Rochester on new DVDs in Jan 2006

[Shemp]

Preliminary info has Warner Brothers releasing several African-American cast musicals next January. Not sure if this is a box set. WB and Vitaphone short subject extras will be included. A press release is due within a week or two.

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson appears in two of the titles... CABIN IN THE SKY (1943) and THE GREEN PASTURES (1936).

[Shemp]

Reminder... these two Eddie Anderson showcases came out on DVD this week (Jan 10).

Eddie's widow and daughter provide audio commentary for CABIN IN THE SKY (1943), along with Fayard Nicholas. The "Pete Smith" comedy short STUDIO VISIT (1946) is included as a bonus.

And THE GREEN PASTURES (1936) deep South adaptation of the Old Testament is interesting and fun, with Eddie as 'Noah'. Bonus feature RUFUS JONES FOR PRESIDENT stars 7-year-old Sammy Davis Jr.

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson appears in two of the titles...
CABIN IN THE SKY (1943) and THE GREEN PASTURES (1936).

[shimp scrampi]

I had a listen to the "Cabin in the Sky" commentary yesterday - Eva and Evangela Anderson are only a small part of the multi-participant commentary, but they have some warm remembrances of Eddie - Eva has some fun stories about life as a kid with Eddie as her father. She mentions Mantan Moreland (among other notables) being around the house a lot, and she considered him her uncle - even once causing some laughs when she mistook him for her own father!

They talk a lot about how modest and "unaffected" Roch was - and how the kids were more afraid of hurting his feelings by misbehaving rather than fearing his wrath - sounds a bit like Joan's perception of Jack, in fact. They also noted how he really didn't speak a great deal about his work at home.

Also learned that Eddie had a gourmet cooking hobby.

The rest of the commentary is a mixed bag - Todd Boyd has the bulk of the commentary, and he has interesting things to say about the movie and some of the subtle, and not-so-subtle racial politics in the film. Drew Casper, on the other hand, I have to say got on my nerves with a breathless, rather pretentious, pedantic commentary (focusing mostly on Vincente Minnelli's technique). Fayard Nicholas has only small bits, and the Lena Horne segments are spliced in from other interviews.