Unreleased Universal Titles

[Gordon]

My Unreleased Films Owned by Warner Bros thread seems to have been moderately successful, so I thought that I'd create threads for all the other Big Studios. First up is Universal, incorporating their pre-1948 Paramount titles. Corrections and additions are most-welcome and I'm sure their are loads! The list consists of films from 1930 (sound films) onwards.

Aside from the pre-'49 Paramount titles, which other film libraries does the MCA/Universal banner own?

The red titles are generally regarded to be Film Noir.



Universal-produced and miscellaneous acquisitions, 1930-1995:

Hell's Heroes (1930)

The Bad Sister (1931)
Seed (1931)

Airmail (1932)

Little Man, What Now? (1934)

Three Smart Girls (1936)

One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) - Available in UK region 2

Mars Attacks the World (1938)

Tower of London (1939)
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)

The Green Hornet (1940)
The House of the Seven Gables (1940)
Seven Sinners (1940)

The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941)
Hellzapoppin (1941)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Back Street (1941)
The Flame of New Orleans (1941)

Pittsburgh (1942)
Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)
Arabian Nights (1942)

Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
Corvette K-225 (1943)

The Suspect (1944)
Phantom Lady (1944)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)

Canyon Passage (1946)

The Web (1947)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)

All My Sons (1948)
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)
One Touch of Venus (1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948) - Do Universal own the rights or possess the O-neg?

Abandoned (1949)
The Heiress (1949)

Shakedown (1950)
The Sleeping City (1950)

You Never Can Tell (1951)
The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951)
Bright Victory (1951)

The Cimarron Kid (1952, Budd Boetticher)
The World in His Arms (1952)
Lost in Alaska (1952)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952)
Red Ball Express (1952)
Meet Danny Wilson (1952)
Against All Flags (1952)


The Man from the Alamo (1953, Budd Boetticher) - R2+R4 editions available
The Mississippi Gambler (1953)
The Lawless Breed (1953)
Thunder Bay (1953)
All I Desire (1953)

Magnificent Obsession (1954)
Romeo and Juliet (1954)
Saskatchewan (1954)
Destry (1954)
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)

Man Without a Star (1955)
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
This Island Earth (1955)

Never Say Goodbye (1956)
Backlash (1956)
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)

Mister Cory (1957)
The Monolith Monsters (1957)
The Tattered Dress (1957)
My Man Godfrey (1957)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) - Available in UK region 2
Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
The Night Runner (1957)

The Tarnished Angels (1958)
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)

This Earth Is Mine (1959)

Midnight Lace (1960) - Available in UK region 2

Back Street (1961) - Do Universal own this?
Flower Drum Song (1961)
The Great Impostor (1961)
The Last Sunset (1961)
Blast of Silence (1961) - Do Universal own this?

Freud (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave (1962) - Do Universal still own this?

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

The Truth About Spring (1964)
Bedtime Story (1964) - Available in UK region 2
The Chalk Garden (1964)
I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)
Kitten with a Whip (1964)

Mirage (1965)
The Art of Love (1965)
Blindfold (1965)
Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965)

Arabesque (1966)
Gambit (1966)
Texas Across the River (1966)
Madame X (1966) - Do Universal own this?

Games (1967)
Privilege (1967) - Cinesite are credited at IMDb as having digitally restored the film
Rough Night in Jericho (1967)
Tobruk (1967)
Degree of Murder (1967, Schlondorff) - Do Universal own this?
Champagne Murders (1967, Chabrol) - Do Universal own this?
Les Aventuriers (1967, Enrico) - Do Universal own this?

Boom! (1968)
Isadora (1968)
The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968)
What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
Angel in My Pocket (1969)
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
Act of the Heart (1970) - Do Universal own this?

Red Sky at Morning (1971)
Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)
Taking Off (1971)
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)

Follow Me! (1972)
Play It As It Lays (1972)
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)

The Black Windmill (1974)
The Midnight Man (1974)
Janis (1974) - Do Universal own this?

Special Section (1975, Costa-Gavras) - Do Universal own this?

W.C. Fields and Me (1976)

The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)

The Big Fix (1978)

Resurrection (1980)

Zoot Suit (1981)
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) - Do Universal still own the rights? The rights have changed hands a lot. Nevertheless, it's available in the UK - an excellent SE[/color]
The Pirates of Penzance (1983)

Comfort and Joy (1984) - Available in UK region 2
Under the Volcano (1984)

Dreamchild (1985)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) - Was this carried over to Universal from Polygram? Long overdue on DVD

'Night, Mother (1986)

At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)

Leaving Normal (1992)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992) - R2+R4 editions available

King of the Hill (1993)

[Gordon]

1930-1948 Paramount Titles

Morocco (1930)
Monte Carlo (1930)

Dishonored (1931)
City Streets (1931)
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

Blonde Venus (1932)
If I Had a Million (1932)
Million Dollar Legs (1932)
No Man of Her Own (1932)
One Hour with You (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Broken Lullaby (1932)
This Is the Night (1932)

Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)

Cleopatra (1934)
Little Miss Marker (1934)
The Old Fashioned Way (1934)
Six of a Kind (1934)
You're Telling Me! (1934)
Crime Without Passion (1934)

The Crusades (1935)
The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
Hands Across the Table (1935)
The Scoundrel (1935)
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

Desire (1936)

Angel (1937)
Easy Living (1937)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)

The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
If I Were King (1938)
You and Me (1938)

The Cat and the Canary (1939)
Midnight (1939)
Union Pacific (1939)

Christmas in July (1940) - Available soon in UK region 2
Dr. Cyclops (1940)
The Great McGinty (1940) - Available soon in UK region 2
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Remember the Night (1940)
Arise, My Love (1940)

Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
Among the Living (1941)

The Glass Key (1942)
The Major and the Minor (1942)
My Favorite Blonde (1942)
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
Street of Chance (1942)

Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)

Frenchman's Creek (1944)
Going My Way (1944)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) - Available in UK region 2
Ministry of Fear (1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
The Uninvited (1944)

Love Letters (1945)
Murder, He Says (1945)

The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Blue Skies (1946)
Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)
To Each His Own (1946)
Soak the Rich (1946)

Golden Earrings (1947)
Unconquered (1947)
Calcutta (1947)

A Foreign Affair (1948)
I Walk Alone (1948)
Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)

[Cinéslob]

Another good list Gordon, though I must admit that Universal's properties are less interesting than those to be found on the Warner list.

I'm personally surprised that Hail the Conquering Hero hasn't been licensed by Criterion yet, but I imagine it's only a matter of time until it is.

[Anonymous]

A Foreign Affair (1948), Soak the Rich (1946) and Arise, My Love (1940) are Paramount movies that Universal currently owns.

Also, My Little Chickadee is available on DVD.

[viciousliar]

My Unreleased Films Owned by Warner Bros thread seems to have been moderately successful, so I thought that I'd create threads for all the other Big Studios. First up is Universal, incorporating their pre-1948 Paramount titles. Corrections and additions are most-welcome and I'm sure their are loads! The list consists of films from 1930 (sound films) onwards

Aside from the pre-'48 Paramount titles, which other film libraries does the MCA/Universal banner own?

The red titles are generally regarded to be Film Noir.

Universal-produced, 1930-1995:

Hell's Heroes (1930)

The Bad Sister (1931)
Seed (1931)
Waterloo Bridge (1931)

Airmail (1932)

The Good Fairy (1935)

Actually, The Good Fairy has been released by Kino, specially licensed by Universal with a spotless image to boot, the source materials must have been very well preserved. It also contains an excellent interview with William Wyler, recorded three days before his sudden death.
Highly recommended!

Now, if only Warner would release Three Comrades in which his then-wife, Margaret Sullavan, gives the performance of her career. She definitely was robbed for the Oscar which, alas, went to Bette Davis' Jezebel that year.

[dx23]

This Island Earth was released by Image in the early days of DVD, but is currently out-of-print.

Pretty good list Gordon. Very informative, especially in Universal's case, since they have such a backlog of unreleased titles.

[Gordon]

Thanks, Cineslob, jette, viciousliar! Corrections and additions have been made.

dx23, wrote:

This Island Earth was released by Image in the early days of DVD, but is currently out-of-print.

Tell me about it. It's one of my favourite films. I love it. Screw MST3K - it's a profoundly important American film of the post-war era. Universal have had a making-of documentary on the shelf for over two years now. They had a 50s sci-fi boxed set / wave of releases planned, but someone hit the breaks on it.

Thanks again, guys!

[Ashirg]

Waterloo Bridge

Warner in a chat said that upcoming release of 1940 film will include 1931 original as well. MGM probably purchased the rights to it for two remakes.

Also several films you listed in Abbot & Costello, Ma & Pa Kettle, Invisible Man/Woman/Agent series are available on DVD.

Also, The Perils of Pauline was released on DVD by Roan Group and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) is available from Warner.

[Ashirg]

Here's a list of more Film Noirs released by Universal and Paramount accroding to Film Noir Encyclopedia and double check with imdb. Some of them may not be controlled by Universal anymore, like some titles in Republic Pictures library that I didn't list:

Universal
Scarlet Street (1945) (non-PD disc would be great)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
Abandoned(1949) (Universal is listed as DVD distributor. Wonder if it's in the works)
Shakedown (1950)
The Sleeping City (1950)
The Night Runner (1957)
The Tattered Dress (1957)
Blast of Silence (1961)

Paramount
City Streets (1931)
The Scoundrel (1935)
Among the Living (1941)
Street of Chance (1942)
Calcutta (1947)
I Walk Alone (1948)
Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)

[Zumpano]

Bill Forsythe's "Comfort and Joy" would be nice to have on DVD.

I believe that Universal also owns the rights to the "Amazing Stories" series.

[mrannouncer]

This Island Earth was released by Image in the early days of DVD, but is currently out-of-print.

Tell me about it. It's one of my favourite films. I love it. Screw MST3K - it's a profoundly important American film of the post-war era. Universal have had a making-of documentary on the shelf for over two years now. They had a 50s sci-fi boxed set / wave of releases planned, but someone hit the breaks on it.

Many presume that simply because MST3K made fun of a movie that it wasn't considered to be a "good" flick... This is simply untrue, especially in the case of "This Island Earth." Usually the requirements for a flick were if it had enough pauses where the MST crew could say something. "Marooned" is another example of a movie of quality that simply had the right amount of quiet spots to allow for humor.

If you listen carefully, and if you can stand someone talking through "This Island Earth," you'll notice that the film is not savaged the way many of the "lousy" films they used on the tv series were. They do not make fun of art direction, direction, or story. No joke ever impugns the quality of the overall production -- most of the jokes are about objects on screen, parallels, and the presence of Russell Johnson. I found the humor to come in conjunction with the flick, as opposed to being at the expense of it; which preserves both the quality of the film as well as making it one of the best efforts by the writers of MST3K.

[devlinnn]

Love Me Tonight (1932)

Kino put this out, just to remind us that angels did once walk, sing and romance among us.

[Gordon]

Thanks a lot, Ashirg! I was a bit unsure about 1948 Paramount productions: are all 1948 releases owned by Universal? I Walk Alone badly needs a DVD release - great film.

Zumpano, Comfort and Joy is available in the UK. Its a gem. I only realised that it was available on DVD after checking when you mentioned it, so thanks! The DVD also has a commentary with Bill Forsyth And Clive Parson: Amazon.co.uk

Thanks, devlinnn for Love Me Tonight (1932).

[Buttery Jeb]

Gordon, a handful of films are sorely lacking from the list (at least in my mind): Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (1983), Douglas Heyes' "Kitten With a Whip" (1964), Peter Watkins' "Privlege" (1967) and (honestly) Marty Feldman's "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977)

Also, doesn't Universal also control the rights to Fellini's "Casanova" (1977)? And what about Losey's "Boom" (1968)? Imagine that one with a John Waters' introduction/commentary.

-BJ

[unclehulot]

I'm confused whether any released title has a note about its release, but in any case Tabu is out from Milestone, and the recent Gary Cooper Collection 2 disc set from Universal has:

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
Peter Ibbetson (1935)
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
Beau Geste (1939)

and missing from the list:

Design for Living (1933)

also,

International House and It's a Gift were in the Fields set released last year.

[Gordon]

Thanks, unclehulot!

Jeb, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence has changed hands many times over the last 20 years. Universal released the last VHS in the USA. A great SE is available in the UK from Optimum. Available HERE.

Fellini's Casanova has always been a tricky one to pin down. There is 2-disc in France that has a decent non-anamorphic transfer and extensive extras (in French with NO subtitles). Available HERE.

I'll gladly add Douglas Heyes' Kitten With a Whip! I had totally forgotten about that film! Its wild.

Peter Watkins' Privlege is listed at the IMDb as being digitally restored by Cinesite. Watkins has stated that he has been approached about a DVD edition, but I'm not sure whom he is refering to, ie USA or UK. Anchor Bay were allegedly working on a DVD a few years ago.

I have added Marty Feldman's The Last Remake of Beau Geste.

Losey's Boom is one fucked-up film! Universal actually released a pan and scan VHS (from 2.35:1 Panavision) in 2000. I guess it just missed out on a DVD release. I sincerely hope that Univeral don't release the film pan and scan on DVD, though.

[Buttery Jeb]

Gordon, I believe Universal still has control over "Privlege." I wrote to Project X (the company who put out the Canadian "Punishment Park" DVD and the recent "Munch" theatrical re-release) a few months back asking about future releases, and they mentioned they were in talks with Universal about licensing the film for DVD release under the Peter Watkins banner. I'm pretty sure the planned Anchor Bay release was also to be licensed from Universal, as it was supposed to be coming out at a time when the two had a pretty good arrangement (back when they were putting out DVDs of "Repo Man" and "Two Lane Blacktop").

Also, two more recent titles for the list: Hector Babenco's "At Play In the Fields of Our Lord" (1991), and (God help me) Joel Schumacher's "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" (1981).

-BJ

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The Appaloosa is available on DVD as part of the Marlon Brando Collection.

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence is on DVD in R4.

One Night in the Tropics, Hold That Ghost, Keep 'em Flying, Pardon My Sarong and Who Done It are all in the A&C Collection vol 1. Hit the Ice, Here Come the Co-eds, The Naughty Nineties, Little Giant, The Time of Their Lives are in Vol 2.

The Egg and I is in the Ma and Pa Kettle collection vol 1.

Hellzapoppin' was available in R4, but is OOP.

Scarlet Street is out in several DVD editions. It must be a PD title.

[Ashirg]

Woman in the Window just came out in Spain (and it's Warner title)...

[viciousliar]

Woman in the Window just came out in Spain (and it's Warner title)...

Do you happen to know if it has removable subs, Ashirg?

[Ashirg]

I don't know for sure, but it looks like there're no subtitles - only original English sound and Spanish dub.

[Derek Estes]

There are SO many titles that Universal hold that need to be released. The Sternberg films desperately need to be released, as does Canyon Passage, a restored Scarlet Street-I would love it if Criterion could licences this film and release it with Renoir's La Chienne- not to mention Christmas Holiday, a film I have wanted to see since I read about in the Film Noir Encyclopedia. Bring it on Universal!

[Gordon]

Thanks guys! Corrections and additions have been made.

Jeb, until you mentioned it, I had never heard of Hector Babenco's At Play In the Fields of Our Lord. It sounds right up my street. I love Thr Mission. Its a real epic, huh - 189 minutes! I'm amazed that I had never heard of this film - totally escaped my powerful radar! From what I can gather, Saul Zaentz tried to produce a film version of the novel since the 60s and battled for years to get the rights from MGM, so it was a real labor of love. I'm amazed that Zaentz hasn't pushed and succeded in getting Universal to release his baby. Was he satisfied with the film?

I have added Kiss of the Spider Woman to the list, as the previous VHS release was from Polygram and Universal now owns their library of films. But were the rights carried over for Kiss of the Spider Woman? The success of director Hector Babenco's Carandiru (2003) should have prompted a DVD release. I have read that some lab work was performed on the negative, probably a re-timing.

Keep 'em comin', folks!

[FilmFanSea]

Potential additions to the list:

Little Man, What Now? (Borzage, Frank/1934)
Life Is Sweet (Leigh, Mike/1990)
Secret Ceremony (Losey, Joseph/1968)
Black Cat, The (Ulmer, Edward G./1934)
Crime Without Passion (Hecht, Ben & Charles MacArthur/1934)
You and Me (Lang, Fritz/1938)
Monte Carlo (Lubitsch, Ernst/1930)
Broken Lullabye (The Man I Killed) (Lubitsch, Ernst/1932)
Ruby in Paradise (Nunez, Victor/1993)
Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter) (Sautet, Claude/1993)

[dx23]

The success of director Hector Babenco's Carandiru (2003) should have prompted a DVD release.

The problem is that Carandiru was not a commercial success. Still, I want to see Kiss of the Spider woman released on DVD soon.

On a side note: Does Universal hold the rights to Lost Highway?