OFFICIAL Golden Age of Hollywood (1920's-1950's) Thread

[kndy]

The following is a thread for fans of films that are from the Golden Age of Hollywood.


note: The Pictures I am using on this thread are from my own personal collection of Golden Age of Hollywood photo stills and promo photos that I have in my photo collection.

What is the Golden Age of Hollywood:

(From Wikipedia) During the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the late 1950s, thousands of movies were issued from the Hollywood studios. The start of the Golden Age was arguably when The Jazz Singer was released in 1927, ending the silent era and increasing box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. Most Hollywood pictures adhered closely to a formula - Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, biopic (biographical picture) - and the same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio.



Where should I start in my collection of Golden Era Films?

The best way to start your collection on Golden Era films is to see what kind of genre you are interested in. May it be noir, screwball comedy, westerns, musicals, etc.

You can watch some of these films on TMC (Turner Movie Channel), you can go to a store and find these very cheap (ala Big Lots) or do what some of us do and that is to track down certain copies of DVD's. A lot of these films are not on Blu-ray at the moment but there are some fantastic ones such as the "Gone with the Wind" and "Wizard of Oz" Box sets.

If you have films to suggest, watched something recently or find any good deals to share with people, please share it with everyone.

Here is a good place to start:

ON BLU-RAY:

- An American in Paris
- Casablanca: Ultimate Collector's Edition
- Gone With the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition
- That's Entertainment: The Complete Collection (Note: The DVD Complete box set is better than the Blu-ray release)
- Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition



ON DVD:
Please note...there are so many releases out there. A lot you can find online for cheap, especially single DVD releases. But I'm going to focus on several...mainly DVD sets. The best way to find cheaper versions of these sets is through eBay or Amazon but using the site's price tracker to check the price fluctuations.

THE CRITERION COLLECTION:

The Criterion Collection has a few major titles from the Golden Era in their catalog.

- The Lady Eve
- My Man Godfrey
- Night and the City
- Pickup on South Street
- Sullivan's Travels
- Thieves Highway

----------------------------------------------------
FOX:

FOX similar to Warner are known for their special treatment of their classics. But for some reason, they've been quite silent with their releases as of late:

- The Alice Faye Collection (That Night in Rio / Lillian Russell / On the Avenue / The Gang's All Here) (1937)
- Alice Faye Collection 2 (Rose of Washington Square/Hollywood Cavalcade/The Great American Broadcast/Hello, Frisco, Hello/Four Jills in a Jeep) (Full Chk Gift)
- Ford At Fox Collection: The Essential John Ford Collection (The Frontier Marshall / My Darling Clementine / Drums Along the Mohawk / How Green Was My Valley / The Grapes of Wrath / Becoming John Ford) (1946)
- Betty Grable Collection, Vol. 1 (My Blue Heaven / The Dolly Sisters / Moon Over Miami / Down Argentine Way) (1941)
- The Carmen Miranda Collection (The Gang's All Here / If I'm Lucky / Something for the Boys / Greenwich Village / Doll Face)
- Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection (Bus Stop / How to Marry a Millionaire / There's No Business Like Show Business / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / The Seven Year Itch / The Final Days) (1953)
- Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II (Don't Bother to Knock / Let's Make Love / Monkey Business / Niagara / River of No Return) (1952)
- The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection [Remastered] (The Sound of Music / The King and I / Oklahoma! / South Pacific / State Fair / Carousel)

FOX FILM NOIR:
Similar to Paramount Centennial Colletions, these are numbered volumes:

- #1: Laura
- #2: Call Northside 777
- #3: Panic in the Streets
- #4: House of Bamboo
- #5: The Street with No Name
- #6: Nightmare Alley
- #7: The House on 92nd Street
- #8: Somewhere in the Night
- #9: Whirlpool
- #10: The Dark Corner
- #11: Kiss of Death
- #12: Where the Sidewalk Ends
- #13: No Way Out
- #14: Fall Angel
- #15: The House on Telegraph Hill
- #16: Boomerang [Very rare, only a short run]
- #17: House of Strangers
- #18: I Wake Up Screaming
- #19: Vicki
- #20: Shock
- #21: Fourteen Hours
- #22: Black Widow
- #23: Daisy Kenyon
- #24: Dangerous Crossing
Un-numbered:
Moontide
Roadhouse



MGM:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was recently incorporated into the FOX releases but here are recommended sets:

- Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection (Lifeboat / Spellbound / Notorious / The Paradine Case / Sabotage / Young and Innocent / Rebecca / The Lodger)
- MGM Classic Musicals (West Side Story/Guys and Dolls/Fiddler on the Roof/A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum/How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying/Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) (1955)

PARAMOUNT:

Paramount began releasing their numbered sets in 2008. Similar to releases from The Criterion Collection, these come with booklets and many special features and are digitally remastered. We hope these will be released on Blu-ray soon.

- Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection 1
- Roman Holiday: Centennial Collection 2
- Sabrina: Centennial Collection 3
- Funny Face: Centennial Collection 4
- Breakfast at Tiffany's: Centennial Collection 5
- To Catch a Thief: Centennial Collection 6
- Odd Couple: Centennial Collection 7
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Centennial Collection 8
- El Dorado: Centennial Collection 9

Non-Centennial Sets:

- Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark) (1936)

SONY/COLUMBIA:
Sony has a few number of solid titles in their collection. Here are notable ones:

- The Premiere Frank Capra Collection (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington / It Happened One Night / You Can't Take It with You / Mr. Deeds Goes to Town / American Madness / Frank Capra's American Dream)
- Bad Girls of Film Noir 1
- Bad Girls of Film Noir 2
- Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1 (The Big Heat / 5 Against the House / The Lineup / Murder by Contract / The Sniper)
- Icons of Screwball Comedy, Vol. 1 (If You Could Only Cook / Too Many Husbands / My Sister Eileen / She Wouldn't Say Yes)
- Icons of Screwball Comedy, Vol. 2 (Theodora Goes Wild / Together Again / A Night to Remember / The Doctor Takes a Wife)
- Buster Keaton - 65th Anniversary Collection (General Nuisance / His Ex Marks the Spot / Mooching Through Georgia / Nothing but Pleasure / Pardon My Berth Marks / Pest From the West / So You Won't Squawk / The Spook Speaks / The Taming of the Snood / She's Oil Mine)
- The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 1-7 (Note: You may enjoy the first five more)


TURNER HOME ENTERTAINMENT/TCM:
For those who enjoy the TCM channel, Turner purchased a lot of the MGM films and here are some of the box set releases available (Note: Some films are not from the Golden era):

- The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2 (Romance on the High Seas / My Dream Is Yours / On Moonlight Bay / I'll See You in My Dreams / By the Light of the Silvery Moon / Lucky Me)
- Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection (Manhattan Melodrama / Evelyn Prentice / Double Wedding / I Love You Again / Love Crazy)
- TCM Archives - Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)
- TCM Archives - The Lon Chaney Collection (The Ace of Hearts / Laugh, Clown, Laugh / The Unknown)
- TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge [1931] / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman)
- TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 (The Divorcee / A Free Soul / Night Nurse / Three on a Match / Female)
- Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume Three (Other Men's Women / The Purchase Price / Frisco Jenny / Midnight Mary / Heroes for Sale / Wild Boys of the Road)
- TCM Archives - The Garbo Silents Collection (The Temptress / Flesh and the Devil / The Mysterious Lady) (NOTE: This is included with the Warner Signature Set)
- TCM Archives - The Laurel and Hardy Collection (The Devil's Brother / Bonnie Scotland)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: American Musicals (The Band Wagon / Meet Me in St. Louis / Singin' in the Rain / Easter Parade)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Broadway Musicals (Show Boat / Annie Get Your Gun / Kiss Me Kate / Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Comedy (Arsenic and Old Lace / A Night at the Opera / The Long Long Trailer / Father of the Bride 1950)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Best Picture Winners (Casablanca / Gigi / An American in Paris / Mrs. Miniver)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Hitchcock Thrillers (Suspicion / Strangers on a Train / The Wrong Man / I Confess)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Holiday (Christmas in Connecticut 1945 / A Christmas Carol 1938 / The Shop Around the Corner / It Happened on 5th Avenue)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Murder Mysteries (The Maltese Falcon / The Big Sleep / Dial M for Murder / The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romance (Splendor in the Grass / Love in the Afternoon / Mogambo / Now Voyager)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies (Adam's Rib / Woman of the Year / The Philadelphia Story / Bringing Up Baby)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Dramas (East of Eden / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / A Streetcar Named Desire / Rebel Without a Cause)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Sci-Fi Adventures (Them! / The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms / World Without End / Satellite in the Sky)
- TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: World War II - Battlefront Europe (Kelly's Heroes / Where Eagles Dare / The Dirty Dozen / Battleground)
- TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Dark Alibi / Dangerous Money / The Trap / The Chinese Ring)
- TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures (Desperate Journey / Edge of Darkness 1943 / Northern Pursuit / Uncertain Glory / Objective Burma)
- TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection (It's a Great Feeling / Tea for Two / April in Paris / The Tunnel of Love / Starlift)
- TCM Spotlight - Esther Williams, Vol. 1 (Bathing Beauty / Easy to Wed / On an Island with You / Neptune's Daughter / Dangerous When Wet)
- TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Vol. 2 (Thrill of a Romance / Fiesta / This Time for Keeps / Pagan Love Song / Million Dollar Mermaid / Easy to Love)

WARNER:
Warner is known for their classic releases. WARNER has done a great job in releasing Signature and Ultimate sets with special features.

- Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway) (1949)
- Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not)
- Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 1 (Casablanca Two-Disc Special Edition / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Two-Disc Special Edition / They Drive by Night / High Sierra)
- Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)
- The Marlon Brando Collection (Julius Caesar / Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 / Reflections in a Golden Eye / The Teahouse of the August Moon / The Formula ) (1967)
- Gary Cooper - The Signature Collection (Sergeant York / The Fountainhead / Dallas / Springfield Rifle / The Wreck of the Mary Deare)
- James Cagney - The Signature Collection (The Bride Came C.O.D. / Captains of the Clouds / The Fighting 69th / Torrid Zone / The West Point Story)
- The Complete James Dean Collection (East of Eden / Giant / Rebel Without a Cause Special Edition) (1955)
- The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Charge of the Light Brigade / Gentleman Jim / The Adventures of Don Juan / The Dawn Patrol / Dive Bomber)
- Henry Fonda - The Signature Collection (Advise and Consent / Battle of the Bulge / Mister Roberts / The Wrong Man)
- Clark Gable - The Signature Collection (Dancing Lady / China Seas / San Francisco / Wife vs. Secretary / Boom Town / Mogambo)
- Greta Garbo - The Signature Collection (Anna Christie / Mata Hari / Grand Hotel / Queen Christina / Anna Karenina / Camille / Ninotchka / Garbo Silents)
- The John Wayne Signature Collection (Stagecoach / The Searchers / Rio Bravo / The Cowboys)
- The Judy Garland Signature Collection (A Star is Born / The Wizard of Oz / The Harvey Girls / Love Finds Andy Hardy / In the Good Old Summertime / Ziegfeld Girl / For Me and My Gal) ~
- The Cary Grant Signature Collection (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House / Destination Tokyo / The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer / My Favorite Wife / Night and Day)
- The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection (Strangers on a Train Two-Disc Edition / North by Northwest / Dial M for Murder / Foreign Correspondent / Suspicion / The Wrong Man / Stage Fright / I Confess / Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
- Burt Lancaster - The Signature Collection (The Flame and the Arrow / Jim Thorpe All-American / His Majesty O'Keefe / South Sea Woman / Executive Action)
- Robert Mitchum - The Signature Collection (Angel Face / Macao / The Sundowners / Home from the Hill / The Good Guys and the Bad Guys / The Yakuza)
- Elvis Presley - The Signature Collection (It Happened at the World's Fair / Speedway / Spinout / Harum Scarum / Jailhouse Rock / Viva Las Vegas)
- Ronald Reagan - The Signature Collection (Knute Rockne All American / Kings Row / The Hasty Heart / Storm Warning / The Winning Team)
- Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection (Annie Oakley / East Side, West Side / My Reputation / Executive Suite / Jeopardy / To Please a Lady)
- James Stewart - The Signature Collection (The Cheyenne Social Club / Firecreek / The FBI Story / The Naked Spur / The Spirit of St. Louis / The Stratton Story)
- The Elizabeth Taylor Signature Collection (National Velvet / Father of the Bride / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / Butterfield 8)

NON-SIGNATURE BUT DEFINITELY WORTH IT:

- The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street) (1935)
- The Busby Berkeley Collection, Vol. 2 (Gold Diggers of 1937 / Gold Diggers in Paris / Hollywood Hotel / Varsity Show)
- Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather) (1946)
- Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 (The Pirate / Words and Music / That's Dancing / The Belle of New York & Royal Wedding / That Midnight Kiss & The Toast of New Orleans) (1948)
- Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 3 (Hit the Deck/Deep in My Heart/Kismet/Nancy Goes to Rio/Two Weeks with Love/Broadway Melody of 1936/Broadway Melody of 1938/Born to Dance/Lady Be Good)
- The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce) (1947)
- The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2 (A Woman's Face / Flamingo Road / Sadie McKee / Strange Cargo / Torch Song)
- The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 1 (Now, Voyager / Dark Victory / The Letter / Mr. Skeffington / The Star)
- The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2 (Jezebel / What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? / The Man Who Came to Dinner / Old Acquaintance / Marked Woman / Stardust: The Bette Davis Story)
- The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 (The Old Maid / All This, And Heaven Too / The Great Lie / In This Our Life / Watch on the Rhine / Deception)
- Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be) (1938)
- The Classic Musicals Collection - Broadway to Hollywood (Easter Parade Two Disc Special Edition / The Band Wagon Two Disc Special Edition / Bells Are Ringing / Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon) (1954)
- Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 1 (The Asphalt Jungle / Gun Crazy / Murder My Sweet / Out of the Past / The Set-Up) (1944)
- Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 2 (Born to Kill / Clash by Night / Crossfire / Dillinger (1945) / The Narrow Margin (1952)) (1947)
- Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 3 (Border Incident / His Kind of Woman / Lady in the Lake / On Dangerous Ground / The Racket) (1951)
- Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension) (1950)
- Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge [1931] / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman) (1933)
- Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 (The Divorcee / A Free Soul / Night Nurse / Three on a Match / Female)
- Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume Three (Other Men's Women / The Purchase Price / Frisco Jenny / Midnight Mary / Heroes for Sale / Wild Boys of the Road)
- The John Ford Film Collection (The Informer / Mary of Scotland / The Lost Patrol / Cheyenne Autumn / Sergeant Rutledge) (1936)
- Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway)
- Gene Kelly Collection (Singin' in the Rain / An American in Paris / On the Town / Anatomy of a Dancer) (1949)
- The Val Lewton Horror Collection with Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton Documentary (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark) (1946)
- Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd) (2007)
- The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store) (1935)
- Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934) (1938)
- Frank Sinatra - The Golden Years Collection (Some Came Running / The Man with the Golden Arm / The Tender Trap / None but the Brave / Marriage on the Rocks)
- Tennessee Williams Film Collection (A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Two-Disc Special Edition / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 Deluxe Edition / Sweet Bird of Youth / The Night of the Iguana / Baby Doll / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone) (1958)
- That's Entertainment! The Complete Collection (1976)
- The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man / Alias Nick and Nora)
- Warner Brothers Classic Holiday Collection, Vol. 1 (Boys Town / A Christmas Carol [1938] / Christmas in Connecticut / The Singing Nun)
- Warner Brothers Classic Holiday Collection, Vol. 2 (All Mine to Give / Holiday Affair / It Happened on 5th Avenue / Blossoms in the Dust)
- Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 1 (The Public Enemy / White Heat / Angels with Dirty Faces / Little Caesar / The Petrified Forest / The Roaring Twenties)
- Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 2 (Bullets or Ballots / City for Conquest / Each Dawn I Die / G Men / San Quentin / A Slight Case of Murder)
- Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 (Smart Money / Picture Snatcher / The Mayor of Hell / Lady Killer / Black Legion / Brother Orchid)
- Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection (Manhattan Melodrama / Evelyn Prentice / Double Wedding / I Love You Again / Love Crazy) (1941)
- Esther Williams, Vol. 1 (Bathing Beauty / Easy to Wed / On an Island with You / Neptune's Daughter / Dangerous When Wet) (1946)
- Esther Williams, Vol. 2 (Thrill of a Romance / Fiesta / This Time for Keeps / Pagan Love Song / Million Dollar Mermaid / Easy to Love)
- Natalie Wood Collection (Splendor in the Grass / Sex and the Single Girl / Inside Daisy Clover / Gypsy / Bombers B-52 / Cash McCall) (2009)

UNIVERSAL:

Universal struggled earlier on with the sets by releasing cool releases but hardly any special features. But they have some desirable sets such as the Hitchcock and Abbot and Costello set to name a few.

- Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection
- The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm) (1950)
- The Claudette Colbert Collection (Three-Cornered Moon / Maid of Salem / I Met Him in Paris / Bluebeard's Eighth Wife / No Time for Love / The Egg and I)
- The Gary Cooper Collection (Design for Living / The Lives of a Bengal Lancer / Peter Ibbetson / The General Died at Dawn / Beau Geste) (1939)
- Bing Crosby: Screen Legend Collection (Double or Nothing / East Side of Heaven / Here Come the Waves / If I Had My Way / Waikiki Wedding) (1937)
- The Cecil B. DeMille Collection (Cleopatra/ The Crusades/ Four Frightened People/ Sign of the Cross/ Union Pacific) (1939)
- Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack (Three Smart Girls / Something In the Wind / First Love / It Started with Eve / Can't Help Singing / Lady on a Train) (1939)
- Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection
- The Boris Karloff Collection (Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key) (1939)
- The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)
- The Monster Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Dracula / The Wolf Man) (1931)
- Pre-Code Hollywood Collection (The Cheat / Merrily We Go to Hell / Hot Saturday / Torch Singer / Murder at the Vanities / Search for Beauty)
- The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection (The Sound of Music / The King and I / Oklahoma! / South Pacific / State Fair / Carousel)
- Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Sullivan's Travels/The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story/Hail the Conquering Hero/The Great McGinty/Christmas in July/The Great Moment) (1940)
- Universal Horror: Classic Movie Archive (The Black Cat / Man Made Monster / Horror Island / Night Monster / Captive Wild Woman)

GLAMOROUS COLLECTION:

- Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings) (1941)
- Carole Lombard - The Glamour Collection (Hands Across the Table/ Love Before Breakfast/ Man of the World/ The Princess Comes Across/ True Confession/ We're Not Dressing) (1935)
- Mae West - The Glamour Collection (Go West Young Man/ Goin' To Town/ I'm No Angel/ My Little Chickadee/ Night After Night) (1936)



Other companies.

There are other companies to look at and may be cheaper such as "My Man Godfrey" from Legend Films (they add color and B&W versions on their DVD releases).

For "Little Rascals Fans", their is a complete edition from Genius but I recommend the 1999 Cabin Fever Collection which is much better.

What if I'm interested in classic films from other countries?

Please visit JHIGGY23's "ULTIMATE Classic, Foreign, and Indie Film Thread"

For cinema fans who want to explore great films from other countries on Blu-ray.com, please visit:

- BFI Thread
- Criterion Collection Discussion Thread
- Official Golden Age of Hollywood Thread
- Masters of Cinema (MoC) Thread
- Official Anime on Blu-ray Thread
- The Official Oscilloscope Laboratories Thread
- Official Palisades Tartan Thread
- Silent Film Thread
- The Official Sony Pictures Classics Thread
- StudioCanal Collection Thread

[CZAR]

The Wizard of Oz baby!! Got Em!!

[mikejet]

My favorites:

His Girl Friday
Swing Time
Some Like It Hot

[Sussudio]

Best thread on the forum! Thanks for putting this together

Sunset Blvd is one of my favorites during this time and has grown to become one of my favorite movies "ever." Narrative style, performances, dialogue are all outstanding.....

[mikejet]

Yankee Doodle Dandy is also another favorite of mine. I love those old time musicals when they were big scale productions.

[Atreyu]

Great thread. Most of my favorites come from that era and TCM is my favorite channel. We recently got it in Hi-Def on my cable system.
I would have to say my favorites are comedies. My faves are:
1) Laurel And Hardy(my absolute faves)
2) Abbott And Costello
3) W. C. Fiels
4) Marx Brothers
5) Three Stooges
6) Blondie And Dagwood films
Now I still love all the other types of films from that era including musicals, dramas etc... In my opinion Universal had the best horror, MGM the best musicals and Warner cannot be topped for gangster films.
But the look, style, acting and storytelling was all different in that era. Not to say we don't have good movies now but there is something special about those golden era films.
I can even enjoy a good silent film.

[kndy]

Heads up..a third party is the Astaire/Rogers Ultimate Collection for $69 on ebay. This is typically a $99 set that rarely goes down ever. The significance of this set is all ten films featuring the two are included. They were previously release in two volumes but are now in one.

[toef]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Best thread on the forum! Thanks for putting this together

Sunset Blvd is one of my favorites during this time and has grown to become one of my favorite movies "ever." Narrative style, performances, dialogue are all outstanding.....

I agree about Sunset Blvd. I first saw it maybe 4-5 years ago, but it's grown on me, and I don't know how many times I've seen it since then.

The Wizard of Oz will always be #1 though.

[KubrickFan]

Thanks for this elaborate list of the major Golden Age of Hollywood releases. I've always been interested in that period, but whenever I searched for titles there were so many different releases I kind of got confused.
Also, I'm a bit on the fence whether I should start buying some of these sets, or wait until they will hopefully be released on Blu-ray. I know that either will never happen, or will be years away, but I want to make sure that I won't have to re-buy all of them again.

[kndy]

Addition to SONY section:

FOX CLASSIC QUADS:

(Note: These can be found at TARGET for $9.99 per set).

I have included star rankings from film critic Leonard Maltin, a few are on Roger Ebert’s Greatest Film section as well.

Classic Quad Set 01 – Studio Classics
Anna and the King of Siam 1946 John Cromwell 3.5
Can-Can 1960 Walter Lang 2.5
Daddy Long Legs 1955 Jean Negulesco 2.5
Star! 1968 Robert Wise 2.5
A&E Biography – Anna and the King: The Real Story of Anna Leonowens 1998 Steven Smith

Classic Quad Set 02 – Studio Classics
An Affair to Remember 1957 Leo McCarey 2.5
Leave Her to Heaven 1945 John M. Stahl 3
A Letter to Three Wives 1949 Joseph L. Mankiewicz 4
Peyton Place 1957 Mark Robson 3.5
AMBC Backstory – An Affair to Remember 2001 Michele Farinola
A&E Biography – Linda Darnell: Hollywood’s Fallen Angel 1999 Hilary Atkin

Classic Quad Set 03 – Studio Classics
Anna Karenina 1948 Julie Duvivier 2.5
A Farewell to Arms 1957 Charles Vidor 2.5
Les Miserables 1935 Richard Boleslawski 3.5
Les Miersables 1952 Lewis Milestone 3
The Sun Also Rises 1957 Henry King 3

Classic Quad Set 04 – Studio Classics
The Agony and the Ecstasy 1965 Carol Reed 2.5
Bible…In the Beginning, The 1966 John Huston 0
Demetrius and the Gladiators 1954 Delmer Daves 2.5
The Robe 1953 Henry Koster 2.5

Classic Quad Set 05 – Studio Classics
Francis of Assisi 1961 Michael Curtiz 2.5
The Gospel Road 1973 Robert Elfstrom 2.5
A Man Called Peter 1955 Henry Koster 3
The Song of Bernadette 1943 Henry King 4
A&E Biography – Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady 2001 Lawrence Williams

Classic Quad Set 06 – Studio Classics
Journey to the Center of the Earth 1959 Henry Levin 3
Little Miss Broadway 1938 Irving Cummings 2
My Friend Flicka 1943 Harold D. Schuster 3
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 1965 Ken Annakin 3

Classic Quad Set 07 – Studio Classics
Anastasia 1956 Anatole Litvak 4
Gentleman’s Agreement 1947 Elia Kazan 3
The Ox-Bow Incident 1943 William A. Wellman 4
The Snake Pit 1948 Anatole Litvak 3.5
A&E Biography – Anastasia: Her True Story 1997 Michele Farinola
AMC Backstory – Gentlemen’s Agreement 2001 Mimi Freedman
A&E Biography – Henry Fonda: Hollywood’s Quiet Hero 1997

Classic Quad Set 08 – Studio Classics
Black Widow 1954 Nunnaly Johnson 2
Call Northside 777 1948 Henry Hathaway 3.5
Dangerous Crossing 1953 Joseph M. Newman 2.5
Laura 1944 Otto Preminger 4
A&E Biography: Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait 1999 Rouben Mamoulian
A&E Biography – Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain 2000 Steven Smith

Classic Quad Set 09 – Studio Classics
All About Eve 1950 Joseph L. Mankiewicz 4
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls 1970 Russ Meyer 3
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness 1958 Mark Robson 3
Valley of the Dolls 1967 Michele Farinola 0
AMC Backstory – All About Eve Documentary 2001 Mimi Freedman
Aboe, Beneath and Beyond the Valley 2006
Look On Up at the Bottom 2006
The Best of Beyond 2006
Sex, Drugs, Music and Murder 2006
AMC Backstory – Valley of the Dolls 2001
The Dish on Dolls 2006
Divine Ms. Susann 2006
Gotta Get Off this Merry Go Round: Sex, Dolls and Showtunes 2006
Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls 1968

Classic Quad Set 10 – Studio Classics

Classic Quad Set 11 – Studio Classics
The Blue Max 1966 John Guillermin 2.5
The Desert Fox 1951 Henry Hathaway 3
Immortal Sergeant 1943 John M. Stahl 2.5
Sink the Bismarck! 1960 Lewis Gilbert 3

Classic Quad Set 12 – Studio Classics
The Desert Rats 1953 Robert Wise 3
Twelve O’Clock High 1949 Henry King 4
Von Ryan’s Express 1965 Mark Robson 3
The Young Lions 1958 Edward Dmytryk 3.5

Classic Quad Set 13 – Studio Classics
On the Avenue 1937 Roy Del Ruth 3
Pin Up Girl 1944 H. Bruce Humberstone 2.5
Something For the Boys 1944 Lewis Seiler 2.5
You’re in the Navy Now 1951 Henry Hathaway 2

Classic Quad Set 14 – Studio Classics
Desk Set 1957 Walter Lang 3.5
Hollywood Cavalcade 1939 Irving Cummings 2.5
How to Steal a Million 1966 Malcom St. Clair 3
I Was a Male War Bride 1949 Buster Keaton 3
A&E Biography – Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady 1997 William Wyler

Classic Quad Set 15 – Studio Classics
Move Over, Darling 1963 Michael Gordon 2.5
O.Henry’s Full House 1952 Henry Hathaway 2.5
On the Riviera 1951 Howard Hawks 3
Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys! 1958 Henry King 2.5
Amazing Road to ’Move Over Darling’ 2007 Henry Koster
Conversation with Polly Bergen 2007 Jean Negulesco
Doris Day vs. Marilyn Monroe 2007 Walter Lang
Girls 1927 Leo McCarey
A Man About Town 1927 John Cork

Classic Quad Set 16 – Studio Classics
The Alligator People 1959 Roy Del Ruth 2.5
The Cabinet of Caligari 1962 Roger Kay 2.5
The Fly 1958 Kurt Neumann 3
House of the Damned 1963 Maury Dexter

Classic Quad Set 17 – Studio Classics
Fantastic Voyage 1966 Richard Fleischer 3.5
The Lost World 1960 Irwin Allen 2
The Towering Inferno 1975 John Guillermin 2.5
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 1961 3

Classic Quad Set 18 – Studio Classics
Battle for the Planet of the Apes 1973 J. Lee Thompson 2
The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 Robert Wise 4
The Neptune Factor: An Undersea Odyssey 1973 Daniel Petrie 2
The Poseidon Adventure 1972 Ronald Neame 3

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Best thread on the forum! Thanks for putting this together

Sunset Blvd is one of my favorites during this time and has grown to become one of my favorite movies "ever." Narrative style, performances, dialogue are all outstanding.....

You are damn skippy there Suss.

I have a huge soft spot for The Wizard of Oz. It's like Noir-Fantasy-Musical.

All Hitchcock from the era as well.

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by kndy

Hehe...I wish I can answer that but seriously. A lot of them will not come out on Blu-ray. Possibly the top tier titles but the fact is, titles we are waiting for...now we are seeing these companies going into the archive and burning them on DVD-R...pick a title and they'll burn them. It's all for a niche demographic now.

But I can see Hitchock titles getting a Blu-ray release. But I don't think many titles will get the Blu-ray treatment. Especially now with each decade and each new generation, there is not much of a demand for many of these titles but the very well known ones. So, I don't see these big box sets on Blu being released but single titles.

I hope to see the Paramount Centennial Collection make it to Blu-ray since they did the High-Definition remastering of them already. Especially the Audrey Hepburn films.

Yeah, I already had a feeling that most sets wouldn't be replicated on Blu.

Oh, and shouldn't the Universal Horror sets from the 30's be on the list too?

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by kndy

. Especially the Audrey Hepburn films.

That is what I am missing the most right now on Blu. Audrey Hepburn is without a doubt the second most beautiful women in the history of the world, after my wife

I would truly love to have all of her movies on BD but specialy Charade and Wait Until Dark. But since it's for the 1950's and before, I would take Roman Holliday and Sabrina

By the way, wonderful thread and I am adding this to me subcribe list

[zombie63]

At last the thread I have been waiting for and the era, to me anyway, that has made Hollywood what it is today.
There are far too many favourites to name here , so Ill just state the ones i own and the ones I require.

On BD
Gone With the Wind
Wizard of Oz

On Dvd

Laurel and Hardy - the complete Box set of the shorts
Marx Brothers - box sets
All the "Road to" movies
Frank Capra Box set - It happened one night/ Its A Wonderful Life/Mr Deed goes to Town/You cant take it with you
The Hitchcock Collection - All films
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Sullivans Travels
Singin in the Rain
Fred and Ginger - Top Hat/Gay Divorcee/Flying Down to Rio/Swing Time
Casablanca - Special Edition
The Big Sleep
Maltese Falcon
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Captain Blood
Sunset Boulevard
The Apartment
Stalag 17
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Universal Monster Legacy Collection.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (Basil Rathbone)


At this moment im not sure how many of the Dvd ones are available on Blu but other collections i require are Tracy/Hepburn films, James Stewart Western collection and the Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies.
I do have loads more than this but these are my fav's films that I own and am looking forward to seeing future releases on Blu - Hopefully remastered.

[WyldeMan45]

I am a HUGE Cagney fan, I can't believe they are gonna keep putting Bogart out but none of these Cagney classics. Bogey looks like a beast in HD lol.

Public Enemy
White Heat
Roaring Twenties
City for Conquest
Each Dawn I Die

[kndy]

All Fox Film Noir releases are now $5.99 on Amazon!

[kndy]

Just finished watching "Sunset Boulevard" (Paramount Centennial Collection I). There is something about that film that was just dark and twisted. I know Corliss calls it a horror film but it's such a great film but...the character of Norma Desmond is so twisted.

Paramount really did a great job with the PCC release. Plenty of special features included.

[quetzalcoatl]

And we will never see another time like it. Mainly due to the studio days of contracts are dead. For those that donot know it the reason for seeing so many big names in any movie at the time was the studio would sign you to a contract or for the most part you did not work. So they would take chances on actors and actresses and hope it would pan out. Since when they first hired them they paid very little. Of course as an actor or actress got more popular they had to pay them more when the contract was up for the next one but not near as much as you might think, since for the most part all the studios worked together.

This is not to say they did not make a good living at doing what they did. But most of them did it because they really loved doing it. Many of the early ones came from vaudeville. Not that all the current movie stars fall into this but I think there are alot that just do it for the money not the acting. The stars of old made a good living but consider they also made multipule movies each year where the current stars make one every few or sometimes will make more but not very often.


I think the golden age is the best time for the movies that have been made but I also think it can sometimes seem that way just to the volume of movies made. It seems more like there were movie mills.

[kndy]

Interesting...I guess the first "Sunset Boulevard" from the Centennial Collection is OOP. You may want to pick this one up if it's sold for $10-$11 on Amazon. Also, noticed its not listed in the media press section for Paramount anymore. So, I'm curious if the license expired or what...

I'll check if the others are oop as well.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by kndy

- That's Entertainment: The Complete Collection (Note: The DVD Complete box set is better than the Blu-ray release)

Great thread, kndy.

Could you elaborate on the comment about the That's Entertainment sets? I've already heard mixed reviews on the blu-ray edition and I guess some folks feel WHV could have done a better job remastering for blu-ray.

But in what ways exactly did you feel the DVD set was better?