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Classic
Reviews Roundup #21 - October 2005
Catching Up with Fox and New Announcements
Warner Bros. does such a fine job with its classic titles, both in
execution and publicity, that we tend to forget that there are other
studios doing a pretty good job with their classics too. Fox is one
such example. It releases quite a few classics, with consistently
good transfers. Where it tends to be somewhat weaker is in its
publicity for its efforts. We're all quite familiar with Fox's fine
Studio Classics and Film Noir release lines, but frequently many of
its other classic titles seem to get announced quietly and then
released with little fanfare. The result is that such titles often
seem to show up discounted or even in the bargain bins a few months
later. That's great for disc-seeking classic collectors, but the
bottom-line results surely can't help Fox to make the decision easy
on other potential classic title releases that collectors want -
namely, to get those lesser-known titles out quickly and frequently.
In an effort to make sure that you're all familiar with what Fox has
made available recently, I'm going to provide comments on all the
studio's classic releases of the past five months. Maybe if more
people are aware of them all and are acquiring those of them that
appeal, the results will help Fox to recognize the demand for such
titles and start looking more seriously at releasing the many MIA
films of the likes of Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Gene Tierney,
Vincent Price, Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, Richard
Widmark, Cesar Romero, Dana Andrews, the Ritz Brothers, later Laurel
and Hardy, John Payne, early Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, and
so on. We might even see more B series pictures featuring characters
such as Michael Shayne, Mr. Moto, The Cisco Kid, and even (gasp!)
Charlie Chan.
May 2005
In May, Fox released a whopping 16 classic titles. The Studio
Classics (Anna and the King of Siam,
The Best of Everything, The
Razor's Edge) were well publicized and even a prime group
of westerns received plenty of press (The
Bravados, Broken Lance,
Buffalo Bill, Drums
Along the Mohawk, Forty Guns,
In Old Arizona, Warlock).
The rest seemed to disappear with little trace, however (Brigham
Young: SE, The Detective,
A Farewell to Arms, The
Frogmen, Lady in Cement,
Tony Rome). Here are comments
and recommendations on each of the May releases starting with the
latter group.
[Editor's Note: Clicking on the artwork for
each title will take you to its order page on Amazon.com. Sales from
these links help to support The Bits.]
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Brigham
Young: Special Edition (1940)
Many have heard about Fox's forthcoming release of the 1940
version of The Mark of Zorro
as a Special Edition. It's simply the previously-issued Studio
Classics release of the title with a colourized version added on
the flip side of the disc. Well, it wasn't the first title to be
so handled by Fox. Did you know that Fox did the same thing this
past May to the version of Brigham
Young that it first issued a couple of years ago? I
haven't even seen this SE version, but simply adding a
colourized version to the previous disc doesn't make it any more
special than it already was. Maybe it does reduce the price on
the older release and if so that's the only reason to welcome
this new version. I reviewed the original release in one of my
earlier columns and consider it a worthwhile though not
essential disc.
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The
Detective (1968)
Here's the best of Sinatra's late 1960s films for Fox. He plays
an NYPD detective who investigates both murder and corruption,
with a script that seems determined to go as far as the new
liberalness on the screen allowed. The role wallows in the
sordidness of it all, but there's no denying Sinatra's
effectiveness as the increasingly disillusioned cop. Tightly
directed by the veteran Gordon Douglas, and with a good
supporting cast featuring Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jack
Klugman, Horace MacMahon, and Lloyd Bochner. The 2.35:1
anamorphic transfer looks quite sharp and clear with fine colour
fidelity although there is noticeable dirt and debris. The usual
stereo and mono tracks are adequate, and English and Spanish
subtitles are provided along with French and Spanish mono
tracks. A clutch of trailers comprises the supplements.
Recommended.
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Tony
Rome (1967)
In the first of three films made at Fox in the late 1960s,
Frank Sinatra tries on a hard-boiled Bogart detective role for
size and finds the fit a little tight. The story is a loose
remake of 1946's The Big Sleep
without the class and sharply-written dialogue. Sinatra is
modestly entertaining as loner Rome, but too much of the
proceedings seem contrived for cheap effect rather than giving
rise to thoughtful consideration. The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer
is very good if a little red at times, while the sound is the
usual offering of both mono and stereo mixes with little
difference between the two. English and Spanish subtitles
included as are French and Spanish mono tracks. A handful of
trailers including one for Tony Rome
are provided. A rental for Sinatra fans.
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Lady
in Cement (1968)
This sequel to Tony Rome has a title that pretty well tells it
all. Sinatra's detective has to figure out who the lady was and
why she was killed. It's all rather predictable, and evokes
memories of Murder, My Sweet
in the person of Bonanza's
Dan Blocker as a Mike Mazurki-like boyfriend of the murdered
woman. The gratuitous violence soon makes you realize how far it
all is from the caliber of that fine film noir. Raquel Welsh and
Richard Conte co-star. The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is fairly
consistent with the other 1967-1968 Sinatra Fox releases in
terms of its high quality, although it's perhaps a little
softer-looking than the other two. The stereo and mono sound
tracks are both decent and are supplemented by English and
Spanish subtitles and French and Spanish mono tracks. English
and Spanish trailers for Lady in
Cement and trailers for a number of Raquel Welsh
films comprise the supplements.
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A
Farewell to Arms (1957)
Having somewhat convincingly managed to bring the production
scale of Gone with the Wind
to the western in 1946's Duel in the
Sun, David O. Selznick tried to do the latter for the
war film with his filming of Hemingway's A
Farewell to Arms 11 years later. The story had been
effectively and economically filmed in a 1932 version with Gary
Cooper as the soldier and Helen Hayes the nurse with whom he
falls in love, which only served to show up Selznick's overblown
efforts. Filling the Cooper and Hayes parts with Rock Hudson and
Jennifer Jones didn't help much either. At two and a half hours,
it all just plods along despite the obvious production values.
The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is merely adequate, with obvious
softness and lack of sharpness quite prevalent. The sound is
spread across the three front channels, but seems little better
than mono. In any event it's not a 3.0 surround mix as
advertised on the packaging. English and Spanish subtitles and
French and Spanish mono tracks are included. The theatrical
trailer and some Fox Movietone newsreel footage round out the
disc.
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The
Frogmen (1951)
I believe this has been the only new addition to Fox's ongoing
War Classics collection so far this year, and a rather obscure
title as well. A welcome one, though, as it gives us further
representation on DVD of two Golden Age stars who are often
regrettably overlooked - Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews. For
the uninitiated, the frogmen of the title are not some crazed
creatures from the deep in a cheesy horror film, but Navy
underwater demolition experts. The plot is familiar as a new
disciplinarian takes over a lax command, and eventually wins
over the men so that a critical mission to sabotage a Japanese
submarine base can succeed. The story is briskly told and
reasonably convincingly acted by Widmark and Andrews (with good
support from Gary Merrill) while the action scenes are crisply
staged by veteran director Lloyd Bacon. It's a typical example
of an efficiently mounted if standard studio product of the
time. The black and white film is correctly presented full frame
and looks quite good other than during the obvious use of stock
footage and some rear projection. The stereo and mono tracks are
both in good shape although with little discernible difference.
English and Spanish subtitles and French and Spanish mono tracks
are provided. The supplements consist of a teaser and two
trailers for the film. Recommended as a rental although war fans
won't go wrong with a purchase.
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Broken
Lance (1954)
With virtually every major star trying their hand at westerns
in the 1950s, Spencer Tracy wasn't going to be left out. Bad
Day at Black Rock and Broken
Lance were his contributions, both excellent films
though the former is the better-known of the two. In Broken
Lance, Tracy plays rancher Matt Devereaux who allows
his youngest son Joe to serve a jail term for a crime he
committed. When Deveraux dies, the ranch is taken over by his
other sons who then must deal with Joe when he returns from
prison. As the steely-eyed, uncompromising Deveraux, Tracy gives
a memorable performance, matched by a nuanced portrayal of his
native American wife by Katy Jurado. Richard Widmark provides
solid work as one of the inheriting sons (Hugh O'Brien and Earl
Holliman are the others) while a young Robert Wagner is
surprisingly effective as Joe. Director Edward Dmytryk drives
the story along briskly and stages some excellent action set
pieces. All told, the film provides quite repeatable
entertainment. The 2.55:1 anamorphic image is beautiful with a
crisp image, deep blacks, and minimal speckling. The Dolby
Digital 4.0 sound is equally impressive with some decent
directional effects and nice separation on the dialogue. English
and Spanish subtitles and French and Spanish mono tracks are
provided. The supplements consist of a trailer and some
Movietone newsreel footage. Recommended.
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Drums
Along the Mohawk (1939)
John Ford's Technicolor production set during the Revolutionary
War is a favourite of many and while it hasn't received the
Studio Classics treatment it deserves, the disc does look great.
The film has many of the Fordian touches with plenty of the
folksy routine of pioneer life punctuated by rousing action.
Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert are both ideal as the young
pioneer couple whose new life in the Mohawk Valley is overturned
by war, but the film is stolen by Edna Mae Oliver as a veteran
pioneer woman (deservedly receiving an Academy Award nomination
for her work). The colour cinematography is superb and was also
Oscar nominated. Fox has done some fine restoration work on the
three-strip Technicolor film as a demonstration on its disc
shows. The results are impressive, yielding rich accurate colour
and sharp images virtually throughout, all presented full frame
as originally shot. The only weakness lies in some blurry scenes
presumably due to registration issues resulting from uneven
shrinkage of the negatives. The sound (both mono and stereo) is
quite adequate with only some mild hiss in evidence at times.
English and Spanish subtitles and French and Spanish mono tracks
are provided. The only supplements are the aforementioned
restoration comparison and a black and white theatrical trailer.
Recommended.
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Forty
Guns (1957)
Any film that starts off with Barbara Stanwyck on a white horse
leading a column of forty riders across the western landscape
can't be all bad. Follow it up with a tale of family rivalry
that also involves a gunfighter-turned- U.S. marshal and a
weasel of a sheriff and you've got the makings of a fine
western. Top it off with Samuel Fuller at the directorial helm
providing us with a fine mix of uniquely composed shots and
sequences of brief, sudden violence and the result is a western
with a different feel that bears repeated viewings. Standing up
to Stanwyck are the often under-rated Barry Sullivan and Gene
Barry, with John Ericson and Dean Jagger featured in support.
Fox's black and white 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is impressive
with a fine gray scale in evidence and sharp images throughout.
There is some mild dirt and speckling present at times. The
stereo (not surround as stated on the packaging) and mono sound
is in good shape offering surprisingly good fidelity. A Spanish
mono track and English and Spanish subtitles are included. The
only supplement is the original theatrical trailer. Recommended.
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In
Old Arizona (1928)
In this early sound appearance of the Cisco Kid, Warner Baxter
gives a rather mannered but generally entertaining performance
that earned him a Best Actor Oscar. Otherwise, though, this
first talking feature to be shot outdoors has little to
recommend it aside from its historical importance. The typically
static nature of early sound films is certainly present, but the
amount of action is remarkably slight even for 1928 - a
surprise, given the fact that Raoul Walsh was a co-director
(with Irving Cummings). Aside from Baxter, the rest of the cast
is lackluster, particularly a poor performance by the other
lead, Edmund Lowe. For a film nearly 80 years old, Fox's full
frame transfer is in pretty reasonable shape from the standpoint
of clarity and contrast. Blacks are quite decent, although there
is substantial debris and speckling to deal with. The original
mono sound has plenty of hiss and crackle, but the dialogue is
quite decipherable. A restored mono track reduces the hiss
substantially but also some of the clarity of the dialogue.
English and Spanish subtitles. There are no supplements,
although in a welcome move, Fox has included the film's overture
and exit music as part of the feature presentation. Despite the
film's limitations, I urge support for this sort of release
through at least a rental.
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Buffalo
Bill (1944)
I've never been particularly impressed with this film, which
abounds with historical inaccuracy in time, name, and place, and
is saddled with a script that is infantile at times. The film
loosely covers the key aspects of Buffalo Bill's life including
his involvement with the conflict over buffalo between the
Indians whose likelihood the buffalo represent and the
encroaching white buffalo hunters, and his later wild west show
days. Of course, a love interest is fitted in with Maureen
O'Hara playing Bill's wife. As the title figure, Joel McCrea is
likable enough, giving it his usual fine if uncomplicated
portrayal. He would soon switch to starring in westerns
exclusively, much as Randolph Scott was in the process of doing.
Direction was by William Wellman who was unhappy with the
completed film whose final script was more than a whitewash than
he'd originally hoped. The full frame Technicolor production
doesn't look quite as impressive as some of Fox's other
Technicolor transfers on disc, showing some noticeable
fluctuation between vibrancy and softness. The stereo and mono
sound are in decent shape with generally clear dialogue. French
and Spanish mono tracks and English and Spanish subtitles are
provided. There are no supplements.
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The
Bravados (1958),
Warlock
(1959) - See the reviews in my June 20th column. Both are highly
recommended.
Anna
and the King of Siam (1946),
The
Razor's Edge (1946),
The
Best of Everything (1959) - See the reviews of this wave
of Studio Classics in my June 2nd column. The first two are
recommended; the last is a suggested rental. |
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