CLICK to order from:

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical trailer (1:43)

DVD Release Date: July 10th, 2012
4 discs in a Keep Case

Chapters 24

Before the age of Warner Archive Collection, Warner Home Video released three volumes of pre-code dramas as Forbidden Hollywood Collection (reviewed HERE, HERE, HERE). Since then, both Universal (HERE) and Columbia/Sony (HERE) followed the suit and released their own pre-code set and Warner Archive themselves released a number of pre-code double features (Dorothy McKaill)  and single disc releases, like highly recommended Safe in Hell and Madam Satan. The public has spoken and Warner Archive Collection continue to bring us pre-code goodies in volumes 4 and 5 of Forbidden Hollywood Collection. What's more of interest for some people, these two volumes were released on pressed and not made-on-demand discs in the first pressing. I ordered my sets 3 months after they were released, in October, and both of them were pressed.

Volume 4 includes 3 films by William Dieterle - Jewel Robbery with William Powell and Kay Francis, Lawyer Man with William Powell and Joan Blondell, Man Wanted with Kay Francis, David Manners and Una Merkel. The fourth movie is They Call It Sin, directed by Thornton Freeland and with Loretta Young, George Brent, David Manners and Una Merkel. Each film has various degree of pre-code content that would not be possible just two after they were released. From a criminal escaping the law in Jewel Robbery to extramarital affair of a lady boss with her male secretary in Man Wanted. (Man Wanted would make an excellent co-feature with another Warner pre-code title, The Office Wife. Each movie gets its own single-layered disc, with 3 titles getting a theatrical trailer. Only They Call It Sin has been available previously on home video in VHS era, but each title gets a new progressive transfer. Unfortunately, each transfer as good as a print quality would allow, with various degree of damaged frames, marks and lines on the print, but overall the contrast is good and mono audio is adequate. Unlike previous volumes and per usual Warner Archive standard, there are no English captions or subtitles, but nevertheless we highly recommend these two sets.

  - Gregory Meshman

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.34 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.

CLICK to order from:

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC