Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts

Dick Tracy-15 Episodes (1937) Review

Dick Tracy-15 Episodes  (1937)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This is a great treat for Dick Tracy fans. Before television we had to go to the Saturday morning movie matinees to see our action heros.
Cartoonist Chester Gould created this action hero in the early 1930's and by the middle 30's the FBI and gangsters were in all the newspaper & radio headlines. So Gould countered with Dick Tracy G-man (in the movie serials) & Dick Tracy cop hero in the comic strip.
The "Dick Tracy" (1937) Republic Pictures 15 episode action serial launched Ralph Byrds career as the super crime solving G-man/Sherlock Holmes sleuth. The movie version was always the international view while the comic strip was the local city crime storyline.
Thanks to VCI Entertainment for a great restoration job & super loaded 2 DVD package.
This 15 episode action packed serial is over 290 mins long and is presented with great picture & sound.
Extra features include: a background Commentary by famous Dick Tracy writer Max Allan Collins who penned the comic strip for 15 years after Goulds retirement. Special photo montage & Photo Gallery. Bonus 1945 Radio Show: Dick Tracy in B-Flat - a musical rendition of Dick Tracy with the voice of Bing Crosby as Tracy, Dinah Shore as Tesh Trueheart, Bob Hope as Flathead and many more big radio stars of the 40's. This is fun stuff.
Summary: Action serials are always more about the action packed journey & how our hero escapes the bad guys at the cliff hanging ending chapters than the actual story. We need to have a thrill filled 20 minutes each week and then painfully wait until next week for the continuing saga to take us to more excitement until the finale on chapter/week 15.
Dick Tracy delivers all we expect in an action hero and this being one of the first serials gives us a taste of the world of 1937. Enjoy.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Dick Tracy-15 Episodes (1937)



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Dick Tracy-15 Episodes (1937)

Read More...

The Twilight Zone: Season Two (Definitive Edition) (1959) Review

The Twilight Zone: Season Two (Definitive Edition) (1959)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Complete Second Season of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone is now on DVD. This second season contains all 29 episodes on 5 disks. It is full frame and is about 900 minutes.
I don't have a favorite season; there are great episodes from each. I am really enjoying entire seasons being released at once.1) King Nine Will Not Return - A World War II captain wakes up in the desert, next to his crashed plane.
2) Man in the Bottle - A shop owner finds an old bottle which contains a genie which grants him 4 wishes.
3) Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room - A smalltime hood is ordered to commit a murder and when he looks into a mirror he sees himself with courage.
4) A Thing About Machines - A writer believes the machines in his home are against him.
5) The Howling Man - A man finds refuge in a monastery during a storm and finds an unusual prisoner.
6) The Eye of the Beholder - A woman goes through treatments to make herself normal so she can fit into society.
7) Nick of Time - A newlywed becomes obsessed by a fortune-telling machine when they are stranded with car trouble.
8) The Lateness of the Hour - A scientist creates robot servants and his daughter feels a little unusual.
9) The Trouble with Templeton - Templeton is an aging actor who longs for the old days when his wife was alive.
10) A Most Unusual Camera - A couple have stolen a camera that takes pictures of events just a few minutes into the future.
11) Night of the Meek - A drunkard Santa Claus discovers a bottomless sack of toys.
12) Dust - A peddler tries to sell a condemned man's father a bag of "magic dust".
13) Back There - A man goes back in time and realizes, he can't change the future by changing the past.
14) The Whole Truth - A "Model A" automobile compels its owner to tell only the truth.
15) The Invaders - An old woman in an old farmhouse encounters tiny aliens in her attic.
16) A Penny for Your Thoughts - A bank employee flips a coin and when it stands on its end, he is given the ability to read minds.
17) Twenty-Two - Miss Powell has a recurring nightmare ("room for one more") about room 22.
18) The Odyssey of Flight 33 - A commercial aircraft and its passengers travel back to prehistoric times.
19) Mr. Dingle, the Strong - Martians give Luther Dingle the strength of 300 men.
20) Static - Ed Lindsay hates television, so he gets his old radio out of the basement and it can receive programs from the past.
21) The Prime Mover - A man has the ability to control objects with his mind.
22) Long Distance Call - A boy finds he can communicate with his dead grandmother through his toy phone.
23) A Hundred Yards over the Rim - A man in the year 1847 moving west sets out to find medicine for his dying son and winds up in the future.
24) The Rip Van Winkle Caper - Three thieves put themselves into suspended animation for 100 years after stealing a million dollars worth of gold bars.
25) The Silence - A man is offered half a million dollars to remain silent for one year. The bet is taken and won but with a twist at the end.
26) Shadow Play - A man is trapped in a recurring nightmare where he tries to persuade those who are sentencing him to death that this is not reality.
27) The Mind and the Matter - After reading a book on the "power of thought" a man is able create the world exactly as he wants it.
28) Will the Real Martian lease Stand Up? - State Troopers follow the tracks from a frozen pond to a diner where they find a bus driver and his seven passengers but there were only six on the bus.
29) The Obsolete Man - In a state where religion and books are ban, a librarian is judged obsolete and sentenced to death.


Click Here to see more reviews about: The Twilight Zone: Season Two (Definitive Edition) (1959)

The Complete Second Season of Rod Serling's Classic, Groundbreaking Series Exploring the Fantastic and the Frghtening. Spectacular New Digital Restorations Featuring Unsurpassed Video and Audio Clarity! Episodes include: King Nine Will Not Return; The Man in the Bottle; Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room; A Thing About Machines; The Howling Man; Eye of the Beholder; Nick of Time; The Lateness of the Hour; The Trouble with Templeton; A Most Unusual Camera; The Night of the Meek; Dust; Back There; The Whole Truth; The Invaders; A Penny for Your Thoughts; Twenty-Two; The Odyssey of Flight 33; Mr. Dingle, the Strong; Static; The Prime Mover; Long Distance Call; A Hundred Yards Over the Rim; The Rip Van Winkle Caper; The Silence; Shadow Play; The Mind and the Matter; Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?; The Obsolete Man.

Buy NowGet 44% OFF

Click here for more information about The Twilight Zone: Season Two (Definitive Edition) (1959)

Read More...

Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (1963) Review

Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (1963)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Kennedy was in the White House when this aired. No one had heard of the Beatles yet. All televisions were black and white and most ran on cathode tubes. I was 7 years old. This is a great treat to anyone who wants to relive the children's programs of their youth. It is not sophisticated like "Thunderbirds", though. Thunderbirds had effects that still make you wonder how they did them. It also had scripts that approached B movie quality. Fireball is in black and white and is quite primitive by comparison. Still, it will make you want to grab some milk and cookies and watch with delight.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (1963)

In the year 2063, the World Space Fleet is extending mankind's reach beyond the solar system. Leading the charge is the incredible spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by the dashing and daring Colonel Steve Zodiac. With his steadfast crew--the brilliant professor Matt Matic, the lovely space doctor Venus and Robert the Robot--Steve patrols the vast reaches of Sector 25, where strange races inhabit distant planets.In 1962, legendary producer Gerry Anderson (Space: 1999, UFO) turned his attention to space for the first time. The result was FIREBALL XL5, a rarely-seen gem that paved the way for later supermarionation masterpieces like Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons. This definitive collection includes all 39 black and white episodes of FIREBALL XL5, digitally restored and presented in their original production order. Return to Galactic Sector 25 as FIREBALL XL5 flies again in this DVD set.

Buy NowGet 60% OFF

Click here for more information about Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (1963)

Read More...

The Abbott & The Costello Show: The Complete Series (Collector's Edition) (1952) Review

The Abbott and The Costello Show: The Complete Series (Collector's Edition) (1952)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Some say opportunity only knocks once...well, for those of us who missed THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW in its previous DVD releases this is another chance to add all of the 52 episodes to our collection. The shows, digitally remastered, look and sound great and, as one might expect, contain many of the classic routines A&C made famous throughout their careers. For the devoted A&C fan, this is a must have!
In addition to the shows on eight discs, this boxed set includes a ninth DVD of special features: "Hey, Abbott" 1978 TV special hosted by Milton Berle, a 1948 short film entitled "10,000 Kids and a Cop," interviews with Chris and Paddy Costello, and "Lou Costello Home Movies: Holidays and Celebrations." There are also a couple of bonus features included amid the shows: a classic routine reel and more Lou Costello home movies at home and in Europe. You will also find four high-quality postcards featuring stills of the comedy duo.
The 52 episodes are listed on the covers of the two inner DVD cases, as well as in the Commemorative Booklet that comes with the set so it will be easy to find the shows you want to single out for another viewing. This booklet includes biography information on the show's cast and a history of A&C's career. The one potential drawback is that the fold-up boxed set comes in the traditional cardboard cover and may not hold up well over time. The inner DVD plastic cases, however, are well-protected and should hold up just fine.
The comedy of Abbott and Costello remains as funny today as when it was originally broadcast. This set gives the viewer the chance to once again sit back, laugh, and marvel at how these two men made such meticulously crafted routines look so easy. The A&C fan can't go wrong with this set!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Abbott & The Costello Show: The Complete Series (Collector's Edition) (1952)



Buy NowGet 43% OFF

Click here for more information about The Abbott & The Costello Show: The Complete Series (Collector's Edition) (1952)

Read More...

Superman - The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection (1948) Review

Superman - The 1948 and 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection (1948)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
How lucky are we to finally be able to enjoy these two classic Superman serials now available on DVD. These have long been around on bootleg VHS or home-burned dvds, with poor picture quality and sound. The home-burned dvds I got off Ebay did not have the capability to fast forward or rewind, and were not formatted chapter-per-chapter. It's possible that only the die-hard Superman fans and fanboys alike have ever seen Kirk Alyn's portrayal of Superman. Most people think that George Reeves was the first screen Superman not realizing that there were two complete chapter serials starring Alyn as the Man of Steel long before the iconic tv show of the 50s.
That being said, this is a real delight to watch! The fanboys, to this day, continue to cry over the fact that in these serials, Superman's flying sequences were animated. Okay, so it wasn't the high-tech CGI of today's production capabilities. If you're able to get past that, you can enjoy these serials for what they are; pure escapist fun! It's a comic book that's come to life! Kirk Alyn's Superman is not like George Reeves' or Christopher Reeves' or anyone else who ever donned the cape and tights. You've got to see him and judge for yourself. His portrayal of Clark Kent is a little more "mild-mannered" in keeping with the character from the comics, and that's nice to see. Tommy Bond, who played "Butch" in the "Our Gang" and "Little Rascal" shorts is awesome as Jimmy Olson. For me, the real delight was Noel Neill as Lois Lane, the FIRST screen Lois Lane! She was about 27 or 28 when first cast as Lois and she is just too darn cute! She's absolutely adorable with her big hat that she wears in nearly every scene. She's assertive and risk-taking, just like the Lois in the comics of that era, while still remaining feminine. Her Lois Lane of these serials are night and day from her Lois Lane of the tv show and once again, it's very interesting to see both and make the comparison yourself.
The first serial, has Carol Forman, as the Spider Lady. The 1950 Serial, Atom Man Vs. Superman is a better serial than the first one in my opinion. The production values and the writing are a little better and more developed than the first. The flying sequences were still animated but there were "close-ups" of Alyn flying, which were actually him standing upright with his arms extended over his head and the camera laid over on its side to give a horizontal effect. Lyle Talbot's Lex Luthor/Atom Man is great! Talbot was a veteran screen and television actor and many fans will immediately recognize him as Police Commissioner Gordon from Columbia's 1949 chapter serial, "Batman & Robin." In fact, if you're a fan of old movie serials in general, you'll recognize some of the faces of the actors who play Luthor's goons and thugs from other serials. One of the Atom Man's chief lackeys is an actor who is Dr. Daka's henchman in Columbia's 1943 chapter serial, Batman...too cool!
These serials were made on shoe-string budgets in 1948 and 1950 and weren't meant to be more than what they were. They weren't designed to be big screen blockbusters, and they were made for the kids of that time. We've become so sophisticated and demanding of "our" superhero movies, that to me, it seems to quite unfair to deride these two works because of shortcomings with special effects, writing or even the acting. Indeed, how lucky we are to finally be able to enjoy these two classic Superman serials now available at long last on dvd! ENJOY!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Superman - The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection (1948)



Buy NowGet 80% OFF

Click here for more information about Superman - The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection (1948)

Read More...

Adventures of Superman: The Complete Second Season (1953) Review

Adventures of Superman: The Complete Second Season (1953)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
"The Adventures of Superman - The Complete Second Season" is an essential for fans of the original series, it's star, the unforgettable George Reeves, and anyone who would enjoy seeing a series 'at the top of it's game', when it was a genuine national phenomena!
The back story is truly amazing; the first season, filmed in 1951, had taken two full years to finally reach the entire country (television, at that time, was still in it's infancy, and just beginning to spread throughout the nation, as the FCC issued licenses for new stations, from coast to coast). "The Adventures of Superman", syndicated and sponsored by Kellogg's, was a fresh, exciting series that many of the new stations picked up to help promote themselves, and sell televisions...and the series began an astonishing climb to a level of popularity that no one involved had ever anticipated.
Certainly, none of the cast was prepared for what happened; in the two-year hiatus, Phyllis Coates, the 'Lois Lane' of the first season, assuming the series was finished, took on other acting assignments, and was no longer available when the call went out for the second season to be filmed (her role was filled by the 'Lois Lane' of the 40s movie serials, Noel Neill, 33, who saw the role toned down considerably from the aggressive, feisty newspaperwoman of the first season). Jack Larson, 20, who had felt misgivings about the role of Jimmy Olsen from the beginning (only agreeing to the part when his agent joked that "nobody will ever see it, anyway") discovered himself typecast in the role, and his privacy lost...a situation even more acute for the series' star, George Reeves, now 39. During the series' hiatus, he had gotten a juicy supporting role in the blockbuster, "From Here to Eternity", only to see the role edited down to an unbilled cameo, as the producers feared a film featuring 'Superman' would lose it's impact as a 'serious' film. Reeves would only appear in three feature films during the series' entire run, and one film, afterward, all in supporting roles...with no film work at all, the last three years of his life...which provided 'motive' that his 1959 death was suicide (despite evidence of foul play).
Knowing what the future held for Reeves makes the second season of AOS a bittersweet experience, as he is so wonderful in the role! Still youthfully handsome, he projects even more confidence and ease than he had in the first season, and was far more 'kid friendly', as his fight scenes were toned down (as was all the violence, as Kellogg's responded to parents' concerns). With the national Superman 'craze' in full swing, he took special pains to remind children that "only Superman can fly", and his portrayal of the Man of Steel reflected his increasing sense of responsibility of being a good role model to a generation of children who adored him.
If the series lacked it's earlier grittiness, the second season offered spectacular compensations, especially in "Panic In the Sky", the most famous and popular episode of the entire series. As a huge asteroid plunges toward Earth, Superman launches himself into space, in a last-ditch effort to save the planet. Slamming into the gigantic rock head-on, all he can accomplish is to change it's course, temporarily...while being knocked into a state of amnesia by the encounter! With Earth's destruction imminent, can Superman regain his memory in time...AND find a way to stop it? Despite some primitive FX, the episode is STILL riveting, after a half-century!
This is DEFINITELY a 'Must-Have' collection!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Adventures of Superman: The Complete Second Season (1953)

Studio: Warner Home VideoRelease Date: 01/17/2006Run time: 683 minutes

Buy NowGet 68% OFF

Click here for more information about Adventures of Superman: The Complete Second Season (1953)

Read More...

Sky King Official Box Set All 72 Episodes w/ Book Review

Sky King Official Box Set All 72 Episodes w/ Book
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Next to Clint Eastwood, Sky King (played by Kirby Grant) was my favorite Western star. Chasing bad guys in an airplane was his "schtick" and it certainly appeals to me now, as much as it did in my youth.
The early episodes were rendered in black-and-white, the later ones in color, to the best of my recollection. From Wikipedia:
"The television version (there was originally a radio version) starred Kirby Grant as Sky King and Gloria Winters as his teen-aged niece Penny. Other regular characters included his nephew Clipper, played by Ron Hagerthy, and Mitch the sheriff, played by Ewing Mitchell. Unlike many "lawman-acquaintance" characters on other shows, Mitch was competent, intelligent and skilled. He was always coming to Sky for help, due to friendship and recognizing the utility of Sky's flying skills. Other recurring characters included Jim Bell, the ranch foreman, played by Chubby Johnson as well as Sheriff Hollister played by Monte Blue and Bob Carey played by Norman Ollestad.
Many of the storylines would parallel those used in such dramatic potboilers as Adventures of Superman with the supporting cast repeatedly finding themselves in near death situations and the hero rescuing them with seconds to spare. Penny was particularly adroit at falling into the hands of spies, bank robbers (the best place to hide stolen loot was apparently in the Arizona desert) and other n'er-do-wells. After taunting the doomed Penny and mocking her uncle, they would invariably leave her tied up at the bottom of an abandoned mine with (take your pick) a ticking timebomb, rapidly rising water, collapsing ceilings, or crackling flames licking at her chair. Inexplicably, the bad guys would leave Penny in easy reach of a radio transmitter that would not only be turned on but switched to the frequency used by Uncle Sky who at that very moment would be circling above in the Songbird with an anxious Clipper at his side. Working the device with her shoulders and tongue, Penny would shout out "Help, Uncle Sky, Help Help!" Sky would shoot a quizzical look to Clipper and proclaim, "That's Penny!! And it sounds like she's in trouble!" Uncle Sky would make a steep bank and fly over the bad guys who would be instantly thrown into a state of complete confusion. All looking upward in complete anguish and fear, they would fire up at the Songbird in vain before losing control of their escape vehicle and plowing into a culvert where, through another set of incredible circumstances, Sheriff Mitch would be waiting for them after being alerted by Uncle Sky. The action would then cut back to the ranch where the happy throng is reunited without any explanation about how they found Penny and got down the mine without all of them getting killed. It was never explained why anyone would have an FAA spec radio transmitter at the bottom of an abandoned mine or how it would work 300 feet underground but such was the glory of imagination in the mid fifties!
Like most TV cowboy heroes of the time, Sky never killed the bad guys, even though one episode had him shooting a machinegun into his own stolen plane."
"The show was filmed and shown during three periods as sponsors changed: 1951-52 (Derby Foods), 1955-56 and 1957-62 (Nabisco, though the copyright notices continued to name Derby Foods). It continued in syndication for years afterward, and was a staple on Saturday morning television into the mid-1960s."
"Though set in Arizona, the series was filmed in the high desert of California. The ranch house used for exterior shots of the Flying Crown Ranch is an actual home in Apple Valley, California. Other locations were shot in and around Apple Valley and the nearby San Bernardino Mountains, George Air Force Base and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Interior filming was done at the General Service studio."
"The series Sky King ended production in February of 1959. There were no additional episodes filmed after that date. There has long been a rumor that a vault fire destroyed the only prints of 64 other episodes. This is incorrect, though. There were only 72 episodes produced in total."
Now, the price of this package has caused me to put off my buying these fine episodes. You CAN buy "Voulme One" (in black-and-white) for about five bucks if you'd like to see what the series was all about:
Sky King:Vol 1 TV Series
My hope is that, someday soon, the entire series will be issued in similar releases but on that we'll just have to wait and see. In any case, this is a great old Saturday Morning Western for which I personally harbor a huge nostalgic reverence!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sky King Official Box Set All 72 Episodes w/ Book



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Sky King Official Box Set All 72 Episodes w/ Book

Read More...