E-mails prove classic DVDs have followin

Something that never ceases to amaze me about this job is what generates mail and what doesn't.

We have often commented around here that whenever we have a story we're sure will get readers riled up, we receive nary a phone call, nary an e-mail. But we often hear from readers about stories that never even register on our radar.

As if to prove that theory, the biggest response I've received in recent months had nothing to do with columns about the PG-13 vs. R ratings or Janet Jackson's revealing Super Bowl incident.

A much larger response came with respect to . . . drum roll, please . . . the Abbott & Costello DVD set I reviewed a couple of weeks ago.

No kidding.

In fact, as far as DVD reviews are concerned, it's safe to say that I received more mail and phone calls about the Abbott & Costello set than anything I've written about. By far.

The story ran on an inside page on a Thursday. It wasn't a cover story, like the Chaplin DVDs on this page today. It wasn't in this column, which also gets better display. It wasn't in any of the weekend sections, where people most often look for entertainment stories.

Apparently there are more Abbott & Costello fans out there than anyone would have guessed.

And since most of the callers and e-mailers asked where they could buy the set, it struck me that Universal Home Video may have missed a bet. If this is any indication of national interest, perhaps Abbott & Costello should have gotten the same kind of TV spots, magazine ads, etc., that are reserved for movies that left theaters only a month or two ago — or, in some cases, are still in theaters!

Of course, one of the most appealing aspects of "The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Vol. 1" is that it retails at only $24.98 and contains no less than eight movies (including "Buck Privates" and "Hold That Ghost") on two double-sided discs in a nice, thin fold-open set. (And it's been available around town for about 20 bucks, which works out to roughly $2.50 a movie.)

"Volume 2" will be released on May 4 and will include eight more films by the slapstick duo (including the sequel to "Buck Privates"; the ghostly "The Time of Their Lives," which many critics consider the team's best film; and "The Naughty Nineties," the only film with the full-length version of "Who's on First?"). Same price, same design.