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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 15:38:51 GMT -5
I know of two theatrical shorts that fell into the public domain - "Our Gang Follies of 1938", and the only MGM short to fit this category, "Waldo's Last Stand." But what other theatrical shorts have fallen into the public domain by now? And when are more theatrical shorts expected to fall into the public domain?
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 13, 2016 16:15:27 GMT -5
But what other theatrical shorts have fallen into the public domain by now? "Bear Shooters" and "School's Out," as well as the first 54 silents, plus 1928's "Playin' Hooky." |
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 13, 2016 16:45:26 GMT -5
But what other theatrical shorts have fallen into the public domain by now? "Bear Shooters" and "School's Out," as well as the first 54 silents, plus 1928's "Playin' Hooky." I've also noticed that a number of the other Pathe/MGM silents turn up in collections, for at least some of which I doubt were properly licensed. SEEING THE WORLD, OLYMPIC GAMES (1927 Roach/Pathe), and SPOOK SPOOFING (1928 Roach/MGM) are three of these. I have the last two on a 2 DVD set entitled HAL ROACH'S RASCALS by Brentwood that was issued in 2000. Along with the other silent/sound shorts in this collection, they're of rather subpar quality, and utilize Blackhawk Films openings. For some reason, the copyright owners seem to turn a blind eye to these [Pathe/MGM silents]! The copyrights of the other 'Our Gang' Pathe/MGM silents (Along with the 1929 talkies) are currently due to expire (Barring any changes to the copyright laws! Who knows?) by the end of 2024. For more information, refer to the excellent 'Our Gang' related "The Lucky Corner" website: www.theluckycorner.com/CHEERS!  |
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 13, 2016 18:30:32 GMT -5
"Bear Shooters" and "School's Out," as well as the first 54 silents, plus 1928's "Playin' Hooky." I've also noticed that a number of the other Pathe/MGM silents turn up in collections, for at least some of which I doubt were properly licensed. SEEING THE WORLD, OLYMPIC GAMES (1927 Roach/Pathe), and SPOOK SPOOFING (1928 Roach/MGM) are three of these. I have the last two on a 2 DVD set entitled HAL ROACH'S RASCALS by Brentwood that was issued in 2000. Along with the other silent/sound shorts in this collection, they're of rather subpar quality, and utilize Blackhawk Films openings. For some reason, the copyright owners seem to turn a blind eye to these [Pathe/MGM silents]! Yeah, I never understood what the deal was with those films. Talkies like "Hi'-Neighbor!," "The Pooch," and "Fly My Kite" also seem to frequently pop up on cheap DVD releases, despite still being copyrighted. Apparently, companies are able to get around this problem by using the latter-day reissue prints ("Little Rascals," "Kids and Pets," "Famous Kids"). This is evidently why Legend Films has yet to be met with a lawsuit from RHI/CBS/Whomever. In the case of the Blackhawk prints, the company name will usually be blacked out. Sure sounds legal, don't it? Oh, yes, the old Brentwood set. The transfer of "Official Officers" wasn't very good. The entire print consists of frames repeating themselves. I suppose Brentwood's VHS releases weren't any better. Supposedly, the tape immediately cuts off midway through all of their copies of "Shivering Spooks." This may have something to do with why it didn't make it onto the Hal Roach's Rascals DVD set. Okay, rant time over, I promise!  |
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 17, 2016 19:29:17 GMT -5
I've also noticed that a number of the other Pathe/MGM silents turn up in collections, for at least some of which I doubt were properly licensed. SEEING THE WORLD, OLYMPIC GAMES (1927 Roach/Pathe), and SPOOK SPOOFING (1928 Roach/MGM) are three of these. I have the last two on a 2 DVD set entitled HAL ROACH'S RASCALS by Brentwood that was issued in 2000. Along with the other silent/sound shorts in this collection, they're of rather subpar quality, and utilize Blackhawk Films openings. For some reason, the copyright owners seem to turn a blind eye to these [Pathe/MGM silents]! Yeah, I never understood what the deal was with those films. Talkies like "Hi'-Neighbor!," "The Pooch," and "Fly My Kite" also seem to frequently pop up on cheap DVD releases, despite still being copyrighted. Apparently, companies are able to get around this problem by using the latter-day reissue prints ("Little Rascals," "Kids and Pets," "Famous Kids"). This is evidently why Legend Films has yet to be met with a lawsuit from RHI/CBS/Whomever. In the case of the Blackhawk prints, the company name will usually be blacked out. Sure sounds legal, don't it? Oh, yes, the old Brentwood set. The transfer of "Official Officers" wasn't very good. The entire print consists of frames repeating themselves. I suppose Brentwood's VHS releases weren't any better. Supposedly, the tape immediately cuts off midway through all of their copies of "Shivering Spooks." This may have something to do with why it didn't make it onto the Hal Roach's Rascals DVD set. Okay, rant time over, I promise! Perhaps the folks at Brentwood were just attempting to fashion a Monty Pythonesque ending for SHIVERING SPOOKS (1926)?  On a more serious note, I do recall the last time I viewed anything on the Brentwood DVD's awhile back, being a bit shocked as to just how crappy the visual quality really is! That said, I don't recall OFFICIAL OFFICERS (1925) being that messed up, though when I first viewed it in the early 00's, DVD was still a novelty in our Household! To be honest, I think at least most of the Brentwoods look like they could have been recorded off 7th generation VHS! LAZY DAYS (1929) most certainly does--It looks like Dog $#!?, in fact! The quality of Legend Films various releases strike me as being a mixed bag. While in my opinion, they did a great job with the colorization of BABES IN TOYLAND (1934), their 2012 DVD of THE FLYING DEUCES (1939) was an abomination, with the massive edits in the first two reels! Regarding their 'Our Gang' discs (None of which I've seen!), like it or not (Frankly, I don't!), those early 1950's 16mm Monogram Alternate Title prints are apparently considered fair game where Public Domain issuings are concerned! As for the blocking out of the Blackhawk Films Logo, WOW is all that I can say! It's no wonder some companies will choose to employ watermarks (A Pet Peeve of mine!) when some Bootleggers pull that cheesy kind of crap! On the other hand, the unedited (Though marginally cropped) Public Domain title, BEAR SHOOTERS (1930), as it appears on the LAUREL & HARDY AND FRIENDS Image DVD is, in my opinion, a decent Digital Transfer for it's late 1990's early DVD era! CHEERS! |
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