OK, I did the research and noticed that the A&C Collections are missing certain films. I know some of there films were produced by independent studios so I assume different studious own the rights and I know 2 are Public Domain. Will these "Missing Films" be available in a seperate set? (maybe a cheapie collection)

MISSING FILMS

Rio Rita (comes after Ride'Em Coboy)

It Ain't Hay (comes after Who Done It?)

Lost in a Harem (comes after In Society)

Abbott & Costello In Hollywood (comes after The Naughty Nineties)

The Noose Hangs High (comes after The Wistful Willow of Wagon Gasp)

Africa Screams (comes after Mexican Hayride)

Jack and The Beanstalk (comes after Comin 'Round The Mountain)

Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd (comes after Lost in Alaska)

Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (comes before Abbott & Costello Goes To Mars)

Who knows. I just nabbed the first two Volumes and am having a blast with A&C Double Feature nights.

Some of the ones you posted were down by other studios and I believe It Ain't Hay has rights issues.

Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde should be on Vol. 4 with Meet The Mummy and the Keystone Kops. I imagine a nice doc. and/or the Seinfeld doc. will be on Vol. 4 as well to fill it out.

At any rate, these are diamonds!

Well....the sets do say they are the "best of", so maybe the ones you speak of aren't the best.

On the other hand, it's probably just rights issues and such because I've always felt the "best of" tag was a bit of a misnomer. Unless of course you consider every single film of theirs to be the best.

The reason why some of the films are not included is because they are not Universal films.
LOST IN A HAREM was made at MGM

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD also made at MGM

THE NOOSE HANGS HIGH made at Eagle- Lion studios, which is an independent studio.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD Was also made at an independent studio.

AFRICA SCREAMS made at United Artists

RIO RITA made at MGM

It Ain't Hay is being held hostage by a rights dispute with the Estate of Damon Runyan. He wrote the original story on which the movie was supposedly based. The only way to get a copy of this movie is through the grey market.

UCLA has restored CAPTAIN KIDD. No word if it will ever be released. A restored AFRICA was done by A&C guru Bob Furmanek but he doesn't hold the rights so no word if that will ever be released also (this does exist in PD versions).

Has there been any word on Vol. 4?

I could see them releasing a 3-movie set, with nothing else to fill it out, but I wouldn't mind seeing them include the PD films (Africa Screams/Jack and the Beanstalk,) although they would probably still need to get rights to good versions.

Ideally, if some of the other titles were owned by smaller/independent studios, they might be able to secure the rights for a DVD collection.

I don't know what kind of relationship MGM and Universal have, but it seems that they both would benefit from a partnership on the MGM titles. MGM wouldn't gain much by individual releases or a 3 or 4-pack set, as those titles aren't considered A&C's best work, but as part of the A&C collections, people would buy them.

The Noose Hangs High has been distributed by MGM/UA, and Rio Rita, Lost in a Harem, and A&C In Hollywood were produced by MGM.

Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd is tied to Warner Bros.

It Ain't Hay, A&C Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, A&C Meet the Keystone Kops, and Dance With Me Henry were released on video by Universal.

Documentaries/extras could include The World of A&C (Universal,) 10,000 Kids and a Cop (Universal) and A&C Meet Jerry Seinfeld, among others.