New on Blu-ray: THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY (1933) Starring Jean Hersholt & Wynne Gibson

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Product Description: He couldn’t stop himself from committing—The Crime of the Century! Director William Beaudine (The Old Fashioned Way, The Ape Man) crafts a clever whodunit about Dr. Emil Brandt, a hypnotist who bursts into a police station and confesses to a murder. The only problem is, the murder he’s confessed to hasn’t happened yet—although stolen money and dead bodies soon turn up. A wisecracking reporter tries to unravel the mystery by staying one step ahead of the cops. Based on Walter Maria Espe’s play The Grootman Case, this Pre-Code classic is packed with a star-studded cast that includes Jean Hersholt (13 Washington Square, Heidi), Wynne Gibson (Night After Night, Her Bodyguard), Stuart Erwin (Before Dawn, Our Town) and Frances Dee (Little Women, I Walked with a Zombie).

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New on Blu-ray: THE OLD FASHIONED WAY (1934) Starring W.C. Fields

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Product Description: Comedy legend W.C. Fields (The Bank Dick) battles creditors, widows and obnoxious children in the rib-tickling classic The Old Fashioned Way. Staying one step ahead of the law, The Great McGonigle (Fields) and his impoverished theatrical troupe arrive in a small town to perform The Drunkard, a Victorian temperance play. Discovering they have only sold a handful of tickets, McGonigle promises a part to the wealthy mother of an annoying toddler (Baby LeRoy, It’s a Gift) with her appearance guaranteeing a sell-out. Staving off the local sheriff who intends to collect the receipts, McGonigle gives a performance the town will never forget in an uproarious farce featuring Fields’ legendary juggling act! Hollywood veteran William Beaudine (The Ape Man) directed this gag-filled salute to Fields’ early vaudeville days.

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New on Blu-ray: SPARROWS (1926) Starring Mary Pickford

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Product Description: A MASTERFUL 4K RESTORATION BY THE MARY PICKFORD FOUNDATION AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WITH A SOARING NEW MUSICAL SCORE! With Sparrows, Mary Pickford once again gave her audience what they wanted by playing "the hoyden, the protector, the fighter." Mary stars as the oldest of a dozen children held hostage at what was then called a "baby farm" where children of unwed mothers or deserted wives were deposited and then sold illegally to adoptive parents or as slave labor. By creating an empathetic melodrama that pulled on the heart strings, Pickford helped put a spotlight on this evil and increased public awareness and outrage. Directed by William Beaudine, with a stunning set created by Harry Oliver and filmed by three world class cinematographers, Charles Rosher, Karl Struss and Hal Mohr, Sparrows is a beautifully stylized epic, completed just as the industry neared the end of the silent era. Mary's acting is not only superior, but this is her least glamorous role ever; she had to be a very confident actress to play such a character.

The Library of Congress reconstructed Sparrows from the highest quality film elements, a 35MM nitrate print and a 35MM safety dupe negative. The Mary Pickford Foundation scanned the preservation elements in 4K and worked closely Roundabout Entertainment, Inc. to complete all digital work. The Foundation then commissioned an original orchestral score by Cameron and Taylor Graves which was produced and recorded at the Savannah Studios in Los Angeles.

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DVD & Blu-ray: BILLY THE KID VERSUS DRACULA (1966)

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Product Description: Billy the Kid vs. Dracula is an outrageous low-budget horror-western directed by cult filmmaker William Beaudine (The Ape Man, Voodoo Man). Traveling by stagecoach, Dracula (the great John Carradine) plots to convert Billy the Kid’s (famed stuntman Chuck Courtney) fiancée, Betty Bentley (Melinda Casey), into his vampire bride. When the sinister bloodsucker kidnaps Betty and takes her to an abandoned silver mine, Billy must confront the Count, but soon realizes his six-shooters’ bullets are no match for the undead—and an all-out battle of good vs. evil ensues. Filmmaker Carl K. Hittleman (36 Hours) wrote the screenplay for this wild cult classic, beautifully shot by Lothrop B. Worth (Gog) and featuring Marjorie Bennett (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) and Harry Carey Jr. (Cherry 2000).

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