A second straight week where there are several really interesting films unavailable on DVD. Only two of these are available in R1, but both are relegated to cheap public domain editions. As always, all times are EST and program days begin at 6:00 AM.

Sunday December 16

2:00 AM Kameradschaft (Pabst, 1931) - BW-87 mins. - TCM aired another Pabst film back in September, Westfront 1918, and, like that one, this pops up every so often on the channel and is a Janus Films property. Until Criterion release these films on DVD, this is the easiest way to watch them. Plotwise, the movie concerns post-WWI German miners who defiantly rescue French miners trapped beneath the new border. A DVD release in Germany exists, but I’ve no idea on the quality. IMDB puts the runtime at 93 minutes, but TCM is scheduled to show a truncated version. Also, they apparently show a compromised full frame aspect ratio, taken from the Janus VHS print, instead of the original 1.20:1. We can’t have everything, I suppose.

3:30 AM Black Fury (Curtiz, 1935) - BW-95 mins. - Paul Muni stars as an accented coal miner involved in a mob-influenced labor dispute. Muni finished second in the Academy Awards for this performance, but wasn’t technically nominated. He was a write-in candidate and, during this time, the Academy didn’t keep the order of finish secret. Originally released by RKO, the film is now controlled by Warner Bros. and unavailable on DVD.

Monday December 17

10:oo PM Man of the West (Mann, 1958) - C-100 mins. - Gary Cooper steps into Jimmy Stewart’s shoes as the protagonist of Anthony Mann’s psychological western. This character is certainly different than the ones Stewart played for Mann, but the murky past that can’t be forgotten is still here. I can’t help but wonder how Stewart would have handled the role and his absence makes me prefer the Mann films they did together, but this film has its share of fans who feel the opposite. There are releases in France (non-anamorphic) and the UK (no extras) (comparison here), but nothing so far in R1. I probably shouldn’t continue to stubbornly hold out for MGM to release it here, but I am nonetheless.

Tuesday December 18

3:15 PM Vivacious Lady (Stevens, 1937) - BW-91 mins. - George Stevens would have been 103 today and TCM is honoring him by showing seven of his films, including some lesser-known ones. This comedy stars real-life couple James Stewart and Ginger Rogers as a professor and a singer who must adjust to their new lives and each other when they marry shortly after meeting for the first time. I can’t believe I’ve never seen this, probably because it’s unavailable on DVD. It was made for RKO and Warner Bros. most likely controls DVD rights. They’re probably deciding whether to include the film in a Ginger Rogers set or a second Stewart box.

Wednesday December 19

6:00 AM The Clairvoyant (Elvey, 1935) - BW-81 mins. - Claude Rains and Fay Wray in a movie about a fake psychic who seems to really develop paranormal powers. The whole thing sounds promising enough and it was adapted by Charles Bennett, the screenwriter of several early Hitchcock films. IMDB lists multiple companies for this British thriller, originally made for Gaumont, so I’m not sure where the R1 rights lie, but it’s unavailable on DVD (everywhere, I believe).

8:00 PM Nothing Sacred (Wellman, 1937) - C-74 mins. - I don’t believe I’ve ever picked four movies for a single day, but these Wellman pictures TCM are showing this month are worth spotlighting. The theme tonight is “Romance” and first up is Carole Lombard (in color!) and Fredric March as a girl diagnosed with a rare disease and the newspaper reporter who exploits the story. The plot description doesn’t make the film seem like a comedy, but it apparently is. As a result of being in the public domain, the DVD releases are fairly bad. I’d love for TCM to surprise me with a good-looking print, but I’m cautious.

12:30 AM Small Town Girl (Wellman, 1936) - BW-106 mins. - Janet Gaynor stars as the woman of the title who falls for rich and drunk playboy Robert Taylor one night. They marry, but he regrets it the next morning. Barbara Stanwyck would feel Janet’s pain a few years later. Jimmy Stewart pops up in an early supporting part as a character named Elmer Clampett. An MGM film, not on DVD and with rights controlled by Warner Bros.

4:15 AM Lady of Burlesque (Wellman, 1943) - BW-91 mins. - Speaking of Ms. Stanwyck, here she is playing a night club performer for the second time in three years, following 1941’s Ball of Fire. Based on a novel by the infamous Gypsy Rose Lee, this is a movie that dares to combine the rare trio of comedy, music and murder. Also another public domain title and released by Image in a now out-of-print edition that hilariously tacked on the accurate but misleading title of the original novel, “The G-String Murders,” to the film’s name. I can imagine the many disappointed customers who purchased on false pretenses. Another release, from the Roan Group, is still in print and I’ve read that it’s an okay edition.

Thursday December 20

10:00 PM Theodora Goes Wild (Boleslawski, 1936) - BW-94 mins. - Despite my constant mentioning of Barbara Stanwyck lately, Irene Dunne is the official December star of the month on TCM and a night of her comedies is scheduled here. Anyone who hasn’t seen The Awful Truth, airing right afterwards at 11:45 PM, should make a point of watching it, but I’m going to try to catch this one also. Dunne got an Oscar nomination for playing a woman who lives a double life as both a scandalous romance novelist and a normal small-town resident. Melvyn Douglas co-stars as a book jacket artist. Director Richard Boleslawski had a short career in Hollywood, this being his penultimate picture, before dying the following year. I know of him only by reputation and that he made early versions of Les Miserables, The Painted Veil, and Three Godfathers. Theodora Goes Wild was made for Columbia and has not been released on DVD.

Friday December 21

12:00 PM Night Must Fall (Reisz, 1964) - BW-102 mins. - I’ve seen the 1937 version of this story with Robert Montgomery as the murderous lead, but not the remake TCM will show here. This reunited Albert Finney with his Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (which follows at 2:00 PM) director Karel Reisz and cinematographer Freddie Francis. Neither version of this film is available on DVD. MGM released both originally, placing Warner Bros. as the current rights holder. A host of other 1960s British films air this afternoon as well, including Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life at 5:45 PM.