Too many flicks still remain in cinema limbo

People often ask me about whether certain movies are on video, and it's always surprising to discover what titles have never been released on tape or disc.

These days, the Internet provides a plethora of resources for movie fans looking for out-of-print titles; access to used VHS tapes or DVDs has never been so convenient (albeit sometimes overpriced).

But a great many titles remain in cinema limbo; they've never been given a video release, and many have also not been shown on television for decades.

Needless to say, fans of certain movies are quite frustrated — especially when they see the junk that is released. Are there really that many people more interested in seeing, say, "Drop Dead Fred" (1991) than "Hellzapoppin' " (1941)? And even if there are, can't we have both?

It's really quite amazing to think of how many movies are simply gathering dust on studio shelves.

Let's take the films of Bob Hope. Hope's death at 100 last Sunday serves as a reminder that while most of his some 60 movies are available, some interesting titles are not.

Universal Home Video helped get Hope's films out there by releasing a batch last year, many of them as DVD double-features. And a few titles were included that had not been released before.

Oddly, however, Hope's only co-starring features with Katharine Hepburn, Betty Hutton and Mickey Rooney remain unavailable.

By all accounts, these three films are not among Hope's best.

Although Leonard Maltin, in his annual "Movie & Video Guide," notes that "The Iron Petticoat" (1956) features "surprising rapport" between Hope and Hepburn.

And just the idea of Hope with Hutton and Rooney — in "Let's Face It" (1943) and "Off Limits" (1953), respectively — makes me smile.

Other Hope films that seem to have disappeared — and are among Hope's best — include:

— "Some Like it Hot" (1939, a k a "Rhythm Romance"; no relation to the 1960 classic "Some Like it Hot"), a musical-comedy about a sideshow barker in need of a cash fix, co-starring Shirley Ross (the actress who sang "Thanks for the Memory" with Hope in his first film, "The Big Broadcast of 1938").

— "The Cat and the Canary" (1939), an old-dark-house ghost comedy with Paulette Goddard, who re-teamed with Hope the following year for "The Ghost Breakers."