Ian Kerstein wrote:

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

I know I am a bit late to this being 3 days after Christmas and all, but does any one know any ways to get some of Bing's Christmas specials that weren't released in that The television specials volume two? Specifically Merry Christmas Fred, From the Crosby's? I've found snippets online, and I know it was partially included on that TimeLife set, but alas it was chopped up.

On a side note I have the same question for Bing's 50th anniversary special.

Sorry this an even (far) later response but I'm a new member. This link might be worth a try as it offers both. I was also looking for these specials but haven't yet attempted to purchase them.     

http://www.classicretrovintagedvds.com/zc/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1122

Also, as they look to be unofficial releases, I checked as to the reliability of the sight offering this (admittedly as part of a bundle with many other shows). Although headline wise, the below link doesn't read too well - but if you scroll down a little further from the single posted critical review, more potentially assuring detail emerges to the right of the screen.

https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/pensacola/profile/dvd-sales/classic-retro-vintage-dvds-0683-90033312

With specic regard to lack of official availablilty of "Merry Christmas, Fred, From the Crosbys": This will more than likely be at least partly due to the keyholder of the Astaire estate's (widow, Mrs Robyn Astaire) long history of reticence, exorbitantly high fees and sometimes controversial litigation on matters pertaining to newly released material featuring her late husband (sighted image rights, Etc). The odds are that we'll be waiting an eternity for any sort of official full release. 

 

The quality of the Christmas specials from this seller is very good. They are taken from the Get TV broadcasts and look just about as good as they did there.  Personally, I think the Fred special is a disappoi

Sorry. I didn’t know it was covered before. Still, it’s ludicrous to say that little brother Bob Crosby, Bob Hope, and Phil Harris are outliers.  There are a lot of famous people who worked with and knew Bing here.  The only real outlier is Terry Moore.  This is what I indicated, a good collection of interview clips recorded in the early years after Bing’s passing with some other stuff thrown in.

The fact that they talked about making a film together is interesting.  My pet/unevidenced theory is that the part of the General in White Christmas was written with him in mind.  William Boyd would have been a more natural person to evoke the affection the General does, and the General prominently walks with a limp.

I just finished watching this 1973 release from Bing Crosby Productions on Amazon Prime and it left me puzzled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_in_the_Wax_Museum  I am curious what the thought process was behind its creation.  Its plot is a throw back to nonadventurous B pictures of the 1930s and 1940s.  They were making more daring television movies than this in the 1970s, not to mention the theatrical releases that this was competing with.  Castwise, its a sort of Love Boat of horror films and uses Ray Milland, Louis Hayward, Elsa Lancaster, Patrick Knowles, Broderick Crawford, Maurice Evans, and Ben Wright in prominent roles.  The director was relatively inexperienced, and its filming, which may be on videotape, isn't much more artful than your average soap opera. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it left me wondering why it was made?  Was it made in hopes of selling to television, but that never happened?  Was it made as a tax shelter, as was the case with many films of the period?  Was it made largely to give employment to many old stars?  Does anyone know?

There aren't too many Easter songs.  Does Bing sing anything Easter themed outside of Easter Parade?

According to Wikipedia, there were seven of these shows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Sing_with_Bing_(1955–1962).  I understand that the first one was released as Through the Years Vol. 10.  However, where are the other six.  I understand why Bing's early 1930s radio shows are missing (although they'd be the top of my want list), but with so much radio material available somewhere on the internet, it is odd that these are missing.  Does anyone have access to these shows?

Personally, I find Bing’s 1930s recordings to be his overall best.  His voice was never better and the arrangements are often much more lively than what followed in later years

I guess people actually got this.  It seems to have disappeared from Time-Life's website.  Does anyone know what happened?