Mister Tee wrote:Great thanks for this. I don't think I ever knew Laurel & Hardy were connected to the movie.
Since we went through best picture nominees we're missing in your other thread, I'll list the other acting nominees for which I'm still searching (excluding the non-existent The Patriot):
The Barker
Valiant is the Word for Carrie
When My Baby Smiles at Me
The Blue Veil
They Knew What They Wanted
A Medal for Benny
They Knew What They Wanted was on local NY TV back around 1980. I'll forever regret friends talking me out of watching it that night, as it was my last opportunity.
Damien and Magilla have both told me that A Medal for Benny used to be part of NY's WNEW rotation in the 60s. That was before I'd had the list of supporting nominees, so it's possible I missed it. I can guarantee it hasn't turned up since 1970.
TCM does whole days of Jane Wyman films and never shows The Blue Veil, so I have to assume there's just no decent print of it available.
Ditto Dan Dailey films -- somehow the Oscar-nominated Baby never turns up when TCM does its cheesy musicals marathons.
I have all these on non-professional DVDs except for The Rogue Song, The Barker, and A Medal for Benny which I had at one time but the copy was so bad it was unwatchable and I got rid of it.
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie is Ok but if you've seen Gladys George in 1937's Madame X you know what to expect. It's a Paramount film, owned by Universal, that was a TV staple in the 1950s and could resurface at any time.
When My Baby Smiles at Me, except for his drunk scene, is pretty much the same Dan Dailey you get in Mother Wore Tights. It's a Fox film, why they never released it on home video is beyond me. They released just about everything else Betty Grable made.
They Knew What They Wanted was a disappointment to me considering the casting of of Charles Laughton, Carole Lombard and Oscar nominated William Gargan in roles long familiar to me from The Most Happy Fella. It's an RKO film. I have no idea why Warner Archive never released it.
The Blue Veil is a treasure thanks to Jane Wyman's performance and the gallery of supporting players who compliment her. The only film that I can compare it to is Marie Dressler's Emma. I understand there are rights issues. It was Wyman's personal favorite of her films. The only available copy is from a taping of an L.A. TV station showing decades ago. They managed to eliminate the commercials but not the annoying station breaks leading into them.