Classic Coming Attractions by Barrie Maxwell

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Classic Coming Attractions by Barrie Maxwell

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Classic Reviews Roundup #15 - February 2005 (continued)

My Sister Eileen (1955)
(released on DVD by Columbia on February 22nd, 2005)

The brand of musicals that made MGM famous in the 1940s and 1950s was not completely unique to that studio, witness My Sister Eileen - a Columbia Cinemascope production in 1955 and a frequently sought-after title for DVD release. It possesses the same bright, exuberant blend of joyful story-telling and talented performances that characterize the lion's product, even importing a few of the key players such as Betty Garrett and Bob Fosse for added insurance. The story concerns two small town sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood who come to New York hoping to make it as a writer and actress respectively. They end up living in a basement apartment in Greenwich Village and find themselves involved in a series of funny incidents and with two particular suitors (Robert Baker and Frank Lippincott) as they try to become successful.

The film has an interesting provenance. The story began as a Broadway play (a comedy but not a musical) that was first filmed by Columbia in 1942 with Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair as Ruth and Eileen, and Brian Aherne and Richard Quine as Robert and Frank. In the early 1950s, a musical version was mounted on Broadway under the title "Wonderful Town", but it was not filmed as Columbia had retained the original title and rights to a musical film version of it. Columbia then proceeded with its musical version in 1955. Interesting, it was directed by Richard Quine who had appeared as Frank in the 1942 stage and film versions. The 1955 film has a great cast with Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh making for a very appealing pair of Sherwood sisters, and Jack Lemmon demonstrating some early musical comedy ability as Robert. Bob Fosse takes on the role of Frank as well as choreographing some very fine dance numbers. The music is by Jule Stern and George Duning, and while no lasting standards resulted, it's made up of consistently pleasant and toe-tapping numbers.

Columbia delivers a very fine 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that offers bright accurate colour and a sharp clean image. There is a very modest amount of grain but no edge effects whatsoever, yielding a most film-like presentation. Only an occasional speckle betrays an otherwise spotless transfer. The visuals are nicely complemented by a Dolby Digital 4.0 sound mix that offers some noticeable stereo directionality across the fronts, but suggests little use of the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and the musical numbers sound reasonably dynamic. Supplements consist of the original theatrical trailer and three other trailers (It Should Happen to You, Bye Bye Birdie, and Born Yesterday). Recommended.

Across the Bridge (1957)
(released on DVD by Shanachie on February 24th, 2004)

Here's another title in Shanachie's rather unheralded British Cinema Collection and one that's been available for some time now. It's a terrific little movie based on a Graham Greene tale of the same title. The story is that of German financier Carl Scheffner who, while in New York, is found to have embezzled money from his British company and then attempts to flee to Mexico. En route via train, he switches identities with a Mexican citizen, only to find out when he arrives in Mexico that the person whose identity he has assumed is wanted by Mexican authorities for the murder of a popular political figure. Carl manages to reassume his proper identity and avoid being arrested for murder, but then he has somehow to keep himself from being sent back to the U.S., across the bridge.

As portrayed by Rod Steiger, who delivers one of the finest efforts of his long career, Carl is a very interesting character who continually assumes that he is superior to all opposed to him and can easily overcome any roadblocks they put in his way. This leads to some terrific cat and mouse games with the Mexican police official with whom he must deal and the British inspector intent on luring him back to the States. Gradually Carl comes to realize that his adversaries are much smarter than they appear as they continually manage to thwart his plans. Carl is finally forced into the position of being a pariah amongst all the local Mexican townspeople and is left with only a dog for companionship. Ironically, the dog Dolores belongs to the man whose identity he assumed and proves to be his downfall in the end. Steiger's gradual disintegration from man of means to slovenly outcast is masterfully done, so much so that our initial distaste for his character turns to grudging respect despite Carl's misdeeds.

The film is tightly directed by Ken Annakin who makes fine use of location shooting in Spain and some establishing shots of the train trip that he arranged to be shot while on a pre-filming research trip to the United States. Both Annakin and Steiger considered Across the Bridge to be among their finest achievements. Several British actors provide good support - stage actor Noel Willman as the Mexican police chief and Bernard Lee (later M in the Bond series) as the Scotland Yard inspector. Overall, the film is an entertaining and expertly mounted combination of thriller and character study that bears repeated viewings.

Shanachie's DVD release, as a result of a licensing agreement with Carlton International Media, presents the film in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. It's a generally pleasing effort - perhaps a little soft overall, but with good shadow detail and free of edge effects. There are a few nicks and scratches, but they are generally not intrusive. The mono sound is clear and distortion-free, but has little dynamic range as one might expect and there is no subtitling provided. As a supplement, there is a very interesting extended interview (25 minutes) with Ken Annakin that provides some good information on production details and on Rod Steiger's method approach to the role, particularly his interaction with the other non-method actors. Recommended.

The Matchmaker (1958)
(released on DVD by Paramount on January 18th, 2005)

Before Hello Dolly, there was The Matchmaker, a 1958 filming of Thornton Wilder's hit Broadway play about matrimonial matchmaker Dolly Levi of Yonkers, New York. Dolly is now involved in trying to arrange an appropriate match for cold-hearted local shop-owner Mr. Horace Vandergelder. She's supposedly going to match him up with New York milliner Irene Molloy, but Dolly is actually intent on being the one to marry him herself. Vandergelder's chief store clerk, Cornelius Hackl, also gets on the act and predictably everyone pairs off appropriately in the end.

The whole business is pretty tiresome. The characters are not particularly appealing, the period music is predictable, and laughs are few and far between. Were it not for a very fine performance by Shirley Booth as Dolly, the whole thing would be a dead loss. Booth is obviously enjoying herself and she makes her character at least tolerable. Her efforts are considerably better than Barbra Streisand's in the later Hello Dolly. On the other hand, Anthony Perkins as Cornelius and Shirley MacLaine as Irene generate no interest either separately or as a potential couple. Perkins seems particularly miscast. Robert Morse has some good moments as Cornelius's store associate and friend, and it's good to see Wallace Ford pop up in a small supporting role as a new Vandergelder employee. The film repeats the play's asides in which the characters speak directly to the audience and these work well, if only because they tend to jolt you awake from the tediousness of the rest of the film.

Paramount's 1.85:1 anamorphic black and white transfer is superior. The sharp image has a wonderful gray scale that yields excellent image detail framed by deep blacks and clean bright whites. The source material is obviously in fine shape as only the occasional speckle is evident. The mono sound is in good shape although some minor background hiss can be detected at times. English subtitles are provided. There are no supplements.

Return to Peyton Place (1961)
(released on DVD by Fox on February 22nd, 2005)

One of the few problems with Fox's otherwise admirable Studio Classics line has been the presentation of titles that don't really merit inclusion. In the current wave of releases, Return to Peyton Place is the latest example. The original Peyton Place was based on the potboiler of the same title by Grace Metalious, but the 1957 film achieved a degree of elegance that transcended its literary originals and under Mark Robson's direction, possessed an almost Sirk-like evocation of social norms and prejudices of the time. In the sequel to her original novel, Grace Metalious relates what happens when the protagonist of "Peyton Place" (Allison) attempts to have her remembrances of what occurred published. The resulting book leads to sharp divisions amongst the townsfolk of Peyton Place resulting in the firing of Allison's stepfather as high school principal. At the same time, Selena, who had killed her stepfather after being raped by him and was then put on trial, is forced by Allison's book to confront her own feelings resulting from the town's treatment of her. Return to Peyton Place brings all this to the screen and more, but there's a great sense of deja-vu except that the high grade cast that propelled the original is no longer around to make one overlook the thread-bare material.

Allison's mother was strongly portrayed by Lana Turner in the original, but the sequel seems embarrassed to have Eleanor Parker replace Turner in it, so little does it give her to do. Carol Lynley does a nice job as Allison, but one of the film's principal plot threads - her attraction to her publisher (played without much enthusiasm by Jeff Chandler) - is never persuasive. Tuesday Weld is featured as Selena, but she only succeeds in reminding one of how good Hope Lange was in the original. Unfortunately, the characters played by Lloyd Nolan and Russ Tamblyn in the original are nowhere to be seen. Redeeming things somewhat is a delicious though at times caricature-like performance by Mary Astor of Roberta Carter, the malicious mother of Ted, one of Selena's former boyfriends. The film is allowed to meander along too much by Jose Ferrer (best known for his acting, but here directing his sixth film) so that it seems longer than the original even though it's a half-hour shorter in reality. Franz Waxman's music is once again a plus, however. This time, his Peyton Place theme has lyrics - sung by Rosemary Clooney (married to Jose Ferrer at the time).

Despite the film's weakness, the strength of Fox's restoration efforts in its Studio Classics series is once again in evidence. Working from the original camera negative, which was apparently in pretty decent shape, Fox has come up with a beautiful 2.35:1 anamorphic presentation of the Cinemascope picture. The colour by Deluxe is bright and accurate and the image is sharp and clear. Source material defects in the form of speckles or scratches are negligible and a good job of authoring has resulted in no edge effects. The stereo sound track is particularly strong with some good separation effects and a dynamic rendition of Waxman's score. Dialogue is very clear. Mono tracks and subtitles in both English and Spanish are provided. The main extra is an audio commentary by author and historian Sylvia Stoddard that is somewhat flatly delivered, but is reasonably comprehensive on the film's production history and its cast and crew, while drawing interesting comparisons between the two Peyton Place theatrical films and the books on which they were based. Other extras include two newsreels, a restoration comparison, the original theatrical trailer, and trailers for several other Studio Classics releases.

A New Kind of Love (1963)
(released on DVD by Paramount on January 18th, 2005)

Sometimes you wonder why actors choose to make certain films. I'd sure like to know what possessed Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward to make A New Kind of Love, an uninspiring mishmash of love developing between a brash reporter banished to Europe and a fashion buyer disdainful of men. Either the money was very good or a trip to Europe together was appealing to Newman and Woodward, because there's nothing in the script that would seem to be at all of interest to them.

Though the film has a decent comic pedigree via its writer/director/producer Melville Shavelson (Houseboat, It Started in Naples), inspiration appears to have failed him here. The plot is lumbering and unfunny, even objectionable at times, and the film is far too long at 110 minutes. Neither Newman nor Woodward is suited to this type of material and the result is tedium with a capital "T". Only hearing Frank Sinatra sing the title song and a short appearance by Maurice Chevalier offer any solace.

Paramount gives us a nice 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, as per usual. The image is crisp and clear although there are occasional speckles and scratches. The colour (by Technicolor) is bright and natural. Image detail is quite good except for some night-time scenes that are a bit murky. The mono sound is serviceable, providing clear dialogue but doing little to enhance the musical content at all. English subtitles are provided. There are no supplements.

Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
(released on DVD by Columbia on January 25th, 2005)

Otto Preminger had many full-blown successes during some 50-odd years of directing films - titles such as Laura, The Moon is Blue, Bonjour Tristesse, Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, and Advise and Consent. He spent his early years in Hollywood at Twentieth Century-Fox and then became an independent producer-director in the early 1950s, exploring many controversial subjects that the studios of the time seemed to shy away from. During the latter part of his career, however, his efforts found somewhat less favour with both critics and the public. Many of his films were still ambitious and provocative, but frequently they foundered either on the shoals of over-importance or, when the scope was smaller, because of ultimately ill-conceived scripts. Bunny Lake Is Missing is an example of the latter.

Ann Lake is a young unwed mother who comes to London from America with her daughter and her brother Steven to live. She brings her four-year-old daughter Bunny for her first day at pre-school, but when she returns later to pick Bunny up, the little girl is missing. Not only that, no one at the school knows anything about her. Ann and Steven make a thorough search of the school premises despite the uncooperative school staff and then call in Scotland Yard in the person of Superintendent Newhouse to investigate. Newhouse soon finds, however, that not only is there no trace of Bunny at school, there is also no sign of her possessions at home, nor can anyone outside the school be found who has ever seen Bunny either. When Newhouse learns that the by-now hysterical Ann had an imaginary playmate that she called Bunny when she was a child, he begins to suspect that the missing little girl may be a figment of Ann's imagination also.

The first three-quarters of the film is a real grabber. It sets the basic situation up and builds an air of suspense and uncertainty brilliantly. The various characters are well drawn and acted with skill and realism by a fine cast that includes Carol Lynley as Ann Lake, Laurence Olivier nicely underplaying as Newhouse, and Keir Dullea as Steven. Some good suspects are introduced in the form of Noel Coward as a rather sleazy landlord and Martita Hunt as an eccentric school ex-head mistress. Then we abruptly learn the answer to the puzzle and the remaining 30 minutes becomes a standard "now that we know, how will it all be resolved" situation that is characterized by obvious and at times silly sequences carried out inside and on the grounds of an empty London house. The weakness of the resolution is only accentuated by the excellence of the set-up. That all sounds a little cryptic, I know, but the film is enough worth seeing for its first three-quarters that I have no desire to spoil things by going into specific detail about the ending. Suffice it to say that the resolution is different from that of the novel upon which the film is based. Preminger rejected that one as uninteresting. A second resolution was contemplated, but was not considered realistic. Unfortunately, the one settled on and used in the film turns out to be little better.

Columbia presents the black and white film in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that is merely average. Image sharpness and detail are decent, but edge effects are more prevalent than is typical of recent transfers. The source material betrays some speckles and scratches. The opening credits are window-boxed (I don't know whether that's the way they were originally presented), but here, even on a large screen, they suffer from lack of clarity - a distinct disservice to the filmmakers. The mono sound is adequate for the dialogue, suggesting virtually no background hiss or distortion, but gives little punch to the Paul Glass score. English and French subtitles are provided. The supplements consist of Columbia's usual package of three previews, one of which is actually for another Otto Preminger film (Bonjour Tristesse). There is no trailer for Bunny Lake Is Missing. Recommended as a rental.

Barrie Maxwell
barriemaxwell@thedigitalbits.com

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