Press Release Warner Archive Collection Press Release: The Boob (1926) and Why Be Good (1929) (Blu-ray Double Feature) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Coming from the Warner Archive Collection on Blu-ray this March 26th!
THE BOOB and WHY BE GOOD? (1926/29) SILENT CLASSIC DOUBLE FEATURE
Silent with intertitles and musical scores
BD-50
Running time-THE BOOB 61 Minutes/WHY BE GOOD 81 Minutes-TRT: 142 Minutes
B&W
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 1.33:1 with side mattes
Audio Format: THE BOOB-DTS-MA HD 2.0 Stereo (Music score by Arthur Barrow ©2003)
WHY BE GOOD?-DTS-MA HD 2.0-Mono (original Vitaphone synchronized score)
B&W
THE BOOB-Cast: Getrude Olmsted, George K. Arthur. Joan Crawford
WHY BE GOOD?-Cast: Colleen Moore, Neil Hamilton, Bodil Rosing

Two laugh-filled romps from the last years of Silent Cinema make up this Double Feature disc . Directed with the usual splash of skill by the great William A. Wellman, The Boob is a lampoon of Hollywood gangsters and cowboys. George K. Arthur stars as Peter Good, whose girlfriend has run off with a bootlegger, sending the hapless boob running after both. The story becomes a culture-clash farce that pits his hick heroism against the wiles of slick-haired gangsters and gin-soaked jazz babies. The film gave Joan Crawford one of her first important roles, as a tough but glamorous revenue agent who helps Peter save the day. Why Be Good? stars the magnificent Colleen Moore who captures the rebellious flamboyance of the era portraying Pert Kelly, a shopgirl who wins the heart of the boss' son (Neil Hamilton). The boss, however, doubts that Pert is virtuous. His love-struck son wonders if Dad could be right. So, he sets up a little test for his sweetie: He takes Pert to a raucous roadhouse, rents a private room and makes a most ungentlemanly suggestion. Will Pert be good? Or, with Prince Charming in her grasp, will she decide it's better to be bad? M-G-M’s The Boob is presented with a joyous musical score written in 2003 by composer Arthur Barrow. First National’s Why Be Good? Is presented with its original synchronized Vitaphone soundtrack with synchronized music and sound effects.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

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[Broomy]

Interesting release. Especially since we’ve not had a disc have films from two different studios before. After watching The Big Parade the other day I wanted to see more silents so this will certainly remedy that itch!
I wonder why they’ve not used the original poster artwork like they normally do though?

 

[battlebeast]

Well, I’m getting this because THE BOOB is from my favorite director.

 

[ahollis]

Interesting release and one I will pick up. It's good to see a couple of silents get their due.

 

[Thomas T]

More silent cinema is always welcome.

 

[bujaki]

Wellman and early Crawford.
Colleen Moore at her effervescent best.
What's not to like?
Perhaps no Atmos?

 

[Ross Gowland]

The Boob should make a good double feature.

 

[Into The Archives]

What's not to like?

No slipcover.

 

[Dr. Lejos]

A rather odd pair of silent titles for WAC to release on blu-ray, considering that nearly all the true landmark MGM silent films have been on the blu back burner for years.

One can only assume that perhaps Criterion has been allocated distribution of THE WIND, THE CROWD, STUDENT PRINCE, FLESH AND THE DEVIL and of course GREED … thereby consigned to their wait list which has been notoriously slow for vintage studio releases in recent years.

That said, I will be in line for release date purchase of this otherwise welcome Archive release.

 

[bujaki]

Both The Boob and Why Be Good? were already released by WA in DVD format. They were separate releases, so this one BD containing both is most welcome.

 

[bujaki]

No slipcover.

No 3D either!

 

[bujaki]

The Boob should make a good double feature.

Crawford might have been amenable to providing that feature.

 

[B-ROLL]

Crawford might have been amenable to providing that feature.

She'ld do it all for Veda ...

 

[lark144]

No 3D either!

It might have worked in Glorious Smell-O-Vision. Lots of opportunities for perfume and after shave, as well as whiskey breath.

 

[dana martin]

All jokes aside, I'm happy to see that this announcement was made and I hope that it does well enough that they will continue to delve into many of the silent's that they have, so many of the missing ones that have already been listed into this thread. But what I hope the most for is that maybe they can work some magic and we can get an actual official Studio release of The Scarlet Letter with Miss Lillian Gish.

 

[Richard M S]

On another forum, one that's devoted to silent films, the excitement about this double feature was more, uh, muted than expected. The comments began with "The Boob is easily one of the worst silent features ever made" lol. While I am eager to see the reviews, I am still buying this just because I have not seen either film and I want more MGM silent films released.

 

[compson]

A rather odd pair of silent titles for WAC to release on blu-ray, considering that nearly all the true landmark MGM silent films have been on the blu back burner for years.

One can only assume that perhaps Criterion has been allocated distribution of THE WIND, THE CROWD, STUDENT PRINCE, FLESH AND THE DEVIL and of course GREED … thereby consigned to their wait list which has been notoriously slow for vintage studio releases in recent years.

That said, I will be in line for release date purchase of this otherwise welcome Archive release.

Fyi, THE WIND and THE CROWD both run on TCM next month.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

On another forum, one that's devoted to silent films, the excitement about this double feature was more, uh, muted than expected. The comments began with "The Boob is easily one of the worst silent features ever made" lol. While I am eager to see the reviews, I am still buying this just because I have not seen either film and I want more MGM silent films released.

Yeah, I’m embarrassed by the complaining snooty ingrates over on that forum (of which I am a sometimes-active member). To hell with them. WHY BE GOOD? is an excellent romantic comedy, and my absolute fave Colleen Moore film. And the print and soundtrack are in miraculously good shape; in fact, it’s a miracle they still exist at all. I ordered this today when I found out about it, having already owned the DVDs of both titles. I consider THE BOOB to be a bonus feature; WHY BE GOOD? is easily worth the full purchase price.

 

[TheSteig]

I saw The Boob in TCM thought it was ok, probably will watch it one more time to see if I want the Blu-ray, some movies take a couple of viewings to see if I really would add it to my collection.
Im also going to watch Why Be Good? as I think I can stream it. I am going by Robert's recommendation. It might be a better movie than The Boob This could be one of those wait for a sale Blu-rays, we'll see!