Actress. Singer. American Icon.
TCM SPOTLIGHT: DORIS DAY COLLECTION
April in Paris ~ Its A Great Feeling ~ Starlift ~
Tea for Two ~ The Tunnel of Love
Five All New-to-DVD Titles from Americas Sweetheart
Available April 7 from Warner Home Video
Burbank, Calif. December 15, 2008 — Doris Day, whose on-screen wholesomeness, unfailing optimism and understated strength of character helped make her Americas sweetheart in the 50s and 60s, returns to DVD on April 7 when Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies showcase TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection. The Collection features five new-to-DVD titles, focusing on Miss Days golden years at Warner Bros., where her film career began. The titles included are April in Paris, Its A Great Feeling, Starlift, Tea for Two and The Tunnel of Love.
All the DVDs have been meticulously remastered using all new digital transfers, and each release includes entertaining bonus features such as classic cartoons and vintage shorts. The films will be available in Digi-Pak packaging as a collection only for $49.92 SRP.
The Films
April in Paris (1952)
The State Department wants Ethel Barrymore to represent the American theater at an arts exposition in Paris. But Miss Barrymores invitation is sent by mistake to Miss Ethel “Dynamite” Jackson, a very blonde, very brassy chorus girl.
Doris Day and Ray Bolger star in this musical bonbon highlighted by the Vernon Duke/E.Y. Harburg title tune and a high-kicking, bell-ringing rendition of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn Im Gonna Ring the Bell Tonight. Day is pure TNT as Dynamite Jackson and Bolgers rubbery comic artistry ideally complements her. Hes the stuffy bureaucrat who mismailed the Barrymore missive and now has a stateroom full of explosives on his hands for a Paris-bound ocean voyage.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short: “So You Want To Wear The Pants”
· Classic cartoon: “Terrier Stricken”
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & Français (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
Its a Great Feeling (1949)
No director? No leading lady? No problem! If no one will work with actor Jack Carson (who plays himself), hell just pull his own movie together. Good buddy Dennis Morgan can be hoodwinked into co-starring. And theres a talented kid in the studio commissary (Day) eager for her big break.
In her third film (and third with Carson), Doris Day plays that up-and-comer in a bright filmmaking spoof featuring melodic toe-tappers, real Hollywood and Warner Bros. back lot locales, star cameos (Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Edward G. Robinson, among others) and a surprise comedy finale.
Starlift (1951)
The charming tale of a serviceman with a crush on a movie ingénue is the backdrop for this spirited flag-waver featuring screen greats such as Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Gene Nelson, Virginia Mayo, Jane Wyman, Randolph Scott and more Hollywood celebrities performing for or just shooting the breeze with star-struck flyboys in uniform. Songs by the Gershwins, Cole Porter and more legendary composers plus a hilarious Western production number with Cooper whoopin it up as a steely Texas Ranger add to the patriotic fun.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short: “Musical Memories”
· Classic cartoon: “Sleepy Time Possum”
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & Français (Main feature. bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
Tea for Two (1950)
Wealthy, stagestruck Nan Carter strikes a bet that she can say “no” to everything for 48 hours. If she wins, she gets the $25,000 to back a Broadway musical vehicle for herself. Shes determined, even if it means saying “no” when the guy she loves pops the question. Nan doesnt know it yet, but her fortune has been wiped out in the Crash of 29.
Doris Day is a sunny sensation in this flapper-era musical romp, with co-stars Gordon MacRae and Gene Nelson on hand to help provide songs, dance and romance. Eve Arden, Billy DeWolfe and S.Z “Cuddles” Sakall deliver lots of laughs, and the Gershwins, Vincent Youmans, Harry Warren and other Tin Pan Alley greats supply wonderful melodies, including the title tune, Do, Do, Do, I Only Have Eyes for You, I Want to Be Happy and lots more.
DVD Special Features:
· Vintage short: “So You Want to Hold Your Husband”
· Classic cartoon: “Tee for Two”
· No, No Nanette Radio Show – From the 1949 “Railroad Hour” series, with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae
· “No, No Nanette Overture” – From the surviving Vitaphone disc from lost 1930 Warner Bros. film
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & Français (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
The Tunnel of Love (1958)
Isolde (Doris Day) and Augie (Richard Widmark) Poole are trying to adopt a baby. Dick (Gig Young), the Pooles neighbor, has advice for Augie during these challenging times: have an affair. (Of course, thats Dicks solution for everything). No way, says Augie. Then he wakes up in a motel room with no memory of the night before and finds a thank-you note from the curvy caseworker whos handling the Poole adoption! Gene Kellys lively direction, the stars comedy chops and the popular title tune highlight this sexy romp of the kind that made Day one of the worlds biggest movie stars of the 50s and 60s.
DVD special features include:
· Classic cartoon: “Tot Watchers”
· Theatrical trailer
· Subtitles: English & Français (Main feature. Bonus material/trailer may not be subtitled)
About Doris Day
Born Doris Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ms. Day started as a dancer, but after a near-fatal car crash, she began refining her vocal skills. With a voice of distinct beauty at just 14, the young Ms. Day was soon discovered by a vocal coach who arranged an appearance at a local radio station.
Soon after, the young songstress met local bandleader Barney Rapp who convinced her to adopt the moniker that would soon become a household name. Rapp suggested “Day” after the song “Day after Day” which was part of her repertoire. Ms. Day toured briefly with Rapps band, as well as those of Bob Crosby and Les Brown, and then set out on her own in the late 1940s.
Ms. Days film career began in 1948 after a screen test at Warner Bros. resulted in her first film role, Romance on the High Seas in which she introduced the hit song “Its Magic.” The song and the film became a huge hit and immediately catapulted her to super-stardom. Throughout the 1950s she appeared in dozens of films, from musicals to dramas to comedies, especially in the 1960s when she was best known for a series of romantic comedies opposite leading men including Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and James Garner. In 1960, she earned a Best Actress Oscar® nomination for her role in the hugely popular Pillow Talk with Hudson.
In April of 1968, Ms. Day’s film career came to an abrupt end with the death of her third husband, manager/producer Marty Melcher. Left deeply in debt through a series of bad investments by Melcher, Ms. Day soon bounced back and found success in television with The Doris Day Show. Now in her 80s, Ms. Day is an active and vocal supporter of animal rights, focusing the majority of her attention on her Animal League and Animal Foundation organizations.
TCM Spotlight Presented by Warner Bros.
The Doris Day Collection is the third in a series of joint releases with Turner Classic Movies (TCM). The TCM Spotlight series represents a broad group of classic films from various eras, all of which have earned an important place in film history. The selections from the Warner Bros. Entertainment library (the industrys largest) also represent the kind of motion pictures that have become the hallmark of TCMs classic film programming. The companies are looking forward to multiple releases under this banner in the coming year.
TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection
Street Date: April 7, 2009
$49.92 SRP Collection Only
All Films Not Rated
Its a Great Feeling
Run Time: 85 minutes
Color
Tea For Two
Run Time: 98 minutes
Color
Starlift
Run Time: 103 minutes
B&W
April in Paris
Run Time: 101 minutes
Color
The Tunnel of Love
Run Time: 98 minutes
B&W
Additional Doris Day titles currently available from Warner Home Video:
· Doris Day Collection Volume 1: Calamity Jane, Billy Roses “Jumbo”, The Glass Bottom Boat, Love Me or Leave Me, Lullaby of Broadway, Pajama Game, Please Dont Eat the Daisies and Young Man with a Horn.
· Doris Day Collection Volume 2: By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Ill See You in My Dreams, Lucky Me, My Dream is Yours, On Moonlight Bay and Romance on the High Seas
This fantastic collection will be available at Amazon.com.
Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.
Source: Warner Home Video
