Customer Reviews

Happy Holidays With Bing & Frank

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another packaging of Sinatra's 1950's television footage, once again by Hart Sharp Video, the producers who earlier this year brought us "Sinatra: The Classic Duets." Again, the show itself is under 30 minutes with the remaining 60 minutes allocated to interviews with Nancy, Tina, and other friends and associates familiar with the circumstances of the original show.

As usual, the producers are particularly unhelpful about providing documentation, but by perusing the video contents, it can be determined that the show is from 1957, which should have been "a very good year" for Old Blue. Unfortunately, this is definitely not a performance for making the case that Sinatra was the "Entertainer of the Century." He looks rather tired and stiff, and the voice, at least by Sinatra standards, sounds rough, lifeless and "played out." By contrast, Bing lights up the screen, radiating warmth, looking far more composed than the host, and singing flawlessly.

At these prices (under the cost of many CD's), this is a worthwhile pick-up for the Sinatra-Crosby collector. In fact, it rates above the earlier "Classic Duets" release because of print quality (a stunning clarity, even if the colors are often "wrong"), the extended sequencing (as opposed to stitching together bits and pieces from different Sinatra shows), and the extemporaneous, often surprising, remarks of the Sinatra daughters at a Q&A event following the initial screening of this restored footage. (At one point, in explaining Frank's troubles with TV ratings, Nancy says, "Dad didn't do well on television." Tina responds, "He had to fail somewhere.")

Bottom line: Don't even consider this if you don't already have "The Sinatra Christmas Album" or "A Jolly Christmas." And if it's Sinatra television footage you crave, be sure to pick up first the 1967 special with Frank, Ella, and Jobim. As for the Sinatra family members who, I understand, are largely responsible for this release: how do you explain going to such lengths to restore and mass-market this sort of footage while letting a Sinatra "concept" album like "All Alone," a project worthy of Sinatra's name in every respect, fall into oblivion?

This is amazing....what a find! Nancy Sinatra found this FULL COLOR episode from Frank Sinatra's 1957 television series, and it's simply a wonderful treat. Frank invites Bing Crosby over to his house for Christmas Eve and the two sing all the great holiday songs. What a retro-christmas gift! 15 songs in all, the entire DVD is about 90 minutes with extras. Of course it closes with Bing singing WHITE CHRISTMAS and Frank joining in - it's like a re-teaming from the film HIGH SOCIETY, they look and act about the same. There is a Q&A session from the Museum of Television with Nancy and Tina Sinatra, and the show's Producer William Self who answer some questions about the program. Also included is a photo gallery of Christmas Cards with Frank's original artwork. Don't miss out on this terrific holiday treat, you'll watch it every year right along with WHITE CHRISTMAS and CHARLIE BROWN!

Let me tell you Frank and Bing are at their best here. This disc is a true treasure. The 5.1 surrond sound audio is flawless. It is truly wonderful! The video, in some scenes is amazing!!! The scenes with them in ol England are GREAT! However, there are some scenes with blue specks that I KNOW could have been removed. All together, this is not a bad DVD. I do recommend it. It is well done considering the age, but the video could have been better in some spots. Regardless of the video quality, THIS IS A MUST BUY!

When I am shopping for Christmas videos or CDs, I am always attracted to older projects since they are usually more Christmasy than newer releases. I am particularly fond of the variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, so I was excited when I saw this DVD; however I found it to be only moderately entertaining. The original show was part of a Sinatra series from 1957 and was the only show of the series filmed in color.

Bing Crosby shows up at Frank's for dinner, and the two crooners see how many Christmas songs they can cram into the 26 minute running time, with nothing but a few words of banter between songs. Frank and Bing do a serviceable job with the songs, but the whole thing looks rushed, uninspired, and amateurish. The color is primitive (like looking at color photographs in a fifties magazine) and there are frequent instances of film damage--despite the fact that the film was restored (it didn't suit the Sinatra sisters either). And, as Tina Sinatra put it in the interview section, production values look like they spent all of $4.95!

I am honestly not trying to be too harsh here, but I think potential buyers should be aware of what they are getting: short running time, only fair picture quality, quickie production values, a question/answer session with Tina and Nancy Sinatra (who thinks she's cool with her big lips, sunglasses, and sullen, vulgar demeanor) taped at a showing of this video at the Museum of Television and Radio, plus some public service spots and a reprinted Sinatra Christmas card. If you're considering buying this DVD, let nostalgia be your guide--otherwise you'll probably be disappointed.

All the reviews I read were about Frank Sinatra, don't get me wrong I like him too, however Bing Crosby is by far the greatest singer and actor. When I first bought this DVD it was because of nostalgia, but it opened the door for me to meet "THE GRANDE MR. BING CROSBY", since I have bought everything that I can find on his wonderful career. Happy Holidays is my most treasured material possession. It is wonderful!!

Obviously our friend from Tennessee has no idea what a great find this DVD is. To complain about poor color when we should be thankful that any color print from 1957 that has been poorly stored and forgotten should still survive. I for one marveled at how rich the color was considering the problems with restoration. So few TV shows where filmed in color back then and none of them were ever shown in color in the original broadcasts....I marvel when I find a copy of Superman, Cisco Kid and other gems from back then that are produced on DVD in color. The music is excellent.....sure the production values were poor when compared to todays TV shows....but then they didn't have million dollar budgets .... they were lucky to have a few thousand dollars to produce any TV show. I find it disturbing when someone writes a review (who probably wasn't even born back in the 50's) and then complains because early TV material doesn't match that of the 2000's.
The only complaint I have is I do think this DVD is a bit overpriced for a half hour of entertainment......but when you think of the expense involved in restoring a gem like this I am just thankful so many movies and tv shows from back then are being rediscovered and preserved for future generations.

I gave this a 3 out of 5 and wouldn't put it up high in the collector series but it is a nice-to-have for your collection. Nancy Sinatra found this enhanced color episode from Frank Sinatra's 1957 television series while going through the vaults and she did admit during the interview that the color was off on certain things. Frank is the director on this, hey, it's only TV! Frank invites Bing Crosby over to his house for Christmas Eve and the two sing holiday songs. When they go out on the street to sing a couple of songs with the carolers it losses some professionalism and was poorly done with very bad actors and some really bad camera shots of people waving from the windows. What was Frank thinking in those scenes? They do come back inside and continue singing and it does get a little better with music. If you liked the film "High Society", they go through about the same mannerisms poking fun at the old crooner vs the new kid on the block. They did have a bit of magic between them. It closes with Bing singing White Christmas and Frank joining in which could have been better with harmonies as they sing in the same key together. I don't think they had a lot of time to practice together for this show. The stage was a little, "low budget". There is a Q&A session from the Museum of Television with Nancy and Tina Sinatra. Also included is a photo gallery of Christmas Cards with Frank's original artwork and commercials by Frank through the years if you can figure out the right keystrokes on your converter to find the stuff. Again, it is a nice-to-have and you won't find too many lost tapes with these two guys together, so grab it while you can.

This DVD is simply great! The sound quality is amazing considering that this is vintage TV! The song selection in the program is wonderful, with both popular and sacred pieces which are the best ever produced for the holiday season. Don't doubt it, this is a real must-have for all Sinatra and Crosby fans.-

I bought this as soon as I saw it, thinking what a find to have something from Sinatra in 1957 to watch, but having seen it I must agree with those who consider it a disappointment overall. The most important thing is that while the box says the program is 90 minutes long, it's actually only 30. The remaining 60 is the extras, which are interesting enough, but still that's highly misleading.

The show itself is all right, I'd pictured more guest stars and interaction between Frank and Bing, but it was fine. The singing is great, of course, the color and production values are perfectly fine with me...the only real quibble I have is the mis-stated length, which is a big one, I hate being deceived.

So if you don't mind the short program time and the fact that the entire show is basically Bing and Frank singing Christmas standards, then this is for you. Personally I could have skipped it and grabbed a real Sinatra or Crosby CD instead.

I can only agree with the other reviews posted here - however, I must urge the prospective buyer, if he or she is a die-hard Sinatraphile and is unfamiliar with this show : BUY IT! Great
Riddle, swell Bill Miller (especially on Bing's "Rudolph" -
swingin'!) and I detected some good Sweets, I believe. Beautiful sound, apart from some tape wear. Great.