Product Details

• Actors: Frank Sinatra, Arthur Wontner, Basil Rathbone
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 12
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 20, 2004
• Run Time: 3728 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001HAGTW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,546 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

50 MOVIE MYSTERY CLASSICS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

205 of 208 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a collection! What a price!, May 7, 2004

By 

Thomas W. Wilson (Huntington, WV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystery Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection (DVD)

I stumbled upon this DVD collection in the local Borders Bookstore and immediatley bought it. I am an afficionado of old movies, having grown up with many of them and I especially like the old war, mystery and sci-fi films. So, great was my excitement when I saw this fabulous collection. I couldn't believe the price and I wondered about the quality of the prints used and the DVD production. However, for the price I decided to take a chance and I have NOT been disappointed! This is one fabulous set with great films. The quality is excellent. I do not see how Treeline Films, the manufacturer, can do it. I realize most, if not all, of the films are in the public domain, but the process of recording 50 movies on 12 DVDs of this quality at this price is unbelievable. Many of these films have been on other DVDs and sets for much more!

These are not some obscure cheapies with unknown actors. They range from second features or 'B' films from the old double feature days in theaters, some of which were better than the first feature, to classic 'A' movies, such as "Suddenly" with Frank Sinatra, "Scarlet Street" with Edward G. Robinson (I watch anything he is in) and "He Walked By Night" with Richard Basehart, not to mention Glenn Ford, Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, William Powell, and, well, the list goes on.

Then there are the great Bulldog Drummond films and the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes features. Rathbone was always THE Sherlock Holmes to me until the advent of Jeremy Brett but he still holds a place near the top.

My only complaint about this set is it has only one of the Topper films, but, how can I really complain? Thank you Treeline Films! Please bring on more of the same! On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this set a 20!

271 of 283 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Deal..., June 24, 2004

By 

Henry E. Alubowicz (Lafayette, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystery Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection (DVD)

These "50 Movie Packs" are a "Deal". 50 movies on 12 double sided DVDs for a lot less than $1
each. Some of these same movies are being sold in retail stores for between $5 to $15 each.

As to the movie quality, "your mileage will vary". Some are good, most are watchable and there
are a few stinkers {"The Sign Of Four"}. These are NOT classics, like the "Maltese Falcon" is
a classic. They are classics, just because they are old (and marketing by TreeLine).
These are black & white "B Movies" from the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s.

TreeLine Films does a good job of transferring them to DVD. They appear to have found films in
the best condition to do the transfers from. However it appears TreeLine did NOT do any
post-processing to the DVDs; to clean up past imperfections. The Historical Purists, will be
glad to know all the scratches in the films, lighting problems and audio aberrations have been
faithfully preserved, intact. There is only one option, "Scene Selection". The movies are
only broken into four separate scenes. It barely beats "Fast Forward". But, adding options
and doing post-processing clean up would have added to the overhead of production and resulted
in a lessening of "The Deal".

"A Picture" movie stars are sprinkled throughout all these movies. Remember, from the 30s to
early 50s, the Movie Studios ruled. For this period (before TV) outside of the movies, your
evening entertainment options were; going out to a nightclub/bar or staying home to listen to
the radio, read a book or watch the grass grow from your porch. The studios cranked out a lot
of pictures during this period. They liked to keep all their stars working and at times any
picture would do. This was movie making, assembly line style to fill the demand. In this
"50 Movie Pack" are some of the results of those times.

I bought this, because of the Basil Rathbone, Sherlock Holmes movies. Basil Rathbone was the best
Holmes, until Jeremy Brett came along to do Holmes. People will buy these DVDs; because they are
deals, because of their nostalgic value, and because they are movie buffs. {BTW, there is a
lot of real history buried in these films with regards to their context and perspective,
ex., Japan & Great Britain were buddy-buddy, prior to WWII.}

My caveats, I've only viewed 8 of the 50 movies so far. I suspect it will take me the rest of
the year to view them all. They are good filler for when there isn't something better to
watch or do. Not likely, I'll ever get around to the "Nancy Drew" movie. I'm also going to
buy some of the other "50 Movie Packs", but for varying reasons.

120 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 6.3, March 30, 2007

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mystery Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection (DVD)

Based on current polling numbers at a film resource website, the 50 titles in MYSTERY CLASSICS received an average rating (on a 1 to 10 scale) of 6.3.

Not factored in are such considerations as audio/video transfer quality and condition of original footage. An outstanding mix of actors and titles make this collection very attractive for all fans of early cinema. Recommended.

Below is program list, including individual movie ratings, years of release and main actors--

(5.9) Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937) - John Barrymore/John Howard
(5.7) Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) - Ray Milland/Guy Standing
(5.9) Bulldog Drummond In Africa (1938) - John Howard/Anthony Quinn (in a minor role)
(6.4) Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1939) - John Howard/Heather Angel
(5.6) Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937) - John Barrymore/John Howard
(6.0) Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938) - John Barrymore/John Howard
(5.5) Dick Tracy(, Detective) - Morgan Conway/Anne Jeffreys
(6.1) Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) - Boris Karloff/Ralph Byrd
(6.0) Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) - Morgan Conway/Anne Jeffreys
(5.3) The Shadow Strikes (1937) - Rod La Roque/Agnes Anderson
(6.1) International Crime ("The Shadow") (1938) - Rod La Roque/Astrid Allwyn
(6.4) Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) - Peter Lorre/John Carradine
(4.6) The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934) - Bela Lugosi/Wallace Ford
(5.9) Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers
(6.0) The Sign Of Four ("Sherlock Holmes") (1932) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Hunter
(6.1) The Triumph Of Sherlock Holmes (1935) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Fleming (as Dr. Watson)
(5.9) Silver Blaze ("Murder At the Baskervilles") ("Sherlock Holmes") (1937) - Arthur Wontner/Ian Fleming
(6.9) The Woman In Green ("Sherlock Holmes") (1945) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Hillary Brooke
(6.4) A Study In Scarlet ("Sherlock Holmes") (1933) - Reginald Owen/Warburton Gamble
(6.8) Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon (1943) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Lionel Atwill
(7.0) Terror By Night ("Sherlock Holmes") (1946) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce/Alan Mowbray
(7.0) Dressed To Kill ("Sherlock Holmes") (1946) - Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce
(6.3) Nancy Drew, Reporter (1939) - Bonita Granville/John Litel
(6.9) The Kennel Murder Case (1933) - William Powell/Mary Astor/Eugene Pallette
(6.3) The Death Kiss (1932) - David Manners/Bela Lugosi
(7.0) Suddenly (1954) - Frank Sinatra/Sterling Hayden
(7.0) Impact (1949) - Brian Donlevy/Charles Coburn
(7.4) He Walked By Night (1948) - Richard Basehart/Jack Webb
(6.4) Quicksand (1950) - Mickey Rooney/Peter Lorre
(6.8) Eyes In The Night (1942) - Edward Arnold/Ann Harding/Donna Reed
(6.0) The Man On The Eiffel Tower (1950) - Charles Laughton/Franchot Tone/Burgess Meredith
(6.9) Topper Returns (1941) - Joan Blondell/Roland Young/Billie Burke
(6.7) The Green Glove (1952) - Glenn Ford/Cedric Hardwicke
(6.0) The Second Woman (1951) - Robert Young/Betsy Drake
(5.2) Fog Island (1945) - George Zucco/Lionel Atwill
(5.2) They Made Me A Criminal - John Garfield
(6.3) Jigsaw (1949) - Franchot Tone/Jean Wallace
(7.1) Algiers (1938) - Charles Boyer/Hedy Lamarr/Alan Hale
(6.0) Murder With Pictures (1936) - Lew Ayres/Gail Patrick
(7.5) The Stranger (1946) - Edward G. Robinson/Loretta Young/Orson Welles
(5.5) Murder at Midnight (1931) - Aileen Pringle/Alice White
(7.5) Kansas City Confidential (1952) - John Payne/Neville Brand/Lee Van Cleef
(7.3) Detour (1945) - Tom Neal/Ann Savage
(7.2) Too Late for Tears (1949) - Lizabeth Scott/Don DeFore/Dan Duryea
(5.0) Mystery Liner (1934) - Noah Beery/George "Gabby" Hayes (in a minor role)
(7.8) Scarlet Street (1945) - Edward G. Robinson/Joan Bennett/Dan Duryea
(6.0) Midnight Manhunt (1945) - William Gargan/Leo Gorcey
(4.4) Murder By Television (1935) - Bela Lugosi/June Collyer/Hattie McDaniel
(6.2) The Moonstone (1934) - David Manners/Phyllis Barry
(6.0) Great Guy (1936) - James Cagney/Mae Clarke