Semi-OT: Warner Night at the Movies

[Vdubdavid]

We all know and enjoy Warner's new policy of packaging their movies with a corresponding trailer, newsreel, cartoon, and short for that year, with the option of playing all one after another. However, all the movies I can think of where they've done this have been Warner Bros. films. Does anyone know of where they've done identical work (ie. making a seemless presentation that recreates "a night at the movies") for the MGM and RKO movies they put out? I admit that for most RKO films they'd have to get Disney shorts to complete the effect, which is impossible, but still, we don't see "Metro Night at the Movies", or "RKO Night at the Movies". Could this be an area where WB could make their DVD's even better?

[MF TOON]

Their excellent Marx Bros. collection were all MGM films with the exception of Room Service which I believe was an RKO property...

Their Classic Comedies Collection which consisted of 'Dinner At Eight', 'Bringing Up Baby', 'Libeled Lady' and 'The Philidelphia Story' were all MGM and RKO films too.

Also, The Thin Man movies were all MGM films as well and featured the excellent 'Warner Night At The Movies' feature on their box set release..

I think the reasoning behind their selective content is that they try to pair up studio shorts and extras from the same year which you would've likely seen in theaters had you spent "a night at the movies" circa that time.

[Vdubdavid]

I understand the reasoning, what wasn't clear was the fact that for MGM and RKO films, the "Night at the Movies" doesn't come up as often. However, if the "Thin Man" collection has it, maybe I'm wrong.

[speedy fast]

We all know and enjoy Warner's new policy of packaging their movies with a corresponding trailer, newsreel, cartoon, and short for that year, with the option of playing all one after another.

How is this a new policy? Back in the early 1980s, before Warner Bros. release of The Looney Tunes Video Show, Warners released a video collection called A Night at the Movies, which focused on a different year each, and included a movie, trailer, newsreel, and WB short all from that year.

I can't remember the actual movie titles off-hand, but I know that the cartoons People Are Bunny, Person To Bunny, Martian Through Georgia, and I think a Speedy Gonzales cartoon were all included. You can look at the Looney Tunes video guide at Jon Cookes Unnofficial Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies page for info on movie and short pairings in this series.

[MF TOON]

I understand the reasoning, what wasn't clear was the fact that for MGM and RKO films, the "Night at the Movies" doesn't come up as often. However, if the "Thin Man" collection has it, maybe I'm wrong.

The Marx Bros and Classic Comedies Collections have it as well.

I think it's been pretty well balanced considering there haven't really been that many Warner Night At The Movies featured releases in the first place. Also, WB have released more of their own catalogue films than the rest of their output.. A lot of their top-tier Bogart, Cagney, Flynn, Grant, etc pictures which are considered among the studios finest, were initially released by Warner Bros. to begin with. So it also depends on the status of a film (smaller B-grade pictures which carry low MSRP's aren't going to feature any extensive extras or costly-time or otherwise-supplements apart from maybe a commentary track) and it's release context.

For instance, it'd be a lot more difficult to add this feature to a boxed set of titles spanning 3 or 4 different studios since the purpose is really to focus on a studio and year and build around that. Also, Warner wouldn't be able to do this with their RKO films because they don;t have license to any RKO animated shorts since the studio acted exclusively as a distributor for Disney until it folded. So with other studios, the same might hold true for licensing, etc. or it might just be impossible to compile.

I think the goal is to add this feature to a set of films like the MGM Thin Man or Marx Bros. etc, and than to feature related studio shorts from that same year, as opposed to a mish mash of nuggets from varying studios and so on.

[jazzman78]

I don't know if anybody remembers - but Warner Bros tried this back in the early 80's on video tape which was a cartoon - newsreel - short - trailer and a feature - set up as a night at the movies package. I know that I and old Issue of Aunte Mame that was packaged that way. There were a number of others - but I guess it wasn't to successful because it was halted shortly after these original relases.

[corey3rd]

your post is confusing me. Warners has the upcoming "Classic Musicals From the Dream Factory" boxset that features MGM shorts including Tex Avery cartoons. Sure they don't call it "MGM Night at the Movies," But does it matter? I just want the goods and it seems that lately Warners has been putting out the bonus extras that would normally decay in the vaults.

[JDWeil]

The Marx Bros and Classic Comedies Collections have it as well.

I think it's been pretty well balanced considering there haven't really been that many Warner Night At The Movies featured releases in the first place. Also, WB have released more of their own catalogue films than the rest of their output.. A lot of their top-tier Bogart, Cagney, Flynn, Grant, etc pictures which are considered among the studios finest, were initially released by Warner Bros. to begin with. So it also depends on the status of a film (smaller B-grade pictures which carry low MSRP's aren't going to feature any extensive extras or costly-time or otherwise-supplements apart from maybe a commentary track) and it's release context.

For instance, it'd be a lot more difficult to add this feature to a boxed set of titles spanning 3 or 4 different studios since the purpose is really to focus on a studio and year and build around that. Also, Warner wouldn't be able to do this with their RKO films because they don;t have license to any RKO animated shorts since the studio acted exclusively as a distributor for Disney until it folded. So with other studios, the same might hold true for licensing, etc. or it might just be impossible to compile.

I think the goal is to add this feature to a set of films like the MGM Thin Man or Marx Bros. etc, and than to feature related studio shorts from that same year, as opposed to a mish mash of nuggets from varying studios and so on.

Before Disney RKO distributed the Van Beuren shorts and the Toby the Pup cartoons from Mintz. Since these are public domain now there should be no problem making a theatre program with them.

[Jon Cooke]

I don't know if anybody remembers - but Warner Bros tried this back in the early 80's on video tape which was a cartoon - newsreel - short - trailer and a feature - set up as a night at the movies package. I know that I and old Issue of Aunte Mame that was packaged that way. There were a number of others - but I guess it wasn't to successful because it was halted shortly after these original relases.

Yup, I remember (and there is a page devoted to them on my LT Video Guide). I have the WB Night at the Movies VHS of THE DAYS OF WINE & ROSES which is noteworthy for being the only official video release of "Martian Through Georgia" (which is on this tape uncut with the suicide reference).

[MF TOON]

Before Disney RKO distributed the Van Beuren shorts and the Toby the Pup cartoons from Mintz. Since these are public domain now there should be no problem making a theatre program with them.

That's true, but I'm not sure if WB would bother with lesser public domain properties outside of their few Warner cartoons. I doubt they have much vested interest in these.

Even on the one RKO distributed Marx Bros. film, I believe they included as extra an early one-off MGM cartoon.. I think it was Jitterbug Follies.