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ClassicFlix comes forward with an entire 26 original episodes of the comic duo’s 1952 TV show, all fully remastered by the 3-D Archive people. That’s 13 + hours of Abbott and Costello comedy, looking better than new — even the original opening logos have been restored. The repeating leads are fully attuned to A&c’s style of comedy — Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Gordon Jones, etc.. The full set comes with numerous audio commentaries and featurettes.

The Abbott and Costello Show Season 1

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1952-1953 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 676 min. / Street Date December 14, 2021 / Available from ClassicFLix / 49.99

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Gordon Jones, Joe Besser, Joe Kirk, Bobby Barber, Joan Shawlee, Veda Ann Borg, Elvia Allman, Virginia Christine, Bingo the Chimp; Iris Adrian, Glenn Strange.

Cinematography: George Robinson

Art Director: Mac Capps

Film Editor: Gene Fowler Jr., Fred R. Feitshans Jr.

Original Music: Raoul Kraushaar

Written by Sid Fields,...

Mildred Pierce

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 860

1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 111 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date , 2017 /

Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe, Butterfly McQueen.

Cinematography: Ernest Haller

Art Direction: Anton Grot

Film Editor: David Weisbart

Original Music: Max Steiner

Written by: Ranald MacDougall from the novel by James M. Cain

Produced by: Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner

Directed by Michael Curtiz

James M. Cain’s 1941 novel Mildred Pierce offers a venal and self-destructive view of America not with a story of respectable bourgeois society, not the criminal underworld. A de-classed, suburb-dwelling nobody fights her way onto the social register by using men and by hard work… and then watches as her obsessive goals blow up in her face In Cain’s worldview it’s every woman for herself. He drags in an odd personal theme,...

Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce.' 'Mildred Pierce' review: Very entertaining soap opera Time has a way of making some films seem grander than they really are. A good example is Mildred Pierce, the 1945 black-and-white melodrama directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz, and that won star Joan Crawford a Best Actress Oscar. Mildred Pierce is in no way, shape, or form great art, even though it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, as a soap opera it's quite entertaining – no, make that very entertaining; and entertainment is a quality that can stand on its own. (The problem in recent decades is that cinema has become nothing but entertainment.) In the case of Mildred Pierce, the entertainment is formulaic and rather predictable – but in an enjoyable, campy sort of way. Unbridled Hollywood melodrama Now, what makes Mildred Pierce a melodrama is something known as the Dumbest Possible Action – Dpa for short.

Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.

Ann Blyth movies: TCM schedule on August 16, 2013 (photo: ‘Our Very Own’ stars Ann Blyth and Farley Granger) See previous post: "Ann Blyth Today: Light Singing and Heavy Drama on TCM." 3:00 Am One Minute To Zero (1952). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, William Talman. Bw-106 mins. 5:00 Am All The Brothers Were Valiant (1953). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth. C-95 mins. 6:45 Am The King’S Thief (1955). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven. C-79 mins. Letterbox Format. 8:15 Am Rose Marie (1954). Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas. C-104 mins. Letterbox Format. 10:00 Am The Great Caruso (1951). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, Jarmila Novotna, Richard Hageman, Carl Benton Reid, Eduard Franz, Ludwig Donath, Alan Napier, Pál Jávor, Carl Milletaire, Shepard Menken, Vincent Renno, Nestor Paiva, Peter Price, Mario Siletti, Angela Clarke,...

Mary Boland movies: Scene-stealing actress has her ‘Summer Under the Stars’ day on TCM Turner Classic Movies will dedicate the next 24 hours, Sunday, August 4, 2013, not to Lana Turner, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Esther Williams, or Bette Davis — TCM’s frequent Warner Bros., MGM, and/or Rko stars — but to the marvelous scene-stealer Mary Boland. A stage actress who was featured in a handful of movies in the 1910s, Boland came into her own as a stellar film supporting player in the early ’30s, initially at Paramount and later at most other Hollywood studios. First, the bad news: TCM’s "Summer Under the Stars" Mary Boland Day will feature only two movies from Boland’s Paramount period: the 1935 Best Picture Academy Award nominee Ruggles of Red Gap, which TCM has shown before, and one TCM premiere. So, no rarities like Secrets of a Secretary, Mama Loves Papa, Melody in Spring,...

Guys and Dolls remake supposedly to star Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (photo: Channing Tatum in Magic Mike) Guys and Dolls will be brought back to the big screen by way of 20th Century Fox, according to Deadline.com. Back in 1955, Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed for independent producer Samuel Goldwyn a highly successful movie version of the Broadway musical based on a Damon Runyon short story. Distributed by MGM, that particular Guys and Dolls starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine. This time around, Fox supposedly wants Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose singing prowess was amply displayed in, respectively, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Dark Knight Rises. And Tatum and Gordon-Levitt can dance, too, as proven at the 2013 Oscar show (and, in Tatum’s case, Magic Mike). But hey, Goldwyn didn’t care that neither Marlon Brando nor Jean Simmons could sing (or dance), either. And Brando...