Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Benchley "Around the World Backwords, Sideways," Fast-forward, and on Pause

This inquiry came in this morning:
My uncle was a Scot who went to America in the 1920s and became Dean of the Chapel at Duke. He regularly sent my parents [American books] and I grew up in the '50s with Chips off the Old Benchley. Since then I've added to my Benchley collection but am most frustrated that the DVDs of his shorts are only available in Region 1 format whereas Europe uses 2. I actually have the book The "Reel" Benchley but wondered if you wondered if you or any of your members knew if the DVD was otherwise available or indeed if pace its format it can play here (as some 1s can). If you could answer this I'd be most grateful. Many thanks, [Name withheld]


Thanks to Gordon Ernst, Eileen Forster Keck, and Eileen Mitchell, who all responded remarkably quickly (and clearly have too much time on their hands), we have the answer.

Thirty Benchley short subjects are available on DVDs that work in all regions at Amazon at this link http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Benchley-Shorts-30-1935/dp/B003552QWW/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1303914266&sr=1-1. Also, his film "I Married A Witch" is available for Region 2.

1 comment:

Gordon Ernst said...

It may say it is all regions but it is still NTSC. Those with a PAL player may have problems playing the discs.

Robert Benchley Society

For more information about the Robert Benchley Society, local chapters near you, our annual Award for Humor, and our Annual Gathering, visit The RBS Website