Michael, this reminds me of the good old days, when you and I first met online in 2002 and I was always bashing Warner while you vehemently defended every move they made! MUCH to Warner's credit, they completely changed their tune in the past few years (I believe at least partly due to the online feedback and complaints) and now they are NUMERO UNO with me!

However -- Warner promised all 48 Bowery Boys films would start coming chronoligically like.... what.... two years ago now? Supposedly they began their task and noticed right away that they were having trouble finding pristine prints for some of these, so now it's on hold. As I have said over at the Home Theater Forum on this matter:

C'mon, Warner --- we're not looking for "stellar and immaculate quality or nothing" on Bowery Boys titles, of all things (sheesh!). There were TCM airings of many of these several years ago and they looked fine. I even have recordings on VHS taken off all different TV broadcasts from various locations through the years, and they're good. So use immaculate elements for the titles where you can, and where nothing perfect exists, we'll settle for whatver is available - what other choice do we have? To NOT have these films released? Not an option! Add a disclaimer that "these have been taken from the best surviving elements," if need be!

Even on past sets from Warner, which are almost always beautiful, there have been less-then-perfect prints in some cases; the Val Lewton RKO horrors left much to be desired in some of the prints, like the spotty I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (which comes to mind). Some of the old TARZAN films didn't look as great as others, picture-wise. Look at the relatively weak quality of The Three Stooges film MEET THE BARON, as released in the recent "Comedy Teams" collection as released from Warner! In the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN episodes, a great episode called "The Stolen Costume" was rendered from 16mm. So it's not like Warner has adopted a firm "it must always be immaculate quality or bust!!" attitude in the past.... why should the Bowery Boys (who are fun, but are not exactly CITIZEN KANE material) be any different? You guys are terrific -- absolutely the best company going today! Believe me, the niche audiences buying the Bowery Boys films will understand the position you're in.

Another factor that should always be kept in mind is that sooner is always better than later when it comes to getting maximum milegae out of older catalogue titles, and especially something as relatively minor in the overall Historical Hall of Cinema as The Bowery Boys. Meaning that the core audience for these comparatively offbeat films are mostly older people who already grew up on the series from when they were young. The longer the wait, the "less" profitable films like these become as the core audience diminishes; not "more".

Soooo -- yes, I am happy to have ATTACK OF THE 50 FT WOMAN and TROG (I also own THE GIANT BEHEMOTH and QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE but haven't watched them yet cuz I really don't care about them as much). But the ones I really want are FRANKENSTEIN 1970, THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, and THE WALKING DEAD. I realize that, at the end of the day, everyone has his/her own special and personal "wish list". I'm just disappointed, because WB said they were coming.
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