Colt .45 - The Complete Series - Coming to Blu-Ray on March 12th '24 (Warner Archive) (2 Viewers)

[justarandomstan]

All 67 episodes have been remastered from 4K scans of the original camera negatives - 10 discs - Releasing on March 12. Now that this can has been opened, what other classic Warner TV shows would you like to see on Blu-Ray?

 

[The 1960's]

All 67 episodes remastered from 4K scans of the original camera negatives - Releasing on March 12. Now that this can has been opened, what other classic Warner TV western would you like to see on Blu-Ray?

View attachment 210007

That's wonderful news!~

Thanks for posting!

 

[Randy Korstick]

An incredible surprise. Most of us would have been happy with a DVD of this so this is even better. Maybe there is still hope for the detective shows.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Woo-HOO! What incredible news - thanks for sharing, Stan! I thought all hope was lost for this series, and never in million years would have expected a complete series Blu-Ray release! Day one purchase for me.

I had asked about Colt .45's chances and on one of the very last episodes of the now-defunct Warner Archive podcast, George Feltenstein talked about its complicated music clearance issues. There was also the fact that there were apparently no tape masters of the show, so it required a complete remastering from the original elements...which is seemingly what we got. Simply unbelievable, especially at this stage of the physical media game.

So who knows? There may indeed be a chance for some of the long-clamored-for WB detective shows...at least, perhaps a sampler set of easier-to-clear episodes. Other classic TV wants from WAC for me would be S2 of Mr. Novak, Temple Houston and the short-lived sitcom Room For One More.

 

[justarandomstan]

If this release unlocks the doors for potential Maverick, Lawman, Sugarfoot, Bronco and Cheyenne releases on Blu-Ray, then BRING IT ON!!! Wouldn't that be something!

Also, just like @Jeff Flugel, I too thought that Colt .45 would remain pretty much a pipe dream! What an absolute home run by WAC.

 

[The 1960's]

If this release unlocks the doors for potential Maverick, Lawman, Sugarfoot, Bronco and Cheyenne releases on Blu-Ray, then BRING IT ON!!! Wouldn't that be something!

Also, just like @Jeff Flugel, I too thought that Colt .45 would remain pretty much a pipe dream! What an absolute home run by WAC.

Don't forget about The Eleventh Hour Season Two.

Some serious depression there that none of us can afford to miss.

Who wouldn't enjoy seeing their favorite classic tv star plummet into the depths of insanity on a weekly basis?

The Eleventh Hour (TV Series 1962–1964) ⭐ 7.8 | Drama

1h

www.imdb.com

 

[Alan Tully]

If this release unlocks the doors for potential Maverick, Lawman, Sugarfoot, Bronco and Cheyenne releases on Blu-Ray, then BRING IT ON!!! Wouldn't that be something!

I used to lap up all those American western series way back then in the UK, all those titles, plus Wyatt Earp, Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel & quite a few others, but I can’t for the life of me remember Colt .45. But great news, & also great news that these mega Blu-ray TV box sets are still being released (The Man From UNCLE?).

 

[Bob Gu]

GREAT NEWS! Wayde Preston is terrific as Chris Colt.

But what's with that picture they are using for the cover???? There are better pictures of Preston as Colt.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

Woo-HOO! What incredible news - thanks for sharing, Stan! I thought all hope was lost for this series, and never in million years would have expected a complete series Blu-Ray release! Day one purchase for me.

I had asked about Colt .45's chances and on one of the very last episodes of the now-defunct Warner Archive podcast, George Feltenstein talked about its complicated music clearance issues. There was also the fact that there were apparently no tape masters of the show, so it required a complete remastering from the original elements...which is seemingly what we got. Simply unbelievable, especially at this stage of the physical media game.

So who knows? There may indeed be a chance for some of the long-clamored-for WB detective shows...at least, perhaps a sampler set of easier-to-clear episodes. Other classic TV wants from WAC for me would be S2 of Mr. Novak, Jefferson Drum and the short-lived sitcom Room For One More.

Jefferson Drum? That was a Goodson-Todman/Screen Gems production (Sony). I'd like to see Temple Houston be released, The Travels of Jamie McPheeters (MGM/Turner), The Rounders, same as TOJMcP, and those detective shows!

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Jefferson Drum? That was a Goodson-Todman/Screen Gems production (Sony). I'd like to see Temple Houston be released, The Travels of Jamie McPheeters (MGM/Turner), The Rounders, same as TOJMcP, and those detective shows!

Yes, my mistake. I meant Temple Houston. Post corrected above.

Agree with you about Jamie McPheeters. Haven't seen any of The Rounders (other than the movie), but would happily take that, too.

From the '70s, I'd love to see Banyon with Robert Forster and Kodiak with big Clint Walker released, but am guessing those are too obscure to be practical choices.

 

[borisfw]

excellent news. I did not see this coming.

 

[JamesSmith]

Guys, forgive my poor memory but was Colt 45 released before on regular DVD? I can't remember. I do remember someone discussing Colt 45, and another black and white western that have never been released in any format? What was that one? The Alaskans? Really hope WB Archives gets to releasing previously unreleased HB series again. Along with Linda Evans in Hunter. Still missed seeing the ending to one episode that I missed when the series was originally broadcast.

--jthree

 

[Tom.W]

Surprising great news. Thanks for letting us know, Stan. I always liked Donald May in his other series and guest appearances, so that will be an added benefit. Don't know how much singing Dorothy Provine did in The Alaskans, but my guess is that would limit the chances of it being released. I hope I'm wrong, because then the doors might open for the other WB detective shows.

I've always been curious about Two Faces West, with Charles Bateman in a dual role. Not sure who owns the rights to it.

 

[WWoD]

Hawaiian Eye! Hope it’s next!

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

Surprising great news. Thanks for letting us know, Stan. I always liked Donald May in his other series and guest appearances, so that will be an added benefit. Don't know how much singing Dorothy Provine did in The Alaskans, but my guess is that would limit the chances of it being released. I hope I'm wrong, because then the doors might open for the other WB detective shows.

I've always been curious about Two Faces West, with Charles Bateman in a dual role. Not sure who owns the rights to it.

Two Faces West was produced by Screen Gems, so that would be with Sony.

 

[Flashgear]

Thanks for the bulletin! Stunning news from WAC about Colt .45 on Blu on March 12! Just when you think that Warners has long since left their collective vintage TV holdings far behind to concentrate on feature films and cartoons/animation holdings on Blu, George and company surprise the hell out of us by giving us their rarest and seldom seen Western TV B+W series! And on Blu, no less! Incredible!

You know, I might have about 8 episodes in mostly awful video dupes and a few derived directly from severely battered 16mm film in my collection. Colt .45 always has been scarce in trading circles, along with WB stablemates The Alaskans, Roaring '20s, The Islanders and Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay's single season sit-com Room for One More....I hope this might mean that maybe 1961's The Islanders with Diane Brewster and William Reynolds might not be a lost cause, as far as I know, not loads of American Songbook music showcased in that series, as opposed to songstress Connie Stevens' Hawaiian Eye. I have decent enough complete collections from varied sources of 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6.

Wayde Preston's bio from IMDB makes for interesting reading...raised In Laramie Wyoming, real rodeo cowboy skills, talented musician, park ranger at Grand Teton National Park, Lieutenant in an artillery unit seeing combat in the Korean War, accomplished aviator and pilot for TWA, Married actress Carol Ohmart, made a heaping helping of Spaghetti Westerns in Spain and Italy (Today we Kill Tomorrow We Die, I Live For Your Death, etc.), as well as turning up in the all-star cast of war film Anzio and A Man Called Sledge (with old WB friend James Garner), also filmed in Spain and Italy. Apart from his work on Colt .45 and other WB Western series as Cheyenne, Sugarfoot (as Christopher Colt) and Maverick, he also appeared in TV shows Bonanza, Starsky and Hutch and Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

From IMDB...

Born William Erksine Strange on September 10, 1929, in Denver, Colorado, Wayde Preston was raised in Laramie, Wyoming, with two younger sisters, Joan and Mary, by his schoolteacher parents John and Bernice Strange. He graduated in 1947 from Laramie High, where he was active in football, track, ROTC and school band. He attended the University of Wyoming, studying pharmacy. An accomplished musician, his talent afforded him the opportunity to play string bass with various bands popular during the late 1940s. Drafted into the army in 1950, he attained the rank of First Lieutenant and was posted to an artillery unit at Fort Bliss, Texas. He later was transferred to Korea, where he saw action in the Korean War. Following his discharge he held a job as a park ranger at Grand Teton National Park and also played the rodeo circuit in Wyoming. A licensed pilot, he was flying for TWA when he got his first career break. It was at this time that he met Carol Ohmart, whom he married on Thanksgiving Day in 1956; they were divorced less than two years later. After appearing in a Cheyenne (1955) episode with Clint Walker, Preston landed the lead role in Colt .45 (1957), playing Chris Colt, an undercover government agent. The first episode aired on October 18, 1957. The next three years were a roller-coaster ride for many stars, Preston included, who were demanding more money and shorter working hours. "Colt .45" ended its tenure in 1960 with Donald May playing the lead role, as Preston had again walked off after being denied the use of a stuntman. Like other stars of that era, Preston embarked on a lucrative career filming "spaghetti westerns" in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. Returning to the US in the late 1970s, Preston underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth by his right temple. After recuperation and reconstructive surgery, he resurfaced again in the mid '80s, appearing at numerous western film festivals and accepting small movie roles, the last as Jack in Captain America (1990). Wayde Preston passed away on February 6, 1992, losing a battle with colon cancer.

• After Colt .45 (1957) was cancelled he worked for a construction company piloting a cargo plane between Los Angeles and Mexico.
• Drafted into the US Army in 1950, he fought in the Korean War as a lieutenant in an artillery unit.

 

[John Hermes]

I remember the Colt .45 episode "The Escape", with guest Adam West was one of the first 16mm TV shows I ever owned. In 1974, I had it shipped over to Germany where I was in the Army. I showed it to the guys up in the dayroom. What a great memory. It got me started in that super fun hobby. I later sold it to a friend who still has it. I can't wait for this Blu-ray set!!

 

[Garysb]

 

[Randy Korstick]

Guys, forgive my poor memory but was Colt 45 released before on regular DVD? I can't remember. I do remember someone discussing Colt 45, and another black and white western that have never been released in any format? What was that one? The Alaskans? Really hope WB Archives gets to releasing previously unreleased HB series again. Along with Linda Evans in Hunter. Still missed seeing the ending to one episode that I missed when the series was originally broadcast.

--jthree

Colt .45 was never released on DVD. It was discussed as being in the works but never happened which makes the Blu Ray release a bigger surprise.

 

[jayembee]

An incredible surprise. Most of us would have been happy with a DVD of this so this is even better. Maybe there is still hope for the detective shows.

Hawaiian Eye! Hope it’s next!

The detective shows are likely more problematic than the westerns because of music clearance issues.