laureatedvd.com

[MARIO & RODERICK GAUCI]

Dear Mr. Barnes,


We have just watched John Huston's entertaining adventure BEAT THE DEVIL (1954), starring Humphrey Bogart. While it is not among their very best films, it is considered a cult classic and includes priceless support from Robert Morley and Peter Lorre.

There are several DVDs in both Regions 1 and 2 of this film; it appears that it has fallen into the public domain, but no one release has been at all satisfying! Considering that you have tackled similar public domain titles like MEET JOHN DOE, SUDDENLY, CHARADE and the forthcoming THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (by the way, when is it coming out?), it would be great if you could get your hands on this film as well and provide us with the best possible print (preferably in its original 100-minute form) and some choice extras (an Audio Commentary by yourself would be most welcome).

Thank you for your efforts in bringing some excellent films back into the limelight!


Best regards,


MARIO & RODERICK GAUCI

[KEN BARNES]

Dear Mario and Rodrick,

Good to hear from you again. I can appreciate your enthusiasm for BEAT THE DEVIL. It may not be one of Bogart's best - but it's far from being his worst.

Right now, I can't seem to lay my hands on a good enough print. And since it may require a heavy session of restoration, the cost may be prohibitive. Added to which, I am ebout to embark on a heavy production schedule connected with other titles. These will be announced shortly.

However, I will have a word with my distributors to see if they have any interest in doing BEAT THE DEVIL. If they want to proceed, it certainly won't be this year.

Finally, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM - which will be available very soon - is being produced in association with Sinatra Enterprises. It will have a load of interesting extras including exclusive interview footage with Sinatra himself ( Palm Springs,1990 ) PLUS a 43-minute feature on Elmer Bernstein which was recorded and produced specifically for this DVD.

We have been so busy this year that we've not had time to update the website. We are trying to find time this weekend to post some of this new info. So check with the NEWS and COMING SOON sections early next week. After which, we'll be updating again in about two or three weeks.

All I can say right now is that there are lots of exciting developments ahead.

Once again, many thanks for your enthusiasm and support.

Best wishes
Ken.