John Ford: The Columbia Films Collection, The Whole Towns Talking / The Long Gray Line / Gideons Day / The Last Hurrah / Two Rode Together

Was on my sons wish list. Love it!

My Dad was looking for some older movies and loves this collection!

John Ford made over 140 films during his 50 year film career as a director and many of these, such as The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach, How Green is My Valley and The Searchers to name a few, are now considered classics. Ford is considered by many to be the greatest director in film history and during that five decade career he worked for many different studios. One of those studios was Columbia Pictures and although he only made five films for that studio, very few of them have ever been released on home video. Many fans of Ford have been requesting that these films be released and TCM(along with Sony) have finally answered those requests with their latest director series called JOHN FORD: THE COLUMBIA FILMS COLLECTION. Let me say up front that the video and audio quality of each of the five films is the best yet and fans will not be disappointed. In fact, three of the films are in color and that fact alone should make this a must-have for film collectors. The first film in the set is: THE WHOLE TOWNS TALKING(1935) and it is one of the best in this new collection. It is a mistaken identity comedy that features an incredible performance by Edward G. Robinson. Jean Arthur gives one of her classic performances too in this rarely seen film. Shes a hoot. Both actors are supported by members of the Ford Stock Company who appear in nearly all five films of this set. The video quality for The Whole Town is Talking is nearly flawless with only minor grain during the fade outs/fade ins from scene to scene. The Whole Town is Talking is 93 minutes(Aspect ratio: 1.37.1) and contains no subtitles. The second film is: THE LONG GRAY LINE(1955) and is the first of the color films in the set. It is a heartwarming true story of Marty Maher and covers his 50 year career at West Point. Tyrone Power gives one of his best performances as Maher whos guidance and dedication influenced many of the cadets he came in contact with. Maureen OHara too gives an incredible performance as his wife. Their on screen chemistry is evident in every scene. Ford regulars such as Ward Bond and Donald Crisp show up in supporting roles. The video quality is excellent for a color film almost sixty years old. Its not blu-ray quality but is very clear and the location scenes at West Point are pleasing to watch(spoiler alert: there are a lot of scenes of cadets marching on the grounds of West Point all during the film and this may get tiring to some viewers). The Long Gray Line is 138 minutes(Aspect ratio: 2.55.1) and contains no subtitles. The third film is GIDEONS DAY(1958) and is the only film in this set that was filmed entirely in England. Its a comedy/drama about a typical working day in the life of a British police inspector who tries to balance his work and home life at the same time. It features a great performance by Jack Hawkins as Inspector George Gideon. Its an off-beat film by Ford but on repeated viewings is very enjoyable. Gideons Day is 100 minutes(Aspect ratio: 1.85:1) and contains no subtitles. The fourth film is THE LAST HURRAH(1958) and in another highlight of this set. The story concerns the last political campaign of a big city mayor played in a memorable performance by Spencer Tracy. Showing up in the supporting cast is a whos who popular actors of the 30s and 40s including Pat OBrien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Ricardo Cortez and Frank McHugh among others. Jeffrey Hunter and Dianne Foster are some of the younger stars who lend support to the proceedings. The Last Hurrah is 121 minutes(Aspect ratio: 1.85:1) and contains no subtitles. The fifth and final film is TWO RODE TOGETHER(1961) and is the only western film in the set. Ford covers much of the same ground he did in The Searchers and uses many of the same actors. He also borrows scenes from some of his early films(such as the opening of James Stewart trying to balance himself sitting in a chair that is straight out of My Darling Clementine) but contains good performances from Richard Widmark, James Stewart, Shirley Jones and a very young Linda Cristal. The video quality of this last color film is very clear and free of any film damage. Two Rode Together is 109 minutes(Aspect ratio: 1.85:1) and contains no subtitles. Those are the five films in this superb new release from TCM/SONY of John Ford: The Columbia Films Collection. Like other TCM box sets this one includes many special features including publicity stills, lobby cards, movie posters and a written John Ford biography. The packaging is the same as the other box sets from TCM and once again youll have to be careful on how you remove each disc from the tray. First you must push the disc downward from the top until you see the plastic levers at the bottom of the disc tray give way before you can remove the disc. The disc is easily removed if you follow this procedure. Failure to do this may result in damage to the disc. Hope this is helpful. TCM/SONYs new box set of the only films John Ford made during his career at Columbia is a must for any film collectors library and comes highly recommended.

arrived as promised. Ive looked for movies like this for a long time.

WELL i DID NOT BUY THIS SET. I ONLY WANT 1 OF THE FILMS AND HOPE IT IS RELEASED ALONE. THE FILM I HOPE TO GET IS THE WHOLE TOWNS TALKING.

Excellent quality picture, good sound, came on time, price reasonable.

All movies were excellent despite absence of subtitle option. The Long Gray Line was the best of the lot but all movies were well worth watching. Excellent variety of cast and themes. Well known actors in all movies. The plastic case was destroyed when received but fortunately the DVD’s were not damaged. The case no longer able to hold the DVDs. It would be nice if seller could provide new case.

great

It is a wonderful set of films. it came on time and was packaged securely.