Hidden Hollywood, Vol. 2 - More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
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Actor: David Brown, Don Ameche, Joan Collins, Phil Baker, Walter BrennanBrand: Image Entertainment
Producer: Kevin Burns
Writer: Kevin Burns
Producer: Kim Egan
Producer: Michael Matessino
Writer: Michael Matessino
Producer: Shelley Lyons
Producer: Vicki Crawford
Writer: Jerry Decker
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-03-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Hidden Hollywood, Vol. 2 - More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
DVD Review: Odd Man Out
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, I'm a little confused as at least half the crits on this page refer to Hidden Hollywood 2. I'm writing about the original Hidden Hollywood, and that's what makes me the Odd Man Out, as I seem to be the only one who doesn't think it was worth the money. I'd say there was around half an hour of interesting material in this compilation - the clips involving Grable, Faye, and Merman/Dailey/Gaynor/O'Connor, Bojangles/Shirley Temple, and an interesting account of how "Hot Spot" became "I Wake Up Screaming" merely by eliminating Betty Grable's songs and making her a stenographer. From musical to cinema noir with a clip of the scissors. The rest of the stuff should have stayed on the cutting room floor...sequences such as the incomprehensible Bert Lahr number, the so-called comedy duo Weber and Fields, and the painful resurrection of a quiz sequence conducted by Phil Baker who had no looks, no charisma, and certainly no visible talent. This out-take from "The Gang's All Here" makes one wonder why he was in it anyway, and why more of his dreary contribution to that otherwise entertaining extravaganza wasn't cut out too. There's also a yawn-inducing sequence from the otherwise sparkling We're Not Married - no wonder it was cut. Hope Emerson dragging herself around an obvious studio bayou set isn't my idea of entertainment. Yet another example of the dull padding in what promised to be a scintillating collection. Maybe we've been spoiled by MGM. To cap everything, this cheap compilation doesn't even have a menu with a scene selection feature, which is absolutely necessary when there's so much to skip over. Oh yes, and we have a heavily-pancaked Joan Collins prowling the archive aisles with a laughable slink, and displaying all the warmth of a pair of eyebrow tweezers. DVD Review: Hidden Hollywood - Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults by Joan Collins
Summary: 5 Stars
It was a lot of fun watching and very informative about early Hollywood. I really enjoy these types of documentaries especially about Hollywood. I recommend this video to anyone who is star struck!DVD Review: a fine look back at how we really were
Summary: 4 Stars
Hidden Hollywood Volume 2 More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults gives us another ninety minutes of deleted footage that was intended for a movie's theatrical release but instead was left to languish on the cutting room floor. Again, as with the first volume of this two disc series, some of the footage was cut rather mercifully from the final version of a film; but much of it was cut for the wrong reasons.
For example, musical numbers were typical victims when a film ran too long. It was the consensus that a musical number could be cut without damaging the plot; and sometimes they were right. On the other hand, there is a wonderful Charleston dance sequence from Roxie Hart that never should have been cut.
We see just about every star getting some of their best work discarded from the films they starred in. Even the remarkably talented Olympic medalist skater Sonja Henie had some of her best work cast onto the cutting room floor. There is another, more lengthy sequence that is excellent entertainment starring W.C. Fields with Margaret Dumont and Phil Silvers that was cut from Tales Of Manhattan. What a shame! In addition, look for footage of Alice Faye singing so sweetly in a musical number cut from Rose Of Washington Square. We also see The Ritz Brothers in action as a great comedy team at Fox studios.
There's also an emphasis on film restoration in this second look at discarded footage found the vaults at 20th Century Fox studios. We see computer technicians using graphic design programs to restore tears on old, fragile film and we also see how early color film could turn pink with time. At the time this movie was made in 2000, some restoration of color footage was still prohibitively expensive but I hope that by now cheaper technology has already been able to help us restore and cherish old footage from the vaults.
My only complaint about this DVD is that we only get discarded footage from the vaults at 20th Century Fox studios. If the musical numbers here are good can you imagine what MGM studios might have been able to release to us on DVD? I hope one day we can see much more previously discarded footage from all the movie studios.
Overall, this is an excellent retrospective on DVD of just how hard people work to restore lost movie footage, much of which is actually very entertaining. Joan Collins mostly narrates this rather than hosting it; and the countless clips, sequences and more reveal that not just the trash wound up on the cutting room floor.
DVD Review: rare and exciting indeed !!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Hidden Hollywood gives us ninety-one minutes of mostly rather good material that wound up cut from films only to lie on the cutting room floor. As host Joan Collins correctly points out, we're lucky we have at least this much! Many early films were simply thrown out; and Hollywood studios never cared about preserving their films until they could sell them to television. How sad! However, what we do get on this DVD is a wonderful 91 minutes of footage from the vaults at 20th Century Fox studios.
Joan Collins introduces the show are then we're off! We get very rarely seen footage including Katherine Hepburn's first screen test from 1932, a host of musical numbers shot both in black and white as well as color, and dramatic scenes considered extraneous or just too objectionable for the times. Most regrettably we see excellent cut footage of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson cut from the film Caf? Metropole in which Bill was to play himself. Ouch! How that must have hurt him.
In fact, no star was truly immune from having their best work cut from a film at 20th Century Fox. Betty Grable footage is here for us to admire; it really should have been included in the final cut. There's footage of Marilyn Monroe doing a musical number with male dancers to support her and I especially liked the Shirley Temple sequences that were cut from her films.
Look also for great footage of Jimmy Durante conducting a vaudevillian team with his nose (!!!), Shirley Temple dancing up a storm with Jimmy Durante, and Ethel Merman performing a number from There's No Business Like Show Business.
We also learn that 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck believed there was always something that could be cut from the film. He believed that audiences would "get it" anyway. Sometimes he was right (they mercifully pulled a Bert Lahr number that just plain stunk) and many times Zanuck was wrong as I point out in this review.
The DVD comes with no extras; all we get is scene selection. However, the quality of the archival footage is remarkably clear and I feel fortunate to have been able to watch this movie on DVD.
My only complaint is that the footage we see is only from 20th Century Fox. I would have loved to see what MGM studios and Warner Brothers cut out from their movies. I am very disappointed; and I will make this a four star review because of this disappointment.
Nevertheless, if you want a great view of what really good material there was that still never made it into the movies that were so popular before the age of television, you can't go wrong with this DVD. Sure, it's only from the vaults of one movie studio but this is a lot better than nothing! I highly recommend this for classic film aficionados, film students and people who enjoy the arts in general.
DVD Review: TWO GREAT CARMEN MIRANDA OUTTAKES!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the 1940s B&W musical FOX film, "DOLL FACE" Carmen Miranda had
one of her production numbers cut from the film due to the censors at that time. "She's Always True To The Navy" was the song Carmen sang with a lighthouse as a hat and wearing a very sexy outfit, this and another musical number of hers that ended unfortunately on the cutting room floor is presented here uncut and a joy! Not only Miranda but many great stars of Hollywoods Golden age is featured on this outstanding DVD...a real treat!
Description of Hidden Hollywood, Vol. 2 - More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
See a cavalcade of legendary actors and actresses at the top of their form in this stunning collection of rare musical and comedy sequences excised from classic Fox films! The history behind each deleted sequence blends with fascinating interviews, recently discovered dailies, and rare archival footage and stills to offer a comprehensive story of Hollywood's Golden Age! Includes: W.C. Fields, Margaret Dumont and Phil Silvers in the 13 minute restored comedy sequence from "Tales of Manhattan;" rare outtakes of Buster Keaton and Alice Faye rehearsing comedy gags for "Hollywood Cavalcade;" "I'll See You in My Dreams" performed by Alice Faye (deleted from "Rose of Washington Square"); a restored version of the "Sheik of Araby" musical sequence from "Tin Pan Alley" featuring Alice Faye and Betty Grable, including never-before-seen alternate takes of a dance routine performed by the Nicholas Brothers; "The Old Army Game" performed by Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair, Martha Raye and Carole Landis (deleted from "Four Jills and a Jeep"); the Ritz Brothers perform a hilarious comedy sequence cut from the film "On the Avenue."Comedy is king in this second collection of outtakes from the Fox studio vaults. Some former vaudevillians are captured in rare clips, including behind-the-scenes footage of Buster Keaton instructing Alice Faye in the proper method for taking a cream pie in the face. W.C. Fields holds court in a legendary sequence from Tales of Manhattan, cut from the film's release but restored here to something like its original shape (alternate takes show Fields's incorrigible genius for improvising). Danny Kaye shines in a brilliant bit from On the Riviera, parodying an off-key singer manhandling "Begin the Beguine." The musical numbers tend to be so-so, with the notable exception of the Nicholas Brothers tearing through an athletic dance routine in a harem. Skating enthusiasts will welcome the footage of Sonja Henie, whose somewhat mysterious popularity is examined. The spectacle of Victor Mature as a singing star is mercifully (and amusingly) brief. --Robert Horton
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