MGM Holiday Classics Collection (1948)

Disc 1: The Bishop's Wife P&S Disc 2: March of the Wooden Soldiers P&S Disc 3: Pocketful of Miracles WS

MGM Holiday Classic Collection ( The Bishops Wife / March of The Wooden Soldiers / Pocket full of Miracles )

I have seen The Bishops Wife colorized version on t.v.. When I saw this It said in color. I was really excited to get this product. But when it arrived there was only one movie in color the other two were not ,including The Bishops Wife .That was very disappointing & misleading.It really matters to some people if its b&w , Colorized , Or just color .I think you need to be very clear when your selling a product. February 11, 2008

Holiday classics

I just kept the Bishop's Wife. The package was too diverse to appeal. The Bishop's Wife was wonderful and inspiring. There are angels -- I've encountered them -- just need a reminder. Kaye January 27, 2008

Lots of bang(and a surprise!) for your movie dollar.

This holiday three DVD collection released by MGM gives us alot in a small package for a reasonable price.
First off the mark is Frank Capra's "Pocketful of Miracles" ***.It is a story of a street vendor/walker by the name of Apple Annie(Bette Davis)whose apples are considered to be a good luck charm for the local gangster Dave the Dude(Glenn Ford).Annie it seems has raised enough money over the years off the street to send her daughter to Spain to be raised and educated(Ann Margarets'debut performance).Now her daughter is coming back to see her and be wed not knowing Annies' true self.Dave steps in and tries to help.
It is a long movie but has a terrific cast including Peter Falk who does a great job as Daves' street wise cracking "associate".But unfortunately even though the movie has alot of nice moments throughout its' pacing and story line is uneven.The end scene comes unexpectedly swift and is in a way anti-climactic.The holiday season is mentioned only fleetingly and I have never felt this much of a holiday entry as compared to say "It's a Wonderful Life" which is a definite classic of the genre and in a league far above this movie.Not one of Capra's best by far.
The next entry is "The Bishops'Wife" **** 1/2.This is just a lovely and,if I can use the word,gentle movie.It involves a Bishop Brougham(David Niven)and his wife(Loretta Young).Both are currently struggling with their lives(especially the Bishop) to raise funds to build a new cathedral.In steps angel Dudley(Cary Grant) into the works to help out the pair.In time we see that not only are the pair struggling with the new building but with their marriage also.Dudley deals with the Bishops' wife more on a personal level(much to the Bishops' chagrin) and steers the Bishop onto more productive paths in a more indirect way.In the end,in sometimes the most unexpected but heart warming ways,Dudley finally accomplishes what he set out to do.
This is a wonderful movie,a great change of pace and like "Miracle on 34th Street" has that "gentle" feel to it.I highly recommend it to all.
The last entry and the cream of the crop is Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's "Babes in Toyland" ***** .To be more familiar with modern audiences they have put the TV version name "March of the Wooden Soldiers" on the box cover for all three of the movies and on the individual slip case cover.But this is NOT one of the many cut,pasted,colour copied,sloppily transferred wanna-be's that are currently on the market(see my previous reviews on those).I am finally relieved to be able to tell you this is the ORIGINAL theatrical version with the original title cards intact from beginning to lovely end!!
The story involves two fairy tale type characters Ollie Dee(Oliver Hardy) and Stannie Dum(Stan Laurel) who live in Toyland with many fairy tale characters.They eventually butt heads with the meanest man in Toyland Barnaby who gets the two in trouble on some trumped up charges.He then proceeds to get Tom-Tom,a rival for the hand of Bo-Peep,sent away on false charges to Bogeyland.The Boys exonerate Tom-Tom and set about to rescue him and Bo Beep from the clutches of the bogeymen and Barnaby who has decided to invade and take over Toyland with his hairy hoard.In the end Barnaby and the Bogeymen are defeated and they all live happily ever after.
It's a wonderful tale that has delighted viewers for over 70 years(!) and thanks to MGM we FINALLY have it released the way it was meant to be and SHOULD be seen.The print is excellent.
In conclusion the "Holiday Collection" is well worth the price for your money considering what you get.Each movie is in a thin pak and none have any special features but the titles are well worth(and more) the modest price being charged."Pocketful of Dreams" is the weakest entry in the pack while "The Bishop's Wife" and "Babes in Toyland" are the stars here.The latter is especially signifigant as it's in its' original form and COMPLETE!
Enjoy. January 23, 2008

Christmas Classics

I bought this collection because it had two of my favorite Christmas Classics on it: March of the Wooden Soldiers (absolutely FABULOUS and The Bishops Wife (another FABULOUS feature). March of the Wooden Soldiers starring Laurel and Hardy is, I think, one of their best. I've seen this movie at least several hundred times and I still laugh each and every time Ollie asks Stan how he got downstaris so fast and Stan replies "I fell out the window." Just one of the classic lines from this wonderful movie. January 20, 2008

Very Nice Package

Really enjoyed seeing these gems again. Especially being able to see the last Capra classic and this Laurel & Hardy movie on DVD!
All three of the movie transfers were excellent. Great value...thank you! January 12, 2008

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