Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 new DVD titles monthly and has over 3,500 DVDs in their active catalog, including hundreds of rare films and TV shows from Hollywood's past. With 600+ DVDs of TV shows in active distribution, industry publication ''DVD Release Report'' ranks Alpha Video #3 in their ranking of the "Top 20 Sources for TV Series on DVD Through the Period Ending December 31, 2009," behind

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

(733 releases) and

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

(666 releases). With over 1,461 theatrical releases available, the same publication ranks Alpha Video #2 in the "Top 20 Sources for Theatrical Catalog on DVD," just behind

(1,609 releases). The company is privately held, and owned by

Collectables Records Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Jerry Greene formed Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. Soul Survivors gained the hit "Expressway to Your Heart" (1967) while on Crimson Records. History It maintains a ca ...

founder Jerry Greene. Alpha Video is one of a group of companies, including

, Gotham Distributing Corporation and the e-commerce website OLDIES.com, owned and operated by Jerry Greene and the Greene family.

Alpha New Cinema

In 2004, Alpha Video introduced Alpha New Cinema, an imprint "whose goal is to present eclectic, interesting and unusual contemporary motion pictures and television productions." Notables releases from Alpha New Cinema include the Charlie Gracie documentary, ''Fabulous! An Intimate Portrait of a Rock Pioneer'', Mark Redfield's '' The Death of Poe'', ''Terror in the Tropics'' with

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in '' ...

and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

, and several films by

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cl ...

veteran Conrad Brooks.

Release of Ted V. Mikels' film catalog on DVD

In 2007, Alpha Video released the catalog of filmmaker Ted V. Mikels, many titles of which had previously been available from

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

, under the Alpha New Cinema imprint. Titles released include ''10 Violent Women'', ''

The Doll Squad ''The Doll Squad'' is a 1973 low-budget Z-grade action film by Feature-Faire that was later re-released under the title ''Seduce and Destroy''. Directed, edited, co-written and co-produced by Ted V. Mikels, it features Francine York, Michael ...

'', '' The Corpse Grinders'', ''The Corpse Grinders II'', '' Girl in Gold Boots'' and ''Blood Orgy of the She Devils''. Later that year, Alpha released the ''Ted V. Mikel's Signature Collection'', a six-DVD box set which contains those six titles and is autographed by Mikels. In 2008, the company released '' Mark of the Astro-Zombies'', the sequel to Mikels' '' The Astro-Zombies'', on DVD.

Notable releases

''The Merv Griffin Show: 40 of The Most Interesting People of Our Time''

In 2006, Alpha Video partnered with Merv Griffin to release a 3-DVD box set of interviews from ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 197 ...

'' entitled ''The Merv Griffin Show: 40 of The Most Interesting People of Our Time''. This set contained one DVD of "Hollywood Legend" interviews, including

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable p ...

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kell ...

and John Wayne. The second DVD contained interviews with comedians, including

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

, Don Rickles,

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...

, Carl Reiner,

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, George Burns,

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2 ...

and

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

. The final DVD in the set contained interviews with "Extraordinary Guests" such as

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

, Robert F. Kennedy,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King Jr.

Feature films

*'' Angel and the Badman'' *''

Back Door to Heaven ''Back Door to Heaven'' is a 1939 American crime drama film directed by William K. Howard and starring Wallace Ford, Aline MacMahon, Stuart Erwin and Patricia Ellis. Plot The story revolves around a delinquent boy later to become a convict, ...

'' *'' Below the Deadline'' *'' The Blood of Jesus'' (packaged with the film ''

Lying Lips ''Lying Lips'' is a 1939 American melodrama race film written and directed by Oscar Micheaux who co-produced the film with aviator Hubert Fauntlenroy Julian, starring Edna Mae Harris, and Robert Earl Jones (the father of James Earl Jones). ''Ly ...

'') *'' Borderline'' *'' Bowery Blitzkrieg'' *''

Boy! What a Girl! ''Boy! What a Girl!'' is a 1947 race film directed by Arthur H. Leonard and starring Tim Moore, with guest appearances by the Brown Dots, Slam Stewart, Sid Catlett and Gene Krupa. Plot Would-be theatrical producer Jim Walton (Elwood Smith) is ...

'' *'' Boys of the City'' *'' The Chase'' *''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' *'' Clancy Street Boys'' *''

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

'' *''

Condemned to Live ''Condemned to Live'' is a 1935 American horror film starring Ralph Morgan and Maxine Doyle, and directed by Frank R. Strayer. The film is unusual for its time, as it approaches the topic of vampirism from a sympathetic standpoint and presents i ...

'' *''

La Cucaracha La Cucaracha ("The Cockroach") is a popular Mexican folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are unclear, but it dates back at least to the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The song belongs to the Mexican genre. The ...

'' *'' Curley'' (packaged with the film '' Who Killed Doc Robbin'') *'' The Dark Hour'' *'' Devil's Partner'' *'' Dixiana'' *'' East Side Kids'' *''

Flesh and the Spur ''Flesh and the Spur'' is a 1956 Western film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The film stars John Agar as Lucius Random, Marla English as Wild Willow and Mike Connors (billed here as Touch Connors) as Stacy Tanner. The film was released by Amer ...

'' *'' The Flying Deuces'' *'' Flying Wild'' *'' Ghost Patrol'' *'' Ghosts on the Loose'' *''

The Girl From Chicago ''The Girl from Chicago'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, with an all- African-American cast including lead actors Grace Smith and Carl Mahon. The story concerns a federal agent who falls in lov ...

'' *'' The Great Flamarion'' *'' Half Shot at Sunrise'' *'' The Headless Horserman'' (packaged with the film '' The Mechanical Man'') *'' Hercules Unchained'' *''

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spe ...

'' *'' Hook, Line, and Sinker'' *'' The Kennel Murder Case'' *'' Kid Dynamite'' *'' Last Woman on Earth'' *'' Let's Get Tough!'' *'' Lisa and the Devil'' *''

'' (packaged with the film '' The Blood of Jesus'') *'' Manos: The Hands of Fate'' *'' The Mechanical Man'' (packaged with the film '' The Headless Horserman'') *'' Mickey the Great'' *'' Million Dollar Kid'' *'' Mr. Wise Guy'' *''

'Neath Brooklyn Bridge ''Neath Brooklyn Bridge'' is a 1942 film released by Monogram Pictures. It is the eleventh installment in the ''East Side Kids'' series and one of the more dramatic films of the series, released at a time when they were making lighter, more humoro ...

'' *'' One Body Too Many'' *''

Pride of the Bowery ''Pride of the Bowery'' is a black-and-white 1940 film and the fourth installment in the East Side Kids series. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Sam Katzman. It was released by Monogram Pictures on December 15, 1940. Plot Whe ...

'' *'' Raiders of Old California'' *''The Red-Haired Alibi'' *'' The Ring'' *'' Ring of Terror'' *''

Salt of the Earth Salt of the earth may refer to: Literature * A metaphor that occurs in the Sermon on the Mount, part of a discourse on salt and light * ''Salt of the Earth'', a book by Pope Benedict XVI Film * ''Salt of the Earth'' (1954 film), an American dr ...

'' *'' Scarlet Street'' *'' Second Chance'' *'' The Singing Cowgirl'' *'' Smart Alecks'' *''

Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman ''Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman'', also called ''A Woman Destroyed'', is a 1947 American drama film with elements of film noir that tells the story of a rising nightclub singer who marries another singer and becomes an alcoholic after sacrifi ...

'' *''

Something to Sing About "Something to Sing About" (actual title: "This Land of Ours") is one of Canada's national songs, a patriotic song written by folk singer Oscar Brand that sings the praises of the many different regions of Canada. It has some similarities to "Sco ...

'' *'' Speak Easily'' *'' Spooks Run Wild'' *'' The Student of Prague'' (1913) *'' The Student of Prague'' (1926) *'' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1936) *'' The Terror of Tiny Town'' *'' That Gang of Mine'' *''

Time Table Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' *''

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

'' *''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

'' *''

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet ''Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet'' is a 1965 American science fiction film, one of two versions adapted for Roger Corman from the Soviet science fiction film ''Planeta Bur'' (''Planet of Storms''), scripted by Aleksandr Kazantsev (from his no ...

'' *'' Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women'' *'' A Walk in the Sun'' *'' Who Killed Doc Robbin'' (packaged with the film '' Curley'') *'' Woman on the Run'' *'' Yellowneck''

Exploitation films

*''

Assassin of Youth ''Assassin of Youth'' is a 1937 exploitation film directed by Elmer Clifton. It is a pre-WWII film about the supposed ill effects of cannabis. The film is often considered a clone of the much more famous ''Reefer Madness'' (sharing cast member D ...

'' *'' Chained for Life'' *'' Child Bride'' *''

The Cocaine Fiends ''The Pace That Kills'' (also known as ''Cocaine Madness'' and ''The Cocaine Fiends'') is a 1935 American exploitation film directed by William O'Connor. The film, starring Lois January, tells the story of Jane Bradford, who gets involved with a ...

'' *'' Marihuana'' *''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodrama ...

'' *'' Sex Madness''

Movie serials

*'' Ace Drummond'' *''

The Devil Horse ''The Devil Horse'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code movie serial starring Harry Carey, Frankie Darro and Noah Beery, Sr. that was distributed by Mascot Pictures. This is regarded as the best of the three serials Harry Carey made in the early 1930s, ...

'' *''

The Fighting Marines ''The Fighting Marines'' is a 1935 movie serial. It was the last serial produced by Mascot Pictures before the studio was bought out and merged with others to become Republic Pictures. This new company went on to become the most famous of the ...

'' *'' Fighting with Kit Carson'' *'' Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'' *''

Holt of the Secret Service ''Holt of the Secret Service'' (1941) was the 16th serial released by Columbia Pictures. Plot A murderous gang of counterfeiters has kidnapped John Severn (played by Ray Parsons), the U.S. government's best engraver. He is forced to engrave a s ...

'' *'' Junior G-Men'' *'' Junior G-Men of the Air'' *'' King of the Wild'' *''

The Phantom Empire ''The Phantom Empire'' is a 1935 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, and Betsy King Ross.Magers 2007, p. 21. This 12-chapter Mascot Pictures serial combined the ...

'' *'' Radar Men from the Moon'' *'' Sea Raiders'' *'' Sky Raiders'' *'' Undersea Kingdom'' *'' Zorro's Fighting Legion''

Short subjects

*'' Along Came Auntie'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Bear Shooters'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *'' Brideless Groom'' (released as part of ''The Three Stooges'' collection) *'' Bromo and Juliet'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Crazy Like a Fox'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Disorder in the Court'' (released as part of ''The Three Stooges'' collection) *'' Enough to Do'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' The Gay Nighties'' (released as part of the ''Lost Comedy Classics'' collection) *''

Glad Rags to Riches ''Baby Burlesks'' was a series of short films produced by Educational Pictures in the early 1930s. The series featured three-year-old Shirley Temple in her first screen appearance. In her autobiography, Temple describes the ''Baby Burlesks'' ser ...

'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *''

The Hobo ''The Hobo'' is a 1917 American silent comedy film featuring Billy West and Oliver Hardy. It is a shameless copy of Charlie Chaplin's 1915 film The Tramp with West copying Chaplin's tramp outfit down to the last detail. Plot Harold sits in a ...

'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Hop to It, Bellhop!'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Kickin' the Crown Around'' (released as part of the ''Lost Comedy Classics'' collection) *'' Kid in Hollywood'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *'' Kid N' Africa'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *'' Kid Speed'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' The Lucky Dog'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *'' Malice in the Palace'' (released as part of ''The Three Stooges'' collection) *'' Merrily Yours'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *'' Mickey's 11'' (released as part of ''Mickey McGuire'' collection) *'' Mickey's Medicine Man'' (released as part of ''Mickey McGuire'' collection) *'' Mickey's Rescue'' (released as part of ''Mickey McGuire'' collection) *''

Mickey's Touchdown ''Mickey's Touchdown'' is a 1933 short film in Larry Darmour's '' Mickey McGuire'' series starring a young Mickey Rooney. Directed by Jesse Duffy, the two-reel short was released to theaters on October 14, 1933 by Post Pictures Corp. Plot Mickey ...

'' (released as part of ''Mickey McGuire'' collection) *'' Mud and Sand'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *''

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earlie ...

'' (released as part of ''Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Early Silent Classics'' collection) *''

Pardon My Pups ''Pardon My Pups'' is a 1934 Shirley Temple short film. Plot A young boy named Sonny Rogers wants a motorcycle for his birthday but his stubborn father insists on getting an expensive hunting dog instead even though Sonny hates dogs and the fa ...

'' (released as part of ''The Kids of Old Hollywood'' collection) *''