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Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933)
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933) poster

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933)

Music, Romance • 1h 22m

Director: Lewis Milestone

MGM DVD

Best English-friendly & video release · updated 10 months ago

Overview

A New York tramp falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt.

Release details

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Length
82 mins
Type
Movie

Featured in Pre-Code Films

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Director: Marion Gering

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Leo McCarey

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal DVD

Upcoming Release:

Universal Blu-ray Nov 10th

Directors: Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

MoC Blu-ray offers both restored and an unrestored tracks

Director: Edgar Selwyn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Sources: ibb.co (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements

Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ

Director: Howard Hawks

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Frank Capra

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony Frank Capra Boxset Blu-ray

Director: William Dieterle

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 4 DVD

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive DVD

Director: George W. Hill

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive DVD

More from Lewis Milestone

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Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Fine Grain. Even with its unfortunate and noticeable print damage, tears, and other issues, still easily beats any prior disc release, though the Imprint BD (same master as Kino, but inferior encode) included in their Essential Film Noir Collection Vol. 3 set does include more extras. https://youtu.be/-Wrsn6-XJCo

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Video Notes:

2K scan of a surviving 35mm safety fine grain provided by the Academy Film Archive

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kit Parker Films Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K master from UCLA Film & Television Archive's 35mm photochemical restoration

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Sources: moma.org (opens in a new tab)

Additional Info:

New 2025 4K restoration by SFFP see MoMA

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray is much better than the extra in Criterion His Girl Friday Blu-ray. Even though Kino Lorber is the international cut and only restored in HD, and Criterion is the US theatrical cut, and restored in 4K, the Criterion picture quality is atrocious http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_68/the_front_page_blu-ray.htm 

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Capelight Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

While there are no screen cap comparisons, Germany Capelight Blu-ray has more versions than Universal:

From BR forum:
The original film is 155 min but in the Universal restoration, only 133min was available (survived), and for Capelight it has

  • Germany 1930 dub (103 mins)

  • Germany 1952 dub (127 mins)

  • International version (133 mins)

  • New extended version (141 mins) with never before released footage from one of the Germany versions (+ 8 mins)

  • Germany TV versions in SD (tinted, silent)

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly:

VCI Blu-ray

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray 4K restoration

Director: Lewis Milestone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

More from MGM

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Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering; WB 4K early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed. Comparison between Criterion and WB.

Best Audio:

6-Track 70mm mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set), 1997 MGM LaserDisc, 1998 MGM DVD
35mm Mono Mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Matrixed Stereo Remix: MGM Japan LaserDisc (1985) [G158F5509]
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Victor Fleming

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2D: Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

(caveat: "there's" in first "there's no place like home" utterance in final Kansas scene truncated)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991 MGM LaserDisc

Director: John Huston

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1992 MGM VHS

Director: John Frankenheimer

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1994 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain

Best Audio:

UK mix: 1984 CBS Fox VHS Hifi but missing one scene
International mix: WB 4K Blu-ray though source origin is unknown

1995 MGM stereo remix: 1998 LaserDisc and 2000 DVD fix gunbarrel dropout

Director: James Cameron

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly:

2013 MGM Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray if you MUST have the mono mix, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Sources: vimeo.com (opens in a new tab) · facebook.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Capelight 4K Steelbook and Mediabook announced for 2026

Best Video:

2013 MGM Blu-ray for non AI transfer, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Best Audio:

1991 Image Entertainment LaserDisc for the US mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for the International mono mix

Audio Notes:

Comparison between the US and International mixes: https://vimeo.com/246332731

Additional Info:

The 4K Blu-Ray and the 2001 MGM DVD have exclusive extras.

Director: David Lynch

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

 Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray in December

Video Notes:

Subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking

Best Audio:

1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD

Audio Notes:

Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110

Director: Norman Jewison

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1993 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Alexander Mackendrick

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion or Arrow Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Not sure about France

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

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Researched and maintained by

vanshady

· last reviewed 10 months ago

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