What I've learned exclusively are some of the other releases that will follow in this initiative, which is being issued exclusively on press discs, just like the sets TCM issued in partnership with Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Following next month will be "Humphrey Bogart: Columbia Pictures Collection,'' which includes the DVD debuts of "Love Affair'' (1932) and Nicholas Ray's "Knock on Any Door''' (1949) as well as three out-of-print titles with Bogart produced by his personal production company: "The Harder They Fall'' (1956), "Tokyo Joe'' (1949) and "Sirocco'' (1951).

TCM and Sony are promising an early 2012 debut for "Columbia Film Noir Classics III'' a followup to DVD sets issued by Sony at retail in 2009 and 2010. This one includes "My Name is Julia Ross'' (1949) with George Macreadfy and Nina Foch; Mickey Rooney and Dianne Foster in "Drive a Crooked Road'' (1955), Broderick Crawford in "The Mob'' (1951), "Tight Spot'' (1955) starring Ginger Rogers and Brian Keith and "The Burglar'' (1956) with Dan Duryea and Jayne Mansfield.

Also scheduled for early 2012 is "UPA Jolly Frolics,'' which makes 38 cartoons created by United Productions of America and distributed by Columbia available for the first time on DVD. Included are "Ragtime Bear'' (1949) which introduced Mr. Magoo, the Oscar-winning "Rooty Tooty Toot'' (1952) and the Oscar-nominated "Madeline'' (1952) and Christopher Crumpet (1953). Bonus features include introductions and commentaries by Leonard Maltin.

That Bogart set sounds both exciting and unexpected, to me. I'm certainly not prepared to complain about overpricing until I see what they actually charge.

UPA Jolly Frolics – This amazing DVD set includes, for the first time ever, 38 cartoons created by United Productions of America (UPA) and originally distributed by Columbia Pictures. The Jolly Frolics series began in 1949 with Ragtime Bear, which introduced audiences to the hilariously myopic Mr. Magoo. Included in this set are the Academy Award-winning cartoon Rooty Tooty Toot (1952) and the Oscar-nominated Madeline (1952) and Christopher Crumpet (1953). This set includes an abundance of bonus features, including introductions and audio commentaries by film historian and critic Leonard Maltin, who has written extensively on the history of animation. Street date: early 2012.

Awesome, though sometimes I wish these companies could get someone besides Maltin to do the animation stuff.

More Quine is always a good thing. Really glad they didn't end up slapping Johnny O'Clock in there

Well, they've been out in R2 for ages, and the UK discs are considerably less expensive than this release. Is it known whether these are pressed discs or DVD-Rs?
I'd hoped that the logical next step would happen, as rumored: that Criterion would have licensed them for release on Blu as well as DVD.