— "Old Acquaintance" (1943) is a solid "weepie" that explores the meaning of friendship and family devotion in ways that are somewhat dated but still resonate. Davis is the standout as a more noble character than usual, an artistic author/playwright whose competitive best friend (Miriam Hopkins), a popular novelist, doesn't realize what she has in her husband and daughter. (Home video debut.)

— "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?: Two-Disc Special Edition" (1962) is a reissue of the great horror film that brought longtime rivals Davis and Joan Crawford together, and this edition is loaded with bonus features. The film holds up as a battle of wills, with wheelchair-bound Crawford at the mercy of her former child-star sister, played by Davis with all the stops out.

— "Stardust: The Bette Davis Story" (2006) is a very good warts-and-all TCM cable biography, narrated by Susan Sarandon. (Only available with this set.)

Extras: Full frame (except widescreen "Baby Jane"), audio commentaries, featurettes, cartoons, shorts, trailers, language options (English, French, only on "Old Acquaintance" and "Baby Jane"), subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters. (All titles except "Stardust" available individually; all are $19.98 except "Baby Jane," $26.98.)

• "John Wayne: An American Icon Collection" (Universal, 1940-1957, not rated, b/w and color, $26.98, two double-sided discs). With one exception — the very good "Shepherd of the Hills" — these are lesser Wayne films, and none is a Western. In fact, "The Conqueror," which was filmed in southern Utah (subbing for the Gobi Desert!), is probably his worst movie.

— "Seven Sinners" (1940, b/w). Marlene Dietrich gets top billing in this action picture with Wayne as a naval officer who throws it all away for the love of a saloon singer. Nothing special, but the stars click. (DVD debut.)

— "Shepherd of the Hills" (1941, color). Wayne gives an excellent performance as a man taught all his life to hate in this sort-of Western about ignorance and superstition in the Ozarks. Actually, everyone's good in Wayne's first color effort. Partly filmed in Utah. (DVD debut.)

— "Pittsburgh" (1942, b/w) has both Wayne and Randolph Scott at their tough-guy best, though Dietrich still gets top billing. Wayne is a steel/coal magnate who ignores Dietrich as Scott tries to move in. (DVD debut.)

— "The Conqueror" (1955, color). Wayne stars as Genghis Khan in this ludicrous epic, despite a fine cast that includes Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and William Conrad. This is the notorious film made near nuclear testing grounds in southern Utah, and years later many of the cast and crew succumbed to cancer.

— "Jet Pilot" (1957, color). This Howard Hughes production was actually filmed in 1950 but languished on the shelf for seven years. OK Cold War comedy-drama about a politically incorrect love affair between two jet pilots, one from the United States (Wayne) and the other from Russia (Janet Leigh).

Extras: Full frame (except widescreen "Conqueror" and "Jet Pilot"), trailers, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.

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E-mail: hicks@desnews.com