Claudette Colbert Collection

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 3
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: DDM2.0, Dolby Digital Mono
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: French, Spanish, English
• Features:
  • Claudette Colbert: Queen of the Silver Screen

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1947 (Marjorie Main)
•     Nominated Best Black and White Art Direction - 1944 (Sam Comer, Ernst Fegte, Hans Dreier)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1933

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1937

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Claudette Colbert - Barbara Clarke
       Claudette Colbert - Betty MacDonald
       Claudette Colbert - Kay Denham
       Claudette Colbert - Elizabeth Rimplegar
       Claudette Colbert - Nicole de Loiselle
       Claudette Colbert - Katherine Grant
       Richard Arlen - Dr. Alan Stevens
       Gary Cooper - Michael Brandon
       Melvyn Douglas - George Potter
       Fred MacMurray - Roger Coverman
       Fred MacMurray - Jim Ryan
       Fred MacMurray - Bob MacDonald
       Mary Boland - Nellie Rimplegar
       Ilka Chase - Happy Grant
       Edward Everett Horton - Marquis de Loiselle
       Marjorie Main - Ma Kettle
       Harvey Stephens - Dr. John Harding
       Robert Young - Gene Anders
       Mona Barrie - Helen Anders
       Wallace Ford - Kenneth Rimplegar
       Percy Kilbride - Pa Kettle
       David Niven - Albert De Regnier
       Gale Sondergaard - Martha Harding
       Louise Allbritton - Harriet Putnam
       Tom Brown - Eddie Rimplegar
       George Davis - Cutter Driver
       Louise Dresser - Ellen Clarke
       Richard Haydn - Roger
       Elizabeth Patterson - Aunt Hedwige
       Paul McGrath - Henry Fulton

• Director:

  Chester Erskine, Mitchell Leisen, Frank Lloyd, Ernst Lubitsch, Elliott Nugent, Wesley Ruggles, Paul Thomas

• Producer:

  Chester Erskine, Mitchell Leisen, Frank Lloyd, Ernst Lubitsch, Wesley Ruggles, B.P. Schulberg

• Book Author:

  Betty MacDonald

• Play Author:

  Alfred Savoir, Gertrude Tonkonogy

• Screen Story:

  Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo

• Screenwriter:

  Claude Binyon, Charles Brackett, Warren B. Duff, Chester Erskine, Walter Ferris, Fred F. Finklehoffe, Ray S. Harris, Bradley King, S.K. Lauren, Billy Wilder

• Cinematographer:

  Milton Krasner, Charles B. Lang, Leon Shamroy, Leo Tover

• Composer (Music Score):

  Werner Richard Heymann, Frederick Hollander, Frank Skinner, Victor Young

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Boris Morros

• Songwriter:

  Hoagy Carmichael, Helen Meinardi, Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin

• Editor:

  Hugh Bennett, Otho Lovering, Alma Macrorie, Russell Schoengarth, William Shea

• Production Designer:

  Hans Dreier, Bernard Herzbrun, Robert Usher

• Art Director:

  Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegte, Robert Usher

• Co-producer:

  Fred F. Finklehoffe

• Associate Producer:

  Leonard Goldstein, Fred Kohlmar

REVIEWS:

• Though it's largely overlooked today, {#The Egg and I} helped spawn two separate pop-culture phenomena a decade and a half apart. Its most obvious direction offshoot manifestation is the {#Ma and Pa Kettle} movies, which were built around two characters (played by {$Marjorie Main} and {$Percy Kilbride}) from the movie and the original book by {$Betty MacDonald}. It was also the distant precursor to the 1960s television series {#Green Acres}, if not its direct inspiration. The whole notion of transplanting otherwise level-headed city-dweller {$Fred MacMurray} and his genteel, sophisticated (and quietly skeptical) wife {$Claudette Colbert} to a broken-down farm is close enough, but the entire scene in which the pair examine their newly acquired home -- all she sees is a wreck, while he enthuses, goofily smiling and eagerly anticipating the country life ahead of them -- are practically the storyboard for the first half of the first season of {#Green Acres}. Indeed, most of the cast of supporting characters from that series are here in embryonic form, along with the essentials of the marriage: the serious husband with that one nutsy flaw -- he wants to be a farmer -- and the overly dignified, ladylike wife, both learning to cope with rustic neighbors. {$MacMurray} is especially fascinating to watch here, playing a role that's a complete reversal of the part he played in {#Murder, He Says} (1945), a {\rural} {\comedy} in which he is the big-city fellow who is totally flabbergasted at the habits of the country folks he encounters. Here, he's the calm, dopily enthusiastic visitor and {$Colbert} is the one who is bewildered by all she finds around her. She also shows a knack for style that anticipates {$Lucille Ball}'s comedic art, and the setup of the would-be macho husband and the sophisticated, sharp-tongued, slightly goofy wife prefigures any number of {#I Love Lucy} episodes, as well as her role in {$Vincente Minnelli}'s 1954 feature {#The Long, Long Trailer}. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• {$Mitchell Leisen} deserves new recognition as a comedy director of the first rank. Much has been said about the former set designer's elevated taste and general savoir-faire but in {#No Time for Love} and other latter-day screwball comedies, he brings an almost Lubitschian sensibility to the table. Especially when {@Paramount} allowed the use of such eminent farceurs as {$Claudette Colbert} and {$Fred MacMurray}, the latter a {$Leisen} favorite. Not that {#No Time for Love} is much more than a sophisticated girl-meets-blue-collar boy romance but {$Leisen} and the players make {$Claude Binyon}'s sometimes overly obvious lines positively sparkle. {$Colbert} and {$MacMurray} may be better remembered for attempting to survive the boondocks in {#The Egg and I} (1947) but they seem a lot more at ease among {$Leisen}'s (and {$Hans Dreier}'s) Academy Award-nominated sets in {#No Time for Love}. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
• Mitchell Leisen deserves new recognition as a comedy director of the first rank. Much has been said about the former set designer's elevated taste and general savoir-faire but in No Time for Love and other latter-day screwball comedies, he brings an almost Lubitschian sensibility to the table. Especially when Paramount allowed the use of such eminent farceurs as Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, the latter a Leisen favorite. Not that No Time for Love is much more than a sophisticated girl-meets-blue-collar boy romance but Leisen and the players make Claude Binyon's sometimes overly obvious lines positively sparkle. Colbert and MacMurray may be better remembered for attempting to survive the boondocks in The Egg and I (1947) but they seem a lot more at ease among Leisen's (and Hans Dreier's) Academy Award-nominated sets in No Time for Love. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
• The golden age of screwball comedy was brief but glorious, and exactly when it began and ended is a source of some debate. Three-Cornered Moon is often cited as the first real example of the genre, but whether screwball or not, it's a delightful and charming comedy that, at 77 minutes, knows better than to outstay its welcome. The script is literate and sophisticated, making comedic a situation that at the time would have been rather desperate. Claudette Colbert is winning as the relative center of calm and sanity in the storm of lunacy. Her soft, round face is a mask of sensibility covering both determination and exasperation. She holds her own against the scene-stealing efforts of Mary Boland, who creates a character whose obliviousness and ditziness could be irritating in less expert hands. Boland knows quite well how to deliver her laugh lines so they land exactly where they're supposed to, as well as how to clear them out to make room for the next one -- while at the same time giving them a freshness to disguise the technique beneath it all. Altogether Moon is a bit too soft to be the kind of knockabout it wants to be, but it's a pleasing trifle nonetheless. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
• The golden age of {\screwball comedy} was brief but glorious, and exactly when it began and ended is a source of some debate. {#Three-Cornered Moon} is often cited as the first real example of the genre, but whether screwball or not, it's a delightful and charming {\comedy} that, at 77 minutes, knows better than to outstay its welcome. The script is literate and sophisticated, making comedic a situation that at the time would have been rather desperate. {$Claudette Colbert} is winning as the relative center of calm and sanity in the storm of lunacy. Her soft, round face is a mask of sensibility covering both determination and exasperation. She holds her own against the scene-stealing efforts of {$Mary Boland}, who creates a character whose obliviousness and ditziness could be irritating in less expert hands. {$Boland} knows quite well how to deliver her laugh lines so they land exactly where they're supposed to, as well as how to clear them out to make room for the next one -- while at the same time giving them a freshness to disguise the technique beneath it all. Altogether {#Moon} is a bit too soft to be the kind of knockabout it wants to be, but it's a pleasing trifle nonetheless. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
• Though it's largely overlooked today, The Egg and I helped spawn two separate pop-culture phenomena a decade and a half apart. Its most obvious direction offshoot manifestation is the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, which were built around two characters (played by Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride) from the movie and the original book by Betty MacDonald. It was also the distant precursor to the 1960s television series Green Acres, if not its direct inspiration. The whole notion of transplanting otherwise level-headed city-dweller Fred MacMurray and his genteel, sophisticated (and quietly skeptical) wife Claudette Colbert to a broken-down farm is close enough, but the entire scene in which the pair examine their newly acquired home -- all she sees is a wreck, while he enthuses, goofily smiling and eagerly anticipating the country life ahead of them -- are practically the storyboard for the first half of the first season of Green Acres. Indeed, most of the cast of supporting characters from that series are here in embryonic form, along with the essentials of the marriage: the serious husband with that one nutsy flaw -- he wants to be a farmer -- and the overly dignified, ladylike wife, both learning to cope with rustic neighbors. MacMurray is especially fascinating to watch here, playing a role that's a complete reversal of the part he played in Murder, He Says (1945), a rural comedy in which he is the big-city fellow who is totally flabbergasted at the habits of the country folks he encounters. Here, he's the calm, dopily enthusiastic visitor and Colbert is the one who is bewildered by all she finds around her. She also shows a knack for style that anticipates Lucille Ball's comedic art, and the setup of the would-be macho husband and the sophisticated, sharp-tongued, slightly goofy wife prefigures any number of I Love Lucy episodes, as well as her role in Vincente Minnelli's 1954 feature The Long, Long Trailer. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: