Warner B-Movie Detective Serials

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#1 Post by **Matt** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:54 pm

This is certainly great news for those of us hoping for releases of Warner Bros. B serials (though it's worrisome that we had to wait for a tie-in):

DVD Times wrote:Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Original Nancy Drew Movie Mystery Collection for 12th June 2007. Four classic mysteries never before on Region 1 DVD and featuring the escapades of the feisty teenage detective include Nancy Drew, Detective; Nancy Drew, Reporter; Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter, and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. The Collection will be presented on 2 discs and will sell for $24.98 SRP.

In 1930, the Nancy Drew mystery series debuted in print, captivating girls everywhere. In 1938, the teen detective came to the screen in the first of four Warner Bros. films starring the undeniably charming Bonita Granville, fresh from her Oscar-nominated performance in 1936's These Three. The four films in the collection follow Nancy as she seeks a missing heiress (in Nancy Drew, Detective), investigates a poisoning (Nancy Drew, Reporter), clears a family friend accused of murder (Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter) and faces death in a haunted mansion's secret tunnel (Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase).

The Nancy Drew book series has lasted for generations, selling to date more than 100 million worldwide copies in 22 languages. This summer, star Emma Roberts brings a fresh look to the young sleuth when she stars in Warner Bros.' new, adventuresome remake premiering nationwide in theatres June 15.

tryavna · #2 Post by **tryavna** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:05 pm

Sad that it has to be one of the weakest B series in Warner's library. I would have expected the Saint and/or Falcon series to be a much surer bet for them. I guess being able to fit everything on two discs had to be a factor in the decision, though.

Unfortunately, my own personal favorite B series is the Whistler, which is now owned by Sony. What are the odds of those ever being released? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way. I know the answer.)

filmnoir1 · #3 Post by **filmnoir1** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:21 pm

I agree, it is time that Warner's begin releasing their serials as Fox has done. My vote would be for the Perry Mason series with the great Warren William or perhaps the Philo Vance films.

#4 Post by **Matt** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:24 pm

TCM has been showing a lot more of these lately--Boston Blackie, The Falcon--so I wouldn't be surprised to see them follow Nancy Drew shortly.

shearerchic · #5 Post by **shearerchic** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:07 am

I can't wait for the complete Maisie and Dr. Kildare sets.

Forgotten Goldfish · Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:46 pm

From the full text of the 2007 HTF Warner chat:

Let's see how Nancy Drew draws buyers to see if it paves the way for Torchy Blane.

I'm sure this comment doesn't apply only to Torchy Blane. The folks at Warner will obviously look at sales of Nancy Drew when making their decisions about release dates for their other mystery series too. They'd be fools to do otherwise.

Foulard · #7 Post by **Foulard** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:26 pm

Looks like Nancy Drew is just the tip of the iceberg for these series being released. From the Warner's HTF online chat:

For 2008, we hope to bring PHILO VANCE, PERRY MASON, THE SAINT, and THE FALCON to DVD. Serious discussion for CHAN is ongoing at the moment.

Ashirg · #8 Post by **Ashirg** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:26 am

Meh! Too modern looking. Wonder why titles are not listed in order on the cover...

#9 Post by **Jeff** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:44 pm

That cover is awful. Whoever drew those arms and man-hands on her must have been the same artist who did the original A Canterbury Tale cover.

kinjitsu · #10 Post by **kinjitsu** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:42 pm

Tomorrow on TCM:

Nancy Drew -- Detective
Nancy Drew -- Reporter
Nancy Drew -- Trouble Shooter
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Jean-Luc Garbo · #11 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:01 pm

Is that Laura Dern?

shearerchic · #12 Post by **shearerchic** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:52 pm

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:Is that Laura Dern?

lord_clyde · #13 Post by **lord_clyde** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:20 pm

I just saw an 'exclusive behind the scenes' clip for the upcoming movie, and boy does it look awful. I thought it looked just mildly bad until Nancy is being bitched out by a prissy classmate and notices a ticking bomb on the cafeteria table, she promptly says "Excuse me, I have to defuse this bomb" then she grabs it, throws it somewhere (a well? maybe a flower cart, I couldn't tell.) and runs toward the camera, jumping just as it explodes. I'm pretty sure she had some sarcastic quip afterwards, and I suppose it's always possible it could be a fantasy sequence, but it ruined my lunch break dammit.

HugoDeVries · #14 Post by **HugoDeVries** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:53 am

As a fan of murder mystery and detective thrillers ive lapped up the excellent Charlie Chan and Thin Man dvd releases but was wondering if some of the lesser known 'B' series have been released on dvd, (im doubting theyve had the bells and whistles treatment)

The Philo Vance and Falcon series are of special interest, as who can resist any series that puts William Powell, Basil Rathbone, George Sanders and Tom Conway in the lead!!

Any info appreciated!!

Irina · #15 Post by **Irina** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 2:19 pm

The nine Falcon movies and eight Saint movies have been released on DVD in Finland a couple of years ago. No fancy stuff here - English audio with forced Finnish subtitles.

Unless you are fluent in Finnish, the site navigation might be challenging. The customer service is helpful.

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