Working on a Chronological Our Gang set

[musheater]

This seemed like the best board to put this on, but if it needs to be moved, go ahead.

I have the 6 Cabin Fever DVDs, and I started to get an urge to put them in chronological order. I want to get my hands on Volumes 13-21 and put all the shorts available from Cabin Fever into a chronological DVD set. I would probably put the Maltin intros into a bonus features section. If anyone can help me out with this, I'd appreciate it. I understand Volumes 13-21 are available on laserdisc. A laserdisc to DVD transfer would definitely be the preferable source. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for bonus materials that they can either send to me or at least let me know that they're out there and should be used if possible, that would be awesome. A copy of the Beau Hunks Little Rascals releases would be really nice too, for menus, my own personal enjoyment, and also I might try inserting music into certain choice shorts (the early talkies, for instance)--as separate features, I wouldn't be replacing the originals here.

I know there are bootlegs out there of the contents of the Cabin Fever releases simply slapped onto DVD, but I want to not only put these in chronological order, but make a really good fan product that everyone can enjoy--good menus, packaging, the whole smash.

I have made a topic about this on the Original Trilogy forums:
originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=4793&STARTPAGE=1

Check that out. If anyone has any talents, skills or resources that would be good for this and would like to help (for instance, Photoshop skills to make packaging, menus, etc.), then I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

[4farina2]

hey musheater~~ how goes it? ;D
this is just great! you are doing something that i have wanted to do but did'nt get to getting around to doing it and yet... now that i read what you are doing, perhaps i dont need to start and finish it afterall.
i am a pianist/composer of silent film and had always wanted to incorporate some of the music from the very first talkies of the Our Gang silents but.... had not have arrived there yet.
Your ideas are really refreshing to read, especially the idea of chronological ordering of the episodes.. i never liked the random picking lists of various box-sets and vhs tapes that i have read the contents of.!

I have finished some Hal Roach/Charlie Chase flicks using music from the same time period as the backdrop and the finished product is an improvement beyond compare ,so... i want to take this stellar result and apply it towards the Silent Our Gang films.
i have yet to purchase any of these films and i have not seen them in many years!! i am only interestd in the the years of 1922 to the years 1934. Do you have any suggestion as to the best purchase choices?

[matt34]

Hey Guys,

That's a great idea!!! I would love to do something like that myself. I have most of the silents and will probably have more when the Laughsmith set comes out. I still need about two dozen silents, which I probably won't find, but I'll keep looking. If you guys are interested in the Little Rascals early talkie music, you might also want to screen some Laurel and Hardy shorts made during that era, since the music is very similar. Check out "Brats," Below Zero," and "Hog Wild." They all have much the same music as the early Our Gang talkies. The best of the three in terms of the music would probably be "Below Zero" since there is less dialogue in that short.

Hope it works out.
Best,
Matt

[musheater]

Whoa, it's been a while.

I still haven't gotten started on this. I've been pretty busy, and I haven't gotten a hold of volumes 13-21 or the Beau Hunks CDs, so if anyone can help with those, that would be awesome. If not, I understand.

That sounds pretty cool, 4farina. You're a pianist/composer? Sweet! I'd love to hear some of your stuff.

I'll definitely check those out, matt34. I'd like to have the Our Gang stuff, but it sounds like the Laurel and Hardy material would also be good. I haven't really seen much of theirs, unfortunately. I'll look into those.