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Robert
A. Harris - Main Page |
Cinematographers, CinemaScope,
John Wayne & Bob Hope
I've always felt that motion pictures are more of an amalgam of
creative spirits and designs and much less the work of the "auteur"
director, although many of the finer directors have possessed their
uniquely identifiable styles.
In that regard, it would be the director in concert with the
screenwriter and director of photography or "lighting cameraman"
that is the creative force behind a film, and probably even more so
in terms of our classic cinema.
While most everyone with a basic knowledge of cinema history is
aware that the coming of sound caused a myriad of problems and cost
the jobs of many silent screen actors, there is less awareness that
the change from the classical 3:4 format to 2.55:1 CinemaScope
caused problems of its own. Plagued by optical aberrations known as
the CinemaScope or anamorphic "mumps," the format was not
exactly desired by many of the classically trained directors,
cinematographers, production designers or for that matter, actors.
Placing one's leading lady at the center of a CinemaScope frame was
known to add unwanted weight and distortion, which meant that every
shot had to be perfectly composed in an effort to work around the
problems.
If you view the CinemaScope output of any of the studios in the
first few years of CinemaScope, you'll quickly understand just how
difficult working with this process was, how distorted the images
could be - and why the perfected Panavision optics finally made
anamorphic cinematography a fully workable system.
The floodgates are finally beginning to open with studio vault
titles and we now have the ability to view many films which have
been either unavailable or available only via second or third class
VHS releases, and then only in panned and scanned atrocities.
Among the most recent batch are several titles which stand out. One
photographed by Freddie Young, another by James Wong Howe, and a
third by Burnett Guffey, all of whom began their careers at
approximately the same time, in the early 1920s, and all of whom
were able to make superb transitions from the spherical work to
CinemaScope.
The three films in question are Treasure
Island* from Disney, Objective
Burma* from Warner Brothers and In
a Lonely Place* from Columbia.
Freddie Young began working in the motion picture industry from the
laboratory and worked his way up through the camera department to
become head of MGM England. After his stint with the studio he went
independent and was responsible for many of the most beautifully
photographed films from the 1930s through the early 1970s.
A sampling of the films which he photographed includes Nell
Gwyn, Victoria the Great,
The Invaders, Caesar
and Cleopatra, The Winslow Boy,
Ivanhoe, Mogambo,
Lust for Life, Island
in the Sun, Indiscreet,
Solomon and Sheba, Lawrence
of Arabia, The 7th Dawn,
Lord Jim, Dr.
Zhivago*, The Deadly Affair,
You Only Live Twice* (one of
the most beautifully shot Bond films), The
Battle of Britain*, Ryan's
Daughter and Nicholas and
Alexandra*.
His personal favorite black and white production was the 1939 Goodbye,
Mr. Chips starring Robert Donat, with whom he worked
again in Fox's 1958 Inn of the Sixth
Happiness, coming to DVD shortly from Fox as part of
their Studio Classics package.
Working in 35mm black and white, followed by three strip
Technicolor, Eastman and Ansco color in addition to the first
British CinemaScope film, Knights of the
Round Table in 1953 (soon to be released by Warner Bros),
Panavision and 65mm origination, the quality of his work set a
standard that has been matched by few to this day. Which is why I
find it interesting that the new Disney release on DVD of their 1950
Treasure Island*, the first "live
action" feature from the Disney studio, is not receiving more
publicity from the studio than it is and nothing coming from the
studio in regard to the film's extraordinary photography. Packaged
in Disney's generic white "children friendly" case, it can
easily be overlooked as just another kid's classic.
This Technicolor gem seems to be offered more as an also ran to the
release of the latest Disney Classic animated Treasure
Planet. And while I don't want to take anything away from
the newer product and its viability with the below teen audience, it
is the 1950 version to which I feel the need to direct you.
Directed by Byron Haskin and magnificently photographed in
Technicolor's three strip system by Mr. Young, Treasure
Island* is one of the most beautifully shot films of the
period. Visually, there is a difference between reel 1A, the first
ten minutes of film after the main title sequence, and the rest of
the film, as it did not survive as original negative, but rather as
masters.
Once past that point via a beautiful transfer, one can see what the
term "painting with light" really means. While the purity
of the colors and color design of the film make it stand out from
the crowd, scenes like Bobby Driscoll in the apple barrel, while
Long John Silver and his cohorts plot around him, make the point
with great immediacy that you are watching something very special.
Robert Newton as Silver is the role for which he is remember by
most, and a quick turn by the great Finlay Currie as Capt. Billy
Bones, who you'll recall from David Lean's Great
Expectations*, in which he played Magwitch.
It is difficult to discuss Treasure
Island* without paying small tribute to Bobby Driscoll,
one of the most capable child actors of his day. Unfortunately, this
is one of Hollywood's more unpleasant stories. Under contract to
Disney, and appearing in a number of films, inclusive of So
Dear to My Heart, Song of the
South (which Disney should seriously consider releasing
on DVD), Treasure Island*, and
serving as the voice of Peter Pan, Driscoll had difficulty making a
successful metamorphosis into young adult roles. The sad situation
became worse as he made his way through the world of drugs, finally
losing his battle toward recognition in the darkest of ways.
In 1968 an unidentified body was discovered and removed from an
East Village tenement and was buried in a pauper's grave on New
York's Hart's Island. It was not for another year and through
fingerprints that the truth became known.
Bobby Driscoll was thirty years old.
James Wong Howe, who was born in China in 1899, and after working
in assistant capacities in Hollywood, photographed his first film in
1923. He continued at his craft for over fifty years, his final
production being Funny Lady*.
While Mr. Howe is probably most thought of today for his black and
white work, he was equally adept with color. Like Freddie Young, Mr.
Howe's work encompasses all of the various screen proportions.
Warner's new DVD release of Raoul Walsh's 1945 Objective
Burma* shows off Mr. Howe's rich and contrasty images
beautifully. Usually found in a version with shorter running time,
the new Warner release gives us the complete 142 minute version of
the film.
To place Mr. Howe's work in perspective one just needs to go over a
"short" list of his over 130 films inclusive of the 1924
Peter Pan, Mantrap
(1926), Shanghai Express, Viva
Villa!, The Thin Man,
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937),
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
(Technicolor, 1937), City for Conquest,
Fantasia*, The
Strawberry Blonde, Out of the
Fog, King's Row,
Yankee Doodle Dandy, Air
Force, Passage to Marseille,
Body and Soul, The
Old Man and the Sea*, Bell,
Book and Candle, The Last
Angry Man, Hud,
Hombre and The
Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
Mr. Howe made his transition to CinemaScope in 1955 for director
Joshua Logan with Picnic*.
Burnett Guffey, probably the least known of the three, also worked
with some of the finest directors in the business. Although
uncredited, he did some "additional" photography on the
The Iron Horse (1924). He
served as an uncredited camera operator on Hitchcock's Foreign
Correspondent under cinematographer Rudolph Maté.
His credits include Gallant Journey,
Knock On Any Door, The
Reckless Moment, All the
King's Men, Sirocco,
From Here to Eternity*, The
Harder They Fall, The Brothers
Rico, Giget, They
Came to Cordura, Birdman of
Acatraz*, Kid Galahad,
Bonnie and Clyde*, The
Learning Tree and The Great
White Hope.
Mr. Guffey made his transition into wide screen cinema in 1955 with
The Bandits, directed by
Rudolph Maté.
As these gentlemen have given us some of the most beautifully shot
wide screen releases, I thought it proper to offer a list (for
historical purposes) of the early CinemaScope productions.
Things sometimes seem to come together and a discussion of
CinemaScope also ties in neatly with some of Fox's new releases of
their John Wayne holdings and with Paramount's release of some of
Mr. Wayne's later films via the CBS library.
One thing which I don't quite understand about the new Fox titles
is their exclusion of what I consider the version of The
Big Trail, which is... well, big.
This 1930 production was filmed twice. Once in standard flat format
and once in 70mm Grandeur, which creates a totally different
experience, and stands as one of the earliest large format feature
films.
What I find strange is that Fox has given us the flat version of
the film, rather than the Grandeur version or, for that matter,
both.
That aside, it's nice to see more of these early CinemaScope films
finally showing up in their native aspect ratios and all with
quality transfers.
CinemaScope used an anamorphic lens to optically squeeze the image
2:1, which would then be unsqueezed using a similar lens in
projection. Originally the format used the entire flat frame which
could yield a projected image as wide as 2.66:1.
A CinemaScope projection lens looks like this:
|
![CinemaScope projection lens](articlepix/anamorphiclens.jpg) |
The filmed image looked like this:
|
![The Robe - film image](articlepix/robesqueezed.jpg) |
And projected looked like this:
|
![The Robe - projected](articlepix/robeunsqueezed.jpg) |
The earliest John Wayne CinemaScope titles are still among the
missing. They include his first, the 1954 The
High and the Mighty, which is held by his family plus a
number of early studio titles inclusive of: the 1955 The
Sea Chase and Blood Alley
from WB; The Conqueror, in
which he plays one of his stranger roles and The
Barbarian and the Geisha (Fox, 1958).
But at 1960 the availability of his CinemaScope and later
Panavision releases on DVD begins to bloom.
Anamorphic or large format widescreen previously on DVD:
The Alamo (MGM, 1960, Super
Panavision 70)
Hatari!* (Paramount, 1962,
VistaVision)
The Longest Day* (Fox, 1963,
CinemaScope)
In Harm's Way* (Paramount,
1965, Panavision)
The Sons of Katie Elder
(Paramount, 1965, Panavision)
Cast a Giant Shadow (MGM,
1966, Panavision)
The War Wagon* (Universal,
1967, Panavision)
The Green Berets (WB, 1968,
Panavision)
Hellfighters (Universal, 1968,
Panavision)
The Cowboys (WB, 1972,
Panavision)
Among these new releases are:
North to Alaska (Fox, 1960)
The Comancheros (Fox, 1961)
The Undefeated (Universal,
1969)
Big Jake (Paramount/CBS, 1971,
Panavision)
In addition, WB has released a flat film, the 1951 Operation
Pacific.
While we're on the topic of John Wayne, it should be mentioned that
Paramount has begun to release CBS titles which they acquired as
part of the acquisition of that corporation, which includes among a
myriad of titles the Warner production of My
Fair Lady, now in release from Warner Home Video. Who
produced, owned and is now releasing what titles (and why) has
seemingly become a shell game.
While Paramount has previously given us beautiful DVDs of films
like Donovan's Reef, The
Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit*,
The Shootist*
RAH, the classic Man
Who Shot Liberty Valence* RAH
and others, they have now added to that collection with CBS's Big
Jake* and Howard Hawk's final film, Rio
Lobo*.
Two other titles in the western genre from the CBS library now in
release from Paramount should receive a mention and one, Arthur
Penn's Little Big Man, should
be required viewing. The other, A Man
Called Horse may not be for all tastes.
To place the early CinemaScope productions in perspective, here is
a list of the early years of production output, with titles
available on DVD in yellow.
Titles from studios other than Fox are annotated as such. Some
titles of no or little importance have not been included. This
information comes from Four Aspects of
the Cinema, one of the essential books on technical
cinema by James Limbacher. Although out of print, it is sometimes
available and can be found by checking
www.abebooks.com.
Errors will occur.
CinemaScope Productions
Yellow = Available on DVD
1953
Beneath the 12 Mile Reef
How to Marry a Millionaire
King of the Khyber Rifles
Knights of the Round Table - MGM (coming
soon from WB)
The Robe
1954
The Adventures of Hajji Baba
Bad Day at Black Rock - MGM
The Black Shield of Falworth - UA
Black Widow
Brigadoon -
MGM
Broken Lance
Carmen Jones
The Command - WB
Demetrius and the Gladiators
Desiree
Drum Beat - WB
The Egyptian
Garden of Evil
Green Fire - MGM
Hell and High Water
The High and the Mighty - WB
King Richard and the Crusaders - WB
Lucky Me - WB
New Faces
Night People
Prince Valiant
Ring of Fear - WB
River of No Return
Rose Marie - MGM
The Royal Tour of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
- MGM
Sign of the Pagan - UI
The Silver Chalice - WB
Sitting Bull - UA
A Star is Born
- WB
The Student Prince - MGM
There's No Business Like Show Business
Three Coins in the Fountain
Track of the Cat - WB
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Dis
Woman's World
1955
At Gunpoint -
AA
Battle Cry
- WB
Bedevilled - MGM
Blood Alley - WB
Captain Lightfoot - UI
Chief Crazy Horse - UI
The Cobweb - MGM
Count Three and Pray - Col
Daddy Long Legs
The Deep Blue Sea
Diane - MGM
East of Eden - WB
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes - UA
Good Morning, Miss Dove
Guys and Dolls
- Goldwyn
Helen of Troy - WB
Hell on Frisco Bay - WB
Hit the Deck - MGM
House of Bamboo
How to Be Very, Very Popular
I Died a Thousand Times - WB
The Indian Fighter - UA
Interrupted Melody - MGM
It's a Dog's Life - MGM
It's Always Fair Weather - MGM
Jupiter's Darling - MGM
The Kentuckian - UA
The King's Thief - MGM
Kismet - MGM
Lady and the Tramp - Dis
Land of the Pharaohs - WB
The Last Frontier - Col
The Left Hand of God
The Long Gray Line
- Col
Long John Silver - DCA
Love is a Many Splendored Thing
Love Me or Leave Me - MGM
The McConnell Story - WB
The Magnificent Matador
A Man Called Peter
The Man From Laramie
- Col
Many Rivers to Cross - MGM
Mister Roberts
- WB
Moonfleet - MGM
My Sister Eileen - Col
Pete Kelly's Blues - WB
Picnic -
Col
Prince of Players
The Prodigal - MGM
The Purple Mask - UI
Quentin Durward - MGM
The Racers
The Rains of Ranchipur
Rebel Without a Cause
- WB
The Scarlet Coat - MGM
The Sea Chase - WB
The Second Greatest Sex - UI
Seven Cities of Gold
The Seven Year Itch
Soldier of Fortune
Strange Lady in Town - WB
The Tall Men
The Tender Trap - MGM
That Lady Three for the Show - Col
To Hell and Back - UI
Untamed
The View from Pompey's Head
The Violent Men - Col
Violent Saturday
The Virgin Queen
The Warriers - AA
White Feather Wichita - AA
1956
An Affair to
Remember
Alexander the Great - UA
The Ambassador's Daughter - UA
Anastasia Bandido - UA
Battle Hymn - Univ
Beast of Hollow Mountain - UA
Best Things in Life are Free
Between Heaven and Hell
Bhowani Junction - MGM
Bigger Than Life
The Bottom of the Bottle
The Brave One - RKO
The Burning Hills - WB
Bus Stop
Canyon River - AA
The Cockleshell Heroes - Col
Comanche - UA
The Conqueror - RKO
D-Day the Sixth of June
The Eddy Duchin Story
The First Texan - AA
Forbidden Planet
- MGM
Four Girls in Town - Univ
Gaby - MGM
The Girl Can't Help It
The Great Locomotive Chase - Disney
Hilda Crane
Hot Blood - Col
Jubal - Col
A Kiss Before Dying - UA
The Last Hunt - MGM
The Last Wagon
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
Love Me Tender
Lust For Life - MGM
Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Man Who Never Was
Meet Me in Las Vegas - MGM
On the Threshold of Space
The Opposite Sex - MGM
Pillars of the Sky - Univ
The Power and the Prize - MGM
The Proud Ones
The Revolt of Mamie Stover
Safari - Col
Satellite in the Sky - WB
The Shark Fighters - UA
Storm Over the Nile - Col
The Swan - MGM
Tea and Sympathy - MGM
The Teahouse of the August Moon - MGM
Teenage Rebel Trapeze - UA
Tribute to a Bad Man - MGM
23 Paces to Baker Street
Walk the Proud Land - Univ
Westward Ho, the Wagons - Disney
World Without End - AA
You Can't Run Away From It - Col
1957
Action of the Tiger
- MGM
April Love
Barretts of Wimpole Street - MGM
Bernardine
Bombers B-52 - WB
Boy on a Dolphin
Bridge on the River Kwai
- Col
China Gate
The Deerslayer
Designing Women
- MGM
Desk Set
Don't Go Near the Water - MGM
Dragoon Wells Massacre - AA
The Enemy Below
Fire Down Below - Col
Forty Guns Gun for a Coward - Univ
Gun Glory - MGM
A Hatful of Rain
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
The Helen Morgan Story - WB
The Hired Gun - MGM
House of Numbers - MGM
Hunchback of Notre Dame - AA
Interlude - Univ
Island in the Sun
Istanbul - Univ
Jailhouse Rock
- MGM
Joe Butterfly - Univ
Kelly and Me - Univ
The King and Four Queens - UA
Kiss Them for Me
The Land Unknown - Univ
The Last of the Badmen - AA
Les Girls -
MGM
Let's Be Happy - AA
The Living Idol - MGM
Man Afraid - Univ
Man in the Shadow - Univ
Man of a Thousand Faces
- Univ
Midnight Story - Univ
Mr. Cory - Univ
My Man Godfrey - Univ
No Down Payment
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
The Oklahoman - AA
Quantez - Univ
The River's Edge
Sea Wife
The Seventh Sin - MGM
Silk Stockings
- MGM
Smiley
1958
The Badlanders
- MGM
Bitter Victory - Col
Bonjour Tristesse - Col
The Bravados
Bullwhip - AA
Cattle Empire
A Certain Smile
Cole Younger, Gunfighter - AA
Count Five and Die - AA
Day of the Badmen - Univ
The Female Animal - Univ
The Fiend Who Walked the West
Flood Tide - Univ
The Fly
Fort Massacre - UA
Frankenstein (1970) - AA
Fraulein
From Hell to Texas
The Gift of Love
Gigi - MGM
Gunman's Walk - Col
Gunsmoke in Tuscon - AA
Harry Black and the Tiger
The High Cost of Living - MGM
High Flight - Col
The Hunters
I Accuse - MGM
Imitation General - MGM
Intent to Kill The Key - Col
The Lady Takes a Flyer - Univ
The Law and Jake Wade - MGM
The Long Hot Summer
The Man from God's Country - AA
Man in the Shadow - Univ
Merry Andrew - MGM
The Naked and the Dead - WB
(WarnerScope)
Naked Earth
Once Upon a Horse - Univ
Oregon Passage - AA
Quantrill's Raiders - AA
Raw Wind in Eden - Univ
The Reluctant Debutante - MGM
Ride a Crooked Trail - Univ
Saddle the Wind - MGM
The Sheepman - MGM
Sierra Baron
Sing Boy Sing
Ten North Frederick
This Happy Feeling - Univ
Thundering Jets - Univ
A Time to Love - Univ
Underwater Warrior - MGM
The Voice in the Mirror - Univ
Wild Heritage - Univ
The Young Lions
Bob Hope's 100th and the Fate of
Artist-Owned Motion Pictures
Talk about a name and a persona that are known to everyone. A
number of years ago someone in an interview asked author Howard Fast
the reason why he was so prolific in his writings. His answer was
something like "I've been here a long time."
The same can be said of Mr. Hope, one of the few people in the
motion picture industry that most everyone would agree deserves some
sort of Canonization while he is still with us. Over the decades he
has given us performances in upwards of sixty films over some fifty
years. Most of his films have survived in very acceptable condition
due to preservation efforts by their original owner Paramount and
then by Universal, the current owner of the pre-1949 Paramount sound
library. We're referring here to productions dating back sixty fives
years.
As Mr. Hope's 100th is approaching, I decided to take an overview
of his films available on DVD and offer a short report on them in an
almost Consumer Reports like
fashion. But what I found was much as I had expected.
History and errors of the past seem to repeat themselves and it
looks like a generalization can be made.
Take motion picture elements out of the hands of the studio
professionals via which they were produced and distributed, and they
will most assuredly be allowed to self-destruct.
This destruction is not, by any means, something planned or in any
way an attempt to purposefully destroy these elements. It's simply
that filmmakers, be they actors, producers or directors, who by
virtue of their contractual relationships with the studios have come
into ownership of their own films and thereby the physical elements
of those films, have created a situation leading to the downgrading
or destruction of those films.
Let's look at a few examples.
Alfred Hitchcock had superb business management throughout his
career. At a certain point in time he began to produce, and thereby
own, his own creations. One would think that this would be a good
thing. But it wasn't.
Mr. Hitchcock ended up owning the rights to five of his
productions. Rope*, Rear
Window*, The Trouble with
Harry, The Man Who Knew Too
Much (1956) and Vertigo*.
When the Paramount productions reverted to his ownership he
(properly) went to his business management people for advice on
their care and handling. The problem seems to be that someone
requested information, received bad information, and acted upon it.
With hundreds of cartons of film and audio elements in storage at
Paramount, the order was given to deliver the original negatives,
the black and white separation masters, one 16mm optical track
negative and one 35mm optical track negative to an non-temperature
and humidity controlled warehouse.
And to junk all other elements worldwide.
Among the elements junked were all of the publicity materials -
stills, negatives, trailers with their original picture and sound
elements, all dialogue, music and effects magnetic stems, all
composite monaural magnetic fullcoat elements, all three track
magnetic elements, all foreign audio and titling elements.
In storage, the original elements deteriorated until they were
placed in the hands of Universal in 1983 and the sad tale of
precisely what had survived and in what condition became obvious.
By chance Paramount had neglected to junk the original orchestral
floor recordings, which sat for forty years in their vaults, having
gone seriously vinegar syndrome.
It is only because Universal and the Hitchcock family have seen fit
to restore and preserve these films, that they survive.
Today the DVD representations of these films, although in some
cases exhibiting some of the ravages of time and care all look very
acceptable.
Cary Grant was an equally astute business man. Through his
production company, he produced and thereby would eventually own the
rights to a number of films from the 1950s and 60s. To the best of
my knowledge films like Indiscreet,
Father Goose, That
Touch of Mink and The Grass is
Greener fit into this category.
On DVD, they rate average to fair to barely viewable, especially
when one takes into consideration that The
Grass is Greener was a large format (Technirama)
production. Freddie Young's beautifully lit and composed images in
Indiscreet have now lost their middle gradations and look dupey.
The Batjac productions, the creations of John Wayne, which have
reverted to the Wayne family have survived in a bit better
condition. Under the watchful eye of Michael Wayne and others, while
not in distribution, these films have at least been kept up to a
reasonable state and some preservation elements have been produced
over the years.
Which brings us to the films which are apparently owned by Mr.
Hope.
Let's see how they fare as they fit into the body of his work.
According to condition and transfer, these are my thoughts and
buying recommendations, starting with the earliest available:
The Big Broadcast of 1938 -
1938 - Paramount - available from Universal on a double disc with
College Swing (also 1938):
These films rate a solid B in nicely rendered transfers from
Universal - Recommended.
Give Me a Sailor - 1938 -
Paramount - available from Universal on a double disc with Caught
in the Draft (1941), Mr. Hope's first war effort film.
These films also rate a solid B, in nicely rendered transfers -
Recommended.
Never Say Die - 1939 -
Paramount - available from Universal on a double disc with Louisiana
Purchase (1941).
Never Say Die also rates a B,
and should be of interest historically, as Preston Sturges shares
screenwriter credit. I was surprised by Louisiana
Purchase, as I had forgotten that it was filmed in
three-strip Technicolor. This appears to be from either an older
element or an older transfer, with too high a level of contrast and
saturation. It rates a C +. This disc is also recommended for its
historical value.
I should mention here that while the Universal double sets are
available for over $20 in many stores, that they can be had for
$9.35 from Deep Discount DVD with free shipping. That's $4.68 per
film.
The Road to Singapore - 1940 -
Paramount - available from Universal. The first of the "road"
films, is a beautiful representation of the film and rates a solid
B+. Recommended.
The Ghost Breakers - 1940 -
Paramount - available from Universal. A terrific and fun film, which
also rates a solid B+ and is also recommended. It was remade in 1953
as Scared Stiff by Martin and
Lewis, in which Mr. Hope makes a cameo appearance.
Road to Zanzibar - 1941 -
Paramount - available from Universal. B-.
My Favorite Blonde - 1942 -
Paramount - available from Universal as a double disc with Star
Spangled Rhythm (also 1942). My
Favorite Blonde shows light wear and fine scratches, but
nothing horrific. Star Spangled Rhythm
fares better and is of interest as one of the great all-star studio
offerings toward the war effort. In this case it features the
hi-jinks of navy men visiting Paramount Studios. While Blonde
rates a C, Rhythm gets a B for
quality and this disc is also recommended, especially at Deep
Discount's price point.
Road to Morocco - 1942 -
Paramount - available from Universal. A beautiful transfer. A solid
B+. Recommended
The Princess and the Pirate -
1944 - Samuel Goldwyn - from HBO. A beautiful three-strip
Technicolor film with reasonable quality for an early DVD release. B
-. One of the best of the Hope films. Recommended.
Road to Utopia - 1946 -
Paramount - available from Universal. A beautiful transfer and
another solid B+. Recommended.
Monsieur Beaucaire - 1946 -
Paramount - available from Universal. On a double disc with Where
There's Life (1947). Strangely, both of these films are
slightly soft in focus. Whether due to the quality of the
intermediate elements or the transfer, something is going on here.
Both films transfer-wise rate a C.
My Favorite Brunette - 1947 -
is available from a large number of sources as a public domain
product. One of the better transfers is from Image Entertainment. C.
Road to Rio - 1947 - available
from Brentwood. Remember what I was discussing about filmmakers
owning their own films. Well here we go. Road to Rio is somehow
derived from a UCLA restoration, but doesn't look it. I know that
UCLA does better work than this. A check of UCLA's web site shows
precisely what elements have survived. C-.
If you'd like to visit UCLA's archival website
go
to this link, highlight "film and television archive,"
fill in your title and hit title search.
The Paleface - 1948 -
Paramount - available from Universal on a double disc with Sorrowful
Jones (1949). The Paleface
is a beautiful transfer and a very accurate representation of the
three-strip Technicolor film. Sorrowful
is based on a Damon Runyan story. The
Paleface rate a very solid A. Sorrowful
a B. Highly recommended.
The Great Lover - 1949 -
Brentwood. This may be the worst film element and worst transfer
that I've thus far seen on DVD. It is derived from a 16mm dupe which
is loaded with scratches and splices. The worst of the public domain
films fare better than this. What are these people thinking! This
disc should be an embarrassment to all concerned. There isn't a
failing grade low enough to classify this release.
The Lemon Drop Kid - 1951 -
Brentwood. What might have been an interesting film to view, I
didn't. The quality of this one from Brentwood was also well below
what anyone familiar with DVDs would accept as even minimal. Another
transfer from 16mm. D-.
Son of Paleface - 1952 -
Paramount - available from Brentwood. I must admit that I'm a bit
confused here. This is a Brentwood DVD, which doesn't look like a PD
release. B.
Road to Bali - 1952 -
Paramount - available from Brentwood. I feel better now. Another
Brentwood release from what appears to be a color print. Just barely
acceptable. C-.
The Seven Little Foys - 1955 -
Paramount by way of Brentwood. This one is painful. I've always
enjoyed this film, with its tabletop dance number between Mr. Hope
and Mr. Cagney, reprising his role as George Cohan. What was
originally a beautifully photographed VistaVision production from
Paramount is now a 1.33 offering from Brentwood. Apparently derived
from a print, the DVD has inaccurate color and contrast levels, but
a pleasing soundtrack. It needs to be done properly in OAR from a
quality element. D.
Road to Hong Kong - 1962 - A
United Artists release from MGM. A nice looking transfer from MGM.
B+.
There are several other titles available, most notably from
Brentwood, but after viewing several of their discs, I decided that
I wasn't about to put myself through it, not even for The
Bits.
The bottom line here is that I would recommend the purchase of the
Road Collection from
Universal, available for $32.40 from Deep Discount DVD. Ghost
Breakers is great fun at $14 and The
Paleface (with Sorrowful)
can be had also from Deep Discount for $9.35. Others are suggested
according to your personal taste. The caveat here would be to steer
clear of anything from Brentwood, unless otherwise informed
beforehand.
As a final note to this column I spoke with a customer service rep
from Deep Discount, explaining the problems with Lemon
Drop Kid and Great Lover.
Although their policy is not to accept back opened DVD packages,
they offered a credit against future purchases upon the discs
return. I would not advise anyone to attempt to take advantage of
their kindness. I simply state this as a matter of positive customer
concern. I generally use three different companies for on-line
purchases: DVD Empire, Deep Discount and DVD Planet. Dependant upon
the studio, Deep Discount seems to continue to offer very fair
prices, and like the others, accessible customer service.
I have borrowed several images from The Wide Screen Museum and
would like to thank Mr. Martin Hart for his courtesy. You can visit
the museum on line (and the CinemaScope section specifically)
at
this link.
A final note on another new release of a classic title which should
be in every library. Disney has done a beautiful job, both transfer
wise and with supplements of the 1954 CinemaScope production, 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea* in a two disc set.
This release offers the film in its original and proper 2.55:1
aspect ratio and is based upon the restoration work done by Scott
MacQueen some years ago from faded and damaged film elements. At the
time, there was a superb article on the restoration in The
Perfect Vision. If a copy of the article can be found, I
suggest it as an interesting read.
Robert Harris
---
* Designates a film worthy of purchase on DVD.
RAH Designates a film worth
of "blind" purchase on DVD.
Don't forget - you can
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Home Theater Forum. And speaking of that, thanks to the
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