I just found this on YouTube. It’s a beautiful tribute to Andrea King.
“The Caribees” from “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid”
“The World In His Arms” on DVD!
Ann Blyth, Gregory Peck, and Andrea King in “The World In His Arms” (Universal, 1952)
Universal has just released this film as an individual title on DVD. It was part of a Gregory Peck box set, and now you can buy it for a very reasonable price on Amazon and other sites!
St. Patrick’s Day on TCM kicks off with “My Wild Irish Rose”
Dennis Morgan and Andrea King in "My Wild Irish Rose" (1947).
DVR ALERT: Andrea’s performance as Lillian Russell in the Technicolor musical My Wild Irish Rose will help kick off a day of celebrating on TCM. It airs at 6 a.m. (Eastern Time) on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2011.
Check your local listings!
Happy birthday, Andrea King!
Andrea’s episode of “Cheyenne” now available on DVD
Andrea King guest-starred on the Western TV series “Cheyenne” in the mid-1950s. Hers was Episode 5 of Season 2, called “The Law Man,” and it is available now through the Warner Archives.
CLICK HERE to order now!
“Dial 1119” released on DVD!
Andrea’s only movie at MGM was the film noir crime drama “Dial 1119,” and it has been released on DVD for the first time by Warner Home Entertainment!
1950's "Dial 1119" for MGM.
It’s featured in a box set as part of the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5 and can be ordered from Amazon by CLICKING HERE.
Leon Ames and Andrea King in "Dial 1119."
Warner Archive DVD sale going on now!
My Wild Irish Rose (Warner Bros. 1947)
Thought I would mention this, since the Warner Archive features a nice handful of Andrea King’s films available for the first time on DVD! If you buy five movies, they’re $11.00 each, and come with free shipping!
Currently, you can order God Is My Co-Pilot, My Wild Irish Rose, Roughly Speaking, The Man I Love, Darby’s Rangers, and Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting.
For those of you curious about the Warner Archive, I was a little skeptical at first. These are on-demand discs. They’re DVD-Rs, meaning they’re burned to a disc when you order them. They’re not replicated from a glass master for 1,000s of copies and stored in a warehouse, waiting for shipping.
They’re also not restored or remastered for DVD. But they are generated from the current broadcast masters, and come from the “best quality source” available (short of a full restoration).
So, how good are they?
Better than I thought. At least so far. I have purchased several.
The quality is just fine! Sound and picture are solid, and they look better than they do when airing on TV (probably because TV signals are compressed to some degree, and there isn’t much if any noticeable compression flaws on these DVDs). They have labels on the discs, but they are either super-thin, glossy labels or they’re burned onto the DVD-Rs. I can’t quite tell (which is a good thing). I’ve had bad luck with paper labels on DVDs. After multiple plays in a hot player, the labels can start to separate ever so slightly from the discs and cause skipping issues during playback.
I recommend trying them out, if you find titles you like.
I’m also hoping the other movie studios start similar on-demand disc services. I understand that Warner Archive has been very successful as a business model, and they’re making money when so many now in the Home Entertainment (DVD/BD) industry are not.
If you’re interested, don’t delay! The sale runs from March 24 to March 31, 2010.
R.I.P., Peter Graves …
Peter Graves and Andrea King starring in "Red Planet Mars" (1952).
So sad to hear that he passed away yesterday at 83.
Andrea starred opposite Peter in the early sci-fi movie “Red Planet Mars” (1952). Peter was a relative newcomer at the time, but she said he was a real pro, even at the beginning of his career. She kept in touch with him over the years, and he remained one of her favorite leading men.
The Beast With Five Fingers …
Andrea used to joke with me that all her character Julie did was scream like a nitwit through this entire film. I don’t believe that is the case, and she grew to appreciate her performance over time. It became her most popular film through the years, due largely to the creepiness factor and a stellar performance by screen villain Peter Lorre. The special effects were pretty spectacular, too, especially for 1946! It’s a bit of clever, trick photography, involving a split screen in the overhead shots. The matted image splits right at the front edge of the piano, hiding the pianist’s arm (in a black shirt) as his hand, with a fake disembodied wrist attached to the top of it, glides over the keys and plays the music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMthktGgm0Q
I also discovered this second gem of a video on YouTube: a performance by Anatol Ugorski of the Bach Chaconne as it was transcribed for piano, by Brahms, for the left hand. Bach had originally written it for solo violin.
This music was beautifully arranged to great effect by composer Max Steiner for Warner Bros.’ “The Beast With Five Fingers.”
You have to turn the volume WAY up to hear it, but it’s worth the trouble. Enjoy!