The following recently released and soon-to-be released items in DVD format
may be of interest to Forum members:

_Father Murphy Season 2_. Image Entertainment, 2005. Five DVD disks. Color;
closed captioned. ASIN B0006L0LIE. $49.99.

Included in this collection is episode 25 which was titled "Stopover in a
One-Horse Town." The program aired on October 26, 1982, the second season of
this television production which starred former professional football player
Merlin Olsen. The plot of episode 25 featured Sam Clemens who arrived in
town
and established a newspaper. (According to Mark Dawidziak in his book _Shape
of the River_, the role of Clemens was played by Christopher Stone.) Young
cast regulars joined Clemens as reporters and became the inspiration for Tom
Sawyer and Huck Finn. Release date for this item is January 25, 2005.
(FICTION)

Amazon link for this DVD set is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006L0LIE/twainwebmarktwaiA/

_____

_The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg_. Monterey Home Video, 2004. Directed by
Ralph Rosenblum. 40 minutes. ASIN B0002VGSQW.  $24.95.

This adaptation of Twain's work originally aired March 17, 1980 on
television's "American Short Story" series. The production starred Robert
Preston and Fred Gwynne. Critics denounced script writer Mark Harris for
eliminating the last portion of Twain's story and leaving the audience with
an
incomplete version of the work. (FICTION)

Amazon link for this DVD is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002VGSQW/twainwebmarktwaiA/

_____

_Mark Twain's America in 3-D_. (Originally released in IMAX film format in
1998.) Warner Home Video, 2005. Narrated by Anne Bancroft. Directed by
Stephen
Low. 53 minutes. ASIN B0006HBV4Q. $14.97.

The original production was flawed by factual inaccuracies and could have
used
more scholarly input. Film reviewer Lawrence Van Gelder for the _New York
Times_ declared, "Twain might have enjoyed the film's three-dimensional
effects while turning his withering scorn on its pretensions to biography,
history and social relevance." The film's redeeming qualities were in the
use
of stereoscopic archival images, the footage of Twain's Hartford house, the
scenes filmed around the town of Hannibal and the musical soundtrack. The
awesome 3D effects of IMAX are lost in the transfer to DVD format. Release
date for this item is February 1, 2005. (NONFICTION)

Amazon link for this DVD is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006HBV4Q/twainwebmarktwaiA/


Barbara Schmidt
Book Review Editor, Mark Twain Forum