Second Chance (1953) [No 3D Blu-ray]

[T. Warren Scollan]

I have two bad DVD's of this one. An analogue transfer from a TCM vhs with it's typical (by today's standards) rather poor image quality and a PAL with a pretty sharp image, but all PINK in color (Eastman print) and forced Spanish subtitles. Have good reason to believe that this might be possible from Warners soon. They're due for something "golden" soon and their last one being "Kiss Me Kate" tells me that they're not above "Cherry Picking" from all their owned titles, not just those they originally did.

The film stars two men who became giants in the industry, Robert Mitchum and Jack Palance. Filmed in the pretty part of Mexico in "Glorious Technicolor", it's a visual delight and a good thriller. All under the steady hand of director Rudolph Mate. I think this would be Warners best "Cherry Pick" choice.

Here's hoping----------

[T. Warren Scollan]

Anybody have an opinion on this?????

[robtadrian]

I was lucky enough to see Second Chance in 35mm at the Film Forum November 19th where there was a pretty good turnout. All of the 35mm screenings were all Universal properties except for Second Chance and Stranger Wore A Gun. I had a feeling those movies were chosen to gauge public interest in future blu-ray release but apparently there are issues with Revenge of the Creature and Glass Web so probably not. But as 2nd C was billed as the first 3d feature with major stars and the first to be filmed outside Hollywood as well as being very good it's probably high up in priorities...

[BleedOrange11]

Anything from Warner would be welcome. I haven't seen Second Chance yet, nor Phantom of the Rue Morgue. I'd "cherry pick" The Bounty Hunter and would love to see it released for the first time ever in 3D. It's a solid mystery. The Command was good too although we've discussed its restoration challenges at length already. I loved its locations and action scenes, and the unlikely hero + romance drama was tolerable enough. Was not a fan of The Charge at Feather River although I'd buy it to see the photography in 3D. The slapstick humor and supporting characters are pretty cringe-inducing. The Moonlighter, Dangerous Mission, and Arena are lesser possibilities.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by T. Warren Scollan

Anybody have an opinion on this?????

Jack Palance and Robert Mitchum in 3D? I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[Interdimensional]

Back when it seemed that Warners were releasing vintage 3-D on an almost yearly basis, Second Chance was just about top of my list. It seemed like a strong possibility.

I wish they'd get back on track.

[robtadrian]

I'm sort of concerned about Warner as both House of Wax and Dial M recently went way down in price as well as their Wizard of Oz conversion also going for cheap; and if this was done to get rid of product or stimulate interest. Maybe the success of Universal's ICFOS will spur them (?)

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

Anything from Warner would be welcome. I haven't seen Second Chance yet, nor Phantom of the Rue Morgue. I'd "cherry pick" The Bounty Hunter and would love to see it released for the first time ever in 3D. It's a solid mystery. The Command was good too although we've discussed its restoration challenges at length already. I loved its locations and action scenes, and the unlikely hero + romance drama was tolerable enough. Was not a fan of The Charge at Feather River although I'd buy it to see the photography in 3D. The slapstick humor and supporting characters are pretty cringe-inducing. The Moonlighter, Dangerous Mission, and Arena are lesser possibilities.

Having never seen "The Bounty Hunter" in ANY form I'm going to trust your judgement on that. I agree on "The Command" and lament its difficulties. "Moonlighter" has major stars, but I don't think it's that good. Saw "Dangerous Mission" in polaroid 2 strip and I've always felt the Victor Manure was an underated actor---plus it's got Vincent Price. Leonard Maltin has always said that it looks like it was edited with a chain saw and I tend to agree, but I still like it.

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by Interdimensional

Back when it seemed that Warners were releasing vintage 3-D on an almost yearly basis, Second Chance was just about top of my list. It seemed like a strong possibility.

I wish they'd get back on track.

I'd have to disagree about Warners yearly releases of vintage 3D. They did "Dial M" in the fall of 2012, the "House of Wax" a year later, and then another year and a half for "Kiss Me Kate" in the Spring of 2015, and nothing since. I don't consider "Jaws" or other later titles of theirs as really "Vintage". I'm just talking about all the "Golden Age" titles they own (more than anybody else) and at their present and past rate it's going to be another 18 years or so!!!!

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by T. Warren Scollan

I'd have to disagree about Warners yearly releases of vintage 3D. They did "Dial M" in the fall of 2012, the "House of Wax" a year later, and then another year and a half for "Kiss Me Kate" in the Spring of 2015, and nothing since. I don't consider "Jaws" or other later titles of theirs as really "Vintage". I'm just talking about all the "Golden Age" titles they own (more than anybody else) and at their present and past rate it's going to be another 18 years or so!!!!

I was only talking about the first 3 titles you list here.

There's a year between the first two, and then a year and 5 months between the second and third. Not enough precedent to establish a pattern, but I was hoping we'd get a 4th movie a year after Kate. Didn't happen. The more time elapses, the less optimistic I become.

According to Bob F, Warner's have twelve 3-D features unreleased on 3D-Bluray. So even if they'd kept pace at 1 per year, it'd still take over a decade, and chances are the market will be very different at that stage.

At this point there's not really a whole lot to allay concerns about WB 3-D. But they could announce something totally out of the blue at just about any time of their choosing. I wouldn't care if it was out-of-step with my armchair internet predictions!

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by Interdimensional

I was only talking about the first 3 titles you list here.

There's a year between the first two, and then a year and 5 months between the second and third. Not enough precedent to establish a pattern, but I was hoping we'd get a 4th movie a year after Kate. Didn't happen. The more time elapses, the less optimistic I become.

According to Bob F, Warner's have twelve 3-D features unreleased on 3D-Bluray. So even if they'd kept pace at 1 per year, it'd still take over a decade, and chances are the market will be very different at that stage.

At this point there's not really a whole lot to allay concerns about WB 3-D. But they could announce something totally out of the blue at just about any time of their choosing. I wouldn't care if it was out-of-step with my armchair internet predictions!

Agreed:

But it's now been a year and 9 months since KMK and since there's been no prerelease announcement yet, we're looking at least 2 years and maybe more. Warners have 5 left of their own, one, previously discussed which probably won't EVER happen, one left from MGM, and all 6 of RKO's. One RKO, "Louisiana Purchase", we'll probably never see in 3D. Who wants to pay for and watch a 60 year old feature length travelogue?

One encouraging thing: Bob F. has mentioned the crew at Warners has said that they are committed to releasing those 3D catalogue titles. So I guess EVENTUALLY --------------------

P.S. You heard some of mine; but I missed your "armchair internet predictions." I'd love to hear them.

[robtadrian]

One RKO, "Louisiana Purchase", we'll probably never see in 3D. Who wants to pay for and watch a 60 year old feature length travelogue?

I for one definitely and probably the same audience for Flicker Alley's Cinerama discs such as Windjammer and Cinerama Holiday.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by T. Warren Scollan

Agreed:

But it's now been a year and 9 months since KMK and since there's been no prerelease announcement yet, we're looking at least 2 years and maybe more. Warners have 5 left of their own, one, previously discussed which probably won't EVER happen, one left from MGM, and all 6 of RKO's. One RKO, "Louisiana Purchase", we'll probably never see in 3D. Who wants to pay for and watch a 60 year old feature length travelogue?

One encouraging thing: Bob K. has mentioned the crew at Warners has said that they are committed to releasing those 3D catalogue titles. So I guess EVENTUALLY --------------------

P.S. You heard some of mine; but I missed your "armchair internet predictions." I'd love to hear them.

As I understood it, and I may be wrong, (I forget where I read this); WB are committed to restoring just about their entire film catalog, eventually. But the department that decides what to restore next makes those decisions independently from the home video part of the company. They make their decisions under different criteria. So the importance of the film, and the urgency of the restoration and the expense involved are weighed up. I'm not sure where commercial concerns come into the equation. There also seems to be a quality control issue, where they want to maintain certain standards, but as a result they tend to avoid movies where those standards can't easily be achieved due to issues with the film elements.

My armchair predictions probably aren't much different from your own. I've been pushing for Second Chance, for obvious reasons. Phantom of the Rue Morgue I'd also like to see.

Although for the sake of variety, I thought perhaps they should release one of their 3-D westerns next. Considering the relative quantity of 3-D westerns in the 1950s, it's amazing that not a single one has made it so far.

My initial suggestion there was Charge at Feather River, but The Moonlighter and The Bounty Hunter would also seem to be good options (although I believe Bounty Hunter was never released 3-D and may not be as ready to go as other titles).

So I arrived at a very speculative list.

Shortlist for next release:

Second Chance
The Charge at Feather River
The Moonlighter
Phantom of the Rue Morgue


Least Likely:

Son of Sinbad
Louisiana Territory
The Command

Who knows?

The Bounty Hunter
Arena
Devil's Canyon
The French Line
Dangerous Mission

So long as they move forward with some of them, I certainly don't mind being wrong. RKO and WB were solid studios in their day and any of these titles would be welcome.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by robtadrian

One RKO, "Louisiana Purchase", we'll probably never see in 3D. Who wants to pay for and watch a 60 year old feature length travelogue?

I for one definitely and probably the same audience for Flicker Alley's Cinerama discs such as Windjammer and Cinerama Holiday.

It's easier than ever to travel nowadays, so 60 year old travelogs may seem redundant to some.

But as the saying goes 'the past is a foreign country'. 1950s Mardi Gras in New Orleans might just be worth the ticket. Vintage 3-D can be like stepping into a time machine. It's about as close as you're going to get!

[BleedOrange11]

From what I've read, the optical effects are finished in 3D for The Bounty Hunter. It should be as ready as the others, and it's a much better movie than The Charge at Feather River. Very tightly directed by Andre De Toth. Get it out there in 3D, WB! It's probably the best one they're sitting on.

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by Interdimensional

As I understood it, and I may be wrong, (I forget where I read this); WB are committed to restoring just about their entire film catalog, eventually. But the department that decides what to restore next makes those decisions independently from the home video part of the company. They make their decisions under different criteria. So the importance of the film, and the urgency of the restoration and the expense involved are weighed up. I'm not sure where commercial concerns come into the equation. There also seems to be a quality control issue, where they want to maintain certain standards, but as a result they tend to avoid movies where those standards can't easily be achieved due to issues with the film elements.

My armchair predictions probably aren't much different from your own. I've been pushing for Second Chance, for obvious reasons. Phantom of the Rue Morgue I'd also like to see.

Although for the sake of variety, I thought perhaps they should release one of their 3-D westerns next. Considering the relative quantity of 3-D westerns in the 1950s, it's amazing that not a single one has made it so far.

My initial suggestion there was Charge at Feather River, but The Moonlighter and The Bounty Hunter would also seem to be good options (although I believe Bounty Hunter was never released 3-D and may not be as ready to go as other titles).

So I arrived at a very speculative list.

Shortlist for next release:

Second Chance
The Charge at Feather River
The Moonlighter
Phantom of the Rue Morgue


Least Likely:

Son of Sinbad
Louisiana Territory
The Command

Who knows?

The Bounty Hunter
Arena
Devil's Canyon
The French Line
Dangerous Mission

So long as they move forward with some of them, I certainly don't mind being wrong. RKO and WB were solid studios in their day and any of these titles would be welcome.

I pretty much agree with your list. One thing more to consider: if the quality of the source materials is an issue as you say, then I believe it might tend to push Warner away from their own films (and "Louisiana Purchase") and towards the RKO and MGM titles they own.

Their color titles are all done in "Warnercrapollacolor" and it cost them a lot of extra time and expense in the restoration of "Dial 'M' for Murder" and "House of Wax". The RKO titles are all Technicolor, except for "Louisiana Purchase" done by Pathe, the same kind of crapolla Eastman process. The one remaining remaining MGM title, "Arena", was done in Anscocolor and the only thing "Ansco" about that is the OCN. It's all Technicolor after the OCN. We've all seen the results of that kind of color work in the restoration of "Kiss Me Kate", done the same way. And you can bet that "Kate' cost Warner a lot less the "DMurder" or "Wax". I believe all this is likely to have some effect on Warner's decisions.

P.S. Vincent Price and a lot of buxom volupious scantily clad women? I hope you're wrong about "Son of Sinbad". (LOL)

[BleedOrange11]

That's right. I forget that Warner spends $300K per 3D restoration when the Archive does it for 12K. That's a much bigger investment, even if some of that extra is warranted, going toward restoring the WarnerColor.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by T. Warren Scollan

I pretty much agree with your list. One thing more to consider: if the quality of the source materials is an issue as you say, then I believe it might tend to push Warner away from their own films (and "Louisiana Purchase") and towards the RKO and MGM titles they own.

Their color titles are all done in "Warnercrapollacolor" and it cost them a lot of extra time and expense in the restoration of "Dial 'M' for Murder" and "House of Wax". The RKO titles are all Technicolor, except for "Louisiana Purchase" done by Pathe, the same kind of crapolla Eastman process. The one remaining remaining MGM title, "Arena", was done in Anscocolor and the only thing "Ansco" about that is the OCN. It's all Technicolor after the OCN. We've all seen the results of that kind of color work in the restoration of "Kiss Me Kate", done the same way. And you can bet that "Kate' cost Warner a lot less the "DMurder" or "Wax". I believe all this is likely to have some effect on Warner's decisions.

That's a good point, and one I hadn't given sufficient weight to. And it can't be denied the colour work on Kate looks incredibly vivid, hard to believe such vibrancy from a 60 year old film. Arena wouldn't be my top choice, but if it was seen as low-hanging fruit where they could get it to look that good without too much trouble or expense, then I'd say they might as well go ahead.

I hope the RKO titles are in relatively good shape.

As for Son of Sinbad, I recall even Bob F posted that he'd more or less given up on ever seeing that in 3-D. For someone as patient and persistent, that says a lot. I don't think it's even been released on dvd.

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by Interdimensional

That's a good point, and one I hadn't given sufficient weight to. And it can't be denied the colour work on Kate looks incredibly vivid, hard to believe such vibrancy from a 60 year old film. Arena wouldn't be my top choice, but if it was seen as low-hanging fruit where they could get it to look that good without too much trouble or expense, then I'd say they might as well go ahead.

I hope the RKO titles are in relatively good shape.

As for Son of Sinbad, I recall even Bob F posted that he'd more or less given up on ever seeing that in 3-D. For someone as patient and persistent, that says a lot. I don't think it's even been released on dvd.

Sorry to hear about Bob's post for "Son of Sinbad". That's one I missed and it bodes ill. There is (or was) a VHS of "Sinbad". I did hear Bob say last that Warner had all the RKO titles complete but not yet digitally scanned. You can bet that any Technicolor inhibition dye transfer prints they might have will be in excellent image and color shape, that's the nature of the beast. Only question would be the wear and tear physical condition.

[Interdimensional]

What is it about the 'Son of' 3D movies? Seems like no one wants to touch them.

Apparently there is some 3-D footage from Son of Sinbad that somehow made its way into private hands outside WB's vault. For a film that was never released 3-D, it's a mystery how anyone managed to get hold of this.

I don't know if you've come across Jeff Joseph's 2014 presentation on historic 3D preservation, but he mentions this discovery around the 12 minute mark.

SD&A 2014 Keynote: Preservation and exhibition of historical 3D movies [9011-83] - YouTube