Customer Reviews

Warner Brothers Classic Holiday Collection, Vol. 1 (Boys Town / A Christmas Carol [1938] / Christmas in Connecticut / The Singing Nun)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great dvd collection with plenty of extras. For me the extras add so much to a movie. Since all of these movies have been around for a while I just want to make some comments about the extras.

Boys Town

Unlike a previous reviewer my copy of Boys Town came with some great extras. The disk is double sided with the one side having Boys Town and the second including the less successful sequel Men of Boys Town also starring Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy.

Other features include the featurette "The City of Little Men" which is a 10:56 long and includes Father Flanagan. "Girls and Boys Town" is a 2:07 look at the modern Boys and Girls Town. There is also and excerpt from "Good News of 1939" which is a 16:42 long radio broadcast with Tracy and Rooney in excerpts from the movie. This is sound only with no video. Also included are theatrical trailers from both movies.

Christmas in Connecticut

This includes a superb Oscar winning short called "Star in the Night" which is 21:24 long. It is a modern story about a man and his pregnant wife who stop at an inn on Christmas evening only to find that it is full. Included in the movie, set in the southwest of the United States, are three wise cowboys attracted to a star at a gasoline station at the inn. It is a great story and highly recommended. Also included is a theatrical trailer for the movie.

A Christmas Carol

This includes a number of great extras aside from the theatrical trailer. It includes "Jackie Cooper's Christmas Party" a 9:00 long featurette in which Jackie Cooper convinces the Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio to have a Christmas party for his football team and the servers include some well known stars of the time. There is a brief 1:41 film of Judy Garland singing "Silent Night" in front of a church choir. Finally there is an Oscar nominated cartoon called "Peace on Earth" which 8:47 long. This is the one feature I was troubled about. It is a cartoon that takes place after mankind has destroyed itself in a World War and the animals are the only ones left on the earth to sing holiday songs. While it makes a good statement about the dangers of war it is something that may trouble youngsters.

Singing Nun

Finally, there is the Singing Nun which includes a theatrical trailer. Importantly the movie does not include any chapters so if you want to skip to Debbie Reynolds singing Dominique you have to fast forward or use what ever chapter feature you have on your dvd player. This is the only disappointment in this great set of movies. The movie is fine but I like chapters on my dvd's.

This is a great set that is well worth the price. It is a treasured part of my Christmas movie collection.

This holiday collection is exactly the same as Warner Bros. Classic Holiday Collection (Boys Town / A Christmas Carol 1938 / Christmas in Connecticut) except The Singing Nun will also be included. Only two of these films have anything to do with Christmas, but Boys Town and The Singing Nun are great family films to have around during the holidays that the whole family can enjoy, and this set is a great way to introduce the youngsters to classic film. The movies have the following extra features:

A Christmas Carol (1938)
Reginald Owen plays Scrooge here rather than Lionel Barrymore, who had been the original choice. He was too ill at the time to perform the role.
2 festive vintage featurettes:
Jackie Cooper's Christmas Party and Judy Garland Sings "Silent Night"
Classic Oscar-nominated Cartoon "Peace on Earth"

Christmas in Connecticut
Barbara Stanwyck writes a column about cooking and housekeeping and tells her readers that she lives on a farm. However, she is actually a very urban New Yorker who knows nothing about farming or cooking. When the owner of the magazine where she works tells her that a sailor will be spending the holidays enjoying her farm and her cooking, she fears she will be found out as a fraud.
Oscar-winning short: Star in the Light

Boys Town has no extra features other than trailers. There have been no announcements yet as to extra features on "The Singing Nun".

I bought this great collection from Amazon for about $15.99 in late 2009. What a bargain! I saw it around that same time in a "big box" store for around $29.95. The extras are really interesting, and well worth purchasing. But "A Christmas Carol" and "Christmas In Connecticut" alone make the collection a must-have and tremendous bargain.
By far my favorite "Christmas Carol"...so old, so traditional, so authentic. Brilliant in it's original black and white splendor! Reginald Owen IS Scrooge, Gene Lockhart IS Bob Cratchit, and Leo G. Carroll IS Jacob Marley's Ghost. The picture is great and so is the sound.
I had not seen "Christmas In Connecticut" prior to getting the collection. But Stanwyck absolutely shimmers in this enormously enjoyable Holiday classic. The picture and sound are first-rate. This film is now on my "must-watch" list for the Holidays.
All-in-all, I give this collection top-marks across the board. You will be thrilled, and what a great gift of family-entertainment!

I bought this for my mother for her birthday on Monday. I was a little disappointed with how it arrived. It was supposed to be new and unopened. But, the plastic wrap was all messed up and open. I played all the movies to see if they worked and they do. That's all I really ask for. But, the boxes are scuffed and the plastic wrapped wasn't over the 4 cases so they could've fallen out and such. Not a huge deal breaker, as long as the discs work (they seem to, I only skimmed) then i''m fine. But, when you see new, you want new or a new look. I can't wait to watch these with her. She wanted Christmas in Connecticut, but I saw this set and figured the others are great as well.

This box collection holds all the Christmas classics in one box! A joyful afternoon of Movies you can watch over and over again.

Every year I look forward to the old Christmas movies. There's nothing like being taken back to a time of innocent and wonder. I went to find the 1938 Christmas Carol only to find out comcast was going to charge $2.99 per viewing with the on demand feature. It infuriated me, so I went on Amazon to buy my own copy of the movie. Not only did I get the version I loved but hit the jackpot with 3 other movies included I used to watch. Thanks for the great shows! Great price and great delivery.

Ordered two. One to keep and the other to give away. Very happy with the quality of the movies. Great package if you like classic movies!

not even necessarily for Christmas! Christmas in Connecticut has become a new holiday favorite for us, The Singing Nun is full of great music and an awesome story, complete with Debbie Reynolds, and a BIG bonus for Mickey Rooney fans.....Boys Town disc has a second movie, Men of Boys Town, on it, giving you a total of 5 movies in actuality.

As advertised, good Movies, came quick. I would buy from this seller again, no problem.

These movies aren't all really Christmas but they are a good watch and a fair price.