Burbank, Calif., September 15, 2009 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) announced today an impressive variety of films are making their debut as part of the Warner Archive Collection this month including Robert Duvall in “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway,” “Men Don’t Leave,” starring Jessica Lange and Director King Vidor’s “Lightning Strikes Twice.” Also this month, two highly requested collections of classic short subjects are making their DVD debut – Zion Myers and Jules White’s unforgettably hilarious “Dogville Comedies” and all 52 of the famous “Our Gang Comedies” produced by MGM from 1938-44.
After receiving a tremendous amount of requests from fans, the Warner Archive Collection is proud to bring the complete collection of MGM’s popular “Dogville Comedies” to DVD for the first time. Released to theaters during 1930 to 1931, the Dogville shorts became an instant hit with audiences, representing one of the many kinds of unique novelties that came to movie screens with the arrival of ‘talking pictures.’ These shorts were jokingly billed as “All-Barkies” since each film featured an all-dog cast (with human voiceovers) serving up wild parodies which satirized the motion picture styles of the era.
Filmmakers Zion Myers and Jules White oversaw the making of nine different Dogville shorts, many of which directly lampooned some of the biggest feature films of the period, including “The Big House” (“The Big Dog House”), “Trader Horn” (“Trader Hound”) and the Oscar® winning “The Broadway Melody” (“The Dogway Melody”). Dogville also poked fun at movie genres of the era, with Detective “Phido Vance” named as the hero out to solve a murder in “Who Killed Rover,” while romance in exotic locales served as the laugh-filled subject in “Love Tails of Morocco.” Dogville fans can wag their tails with this first-ever home video release of all nine Dogville shorts, now available to own in one two-disc DVD collection from the Warner Archive Collection.
Also this month, murder, mystery and suspense are afoot in the archives! Film Noir favorites, and noir-tinged melodramas are now available to own with the release of a slew of crafty crime capers and nifty who-dun-its. Among this month’s Warner Archive new release offerings are Jacques Tourneur’s “Berlin Express,” starring Robert Ryan and Merle Oberon in a story that finds a group of railroad passengers terrorized by neo-Nazis in the midst of an assassination plot. Mickey Rooney casts off the trappings of his ‘Andy Hardy’ persona as a prizefighter swept into the crime world in “Killer McCoy.” Jack Palance takes on Humphrey Bogart’s role of Mad Dog Earle in “I Died a Thousand Times,” a color and CinemaScope remake of Bogie’s “High Sierra.”
The great Anthony Mann was at the helm for MGM’s long-overlooked thriller “The Tall Target,” starring Dick Powell as a man searching for the truth behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Ernest Borgnine gives a standout performance in the gritty Mafia-themed opus “Pay or Die,” while Barry Sullivan stars opposite the screen seductress Belita in the 1946 screen hit “Suspense,” one of Monogram Pictures few attempts at A-level filmmaking.
Dangerous roads are ahead for film fans with the rarely-seen noir gem “Highway 301.” A gang of robbers terrorize and rob banks and payrolls in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. The gang’s leader, George (played by the brooding Steve Cochran), seems to take particular delight in ‘bumping off’ women who cross him. Legendary Director King Vidor gives us greed, passion and mad love in the 1951 romantic murder mystery “Lightning Strikes Twice.” Starring Richard Todd and Mercedes McCambridge, viewers will ultimately judge if the man on death row actually did commit savage murder.
Also available this month are landmark dramas that feature unforgettable performances. Montgomery Clift made his film debut as a GI in post-World War II Berlin who takes on a personal mission by aiding a young boy whose family was killed in the concentration camps, in Fred Zinnemann’s 1948 classic “The Search,” (winner of 2 Academy Awards) and Laurence Olivier shares the screen with Simone Signoret and Sarah Miles in “Term of Trial.”
The Warner Archive Collection is also offering a special selection of recent films, many of which have ardent fan followings who have long requested the DVD release of these favorites. Cinephiles are sure to welcome the DVD debut such gems including Robert Duvall and Richard Harris in the charming drama “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway” (also featuring an early screen performance by Sandra Bullock), Oscar® winner Jessica Lange starring as a young mother confronting widowhood in “Men Don’t Leave” and a very young Seth Green (Family Guy, Robot Chicken) starring with Shane McDermott and Jack Black in the cult skateboarder fave “Airborne.” This much sought after comedy skater film features amazing skating stunts and a thumping soundtrack that includes tracks from Ugly Kid Joe, Jeremy Jordan, Steve Miller Band and others.
Also available this month is “Angus,” a poignant and unforgettable story of a young adolescent outcast who struggles for acceptance despite a myriad of obstacles. The film features a superb cast including Oscar winners Kathy Bates and George C. Scott, Long a cult favorite, and unavailable since the days when VHS was the technology of choice, “Angus” finally is back and finally on DVD courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection.
The “Our Gang” comedy collection featuring Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Darla and the rest of the gang make their debut. Originally developed by producer Hal Roach as a series of silent short subjects, “Our Gang” remained a box office favorite for decades, creating healthy profits for their distributor MGM. When Roach decided to cease production of the series in 1938, MGM took over, retaining the kid star favorites who were responsible for the endless popularity of the shorts.
This month there’s something for everyone in the Warner Archive Collection! Check out this exciting lineup:
Berlin Express
Highway 301
I Died a Thousand Times
Lightning Strikes Twice
Our Gang (collection)
Pay or Die
Suspense
The Tall Target
Available Starting September 15:
Angus
Airborne
Crossroads
Dogville Shorts (collection)
Experiment Perilous
The Heavenly Body
I Take This Woman
Ice Palace
Killer McCoy
Men Don’t Leave
Penn and Teller Get Killed
The Search
Term of Trial
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway
Spanning more than 60 years of filmmaking, the Warner Archive Collection offers movie fans access to Warner Bros. Entertainment’s unparalleled film library consisting of pre-1986 MGM, RKO Radio Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures films. These timeless classics can be downloaded or purchased on DVDs that are made to order for the customer using a state-of-the-art manufacturing on Demand (MOD) process. For a complete list of titles visit WarnerArchive.com.
