laureatedvd.com

[Colin East]

It's good to see the Laureate website buzzing with requests for stars like Bing and Fred Astaire. Now that the DVD is spreading across the age groups, is there any chance of getting DVD releases on Doris Day ( her early Warner Brothers films like "Romance on the High Seas" and "My Dream Is Yours" and her later comedy roles with Rock Hudson
would make good DVDs - especially given the Laureate treatment). Universal own the rights to the classic Deanna Durbin films ( how about " Three Smart Girls,""100 Men and a Girl," and the delightful "Can't Help Singing?" ). It would be nice also to see some of the early Dick Haymes musicals for Fox ( "Diamond Horseshoe" and "Carnival in Costa Rica " ).

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

C.E.

[Ken Barnes]

Dear Colin East,

Thank you for your support for Laureate. I would like nothing better than to make Special Edition DVDs of the early Doris Day movies( which I think would be popular choices). I'm sure there's a market for Deanna Durbin - she has a large following and an active fan club. The same for Dick Haymes. But whether or not they have DVD potential is something that will need to be researched.

Current statistics indicate that there are more parents and grand parents in this country today than teenagers. And two years ago, I was involved in market research exercise that revealed the fact that 80% of the disposable income in this country is in the hands of people over 50. Now, the DVD market is increasing at a positive rate - and it isn't just teenagers who are buying these players.

With TV showing less and less classic films and concentrating more and more on hurriedly-produced made-for-tv films starring people we've never heard, the market for classic movies on DVD should have greater potential today There's no better medium for classic movies than the DVD than ever before. So it's up to the buyers to stand up and be counted. If you can show me a minimum sales figure of,say, 3,000 units then we can get a DVD made.

Thanks for getting in touch

Ken Barnes

[Dominic McHugh]

Me too! I'd love to see 'Caprice' on DVD especially - it's an entertaining Charade-type film. Also, 'How to Steal a Million' would be a welcome addition (Audrey Hepburn, of course). Not to mention more Fred Astaire......

I'm keeping my toes crossed as well for double luck!

Dominic

[Ken Barnes]

Hi Dominic,

Firstly, I'll deal with "I Used To Be Colour Blind." This was meant to be shot in colour - as per the reference to colours in the lyric - " the gold in your hair, the red in your cheeks, the blue in your eyes,etc." But the idea was dropped due to the cost of shooting in 3-strip technicolor.
In those days black & white was the rule and colour was the exception. In 1938 RKO were undergoing pressure from their investors to cut back on production costs.

As for Doris Day, in time there will almost certainly be DVD releases of her Universal pictures - though nothing is set at this stage. "Caprice" is a 20th Century Fox release and I have not yet firmed up relationshiips with these people. Give me time and I'll see what I can do.

Best
Ken

[NORTHWEST]

Ken the point you made about older films becoming much more of a rarity on TV is so right.
I suppose that as there are more and more films for TV companies to choose from, the earlier titles just don't get picked anymore. That I fear is the reality. I remember as a child always being able to watch an old movie on BBC2 on Saturday afternoons: how often does that happen now?I am just pleased that I have been able to build a large collection of films over the years, so that I can enjoy a title of my choice when I want to watch it.
However, as Ken said, DVD is the medium for bringing many old titles to the fore again and hopefully we will see more and more older titles coming on the market.
P.S. Does anyone know what the quality is like on the Deanna Durbin DVDs released on Region 2? I would really like to get these.

[Ken Barnes]

In response to the quality on the Deanna Durbin box set, I haven't yet had the pleasure of seeing it. But I can tell you that the releasing company
did lease the films directly from Universal. That may be a recommendation of sorts ( although not necessarily ).

What should be interesting to Durbin fans is the impending release next month - March 24 - of Miss Durbin's only film in technicolor "Can't Help Singing," which has a wonderful score by Jerome Kern and E.Y. Harburg.

I'm looking forward to this one myself.

Ken

[NORTHWEST]

Thanks for all the information.
In truth I don't think there are many mediums now in which this kind of material will be available. As such I will buy them and look forward to the second set and in particular the colour film.