OT:I'm back and I have some "BIG" Hal Roach news

[Nelson]

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted, but things have been very crazy for me, as I'm currently working on a couple of film projects and my Mother had to be rushed to the Hospital last week and she's home now and recovering as of this writing.So what did I miss during the last two weeks any suprise toon news, etc, etc?Well I have some news not releated to classic cartoons, but some big news for all fans of slapstick comedy and most importantly..The Hal Roach Studios....

Time Warner and Turner Classic Movies(as they plan to expand their classic movie library)has acquired the Hal Roach sound comedies starting this summer.The last two Saturday mornings, TCM aired the Thelma Todd/Zsu Pitts comedy "The Pajama Party"(31) and last Saturday, they aired the classic "The Boyfriends" two reeler, "Call A Cop"(31), but they aired as "fillers" with no listings on their web-site.A spokes person at TCM said that company purchased the broadcast right to a majority of the Roach library and TCM will air a mini Hal Roach "talkie" marathon in September, as part of an all-day short subject festival on TCM.

Since there is no dvd release anytime soon of the Roach talkies, get those blank cassettes and discs ready to record this summer gang and let's hope we'll see the Charley Chase talkies real soon on TCM.

[Geezil]

Oh, the Steins will be ready and waiting, Nelson! But most important, we wish your mother a swift recovery.

(Any other solid word from TCM about particular Roach comedies to come?)

[Nelson]

Thanks for the warm wishes Burt and my Mother is doing well and getting plenty of rest.


As for the Roach shorts on TCM, the TCM spoke person stated that the channel acquired a "majority" of the Roach comedies and here's the kick..TCM has the broadcasting rights to the Roach library for the next(no joke, gang) forty years.TCM holdings are mostly the sound shorts and a several features that Roach made in the 30s and 40s and you can't argue the fact the the Roach library is now the "biggest" short subjects that TCM has in their library and lets hope that the channel puts them to very good use.

[rodney]

The Kickoff (Boyfriends) aired Wednesday night.

[David Gerstein]

Forty years? Oooohhh, that's bad— no matter how good it looks right now.

USA Network had a ten year exclusive lockup... pardon, license... to run the Terrytoons. As I understand it, at the time that they inked the contract, they actually wanted the cartoons. But then their management changed, and the new guys in charge didn't like Terrytoons, so didn't run them. But they still had the contract, so they effectively kept anyone from seeing Terrytoons on TV for the rest of those ten years.
AMC Network has (or did have) an exclusive license to show a lot of vintage 1930s movies. At the time they inked the contracts, they had respect for classic films and wanted to show them complete. Then their management changed. Now—I believe—they still have that exclusive license, but spend the vast majority of their time showing modern movies, interrupted by commercial breaks. Unfortunately, they're still the only game in town for fans of the vintage films that they once showed, and so those film fans suffer.

Now TCM has a forty-year Roach license? It sounds wonderful right at this minute, but suppose their management changes in five years and the channel goes the way of AMC? Then the Roach comedies would be better off moving to another network, but AMC can still sit on them and keep them from being used anywhere else. Just like the present Hallmark DVD situation.
I don't like the idea of presupposing that any TV network— even one that I presently have faith in to do everything right— will remain as good as it is at the moment for an entire generation.

[ltnut]

I tend to think that TCM's current management will do a good job with the Roach shorts, but I also agree that 40 years is too long a contract since future amagement could sit on them and not use them. TV Land is another network that is bad about getting classic TV shows, running them a short time, and then sitting on them.

At least it looks like the production companies would put a clause in the contracts that the shows hve to be used a certain number of times per year, or the contract is voided. Maybe that would stop cable networks from buying rights to shows and then not show them.

[Sogturtle]

David Gerstein and Itnut~

Excellent points! And besides those things, just IMAGINE how OLD WE'LL all be in FORTY bloomin' years!!!:p;):eek:

[Bartman]

I caught a Pitts/Todd short last weekend after the broadcast of MILDRED PIERCE - it also had its original MGM titles and not the FILM CLASSICS TV titles! I already have it on DVD (thanks, Rodney), but it was a beautiful print! The title of the short was "Strictly Unreliable" & was directed by George Marshall. The short also featured two future Three Stooges foils - Symona Boniface and Bud Jamison!!

[J Lee]

The good thing about the TCM deal, as opposed to say, the earlier AMC agreements, is that Time-Warner already owns the Metro library from the same era (along with the WB and RKO films), so that the Roach shorts bundle into that package seamlessly, and there isn't any rights issues that could turn up in the future to take those films away from TCM, which in turn would make the Roach comedies less attractive for airing (AMC's loss of rights to air classic movies to both TCM and to the Fox Movie Channel in part explains why it changed from being such a great channel a decade or so ago to being not much more than a slightly older-skewing version of WTBS or TNT today. That plus the fact the Dolan family planned ahead for AMC about the same way they've game-planned the New York Knicks into their current dominance of the NBA :mad: )

(And unlike Nelson, I haven't posted in a couple of weeks for less productive reasons -- vacation and a ton of work the last couple of days once I got back. so I'm just catching up with the board right now.)

[Nelson]

The real great part of this deal, is that TCM will be showing some of the Roach titles that wasn't included on the "Leonard Maltin Presents" package and from what what i've heard, the films that aired so far, has the original MGM titles and are complete and uncut.It's a good thing that the lesser known Roach talkies, Thelma Todd Zsu Pitts and The Boyfriends have gotten exposure, but it would be perfect if TCM could list when these shorts are going to air, since people have been missing them.TCM bought the majority of the Roach library(which is mostly the sound shorts)and the Roach feature films and Time Warner and Turner Classic Movies actually acquired the library, last year, thus explaining the Laurel And Hardy shorts and early features that started to air last year.

Keep this in mind classic comedy fans, that TCM already has a great library of short subjects, but with this deal, the Roach comedies are by far, TCM's "BIGGEST" collection of short subjects out of any other owned shorts in TCM'S library and I hope that the channel puts them to very great use in months(and years)to come.I hope that the other Roach series, Our Gang,(which I kinda doubt)The Taxi Boys, Harry Langdon, Roach All-Stars and most importantly, the Charley Chase talkies, considering that TCM airs the silent Chase shorts and what a wonderful edition the Chase sound shorts would make to the classic movie channel.I think that TCM should do a Saturday Morning weekly series of the Roach comedies, like right before Cartoon Alley airs and it would be somewhat like the way AMC used to do back in the mid 90s, with their weekly short subject series.

[Nelson]

BTW:Can anyone post the list of Roach shorts that already been shown on TCM?

Thanks!;)

[Nelson]

Rodney, check your PM, I send you something very important my friend.;)

[MarkTheShark]

The real great part of this deal, is that TCM will be showing some of the Roach titles that wasn't included on the "Leonard Maltin Presents" package and from what what i've heard, the films that aired so far, has the original MGM titles and are complete and uncut.It's a good thing that the lesser known Roach talkies, Thelma Todd Zsu Pitts and The Boyfriends have gotten exposure, but it would be perfect if TCM could list when these shorts are going to air, since people have been missing them.TCM bought the majority of the Roach library(which is mostly the sound shorts)and the Roach feature films and Time Warner and Turner Classic Movies actually acquired the library, last year, thus explaining the Laurel And Hardy shorts and early features that started to air last year.

Keep this in mind classic comedy fans, that TCM already has a great library of short subjects, but with this deal, the Roach comedies are by far, TCM's "BIGGEST" collection of short subjects out of any other owned shorts in TCM'S library and I hope that the channel puts them to very great use in months(and years)to come.I hope that the other Roach series, Our Gang,(which I kinda doubt)The Taxi Boys, Harry Langdon, Roach All-Stars and most importantly, the Charley Chase talkies, considering that TCM airs the silent Chase shorts and what a wonderful edition the Chase sound shorts would make to the classic movie channel.I think that TCM should do a Saturday Morning weekly series of the Roach comedies, like right before Cartoon Alley airs and it would be somewhat like the way AMC used to do back in the mid 90s, with their weekly short subject series.

I would love to see that. However, the Little Rascals shorts are not part of this deal. The films belonged to RHI (Hallmark) but television rights for the US are held by King World, so that keeps the Rascals separate, at least on television in the US. However, WB does own the final bunch of 52 M-G-M "Our Gang" shorts (some of which are not so bad, particularly the earlier ones).

[Nelson]

One Roach short in practicular, that I just got recently is the original release of Laurel And Hardy's comedy classic, "BRATS"(30).The verison I have is not the 1938 reissue that is currently shown today, but the original release of the two reel comedy.The 35mm print contains the original Hal Roach art deco title cards from the 1929-30 movie season, complete with the original musical soundtrack and also includesa funny opening tite card sequence.The original verison aired in German tv recently and contains very small German subtitles at the bottom of the screen.But in all an excellent restored 35mm print.

[MarkTheShark]

One Roach short in practicular, that I just got recently is the original release of Laurel And Hardy's comedy classic, "BRATS"(30).The verison I have is not the 1938 reissue that is currently shown today, but the original release of the two reel comedy.The 35mm print contains the original Hal Roach art deco title cards from the 1929-30 movie season, complete with the original musical soundtrack and also includesa funny opening tite card sequence.The original verison aired in German tv recently and contains very small German subtitles at the bottom of the screen.But in all an excellent restored 35mm print.

This original version of "Brats" was released on DVD in Germany (and I think other countries too). If you are into L&H I would highly recommend getting a multi-region/region-free DVD player and availing yourself of the German, British or Dutch DVD sets. They will blow you away, especially compared to the stuff available in the US. I have the "Volume 2" German box set. The films have German subtitles which can be turned off (except for a few isolated scenes in a few films where the German soundtrack was missing). For these films I'd probably recommend another source (like the UK DVDs). Other than that, seriously...you'll never look back.

[Nelson]

This morning, shortly after 11am, TCM aired the Thelma Todd/Zsu Pitts comedy
ON THE LOOSE"(31) that has the girls going on date after date to Coney Island with hilarious results, as this is the first time i've seen this short.The end gag has Stan and Ollie making a cameo, asking the girs to go with them to Coney Island and the boys take a beating.

[rodney]

I have the Universal set from the UK, which includes the original issue of BRATS. It's a set well worth the $160 or so you'll pay for it, which isn't bad at all for 21 discs.

[Derek Gee]

Now TCM has a forty-year Roach license? It sounds wonderful right at this minute, but suppose their management changes in five years and the channel goes the way of AMC? Then the Roach comedies would be better off moving to another network, but AMC can still sit on them and keep them from being used anywhere else. Just like the present Hallmark DVD situation.

Now that Hallmark has sold the Roach library back to RHI Inc., things may change in the near future. I'd like to think that RHI will want to put out some DVD's to recoup some of the cash paid to Hallmark for the library.

Derek