The Extras - Warner Archive December Announcement: 5 Classic Films and 2 Hanna-Barbera Shows

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Send us a textWe announce the Warner Archive's December lineup with seven new releases plus the Tom and Jerry Golden Era anthology. Get the details about the restoration and included extras you can expect for these new Blu-ray releases.Purchase link: Touche Turtle and Dum Dum: The Complete Series Blu-rayPre‑order link for Tom & Jerry Golden Era Anthology Collection Blu-ray The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog Group Join our new public Facebook Group for Warner Archive Animation Fans and get the latest update on all the releases. As an Amazon Affiliate, The Extras may receive a commission for purchases through our purchase links. There is no additional cost to you, and every little bit helps us in the production of the podcast. Thanks in advance. Otaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. [e-mail]

Hi, I'm animation historian Jerry Beck, and you're listening to The Extras. Hello and welcome to The Extras. I'm Tim Larger host, and joining me is George Feltenstein to announce the December Blu-ray releases from the Warner Archive. Hi, George. Hello, Tim. Great to see you, as always. Yes, and this is our last month of 2025. It seems to have gone quickly, but each month it feels like there's just been a wealth of releases this year. So this has just been a fantastic year for the Warner Archive. Well, I would share your sentiment.

And I'm very excited about all the things we have going in the pipeline for next year, too. So things aren't going to slow down. They're going to keep a pace. Yeah. And that's what's very, very exciting. You've mentioned this on previous podcast, but just in case anybody missed it, you have a bunch of titles being worked on right now that people can look forward to in the coming year. And that's just fantastic to hear. So there's no slowdown for the Warner Archive.

And today we're going to be talking about seven December releases, but there's actually eight because of the previously announced Tom and Jerry Golden era anthology. And that releases on December 2nd, I believe, so very early in the month. So just a pack December. And there are a couple more animation titles coming in December. We're going to hold off on diving into those till after we talk about the classic films, but that will be exciting for animation fans. So, well, first off, why don't we jump right into I Love Melvin from 1953? What can you tell us about this Technicolor musical? Well, you said the magic

word, Technicolor. All of our efforts when we're recombining the Technicolor negatives just have blown me out of the water. I think people have had a similar experience of being really impressed

on how great these films look. In this case, this is a very different kind of film, very different kind of musical. This was, MGM musical, and it was the studio's thought to reunite Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds after they fit together so well in singing in the rain. And what's interesting about this film is it doesn't come from the traditional producers of

musicals at MGM. It doesn't come from Arthur Freed. It doesn't come from Joe Pasternak. It doesn't come from Jack Cummings. It comes from George Wells, who was also a screenwriter, and produced a handful of films. But the other thing I find really interesting about this film is that they shot it on location in Manhattan, which was a very expensive thing to do. And I've tried to find out in my research what precipitated that to happen that they said, we can't film this on a lot too.

We need to go to New York City. But there is Donald Connor and Debbie Reynolds doing a musical number in a little portion of Central Park I know very well as you get towards Columbus Circle. It's a delightful, sprightly musical. He is a photographer from Look Magazine. She's a would-be actress who's dreaming of stardom. And their chemistry together is really just sizzling. It's a shame that they didn't do more work together because they're just charming. And the film was filled with great dances and lovely songs. And you get a unbilled cameo appearance from Robert Taylor at the beginning. It moves along at the clip.

And just as we did when this film was released on DVD, we have an outtake musical number, what was supposed to be the finale of the film. It's something that we used a little bit of, and that's Entertainment 3, but that deleted finale musical number is on the disc as an extra. So that's wonderful to talk about on the extra. If you're a fan of Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, this is a delightful 76 minutes of technicolored musical entertainment coming from the Dream Factory.

Yeah, it's a terrific cast. here, and you have a few other extras that we should probably mention as well. Yeah, we've got two MGM cartoons from 1953, neither of which have Tom and Jerry. We have The Impossible Possum with Barney Bear and TechSavry's TV of Tomorrow, which has always been a favorite of mine. So it's a lovely package, and I think people are going to be knocked out when they see how great the movie looks, and it's going to be just a fun thing to add to the collection on the shelf. Yeah, yeah.

Well, that's terrific. And I love it that you have Technicolors almost every month this year it feels like. So that's been a real treat for everyone. Well, next we have another musical, Interrupted Melody, from 1955. What can you tell us about this film? Well, I classify this as a drama with music in it. Okay. Because it's the true story of an Australian opera singer, opera star, Marjorie Lawrence, who at the height of her career was stricken with polio.

And how she overcame the disease physically as well as spiritually, that's really the key to the story of the film. and Glenn Ford is, as in real life, Marjorie Lawrence married a doctor. Glenn Ford plays the doctor. Eleanor Parker plays Miss Lawrence. Miss Lawrence was a big star at the Metropolitan Opera. At the time this movie was released, she had written an autobiography. The autobiography rights were bought by MGM to make the film. And there were several other actresses considered to play

the part, and the studio finally settled on Eleanor Parker, and she got an Oscar nomination as best actress for her performance. It's a really, really good film, and it's very poignant and very well done. So I always like to distinguish that this is a drama that has music in it. People don't just start singing and dancing in the middle of the story to advance the plot. But it's very well done directed by Curtis Bernhardt, who was a great director, did fine work at MGM and Warner Brothers. It's a cinemascope movie, and it's got an awesome soundtrack, and I think people will really enjoy it, especially people who've never seen it before. It'll be a rediscovery. And this must be a fairly young Roger Moore. Very young Roger Moore.

Yeah. Roger Moore was under contract at MGM. Before he moved to Warner Brothers to be a contract player and ended up doing TV before, everything was before the saint. The saint turned it around for him and then, of course, live and let die and being bond number two, you know. Right. So, but yes, you get to see Roger Moore and Eleanor Parker and Glenford for a great cast. Yeah. And MGM really pulled out all the stops for this. And the Cinemascope really, between that and the stereophonic sound, it's a wonderful presentation.

I think people are going to be really impressed with it. Well, I always am happy to see more Eleanor Parker. And then let's see, you have a few extras on here as well. We have one cartoon that's also a Cinemascope, Tom and Cherie, which, of course, is in the Tom and Jerry collection that's coming out December 2nd. But the reason I selected that cartoon was, that's the cartoon it opened with in Los Angeles. Oh, fun. Yeah, that's true. I went to the movie ad and said, okay, what played with this movie?

And that was it. And it's a love story for Tom. So it fits in well with the feature. And you have the original theatrical trailer. Of course. Yeah. So, yeah. That's great.

If it's after 1933 and it's MGM, there is a 99% chance we have. the trailer. So we're glad to be able to include it. Right, right. Well, next we have On Borrowed Time. What can you tell us about this 1939 film? This is a film we've had a lot of requests for it. It's based on a book, which became a very successful Broadway play that in turn was purchased by MGM to make the movie. And it deals with, I would say it has a supernatural aspect to it because Sir Cedric Hardwick basically plays death. 20 years before the Seventh Seal, it's very moving. The crux of it basically is, well, I know Barry Moore in one of his best performances,

and that's saying something, plays a man who's confronting death and trying to put it off in the persona of Sir Cedric Hardwick and there's this other aspect to it where his grandson you know he's trying to condition his grandson to be prepared for the fact that Gramps isn't going to be around very much longer these are very tough things

to deal with in life as well as certainly in cinema the way this film handles the material is with a very intelligent touch. This was one of the early Warner Archive DVDs 2009 or 2010 and not looking very good. We've now got the 4K scan off the preservation elements and it looks and sounds remarkable. And this film isn't better,

known, but then again, it was made in 1939, and with 1939 being the apex of not just MGM or Warner Brothers or Archao, but every studio, every studio was turning out like phenomenal work in 1939. That's why many people, including myself, think it is the greatest year in the history of Hollywood. There are others who dispute that, and I respect them for disputing it. But for me, the amount of 1939 movies that don't even get consideration for top flight is because the year was so stuffed with greatness coming from every single studio, both the A studios and the B studios, remarkable films. So Unborrowed Time now gets the Warner Archive Class A treatment with a gorgeous new master, a beautiful Blu-ray,

and I'm very, very happy that people will get to own this, and we've added not one but two radio shows. We have a Screen Guild theater production from 1946 with Lionel Barrymore, and then a great scenes from great plays treatment of the story with none other than Boris Carlaw. So that's pretty impressive. We have an MGM black and white cartoon that's kind of a one-shot called Wanted No Master.

Diehard animation fans will be happy about that. And then we have a Technicolor Fitzpatrick Travel Talks day on Treasure Island. It's from 1939. That's the only thing that ties it to the film. And then the trailer. The trailer is very interesting, too, because you see how MGM was trying to sell this movie without saying to everybody, hey, you want to come see a movie

all about death and dying? No, they obviously weren't going to do that. But there's a reason why they were considered the Tiffany of Studios. And this is just one example of 52 films a year at Warner Brothers, 52 films a year at MGM and the other studios as well

because they had to feed the pipeline of their theaters. And the work that was done in 1939 by all the studios really warrants this kind of acclaim. Because it was the last year before World War II began in Europe, September of 1939, and that kind of cut off half the world from financial support for filmmaking. And stories also had to start to reflect what was going on in the time. So I highly recommend this film. I've gotten a lot of notes today, social media and emails and things. People really thrilled about this movie finally coming to Blu-ray and looking and sounding good.

It deserves it. Yeah, yeah. So many people excited for these films that are from the 30s especially, you know, that once they get the Warner Archive treatment, I'm always amazed and always say it over and over again. these films from the 30s, how great they look and how that really helps make them so much more accessible to those who aren't familiar with films of that era. So I think it's great. As you mentioned, 1939, we talk about that fact frequently when it comes up that it's such a great year. So this is exciting. Well, next we have another Errol Flynn film, George.

you promised that to people, and it's been flooding through the release schedule here. And this one's a Western San Antonio from 1945. What can you tell us about this release? Well, not only is it a Western, but it's a Technicolor Western. So once again, we get to use our proprietary technology to make Technicolor look better than it did when the movie opened. And this is one of those films that on DVD was soft and a little bit out of alignment. And now it's crisp as a bell, tight, looks wonderful. And it's just a well-written, enjoyable Western.

Now, how a Tasmanian-born performers such as Mr. Flynn could easily fit into roles in Westerns, just spoke to his versatility. And when this movie was released in 1945, Mr. Flynn was 33, I believe he was still looking great, you know, and at the height of his, you know, movie star peak. But he plays opposite Alexis Smith, who is just stunningly gorgeous. And you've got a great cast of Warner Stock supporting players, a rousing screenplay, music. by Max Steiner, who could ask for anything more. I love Flynn's Westerns. There's always one line in there that kind of justifies, you know, where the accent came from

and why he doesn't sound like most of the other cowboys. But this is a really fun movie, and it's now getting that special treatment with a 4K scan of the Technicolor Nitrate. It's going to make people really, really happy. And we've added a Warner Bros. So there's Technicolor two real short called Frontier Days, which is from 1945 also. And that was on the DVD release of this. And we also edited a 1945 Technicolor Porky Pig cartoon called Trap Happy Porky and the trailer.

So it's a nice package, very entertaining. And if you love Warner Brothers Westerns, you're going to love San Antonio. I think Garo Flint's great and everything. So, uh, I do too. And you really have to, do you really have to excuse an accent in the West when America was just really full of immigrants and they all were in the West anyway. So, uh, but, but that's, and we have several more Flynn's in, in the works. So, uh, given that his work at the studio was so prolific.

And he also did some films for MGM. We've got a lot of Arrow Flynn still in our quiver. in preparation at this time. So we'll be talking about Errol during 2026 as well as his fellow Warner cohorts like Cagney and Robinson and Betty Davis. There'll be a lot to talk about. Very exciting. Yeah, more great news for fans of those amazing, amazing stars for Warner Brothers.

Well, next we have the Valley of Decision, also from 1945. What can you tell us about this film? Well, this is an adaptation of a book. It's a love story and a story of class versus class. And Greer Garson was really at the height of her movie stardom when she did this picture. And it was a huge hit. It's very different from the book that it's based on, probably because they had to deal with production code issues. but basically Gregory Peck, who was relatively a newcomer when he made this movie, he had done a few pictures before this, but this cemented his big stardom.

And he was borrowed for this movie. I think he was, if I'm correct, I think he was under contract to David O'Sullsneck. And Selznick made a lot of money just lending out the stars that were under contract. to him. Garcin and Gregory Peck together were really sensational. And these stories of upper class versus lower class, you know, set in a steel mining Pittsburgh of the late 1800s. It deals with the Industrial Revolution. It was promoted as MGM's tempestuous romance. It was a big hit at the box office, one of their biggest pictures of the year. So yet again, this is another finally leaving the roots of a 35-year-old, terrible standard definition master made off a print, and we've gone

off the preservation materials to create this new 4K scan, Blu-ray. It's just going to be wonderful. And we've added a lot of cool stuff on this, too. We have a Lux Radio Theater broadcast with Greer Garson and Gregory Peck. And if my memory serves me correctly, William Keely, who had taken over the hosting of Lux by that time, makes a really big deal about, this is the film you wanted us to bring to the Lux Radio Theater. And here they are. We also have a great Tex-Avery cartoon with quote-un-Riding Hood and the quote-unquote Wolf Wilden Wolfie. All those cartoons are basically kind of around the same thematics, but text does amazing things that makes each of them distinctly different. And then we have a short subject, a musical short

subject called Spread in the Jam, which is really kind of fun. And it relates to people trying to raise enough money to pay that. They have like a party to get the rent together. And if my memory is serving me correctly. This was directed by Charles Walters, who was a choreographer at the studio, and it was kind of like the test to see if he could direct a feature, which he did a year and a half later with Good News in 1947. And then he stayed at MGM as a top director of comedies as well as musicals and even a few dramas. So this is a very well-packed release, but the feature is, of course, the attraction. And as with Unborrowed Time, once again,

we have Lionel Barrymore in a scene-stealing performance. But the really remarkable aspect of the acting in this film is Peck. And seeing how even at such a young age, he so commanded attention on screen. I think Gregory Peck, I think Atticus Finch, and then there's everything else. But, you know, he was really great in everything he did. And this is him at the very early age.

But the following year after this, he did what I think is one of his very best films, which were proud to have in the Warner Archive Collection as a Technicolor Restoration, The Yearling. He was just unbelievably wonderful in that. The whole relationship he had with Claude John, Jarman Jr. is his son and Jane Wyman and his wife. I find that film remarkable, and we may have released it a few years ago, but I really want people to look back at the hundreds and hundreds of Blu-rays we've put out in the last 13 years because there's a lot of gold in them in our hills.

And that's part of why we've been doing these multi-features so that for things that we did put out in the past, we find ways of making them economically more attractive for. people who've yet to dip their toe in the water for a particular genre or actor. So there will be more multi-features coming in 2026 as well. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Hey, are you a fan of the Warner Archive animation releases? Do you want to get the latest updates and news right away?

If you're on Facebook, we have just created a brand new Facebook group called the Warner Archive animation fans group. And we celebrate past releases, but really we created this group because of all of the great releases that have come in this year and are anticipated in the coming years. So there have been a lot of great releases from the Looney Tunes Collectors Vault series. There's the Tom and Jerry releases. There's all of the Hannah Barbera releases.

I mean, there's just a wealth of animation coming from the Warner Archive. So we celebrate all of it. It's a community with other people who enjoy these releases and want to talk about them and share the latest news, reviews, and updates from the Warner Archive. So if that sounds interesting to you, check out the link here in the podcast show notes, and we hope to see you soon. Well, I'm looking forward to this one. I was glad you mentioned Lionel Barrymore.

I saw his name. I'm like, well, we've got several of his films in this. December, but he's also been in a lot of films you've released this year. And this comes in at almost two hours. It's quite a long, powerful film. And I think you said here also maybe in the release that this was quite a successful film at the box office. Very, very successful. Yeah. And it earned some Oscar nominations. It didn't win any Oscars. But it was nominated, I believe, Greer Garson for Best Actress and Herbert Stother, who did the instrumental underscoring. They were both nominated.

And I think it did win, like, the Picture of the Year award from Photo Play magazine, because that's representative of, like, the People's Choice Awards today. That was what the people said was the best picture of 1945. So people may not have been thrilled to deal with, like, the best picture the Oscars gave in 1945, which is The Lost Weekend, all about alcoholism. This is a little more populist, shall we say. And it was a film that appealed to both men and women and was very, very successful. It just represents the kind of films that MGM made so very well.

Well, now we're going to turn to animation, George, for the last couple of releases you're going to talk about. And we'll kind of group them together because I think, they obviously go together. But what can you tell us about these two Hanna-Barbera series? Well, two months ago, we gave the world Tushay Turtle and Dum Dum, and part of the series of three new animated adventures with three new sets of characters. There was Tusha Turtle and Dum, and then Wally Gator, which we're putting out all 52 episodes of, on two discs for the price of one,

and then Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har Har, also 52 episodes on two discs for the price of one. These cartoons, I always try to underscore this because people need to understand. They were produced on a much lower budget. They were produced on 16 millimeter film. The original camera elements are actually positives From that came internegatives and prints and so forth and so on.

These were not half-hour shows of each character, but they could have been if the individual state television station decided to run them that way. Hannah Barbera prepared these 52 cartoons for each of the characters, and the cartoons run about five minutes each, and they could be split with other characters that are from other owners. If the station had Popeye cartoons or Rocky and his friends cartoons, they could mix them all together. But they all hit the market in September of 1962.

And as Hannah Barbera characters, they hold their own alongside with a lot of our favorites like Huck and Yogi and Quickdora McGraw and so forth. and so on. So people really love these characters. And to put them all together nicely in the order that they were originally offered to the stations is, it's a delight. And they look much better than they ever have before. They don't look as good as the Huckleberry Hound cartoons that came off 35mm camera negatives because this is a 16 millimeter production done on a lower budget. But we've done our very best to make the pictures as clean and sharp as possible. And the animation

comes across very, very well. And the writing is excellent, too. So there's a lot of laughs in there. It's not condescending kitty fare. It's entertainment. Right. Right. And there aren't any extras included in these. No, George. No. Yeah. And part of that is because I know you're really trying to keep the cost, which you already mentioned, two discs for the price of one. You We're trying to keep these costs, I'm assuming, very, you know, affordable because otherwise, you know, it could really add up if it was $40 or whatever per release. I mean, in today's market, we're trying to find that sweet spot where we can, everything has to be profitable or else we can't go on. Yeah. So thankfully, we are having a more profitable.

profitable year than we've ever had before. But it is something that we're very, very focused on. That's why I also want to make it very clear, as I've said before, the suggested retail price for our releases had to go up because, you know, after 12, 13 years, we had to raise our SRP a little bit to 2498. But if you see somebody selling it for two or three dollars over the We have no control over that, and some parties are taking advantage of that. We're trying to put together a good package for a fair price and put a lot of heart and soul and work into it with the whole group of many individuals here at the studio who are all dedicated to making everything look and sound wonderful.

Right, right. Well, I'm really just happy that these are coming out. so soon after Tushay Turtle, just because they are, you know, grouped together in historically, even though later on they were dispersed and shown in various different forms or whatever. And I think that having them as individual sets, you know, allows people not only to choose which ones might be their favorite, but also to kind of break up the cost, you know, to keep them at a cheaper, lower price point, more affordable for everyone for the, the collectors and to get them in this, you know, with the 4K scans so that they look as good

as possible now. So I think that's a win-win for animation fans. I think so, too. Well, another great month, seven titles releasing plus we mentioned the eighth is the Tom and Jerry. Can't forget that. Six discs. Six discs.

Yeah, that's a huge collection there. But so much for animation, you know, fans to enjoy. And then also all of these classic films for the classic film fan. So another great month and just in time for the Christmas holiday. Absolutely. It's always great when George comes on to tell us what's coming next month from the Warner Archive. As a fan, just like you, it fills me with joy as I hear what these films and TV series and animation are that are being released for the very first time in HD. So it's an exciting time to hear that.

And this has just been a fantastic year with so many announcements, just of so many titles and such a great resurgence of animation and so much more. We will be posting the pre-order links when they become available. Usually that's in a few weeks before those do become available, but we'll have those there for you. The Tom and Jerry Golden Era Anthology is available for pre-orders. So if you haven't yet picked that up, be sure and check out the pre-order link in the show notes as well.

I recommend getting that pre-order in so that you're in the list to have those shipped out right away. Because I do imagine that there's a possibility that if you wait too long, you could not get it before the holiday. So paid for that for the serious collector. So get your pre-order in for that. And if you haven't yet subscribed, you may want to do that because there is a lot of exciting podcasts coming in the future. Until next time, you've been listening to Tim Millard. Stay slightly obsessed. Hi, this is Tim Millard, host of the extras podcast,

and I wanted to let you know that we have a new private Facebook group for fans of the Warner Archive and Warner Brothers Catalog Physical Media releases. So if that interests you, you can find the link on our Facebook page or look for the link in the podcast show notes.