoked, unaware of the damage they were doing to themselves. She might have otherwise performed well into the 1980's.
For comparison, Madonna is currently 62 years old, and did a string of concerts last year - though some had to be cancelled due to leg strains from all the dancing she did in the show.

Indeed, so sad to think she would have been gone shortly after, but at least not as painful as seeing frail Susan Hayward at the Oscars.
And you're right, all these stars taken away from us so early, but I don't know if it's just smoking, cancer is in the genes as well, look at Bette Davis!
I'm also doing this filmography to try and have a clear separation between Betty Grable and Ginger Rogers, because somehow I always confuse them and need to think of who I'm thinking of, after all they were both fabulous dancers, comedians, blonde, similar age. Difference is Ginger lived longer although last years wheelchair bound.

Also wanted to mention how 40s for women back then is what 50 or 60 is for women in this day and age. If you think how society (or at least movie society) considered these women over, even Bette Davis at All About Eve stage where she was 42! She did look much older though, and so did many others, which doesn't help their case. I guess it's also grooming and care products, we age slower these days.

Madonna I think is in a class of her own. She is the last survivor of those mammoth icons from the 80s, simply because, as she put it many times, did not do drugs and lives a very healthy lifestyle, and why critics hold it against her that she has not changed what and how she does it.

[UnionJackMix]

I received my first batch of Grable DVD (MODs) and so far only popped most discs in to have a quick look and I watched the trailer for Three For The Show from 1955.
I was very surprised (in a negative way) to see that there are two specific scenes/numbers that are so similar to Marilyn Monroe ones:

1) Grable hurries down a flight of stairs just like Monroe was (carried down) in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, only that in this case the set is blue and not pink. You all know that's quite a specific scene and this one looks very much like it and it was done what 2 years after Blondes

2) Grable has a number where she is dancing and wearing a costume that is almost identical to Monroe's number Heat Wave in There's No Business Like Show Business from 1954. It's not only the costume that is very very similar, but also the way Grable dances and holds up the dress in her hands, but also the tone of the song, it's like a copy!

Three For The Show - 1955 HD Film Trailer - YouTube

Three for the Show - Betty Grable, Marge Champion /film hd(1080P) - YouTube

[HaroldnMaude]

Both films were choreographed by the same person, Jack Cole. Like many choreographers, he had signature moves that he reused.

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

[Show spoiler]I received my first batch of Grable DVD (MODs) and so far only popped most discs in to have a quick look and I watched the trailer for Three For The Show from 1955.
I was very surprised (in a negative way) to see that there are two specific scenes/numbers that are so similar to Marilyn Monroe ones:

1) Grable hurries down a flight of stairs just like Monroe was (carried down) in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, only that in this case the set is blue and not pink. You all know that's quite a specific scene and this one looks very much like it and it was done what 2 years after Blondes

2) Grable has a number where she is dancing and wearing a costume that is almost identical to Monroe's number Heat Wave in There's No Business Like Show Business from 1954. It's not only the costume that is very very similar, but also the way Grable dances and holds up the dress in her hands, but also the tone of the song, it's like a copy!

Three For The Show - 1955 HD Film Trailer - YouTube
Three for the Show - Betty Grable, Marge Champion /film hd(1080P) - YouTube

[UnionJackMix]

Yeah but in the second case, with almost identical costumes?

[oak table]

I was browsing on Amazon, and found the Betty Grable Collection Volume 1 (DVD, 2006). I did a couple of searches (Amazon, Ebay) to find a volume 2, but it looks like they never got around to releasing it.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by oak table

I was browsing on Amazon, and found the Betty Grable Collection Volume 1 (DVD, 2006). I did a couple of searches (Amazon, Ebay) to find a volume 2, but it looks like they never got around to releasing it.

I can confirm that sadly they never released a second volume.

[javi92]

Watched the TT disc of Pin UP Girl last night. As far as huge stars of the Golden Age go, she has to be one of the most underrepresented on blu-ray.

[UnionJackMix]

Are there any updates to be done here?