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The Claudette Colbert Collection

Three-Cornered Moon (1933)          Maid of Salem (1937)          I Met Him in Paris (1937)

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)          No Time for Love (1943)         The Egg and I (1947)

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

No Time for Love (1943) is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

The Claudette Colbert Collection celebrates the career of one of the most popular screen legends of all-time. Equally comfortable in epics (Cleopatra), dramas (Imitation of Life) and screwball comedies (such as It Happened One Night in which she won an Academy Award), Claudette's versatility and striking beauty set her apart from other actresses of the 1930's and 1940's. As part of the new “Universal Backlot Series”, this collection of 6 rare films showcases her talent and beauty in Three-Cornered Moon, Maid of Salem, I Met Him in Paris, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, No Time for Love and The Egg and I. Co-starring Hollywood favorites Fred MacMurray and Gary Cooper, The Claudette Colbert Collection is a much-needed spotlight on one of Hollywood’s true cinematic greats. Three-Cornered Moon (1933) Laughter is the best medicine in tough times, and that is certainly the case for Elizabeth (Claudette Colbert) and her three brothers who are forced to find work after their eccentric family’s fortune is lost. Maid of Salem (1937) Inspired by the true-life Salem “witch trials”, an independent young woman (Claudette Colbert) is accused of casting evil spells by the Puritan townsfolk during one of the most notorious periods in American history. I Met Him in Paris (1937) All is fair in love and fashion as a successful designer (Claudette Colbert) must choose between three suitors: a creative playwright (Melvyn Douglas), a dashing playboy (Robert Young) and a hometown boy (Lee Bowman). Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) The daughter (Claudette Colbert) of a destitute aristocrat is determined to teach her millionaire groom (Gary Cooper) a lesson when she learns that their wedding day is not his first trip down the aisle. No Time for Love (1943) A working class man (Fred MacMurray) falls for a sophisticated fashion photographer (Claudette Colbert), but the picture is not pretty when he loses his job and she hires him to be her assistant. The Egg and I (1947) A new bride (Claudette Colbert) reluctantly says “I do” to her husband’s (Fred MacMurray) plan to leave their life in the city and raise chickens on a dilapidated farm located miles from civilization.

Titles

 


 

DISC 1:

Three-Cornered Moon (1933, 78 min.)
Often regarded as one the first genuine “screwball comedies”, Three-Cornered Moon stars Claudette Colbert as a level-headed member of an eccentric family who suddenly find their family fortune gone due to the stock market crash. Chaos ensues when they must find jobs and work for the first-time ever.

Maid of Salem (1937, 87 min.)
Inspired by the notorious Salem “witch trials”, Claudette Colbert stars as a free-thinking young woman who is falsely accused of casting evil spells by the Puritan townsfolk. Co-starring Fred MacMurray, The Maid of Salem is based on authentic records from 1692.

DISC 2:

I Met Him in Paris (1937, 87 min.)
Claudette Colbert plays an American fashion designer who leaves her hometown sweetheart for a trip to Paris. She then meets 2 new suitors – a playwright and a playboy – and through a series of slapstick winter sports must decide which of the men she truly loves.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938, 86 min.)
Claudette Colbert is as captivating as ever in the hilarious romantic comedy Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife co-starring Gary Cooper and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Set on the French Riviera, a young woman falls for a dashing millionaire only to find out on their wedding day that he has been down the aisle before – 7 times!

DISC 3:

No Time for Love (1943, 84 min.)
In the screwball comedy No Time for Love, Claudette Colbert plays a sophisticated fashion photographer whose vindictive editor decides to teach her a lesson by assigning her to photograph construction workers. After inadvertently causing one of the workers (played by Fred MacMurray) to be fired, she hires him as her assistant resulting in conflict and…possibly romance.

The Egg and I (1947, 108 min.)
Claudette Colbert is stars as a city gal who finds herself living the “simple life” after her new husband (played by Fred MacMurray) decides they should live on a rustic farm miles away from civilization. When life becomes an endless battle of repairs, rain, ornery livestock and chickens, their marriage is put to the test in this heartwarming comedy.

Posters

Theatrical Releases: 1933 - 1947


DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Universal Studios (The Claudette Colbert Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

 

Distribution

Universal Studios

Region 1 - NTSC

Runtime Respectively 1:17:27, 1:26:03, 1:26:30, 1:25:24, 1:23:27 and 1:47:40
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: about 6.5 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Disc 1

Bitrate Disc 2

Bitrate Disc 3

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles English, Spanish, French, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Universal Studios

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
"Claudette Colbert - Queen of the Silver Screen"

Trailer for The Egg and I


DVD Release Date: November 3rd, 2009
digi-pak cases

Chapters 18

 

Comments

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

No Time for Love (1943) is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

2009 saw classic boxsets like this dry up to some extent. Luckily we have Universal to thank for keeping the trend alive with The Claudette Colbert Collection.

Five of these films are brand new to DVD,  with only The Egg and I being available previously in the Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle Volume 1 set. Claudette Colbert was a huge star in 1930's-1950's and the Universal set is a good representation of her appealing film roles. Many of her most famous roles have been released to DVD already, but Universal presents a nice spectrum of her comedic and one dramatic (Maid of Salem) performances.  These are equivalent to single-layered transfers with two features each sharing three dual-layered discs. Each film has progressive transfers, limited by the single-layered status, but grain is apparent. Contrast is excellent and there are minor scratches occasionally visible under the surface - as ell as some speckles and marks but nothing major. The image is reasonably consistent for each feature.

Audio is clean, clear and acceptable for each film and there are optional subtitles in English, Spanish or French.

There is only one, important, supplement, the featurette "Claudette Colbert - Queen of the Silver Screen" (also subtitled in 3 languages). This was previously on the recently released Backlot version of 1934's Cleopatra. There is a theatrical trailer for The Egg and I.

There is strong value here for vintage cinema fans with 5, new to DVD, Claudette Colbert films pragmatically rendered for viewer consumption.

 - Gregory Meshman



DVD Menus Samples
 

 


Three-Cornered Moon (1933)

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Maid of Salem (1937)

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         I Met Him in Paris (1937)

 


 

 


 

 


Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)

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No Time for Love (1943)

 

Screen Captures

 

 


 

 


 

 


The Egg and I (1947)

 

Screen Captures


Subtitle sample

 

 


 

 


 

 


DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

 

Distribution

Universal Studios

Region 1 - NTSC




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