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Classic
Reviews Roundup #21 - October 2005
(Continued)
June, July and August 2005
Taking a bit of a break in the summer months, Fox doled out a total
of 10 classic titles. Six of these were in the Studio Classics and
Film Noir series (Hush... Hush Sweet
Charlotte, In Old Chicago,
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,
House of Bamboo, Nightmare
Alley, The Street with No Name)
and all received considerable attention, but the other four again
seem to be in danger of being overlooked (The
Man Who Never Was, Curly Top,
Heidi, Little
Miss Broadway). Here are comments and recommendations on
each of the June-to-August classic releases starting with the latter
group.
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The
Man Who Never Was (1956)
This film stars Clifton Webb, but it's not a Clifton Webb film,
in the sense that Webb doesn't play his usual irascible,
know-it-all character. Here he provides a straight-forward
portrayal of Lt. Commander Ewen Montagu in the true story of a
World War II intelligence operation designed to mislead Germany
concerning possible Allied plans for the invasion of Sicily. The
operation involves the planting of false information on a dead
soldier on a beach in German-controlled territory. Both Webb and
Robert Flemyng (playing the Webb character's intelligence
associate) offer realistic characterizations as the intelligence
operation is planned and executed, but the film's success really
turns on its second half when a German operative is sent to
England to verify the truth of the information that has been
planted. A well-acted cat-and-mouse game results with Stephen
Boyd shining as the German operative and Gloria Grahame doing
fine work as a woman whose powers of persuasion are key to the
success of the intelligence operation. A methodical but
intelligent film, well-made and nicely mounted in CinemaScope.
Fox's 2.55:1 anamorphic transfer is very good, particularly in
colour fidelity which is low-key and doesn't detract from the
story with extreme saturation. The stereo and mono sound is in
fine shape with clear dialogue and some separation effects
noticeable in the stereo version. French and Spanish mono tracks
and English and Spanish subtitles are provided. There are no
supplements. Recommended.
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The
Shirley Temple Collection: Volume One
Curly Top
(1935)
Heidi
(1937)
Little
Miss Broadway (1938)
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After
an embarrassing first foray into releasing several Shirley Temple
films three years ago, Fox has apparently decided to revisit the
star who was the studio's bread and butter in the 1930s. Fans will
recall that the 2002 DVDs of Heidi,
Bright Eyes, and Dimples
were abominable presentations of the young star's work, both in the
original black and white and even more so in the colourized versions
that the studio felt compelled to include. The obvious point of
comparison is Heidi. Fox's new
version is night-and-day better than the old one, offering a
generally crisp and luminous transfer that reflects the restoration
efforts that were carried out. Equally as good is Little
Miss Broadway. Curly Top
is somewhat rougher-looking than the other two with noticeable
debris and speckling in evidence, but still quite acceptable.
Tempering these fine B&W results is the fact that Fox still
finds it necessary to include a colourized version (by Legend Films)
on each disc. These efforts are the usual pallid disc-space wasters
that colourized versions always are. Generally clear stereo and mono
tracks are offered on all three films, but there's little to choose
between them except on Heidi
where some actual separation effects can be heard on the stereo
version. English and Spanish subtitles are offered on all discs
while a Spanish mono track is provide on Curly
Top and Little Miss Broadway
only. Supplements include the original theatrical trailer on the
Heidi disc, the theatrical
trailer missing sound and text on the Little
Miss Broadway disc, and trailers for Heidi
and Dimples on the Curly
Top disc. As for the films themselves, all are enjoyable
but Heidi is clearly the class
of the group with Curly Top a
close second and Little Miss Broadway
trailing. The films are most economically purchased all together as
The Shirley Temple Collection: Volume One,
but are also available separately. Recommended.
Note that The Shirley Temple Collection:
Volume Two (including Baby
Take a Bow, Bright Eyes,
and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm)
will be forthcoming on November 22nd.
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Hush...
Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Former Warner Golden Age stars Bette Davis and Olivia de
Havilland teamed with former Mercury player Joseph Cotten in
this gothic suspense story about an elderly spinster who may
have murdered her lover many years earlier. Directed with gusto
by Robert Aldrich, the film is an obvious effort to recapture
the flavour and success of the Aldrich/Davis teaming on Whatever
Happened to Baby Jane? three years previously. For
the most part it is successful although the script is not as
strong, being at times rather hard to follow. The supporting
cast is decidedly better, however, as Agnes Moorehead (almost
unrecognizable as the housekeeper), Cecil Kellaway, Victor
Buono, Bruce Dern, and another former Warner player Mary Astor
all make fine contributions. Fox has issued the title as an
entry in its Studio Classics series and provided it an excellent
black and white 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer that offers top-notch
image detail and excellent contrast. The stereo sound is quite
vibrant, providing good fidelity and crisp dialogue. The English
mono track and English and Spanish subtitles are also provided.
The supplement package is a little thin for a typical Studio
Classics presentation with an audio commentary by film historian
Glenn Erickson (whose presentation is thorough but generally not
very engaging) being the only substantive item. There are also a
number of theatrical trailers and television spots. Still the
film is high entertainment and the disc is recommended.
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In
Old Chicago (1937)
The first teaming of what would become a Fox staple (Tyrone
Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche) occurred in Fox's answer to
MGM's San Francisco (1936)
- its recreation of the great Chicago fire of 1871 as told by
In Old Chicago. The back
story is bunkum of course, but it is entertaining as the O'Leary
family finds itself in a conflict that is supposedly at the root
of the fire. Alice Brady won a deserved Best Supporting Actress
Oscar as mother Molly O'Leary while her combative sons were
Power and Ameche (both offering appealing performances, with
Power particularly good as the shadier son). The best thing
about the film, however, is the impressively staged fire
sequence that takes up most of its final 20 minutes. Fox's full
frame transfer is quite good although generally somewhat softer
than its best Studio Classics offerings. Mild grain is in
evidence at times, but never intrusive. The stereo and mono
sound are in good shape with clear dialogue and minimal hiss,
but there's little to choose between the two. English and
Spanish subtitles are also provided. The main supplement (on the
flip side of the disc) is the road show version of the film,
which adds some 15 minutes in total to the theatrical version's
running time and for whose inclusion, Fox is greatly to be
thanked. There's little difference in the quality of the image.
The A&E biography on Don Ameche and several Movietone News
segments are also included. Recommended.
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The
Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) - See my review in my
August 4th column. Highly recommended.
House
of Bamboo (1955),
Nightmare
Alley (1947),
The
Street with No Name (1948) - See my reviews in my June 2nd
column. All are recommended - Nightmare
Alley highly so.
September 2005
This month, Fox once again ramps up the classic releases with 12
additions to the catalog. And once again, some of the releases are
well publicized, especially the new wave of Film Noir (The
House on 92nd Street, Somewhere
in the Night, Whirlpool)
and the often-requested The Innocents.
But tending to fly under the radar are various genre titles
including comedy such as A Guide for the
Married Man and Mr. Hobbs
Takes a Vacation, mystery such as Dressed
to Kill, Prelude to Murder,
and Terror by Night, horror
such as House on Haunted Hill
and The Cabinet of Caligari,
and the inspirational biography of A Man
Called Peter. Here's my take on each of the Fox September
classic releases starting with the latter group.
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Dressed
to Kill (1941)
Now this is a real surprise, an entry from Fox's Michael Shayne
detective B-movie series (7 films produced during 1940-1942).
It's certainly welcome, at least to those of us who care about
the old B series films, but to release this title sure blows out
of the water any claim that the Charlie Chans aren't being
released because there's no market for those films. Lloyd Nolan
portrays Brett Halliday's intrepid sleuth in this neat little
tale of murder among the theatrical fraternity. Nolan is well
suited to the character's blend of toughness and irreverence.
The script throws up some decent red herrings, but most viewers
will likely guess the killer by the time Shayne sets things up
for the great revelation. Mary Beth Hughes provides good support
as Nolan's girlfriend and William Demarest is also welcome as
the main police detective. Fox's full frame transfer is very
good, providing a clean, crisp image and excellent shadow detail
with minimal age-related speckling. The stereo and mono sound is
also in good shape, offering clarity and no hiss. English and
Spanish subtitles are included. Trailers for seven other Fox
releases comprise the disc's supplements. Easily worthy of a
rental, but those wanting to see other B titles released by Fox
may wish to spring for their own copy.
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Terror
by Night (1946)
Prelude
to Murder (1946)
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These
are the final two Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films,
both in the public domain. (Prelude to
Murder is actually the retitled Dressed
to Kill, not to be confused with the 1941 Michael Shayne
film above.) Both films are entertaining, but in the lower tier of
the Rathbone/Bruce efforts. When you hear of Fox releasing public
domain titles that weren't originally produced by Fox, you should
immediately think "Legend Films and colourization". That's
what we've got here, colourized versions. Black and white versions
are also included on each disc. The latter appear similar in quality
to the current definitive DVD versions previously issued by MPI. If
you already have those, there's no reason to get these new discs.
Certainly not for the colourization efforts either; they're the
usual pallid and unrealistic crayonings. For completeness I should
note that each disc offers a mono sound track that's in decent shape
and the theatrical trailer.
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House
on Haunted Hill (1958)
In the same vein as the above releases, Legend Films has also
colourized this amusing Vincent Price old dark house thriller
with the usual unfortunate effects. Further, it's presented full
frame instead of the preferred 1.85:1 which Warners' existing
fine disc release preserves (as well as the original black and
white). Of course, Legend's efforts include a black and white
version too. But why bother? It's full frame and no improvement
in image quality. There's also an audio commentary by Mike
Nelson of TV's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" but his
inanities offer little incentive either. Along with the Holmes
colourizations discussed above, that makes at least three
classic discs you can save your money on this month.
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A
Guide for the Married Man (1967)
I know this film directed by Gene Kelly has its advocates and
it does have a few amusing moments, but it strikes me as
exceedingly dated - more so than many films much older. Walter
Matthau plays the naïve husband with wandering eyes who
gets some pointers from swinging husband Robert Morse on how to
get a little on the side without his wife knowing. A lot of
well-known players have brief bits in the course of it all
(Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, Phil Silvers, Jayne
Mansfield, Art Carney, Wally Cox, Terry-Thomas) and it's nice to
see them, but the film's sexist slant (with few balancing
scenes) merely leaves a bad taste in the mouth despite an ending
that tries to negate all that's gone before. Fox's DVD doesn't
falter though. It provides a very fine looking 2.35 anamorphic
transfer with bright, accurate colour and a sharp, clean image.
The sound is equally satisfactory (both stereo and mono, but
with little evident difference). Keep your ears alert for "Johnny"
Williams' score (yes, he of Star Wars
fame). Spanish and French mono tracks and English and Spanish
subtitles are included. The supplements consist of the original
theatrical trailer.
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Mr.
Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
I think there's a film genre comprising films that deal with
bad-things-that-happen-on-hopefully-good-vacations. James
Stewart tries his hand at it in this early 60s effort that also
offers Maureen O'Hara as his wife and throws in the likes of
Fabian to keep the teen set happy. This time the vacation is a
family getaway to a house on the beach that proves to be
somewhat less than advertised. Of course, Stewart is a master at
this sort of material, although he has surprisingly little to
work with here. There are a few gentle chuckles and there's good
chemistry between him and O'Hara, but the supporting cast isn't
too inspiring (John Saxon, Marie Wilson, Reginald Gardner).
Fox's DVD presents the CinemaScope film in a 2.35:1 anamorphic
transfer that again is reasonably impressive. Colours are
realistic and the image is quite bright and clean although
crispness seems a little less intense than some of Fox's other
September releases. There's the usual stereo and mono sound
(decent fidelity, but no significant difference between the
two), supplemented by French and Spanish mono tracks and English
and Spanish subtitles. The disc also includes the original
theatrical trailer and trailers for four other titles, as well
as a short Movietone news sequence. Worth a rental. Stewart
completists who want their own copy won't be disappointed at the
disc's quality even if the film is lower-tier Stewart.
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A
Man Called Peter (1955)
Richard Todd stars in the inspiring story of Peter Marshall,
the Presbyterian minister from Scotland who became the pastor of
the Church of the Presidents in Washington and also Chaplain of
the Senate. The two-hour CinemaScope production relies greatly
on Todd's performance and he comes through. His delivery of some
of Marshall's sermons is mesmerizing and more than compensates
for the somewhat sanitized version of Marshall's life that the
film presents. Jean Peters also stars as Marshall's wife
Catharine, but her performance is less memorable, partly because
the script doesn't allow it to be. The film is based on
Catharine's own book about her husband, well worth reading as a
follow-up to the film. Fox's 2.55:1 anamorphic DVD is excellent.
Colours are very vibrant and the image is crisp and virtually
free of dirt and speckles. The stereo sound is also in good
shape offering clear dialogue (very effective in the lower
registers), but little directionality. English and Spanish
subtitles are provided. The supplements consist of the original
theatrical trailer, some Fox Movietone newsreel footage of the
film's premieres, and thoughtfully, a full-length audio
presentation of an actual Peter Marshall sermon. Recommended.
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The
Cabinet of Caligari (1962)
This film owes its title to the famous 1919 German production
with the impressive expressionistic character, The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Beyond that, it goes pretty
much its own way with a tale of a woman kept prisoner in a
country estate by the mysterious Caligari. Her eventual freedom
depends on her willingness to reveal her inner-most thoughts and
sexual fantasies. The film was scripted by Robert Bloch of Psycho
fame, but that film's inventiveness is but a distant memory
here. The whole thing is rather tough slogging as we're forced
to suffer through a succession of strange camera setups, general
psycho-babble, and rather artificial performances - a
three-pronged attack that makes the 105-minute running time seem
an eternity. Glynis Johns stars as the woman and Dan O'Herlihy
appears as Caligari. Fox's 2.35:1 black and white transfer of
the CinemaScope film is very pleasing. There's a nicely rendered
gray scale with fine image detail only marred by some minor
flicker at times. As usual, both stereo and mono tracks are
offered. Both are quite satisfactory although for once the
stereo one actually suggests a real stereo mix with some nice
separation effects. A Spanish mono track and English and Spanish
subtitles are included. The supplements consist of the original
theatrical trailer and some trailers for other Fox releases.
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The
Innocents (1961)
In contrast to The Cabinet of
Caligari, here is a horror film worth its salt. Based
on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", the film is a
compelling tale of possession about the experience of a
governess (Miss Gibbons) with her two charges, an orphan named
Flora and her brother Miles. The two children have an unusually
close relationship and appear to be possessed by the spirits of
a former governess and a valet, both of whom were murdered in
the house. It's a situation that Miss Gibbons only slowly comes
to understand and then struggles to resolve. Deborah Kerr gives
one of her best performances as Miss Gibbons, but Martin
Stephens and Pamela Franklin almost steal the film as the
children. The script is taut and unusually intelligent, sporting
an interesting pedigree (including contributions from both John
Mortimer of Rumpole fame, and Truman Capote). Best of all, the
film itself never settles for cheap theatrics or showy special
effects, but relies on its actors and direction to build its
suspense and air of foreboding. Fox's 2.35:1 anamorphic
presentation of the black and white film is a model of such
efforts, sporting a crisp image with excellent shadow detail.
The film's gray scale is very well rendered, highlighting the
terrific cinematography of Freddie Francis. We get only a stereo
English track on the disc and it's an adequate effort that
delivers the dialogue clearly. There's also a Spanish mono track
and English and Spanish subtitles. The only supplements are the
original theatrical trailer and trailers for a few other Fox
releases. Recommended.
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The
House on 92nd Street (1945)
Somewhere
in the Night (1946)
Whirlpool
(1949)
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These
three films comprise the current wave of Fox Film Noir, and three
fine films they are, even if one doesn't really fit noir criteria
well. The latter is Whirlpool,
an Otto Preminger-directed film that is pretty much straight
melodrama with a psychological angle. The latter doesn't
automatically a film noir make; nor are the major noir stylistic or
thematic conventions strongly in evidence. Nevertheless, the film is
an entertaining outing with Gene Tierney starring as woman whose
kleptomaniacal tendencies are exploited for his own ends by a sleezy
psychologist (Jose Ferrer, in a really juicy portrayal, although it
does stretch things to have him committing crimes and disregarding
severe physical pain while under self hypnosis). Tierney is superb
as ever in such roles, although one wishes her capabilities would be
more fully utilized. Good support is provided by Richard Conte as
Tierney's husband (also a psychologist) and Charles Bickford as a
police detective.
The House on 92nd Street,
directed by the reliable Henry Hathaway, introduces a
documentary-like approach to a full-length feature and uses location
work effectively in its telling of an FBI investigation of German
fifth columnists operating in New York prior to the beginning of
World War II. The film is not really film noir, but it does have an
aura of menace in the dark photography of the German conspirators
that was a likely influence on subsequent noirs. Lloyd Nolan (who by
the way is featured in a number of these recent Fox releases and
seems more likable with each film) stars as the chief FBI
investigator. Signe Hasso delivers a great performance as the chief
conspirator. The film has a briskly executed conclusion and the
whole thing is narrated with authority by Reed Hadley (a familiar
genre player whose great voice was frequently so employed). Look for
a brief appearance by a rather young E.G. Marshall in a morgue
sequence early in the film.
Somewhere in the Night is the
best of the bunch and is the quintessential noir film with an
amnesia theme, as ex-marine George Taylor struggles to find out
about his past and his connection to the mysterious Larry Cravat and
a missing $2 million. John Hodiak (who grows on you) stars with
strong support from Richard Conte and Lloyd Nolan (him again!). The
script with its smart dialogue and the taut direction (the film's
110 minutes whiz by) are attributable to Joseph L. Mankiewicz and
typical of the sort of intelligent product he turned out.
All three films are correctly presented full frame by Fox and all
look sensational - crisp, clean, with inky blacks and nicely
rendered shadow detail with just a hint of grain. The sound on all
(mono and stereo) is equally satisfactory. All three discs offer
English and Spanish subtitles and two of them have Spanish mono
tracks (Whirlpool doesn't).
Each disc includes an audio commentary. Those on Somewhere
in the Night and House on 92nd
Street are by noir specialist Eddie Muller and are great
listens. Richard Schickel's one on Whirlpool
is more low-key. Original theatrical trailers and/or trailers for
other Fox noir titles are included on all the discs while House
on 92nd Street also has a photo gallery and material from
the film's original press booklet. All three discs are heartily
recommended - Somewhere in the Night,
highly so. |
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