Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: May 2026

Marlowe 05/26/26

James Garner takes a spin as the world-weary detective Philip Marlowe — “unassailably virtuous, invariably broke.” An updating of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister takes Marlowe to 1969 Hollywood, but the story remains the same: blackmail, gangsters and ice pick murders. Gayle Hunnicutt and Sharon Farrell are the Quest sisters, Bruce Lee a kung-fu hoodlum and Rita Moreno a star’s gal Friday who doubles as a striptease sensation. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
05/26/26

The Thief of Bagdad  — 1924 05/26/26

Douglas Fairbanks’ miracle film of the silent era is back in a new restoration from Photoplay Productions, with a bounty of extras; we can marvel that this 102 year-old masterpiece is in such good condition. The physical production was mounted on a massive scale, right in the middle of Hollywood: enormous sets, fantastic designs and wondrous special effects. Fairbanks was the silent screen’s first physical Adonis, too handsome and athletic to be believed. With a newly recorded music score. a commentary by Anthony Slide and reels of original outtakes and EFX tests. On Blu-ray from Kino Classics / Photoplay Productions.
05/26/26

Hi, Mom!   — 4K 05/23/26

Brian DePalma’s wild skit + provocation comedy cemented his status as a capable, meaningful filmmaker just before he turned to a commercial career dedicated to the screen effects of Alfred Hitchcock. This new release brings this early Robert De Niro tale, which now resembles an alternate-universe prequel to Taxi Driver, to disc in a new 4K remaster and encoding. De Palma addicts take note: a prime HD extra is the entire feature film Dionysus in 69, a multi-image recording of an experimental play by Richard Schechner’s The Performance Group. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
05/23/26

D.O.A.  +  Borderline 05/23/26

VCI showcases a pair of independently produced films noir, one a decent programmer and the other one of the best of its kind. Borderline puts Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor in the middle of drug smugglers led by (who else?) crooked Raymond Burr; D.O.A. drops Edmond O’Brien into a nightmare, when he finds he’s been poisoned and has little time to find out who did him in and why. On Blu-ray from VCI.
05/23/26

Stray Dog   — 4K 05/19/26

The depressed streets of postwar Tokyo are the hunting ground for detective Toshiro Mifune, who lost his service automatic on a streetcar and is desperate to retrieve it. Soulful old cop Takashi Shimura gives him guidance and encouragement; an unhappy showgirl knows how to find the gun, but won’t talk. Akira Kurosawa’s prime goal is to document the struggle of Tokyo’s period of recovery, with millions trying to subsist in the war’s ruins — and to get it past the censors of the U.S. Occupation authority. The new restoration is excellent. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
05/19/26

Swashbuckler 05/19/26

Spectacular!  Colorful!  Action-packed!  A big production, big stars, but where’s the movie?  James Goldstone’s pirate picture has energetic action and little else; we salute Robert Shaw and Genevieve Bujold, who generate the star personality needed to keep it on its feet. A bounty of screen talent is marooned in unflattering roles: James Earl Jones, Peter Boyle, Beau Bridges, Geoffrey Holder, Dorothy Tristan. Anjelica Huston doesn’t even speak, but a chicken gets screen credit. Enjoy it for the beautiful locations, worthy stunt work and clever visual effects. On Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
05/19/26

Million Dollar Legs 05/16/26

Paramount’s catch-all comedy makes zero sense but has a great attitude. It showcases a number of eager funnymen from Vaudeville and silent comedies: W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Ben Turpin, Hugh Herbert, Billy Gilbert. Top-billed Jack Oakie is in love with Klopstokian lass Angela; all of her fellow citizens are super-athletes, so he brings a bunch to Los Angeles to compete in the Olympic Games, Ice or no Ice. Silly shenanigans are the rule but everybody shines. Slinky songstress vamp Lyda Roberti gets away with a sizzling ‘cooch’ dance number with the lyrics, “It’s terrific when I get hot!”  The story is by none other than future writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. On Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

05/16/26

Crack-Up  (1946) 05/16/26

This noir tries something different: an art expert must play detective to find out why everybody thinks he’s gone insane. Who knew that the most dangerous noir creeps are to be found skulking around a museum gallery? Ex- Warner contractee Pat O’Brien tries out RKO for size, with a screenplay that goes in for arty dream montages, yet encourages us to laugh at modern artworks. Claire Trevor’s femme is hopefully not the fatale type, while Herbert Marshall may hold the key to O’Brien’s crazy hallucinations, tricked out by the RKO special effects department. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
05/16/26

Brit Noir Collection I 05/12/26

It’s a new branded line for Kino Lorber — English thrillers from the 1940s and ’50s, remastered and looking good. Jean Simmons is tormented by a greedy lover & husband in ‘Cage of Gold,’ and a fanciful Edgar Wallace mystery sees Scotland Yard trying to prevent a murder by a diabolical criminal called ‘The Ringer.’  Then, Sean Connery stars as a noble cat burglar in the gangster tale ‘The Frightened City.’  The Collection 1 stars include Herbert Lom, David Farrar, Yvonne Romain, James Donald, Madeleine Lebeau, Bernard Lee;, Donald Wolfit, Mai Zetterling, Greta Gynt, William Hartnell, and Denholm Elliott. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/12/26

Body Heat  — 4K 05/12/26

A shining 4K encoding underscores the heat in Lawrence Kasdan’s ode to cold-blooded murder, committed in the name of sex and greed … and just maybe, love. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner became overnight stars in some of the hottest scenes ever to hit mainstream theaters; Richard Kline’s steamy images and John Barry’s seductive music sealed the deal. Kasdan’s film also brought the notion of film noir to mainstream attention. Soon thereafter came the new term ‘Neo-noir.’  The show also introduced most audiences to Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
05/12/26

The Big Combo  — 4K 05/09/26

Cornel Wilde’s first film for his own production company is a stone classic and a genuine cult item, an organized crime tale that blends sex and sadism as did few films of its day. Richard Conte’s perverse seduction of Jean Wallace is hot stuff, and the creative direction of Joseph H. Lewis and extreme lighting of John Alton make noir magic with little more than light and shadow. Also starring Brian Donlevy, Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman. The deluxe 4K Ultra HD release includes a Blu-ray of Robert Florey’s amnesia noir The Crooked Way. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Ignite Films.
05/09/26

Arrowsmith 05/09/26

Rescued from post-Code censorship, Sinclair Lewis’s critique of medical ethics makes an interesting subject for director John Ford. Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes star; Myrna Loy had a major role until the censors obliterated most of it. But now she’s back: taken from Ronald Colman’s personal print, this 2024 restoration recovers (finally) the original theatrical release, uncut. It raises the entire show to prime quality and reinstates a crucial ‘new’ scene.  The new Blu-ray is a coup for The Warner Archive Collection.
05/09/26

Testament 05/05/26

Criterion takes on the anti-nuke horror film that hits closest to home. Lynne Littman’s harrowing film stays small-scale and Big Emotion, enduring a slow extermination for an innocent family. A little California town loses contact with the rest of the world, and hope fades as the awful reality sinks in. Jane Alexander, Lukas Haas, and William Devane star in a TV movie so affecting that it saw theatrical playdates; Criterion’s excellent new extras let us get to know director Littman and her work … what a grand talent and personality

. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
05/05/26

The Front  — 4K 05/02/26

Former blacklistees Walter Bernstein and Martin Ritt turned their career experiences into a powerful picture; the bankability of star Woody Allen is surely what got it produced. Allen plays not his usual New York schmiel but a clueless everyman who ‘fronts’ for a writer friend denied work by the blacklist. He ends up fronting for other writers, too, and then meets a blacklisted comedian (Zero Mostel) that he can’t help — a performer can’t hide behind someone else’s face and voice. The screenplay garnered an Oscar nomination for a writer who just a decade earlier was still being denied screen credit: The Wonderful Country (1959),  The Magnificent Seven (1960),  The Train (1964). On 4K Ultra HD + Digital from Columbia Pictures / Sony.
05/02/26