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Posted: |
Apr 28, 2020 - 6:43 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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CENTENNIAL SUMMER (1946) is a long-sought-after film for musical fans. Directed by Otto Preminger, the film features a Jerome Kern score. Kern was contracted in late January 1945 to supply the music for ten songs for $100,000. With Kern's approval, Leo Robin was engaged to write lyrics. Robin's fee was $40,000. Reportedly, friction developed between Robin and Kern, because the lyricist was taking too much time. Both Oscar Hammerstein II and E. Y. Harburg were subsequently assigned to contribute lyrics to keep the project on schedule.
One song written for the film, "Duettino," was not used, but was later published as "Two Hearts Are Better Than One," with lyrics credited to Robin. However, studio documents credit Johnny Mercer with the song's lyrics. Alfred Newman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for CENTENNIAL SUMMER, and "All Through the Day" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. The film was Jerome Kern's last score. While the film was still shooting, Kern died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 11 November 1945.
The film has not had a video release in any format. Twilight Time was scheduled to release the film in August 2014, but just days before its release, the release was cancelled, with Twilight Time issuing this statement:
"Twilight Time regrets to announce that our planned August 12th release of the Jerome Kern classic musical CENTENNIAL SUMMER on Blu-ray has been indefinitely postponed. This is due to ongoing and unresolved rights issues that prevent the film from being made available to home video at this time. It is hoped that one day in the not too distant future this situation will be rectified, but in the meantime we will adjust and revise our schedule accordingly. Along with many of you, we are disappointed that the wait for this long out-of-print film will continue for that bit longer."
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CENTENNIAL SUMMER (1946) is a long-sought-after film for musical fans. Directed by Otto Preminger, the film features a Jerome Kern score. Kern was contracted in late January 1945 to supply the music for ten songs for $100,000. With Kern's approval, Leo Robin was engaged to write lyrics. Robin's fee was $40,000. Reportedly, friction developed between Robin and Kern, because the lyricist was taking too much time. Both Oscar Hammerstein II and E. Y. Harburg were subsequently assigned to contribute lyrics to keep the project on schedule.
One song written for the film, "Duettino," was not used, but was later published as "Two Hearts Are Better Than One," with lyrics credited to Robin. However, studio documents credit Johnny Mercer with the song's lyrics. Alfred Newman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for CENTENNIAL SUMMER, and "All Through the Day" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. The film was Jerome Kern's last score. While the film was still shooting, Kern died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 11 November 1945.
The film has not had a video release in any format. Twilight Time was scheduled to release the film in August 2014, but just days before its release, the release was cancelled, with Twilight Time issuing this statement:
"Twilight Time regrets to announce that our planned August 12th release of the Jerome Kern classic musical CENTENNIAL SUMMER on Blu-ray has been indefinitely postponed. This is due to ongoing and unresolved rights issues that prevent the film from being made available to home video at this time. It is hoped that one day in the not too distant future this situation will be rectified, but in the meantime we will adjust and revise our schedule accordingly. Along with many of you, we are disappointed that the wait for this long out-of-print film will continue for that bit longer."
Thanks Bob for this listing which has been added to our Pinterest Board (not to mention all of the fabulous information you've so generously provided).
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Only released on VHS and laserdisc.
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Posted: |
Jun 11, 2020 - 9:40 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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After two years of television work, Bradford Dillman went straight into a co-starring role in his first feature film, A CERTAIN SMILE. The film finds "Dominique" (Christine Carere), a law student at the Sorbonne, engaged to fellow classmate "Bertrand Griot" (Dillman). Unfortunately, she's more attracted to his philandering "Uncle Luc" (Rossano Brazzi), who's married to the charming "Francoise" (Joan Fontaine). James MacArthur was initially cast as "Bertrand," but had to withdraw because of a previous commitment.
In addition to Bradford Dillman, A CERTAIN SMILE marked the screen debut of Yvette Mimieux and the American screen debut of French actress Christine Carere. Jean Negulesco directed the 1958 melodrama. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design; the song "A Certain Smile" was nominated as Best Song.
Alfred Newman's score was released on a Columbia LP. The score was expanded on a 2-CD set, which was a big money-loser for La-La Land in 2011.
Although Twentieth Century Fox renewed the film's copyright in 1986, the film has not had a video release in any format. It's possible that Fox no longer has the underlying story rights (the novel Un certain sourire by French writer Françoise Sagan). It's unlikely to fare any better under Disney's ownership.
While the New York Times had little good to say about the handling of Sagan's story, it lavished praise on "the truly glorious colors of Paris and the Riviera ...[T]he Seine, Montmartre and sweeping aerial and beach views at various points along the Riviera littoral come gorgeously alive. It's enough to move a viewer right from the theatre to the nearest transportation to France."
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Via Vision Australia Region Free
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After two years of television work, Bradford Dillman went straight into a co-starring role in his first feature film, A CERTAIN SMILE. The film finds "Dominique" (Christine Carere), a law student at the Sorbonne, engaged to fellow classmate "Bertrand Griot" (Dillman). Unfortunately, she's more attracted to his philandering "Uncle Luc" (Rossano Brazzi), who's married to the charming "Francoise" (Joan Fontaine). James MacArthur was initially cast as "Bertrand," but had to withdraw because of a previous commitment.
In addition to Bradford Dillman, A CERTAIN SMILE marked the screen debut of Yvette Mimieux and the American screen debut of French actress Christine Carere. Jean Negulesco directed the 1958 melodrama. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design; the song "A Certain Smile" was nominated as Best Song.
Alfred Newman's score was released on a Columbia LP. The score was expanded on a 2-CD set, which was a big money-loser for La-La Land in 2011.
Although Twentieth Century Fox renewed the film's copyright in 1986, the film has not had a video release in any format. It's possible that Fox no longer has the underlying story rights (the novel Un certain sourire by French writer Françoise Sagan). It's unlikely to fare any better under Disney's ownership.
While the New York Times had little good to say about the handling of Sagan's story, it lavished praise on "the truly glorious colors of Paris and the Riviera ...[T]he Seine, Montmartre and sweeping aerial and beach views at various points along the Riviera littoral come gorgeously alive. It's enough to move a viewer right from the theatre to the nearest transportation to France."
This entry has been entered on our Pinterest Board https://www.pinterest.com.au/TheCinemaCafe/the-community-chest-most-wanted-by-fans-on-dvd-or-/ Thanks Bob for all of the fabulous information!
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Posted: |
Sep 28, 2020 - 11:52 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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CHRISTOPHER BEAN is an American pre-Code comedy from 1933 directed by Sam Wood and written by Laurence E. Johnson and Sylvia Thalberg. It was based on the 1932 Broadway play "The Late Christopher Bean" by Sidney Howard. The story owes its origin to a French satire bearing the title of "Prenez Garde à la Peinture," which itself was filmed in France in 1932.
In the film, when the painter Christopher Bean dies, some unscrupulous art dealers try to get several of his paintings cheaply from the Haggett family who have no idea of their value. The family, headed by Lionel Barrymore and Beulah Bondi, had always considered Bean to be a failed incompetent. Only their homely maid "Abby" (Marie Dressler), who is about to quit and leave for Chicago, has fond memories of the dead painter. Beulah Bondi appeared in the original Broadway production of Sidney Howard's play and recreated her stage role in this film.
After the film's initial release, the title was changed from CHRISTOPHER BEAN to HER SWEETHEART. Apparently, however, the title was changed back to CHRISTOPHER BEAN sometime later.
The New York Times said that "the narrative's crafty turns and twists cause it to be infinitely more welcome than the average run of film comedies." And Leonard Maltin calls the film a "deliciously droll (and still timely) comedy." The picture was Marie Dressler's final film. She died of cancer in 1934 at the age of 65.
Although Warner Bros. still holds the copyright on the MGM film, it has become almost impossible to see. The film has never been released on any home video format, and even 25 years ago, when the American Film Institute was doing its cataloging project of 1930s films, no print could be located for viewing. Assuming that elements for the film still exist, this may be another case where the underlying foreign story rights are not held by Warners, thus precluding a video release.
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