Customer Reviews

Mystery Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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

Already an owner of the 50 - Horror set, and the 50 - Sci-Fi set, I jumped for joy when I got this collection. I love those hokey old B&W mysteries. Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Brian Donlevy, Bela Lugosi, James Cagney - even Frank Sinatra!

These are gems, some not so nifty, but still fun films, you have long forgotten or never thought you would see again.

A great addition to any B&W mystery fan. Well worth the price.

I am a HUGE fan of movies from the 1920s-1940s. That said, words cannot describe how much I enjoyed watching these films! All of the movies were in very good condition (at least as much as possible considering the age of the movies) and were in black/white.

There were SO many movies that I had never seen before so this isn't just your rehash of TNT or AMC showings. Some of my favorites were: The Shadow (2 movies); Dick Tracey (3 movies) and Mr. Moto.

The fact that these are SO inexpensive just makes them that much better! Definitely a set worth buying if you enjoy these old films as I do!

Likewise, if you wish to "research" detective costumes of the 1940's - this would be a great set. The costume should be something along the lines of classic Bogart in "The Big Sleep" (not included in this set) because you would want to present almost the "stereotype" of a 1940's detective rather than piece for piece historic props.

This set is simply incredible! I read all the favorable reviews before purchasing it but I could not imagine how much fun watching these movies would be. I have been sitting glued to my TV set for three days already (I have watched about 9 DVDs so far). It becomes an obsession. What a fantastic collection, what fun! I am also pleasantly surprised by the overall good quality of the recordings. Fantastic value and entertainment! At a little over $20 (I bought it second hand but brand new) it's a steal. Cannot go wrong with this wonderful set. Highly recommended for all mystery lovers!

Fifty good movies for less than a buck each? It's great! I've watched fully half of these films already, and I'm very happy with them. They're mostly around 6 stars out of 10, with some better but few real stinkers. I like the Bulldog Drummond movies (6 of them!) especially, but gems like Suddenly (Frank Sinatra), Algiers (Charles Boyer), and the Kennel Murder Case (William Powell) are here too. See Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff both play Asians named Wong. See Orson Welles, Ray Milland, Edward G Robinson, and the Dead End Kids (AKA Bowery Boys). If you know who Charles Laughton is or just like mystery and suspense from the 30s to the 50s, you'll probably like this collection.

I've watched them ALL now, and I feel just the same. What a great collection! Some are rather flat (I'm lookin' at you, Dick Tracy), but others are real corkers. I liked Too Late for Tears, Kansas City Confidential, and the Man in the Eiffel Tower especially.

MYSTERY CLASSICS is easily my favorite among the three 50 MOVIE PACKs I own. These are no-frills packages of public-domain flicks, and the quality of the transfers varies. That said, the sets are made to order for movie junkies, in which species I am proud to claim membership.

After reading the reviews I was somewhat skeptical about purchasing this
set but decided to try it. While there are a few serial types CD's I
found this set contained a number of really good movies I had never seen
before. Impact, Eyes in the Night, Kennel Club and others I found to be
excellent movies. I guess a lot depends on what you are looking for.
I was somewhat concerned from the reviews as to their being rather dark,
but having played a great many of them on my computer monitor, found only
a few I could consider dark.

i own many of the 50 packs of movies and i must say i like this set very much.most of these movies are from the 30's and 40's, the hayday of movie mysterys. the transfers are ok ,but not great and some of the movie have sterotype's of all kinds. just keep in mind when they were made,and if they bother you don't watch. a nice set and a great way to build your movie collection