Alpha Video

Producer-director-actor Mack Sennett, the screen's original King of Comedy, is well represented in this quartet of silent-era short subjects with musical accompaniment. The four comedies collected on this disc show Sennett's evolution from a purveyor of frenetic slapstick to a filmmaker with a keen eye for situational, character-based humor. The standout is Run, Girl, Run, which combines snappy intertitles and clever sight gags with the considerable physical appeal of future star Carole...

Comic book publisher and well-known curmudgeon R.P. Moody hasn't laughed in 20 years. His worried daughter is convinced that laughter is the last hope for her ailing father. Betty prescribes a dose of good old slapstick for the old grouch, sneaking a parade of vaudevillians into her father's home. She hopes to make the old man guffaw one more time, but is having no luck. With a little bit of sleuthing, Betty manages to locate her estranged mother and finally uncover the secret behind her...

Dave O'Brien poses as his dead brother to bring the man's killers to justice in one of the best (and rarest) entries in PRC's "Texas Rangers" series.

A star-studded cast embarks on a collegiate romp in this campus comedy directed by Raymond McCarey, prolific director of Our Gang and Three Stooges shorts. Larry Haines is the "Big Man on Campus" at Rawley College -- just ask him. He's a star athlete, the girls adore him, the guys all want to be like him. He's a shoo-in for the annual "Joe Senior Contest" sponsored by the college paper, or so he thinks. In order to teach him some humility, editor Spec Early has sabotaged the voting so that...

The Ape brings together two legends of horror, Frankenstein star Boris Karloff and The Wolf Man writer Curt Siodmak. Karloff stars as Dr. Adrian, a man who becomes obsessed with curing paralysis when he loses his beloved wife and daughter to the disease. Desperately trying to cure a crippled neighbor (Maris Wrixon), he discovers that he needs human spinal fluid for his vaccine - but how to get it? When an ape trainer at a local circus is badly mauled, the doctor allows him to die so that he...

The United States has successfully launched an orbiting space station high above the Earth. This technological marvel will be the launching platform for the first manned rocket to the Moon. But with government bureaucrats anxious to beat the Russians in the space race, program leader John Benedict is forced to commence the mission before the craft can be perfected. A sudden meteor strike damages the ship's hull, turning the rocket into a ticking time bomb. Benedict and his team now only have...

Bob Steele was one of the most popular cowboy actors during the Golden Age of Hollywood, starring in over 100 Westerns in the 1930s and 1940s. Born Bob Bradbury, Jr., he began his career in the silent era co-starring along with his twin brother Bill in The Adventures of Bill and Bob series of short subjects (1920-1922). Before long, Bob struck out on his own and changed his surname to the more heroic-sounding "Steele" with 1927's The Mojave Kid. He is perhaps best known for starring in PRC's...

Boris Karloff stars as the clever detective James Lee Wong in the fourth entry of the Monogram series. When a police officer is murdered, Captain Street looks to Mr. Wong to catch the killer. Prime suspect: Frank Belden Jr., whose father is a businessman well known for both his success and dishonesty. Mr. Wong faces increasing danger and is nearly executed himself as the investigation develops in treachery and complexity. As Mr. Wong follows the trail of dead bodies, he uncovers a jewel...

A team of astronauts is stranded after crash landing on Venus. The mysterious planet holds many perils for the crew, who are assaulted by prehistoric creatures and bewitching alien women. The Venusian sirens are enraged when the astronauts kill their god, a terrible flying beast, and vow to destroy the invaders. Turning their fury against the explorers, the beautiful aliens call upon the deadly powers of their ancient gods. As the planet is engulfed in lava and assaulted by storms, the...

Directed by the distinctive, unwavering hand of Jack Webb and with Webb in the leading role of Detective Joe Friday, the "Dragnet" television series of the 1950's became the first highly successful TV cop show. Famous for its tense, staccato pacing, the monotone of its onscreen dialogue and the punchy musical theme, the show became a national obsession and a frequent subject of parody and humor on radio and television.THE HUMAN BOMB: The premiere episode of Dragnet is also one of the most...

Against overwhelming odds, 600 Jewish prisoners in the Sobibor death camp carry out the largest mass escape of World War II in this horrifying true story. Over 250,000 Jews from Poland and Russia will be exterminated at Sobibor before the war's end. Every day the trains pull up, loaded with Jewish families. The SS guards pull aside a few highly skilled laborers - all of the other refugees are systematically gassed. Realizing that escape is their only chance of survival, the Jewish laborers...

Betty White stars as newlywed bride Vicki Angel in this vintage TV series which ran for 33 episodes from May of 1957 to January 1958. Together with husband Gus (Bill Williams), the Angels never fail to involve their friends and neighbors in their comedic high-jinks. In 1958, the series was replaced by her new live variety series, "The Betty White Show." Here are eight complete episodes of classic 50s TV.Includes the episodes:A Day At The TrackCatered PartyChip Off The Old BlockDouble...