laureatedvd.com

[Rego]

I have recently aquired a copy Sunny with Anna Neagle If only you could give this wonderful film the Laureate treatment.
The copy I have came from the states and sadly, is realy poor.
Although the film is complete it is in desperate need of restoration.

[Ken Barnes]

I wondered if this 1941 remake of the 1930 "Sunny" had slipped into the public domain. But both films seem to be still in copyright. It's difficult to tell the fate of some of these old movies. I can't seem to find "Sunny" on Amazon. What is the name of the label on which it was issued ?

The film, produced by Herbert Wilcox, comes from an interesting period in Anna Neagle's career when she was making movies in Hollywood ( for example "Irene" with Ray Milland ). "Sunny" is something of a collector's item since her co-star is Ray Bolger. It's never shown on TV and the DVD you have must be the ONLY means of seeing it today.

[Rego]

It came as part of a buget box set from the states called classic musicals 50 movie pack. From (store4dvd)
From what I understand this film along with bitter sweet are both in the public domain.
Hope this helps, and Ken, I am sure if you could give these wondeful films the Laureate treatment there is a ready market for them as the recent channel four program showed

[Rego]

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks, Rego, for this info. You Tube is an interesting site, it carries many clips of classic artists that are really quite treasurable.

Well worth a look.

[Rego]

I don't know if Warner Brothers are planning to release a DVD of the 1930's version of sunny,and other early material. I hope so because they have made Utube pull all the clips of Marilyn Miller and the hollywood review claiming coppyright. if they are not it would seem very petty none of this material is available to purchase, and utube was the only place to get a glimpse of it.

[Ken Barnes]

You've made an interesting observation. If Warners and other companies are clamping down on Youtube, it could well be that they intend to use the material for their own commercial purposes. On the other hand, it just may be part of a mass purge against Youtube and other such companies.

[Rego]

Re[may be part of a mass purge against Youtube and other such companies]

If it is in some ways this is a little bit naughty of Warners claiming copyright as the colour sequences of Marilyn Miller came from a private collection in New Zeeland and were believed lost.

[Ken Barnes]

Even if lost clips come from a private collection, Warners can still claim copyright. As they say in gambling parlance -"the percentage is always with the house."

[Rego]

I think part of the reason Warners pulled the plug on those clips can be found in this link.

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=177435

It looks like Warners are releasing some of their newly restored early film archive, and it does contain some interesting early sound & colour films previously unreleased.

I wonder if we can get Universal to do the same with The King Of Jazz

[Ken Barnes]

Hi Rego,

I am talking with Universal about doing a Classic Crooners box set which will include Bing, Frank, Nat King Cole, etc. It's unlikely that "The King of Jazz" will be included and I'm not sure if they have any plans to release it in the future. However, I can tell you that, in October, Warners will be releasing a de-luxe 3-disc edition of "The Jazz Singer" (1927 ) starring Al Jolson. It will include a whole host of extras plus a documentary on
"The Dawn of Sound." If successful, this may induce Universal to look into its vaults for similar early material which, of course,could result in "King of Jazz."

It's my belief that, eventually, every classic movie ever made ( at least the ones that have survived ) will one day make their way onto DVD. So keep your fingers crossed