Here are some highlights of the recent releases to the Warner Archive Collection. DVD’s and Blu-rays are manufactured on demand. They also have a streaming service. Before you visit Warner Archive to check out their selection, check out the selections below an a few of my thoughts.

Oscar Nominees & Winners

Our primary reason for highlighting each week’s selections is to showcase new and reprints of Oscar nominees and winners. Below are the Archives most recent releases in this class.

Trader Horn (1931)
Famous 19th-century African explorer Aloysius “Trader” Horn (Harry Carey) found himself engaged by a missionary (Olive Golden) to track down the daughter who disappeared into the jungle as a child. The treacherous quest brings him face to face with the young woman (Edwina Booth), but the natives who regard her as a goddess won’t make rescue easy. Shot-on-location adventure, whose success belied its notoriously troubled and hazardous production history, co-stars Duncan Renaldo. 120 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; bonus short “Trader Hound” (1931); theatrical trailer.

1 Oscar nomination:
Best Picture

Lady Let’s Dance (1944)
Olympic skating star Belita proves she’s as accomplished on the dance floor as on the ice in this gloriously heart-tugging tale of a World War II Dutch refugee’s rise from waitress to showbiz sensation. The double Oscar®-nominated score buoys specialty acts (including popular skating comics Frick and Frack) and an almost nonstop array of showcases for the leading lady. She dances en pointe in the Snow Queen Ballet, shakes her elegant caboose to a hot Latin rhythm and demonstrates her spectacular terpsichoreon-blades in a series of skating numbers. The highlight: The Spirit of Victory finale, with Belita in the foreground, the Statue of Liberty in the background and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony thundering out in triumph.

2 Oscar nominations:
Best Original Soong – “Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams”
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture

The World According to Garp (1982)
Robin Williams proved he was more than Mork – and then some – in this beloved adaptation of John Irving’s quirky classic. Williams plays the titular Garp, wrestler, philosopher, writer, who struggles with the buffets of fate and the betrayals of life. Glenn Close makes her screen debut as Garp’s most unusual mother, while John Lithgow broke out big time thanks to his sensitive portrayal of transgender football star Roberta Muldoon. George Roy Hill’s film now looks better than ever, thanks to this whimsy-worthy 1080p HD presentation. 16×9 Widescreen

2 Oscar nominations:
Best Supporting Actor – John Lithgow
Best Supporting Actress – Glenn Close

Other Films

Here are other notable film releases coming to Warner Archive Collection

Confession (1937)
Kay Francis plays a killer chanteuse in this melodrama of seduction and murder that proved a signature role for the Warner Bros.’ star. Basil Rathbone co-stars as Michael Michailow, a maestro who conducts himself in the most improper fashion with young ladies. Setting his sights on the teenage Lisa Koslov (Jane Bryan), a chance encounter at a cabaret leads to a shocking act… And the story is just beginning. Directed by Joe May, from the German film, Mazurka.

The Feminine Touch (1941)
W. S. Van Dyke directs Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Van Heflin and Kay Francis in this cross-couple romantic comedy set amidst the literary set. Ameche plays psychology professor John Hathaway, who has authored a tome about his disbelief in jealousy. Russell plays the passionate academic wife who fears her hubby’s dispassionate approach to romance might betray an unfaithful heart. Helfin is the publisher who has eyes for Hathaway’s wife, while Francis is the Gal Friday who is tired of waiting for the publisher to seal the deal. By the time the professor learns to listen to his heart, fists and furs will be flying.

I Found Stella Parish (1935)
Stella Parish (Kay Francis) vanishes on the night of her greatest triumph upon the London stage, and an intrepid reporter (Ian Hunter) sets out to track her down. First finding Stella in disguise aboard a cruise ship, said reporter starts to uncover Stella’s scandalous secrets. Growing close in the cosy confines of the Big Apple, Stella comes clean with the ink-stained wretch she fallen for, only to find he’s already filed the story… So what’s a star stained by the sordid to do? Ride that scandal for all it’s worth! Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.

Kirby Grant & Chinook Triple Feature (1949, 1953, 1953)

It’s time for another titanic triple feature of mystery, adventure and wild Northwest action alongside Kirby Grant (TV’s Sky King) and that most wondrous of pups, Chinook! Based on the series of sensational stories of James Oliver Curwood, the films detail the adventures of a Mountie and his canine partner fighting crime within the confines of the Arctic Circle. Trail of the Yukon begins the series with Grant playing Bob MacDonald of the RCMP (the name would eventually become the more well-known Rod Webb later in the series) coming to the aid of double-crossed bank robbers. Fangs of the Arctic sends Corp. Rod Webb undercover as a trapper to uncover a killer in the fur trade. Finally, Northern Patrol finds Rod and Chinook unraveling a locked-cabin murder mystery.

Titles included:

• Trail of the Yukon
• Fangs of the Artic
• Northern Patrol

The White Angel (1936)
Kay Francis breaks type to star as famed nurse and humanitarian Florence Nightingale in this biopic directed by William Dieterle. Nightingale is determined to be more than an ornament of Victorian high society and sets out to reform that lowest of institutions, nursing. Blocked by the gender barrier, it takes the outbreak of the Crimean War and cholera for Florence and her aides to prove that healing is not man’s work alone. Co-starring Ian Hunter, Donald Woods, Nigel Bruce and Donald Crisp.

Television

The occasional television program or series is released in Warner Archive Collection. Here are this week’s offerings.

Rosie O’Donnell: A Heartfelt Stand Up (2015)
Rosie O’Donnell speaks straight to the heart in her latest HBO stand-up special, delivering hilarious anecdotes about her family before sharing details about the heart attack that changed her life, in hopes of educating women at risk.