Kino’s Noir boxes offer interesting noir-adjacent crime and mystery pix. This seventh return to the well of darkness brings up the organized crime ‘meller’ Chicago Confidential with Brian Keith and the more ambitious The Boss, starring John Payne and written by Dalton Trumbo. The third show The Fearmakers is a real oddity. Starring Dana Andrews and directed by Jacques Tourneur, it’s a political conspiracy tale about manipulating opinions with fraudulent polls. It sounds a lot like the fractured state of modern America, 65 years later. With commentaries by Jason A. Ney and Alan K. Rode. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/31/22
Hello!
Here are our hopeful thoughts for Memorial Day, yesterday. Mask on face, I’m actually going to venture out into the world on this holiday . . . so I’ll be back with a real CineSavant Column on the Fourth of June, D-Day minus two !
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Despite its so-so reputation John Ford’s cavalry picture is still a superior Civil War drama, making excellent use of a real historical incident. The conflicts between John Wayne’s commander, William Holden’s doctor and Constance Ford’s unexpected prisoner play well — plus Ford manages scores of great images and a handful of classic scenes. Seeing it with the help of Joseph McBride’s commentary helps too — the story behind the movie is interesting in itself. And we’re told that Wayne never personally fires a shot in the film! On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/28/22
Gritty inner city crime pix don’t get any rougher than this — I witnessed the walk-outs personally. Barry Shear and a crack crew filmed in Harlem for this downbeat crime pic that could be called ‘Every Thief For Himself.’ Paul Benjamin just wants to score some mob money and leave the mean streets behind — but a single slip-up brings the worst of the Mafia and the black mob down on his neck. It’s neither a ‘stick it to whitey’ saga nor a plea for justice — if there were 8 million stories in The Naked City, this would be number eight million and one. Stars Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Yaphet Kotto provide more acting fireworks, with solid assistance from Gloria Henry, Antonio Fargas and Marlene Warfield. On Region-Free Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
05/28/22
Hello!
Dick Dinman’s DVD Classics Corner on the Air is ramping up its podcast schedule; this week he has a second show discussing the films of Billy Wilder with author Joseph McBride. Together they Explore those (Billy) Wilder Years.
Because Joseph’s opinions on Billy Wilder movies includes some surprising likes and dislikes, the two actually ‘get into it’ a bit with several titles, starting with Love in the Afternoon, which come on, is a masterpiece even if the casting of Gary Cooper is a bit wonky. Like, no young woman ever fell in love with an older man? The discussion gets pretty interesting.
Correspondent Malcolm Alcala sent along this link to something I never heard of before: several episodes on Archive.org of a 1960s TV show called Space Patrol. It was called ‘Planet Patrol’ here, so as not to conflict with the title of an ancient TV show from 1950. It’s a marionette-based space opera along the lines of what the Andersons were doing at the time, created and produced by the puppeteer Roberta Leigh.
I was pleasantly surprised. The marionettes are still creepy but their mouths move rather well, and the puppeteers make them people walk nicely, something that the Andersons avoided. The miniatures and space special effects may not be up to the quality mark of Derek Meddings. But they are easily the equal of the Italo Margheriti epics, especially in the imagination department.
Several episodes are viewable at the link. I heard some sound effects that appear to be hand-me-downs from Forbidden Planet. The episode ‘The Swamps of Jupiter’ encounters crooks on the ice planet, and some alien animals that look quite a bit like Sesame Street’s Elmo.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Charlie Largent does justice to a choice pair of W.C. Fields comedies from his Paramount period. You’re Telling Me is a remake of a film called ‘So’s Your Old Man’ and contains a classic golf game; The Man on the Flying Trapeze is directed by Buster Keaton collaborator Clyde Bruckman and features a frustrated Fields committing four traffic violations in a row. In both pictures Fields appears to be tormented by good old Kathleen Howard, who we know was really nice in normal life. Separate purchases, on Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/24/22
Most noted for its troubled production background, this hospital-set murder thriller turns a doctor into a detective: James Coburn’s medico undertakes an amateur investigation of a crime involving an illegal abortion, and the cover-up thereof. Although tangled up in the crazy James Aubrey-Kirk Kerkorian regime at MGM, Blake Edwards’ film can boast a strong supporting cast: Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Elizabeth Allan, Dan O’Herlihy, James Hong, Michael Blodgett, Regis Toomey and John Hillerman. On Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.
05/24/22
Hello!
Good news for busy city residents.
Things are so crazy these days, it’s hard to keep up. But they’re announcing something special in Los Angeles that will give some of us a needed break. We now have a choice — to pick up fresh pods, we can still get up early and gather at the town square at 8am, every first Saturday of the month. It’s been that way since I was a kid.
BUT! A new service also maintains these easy-to-find distribution containers in various neighborhoods for your convenience. Just pick up a phone when you need access, to tell them when you’ll be available for disbursement. Some containers list a phone number, but there’s no need to remember it — the operator will know what you want.
Pleasant dreams!
(Note, actual box seen on the next block in Larchmont. It’s for a storage company.)
That’s it for serious announcements.
After opening up the floodgates to speculation about what Paramount titles Kino Lorber may be bringing to Blu-ray in their new deal, I got this great note from advisor and CineSavant reviewer “B.” Give him half a chance, and ‘B’ always has title suggestions for such things, including plenty I would not have thought of on my own.
To stay clear on this, we have already mentioned movies not on Blu-ray, and some [Imprint] import titles: Preston Sturges’ THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK, William Wyler’s THE DESPERATE HOURS, Peter Bogdanovich’s TARGETS, CATCH-22, OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR, DRAGONSLAYER, THE TIN STAR and WILD IS THE WIND — plus some of [Imprint’s] releases, which include ALFIE, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE, etc.
I think it’s likely that certain titles on ‘B’s list are no longer in Paramount’s rights library. ‘B’ mentions that as a suspected reason why a few stubborn titles have remained No-Shows on home video. But until told otherwise, why not be VERY optimistic? Take it away, Bee:
Glenn: Very interesting.
Here are a few Paramount-controlled (as far as I know) films that appear to be MIA. I’m interested in these primarily because I’ve either never seen them or haven’t seen ’em in many years:
THE GREAT GATSBY (1949) — long in litigation; U and Par have squabbled over who actually owns it for some time (U actually once announced it as a VHS release, but there’s never been a legal video on this)
THE GOLDBERGS (1950) — feature based on Gertrude Berg’s radio and television comedy
THE MATING SEASON (1951) — winning Mitchell Leisen- directed farce with a gem of a supporting performance by Thelma Ritter; co-written and produced by Charles Brackett
THAT CERTAIN FEELING (1956) — fairly sophisticated Panama/Frank Hope picture with Eva Marie Saint, George Sanders, Pearl Bailey; in VistaVision
THE JOKER IS WILD (1957) — comedy/drama biopic of comic Joe E. Lewis starring Sinatra (this may have some legal entanglements); in VistaVision
THE DEVIL’S HAIRPIN (1957) — racing drama starring Cornel Wilde, who also directed; in VistaVision
SPANISH AFFAIR (1957) — romantic drama with Richard Kiley, directed by Don Siegel; shot in and around Barcelona in VistaVision
ST. LOUIS BLUES (1958) — biopic of blues composer W.C. Handy, with Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Ruby Dee, Mahalia Jackson, Juano Hernandez and many musical guests; in VistaVision
A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960) — Brit comedy about a charming con artist; with James Mason, Vera Miles, George Sanders
WALK LIKE A DRAGON (1960) — offbeat western by James Clavell with Jack Lord as a cowboy who ‘buys’ Nobu McCarthy at an auction to save her from slavery; Mel Torme plays a master gunfighter
BLOOD AND ROSES (1961) — for obvious reasons; in Technirama — The ‘Kino Insider’ said, quote: “They only have the rights to the shorter English language cut. And I’ve heard there are other legal issues.”
OH DAD, POOR DAD, MAMMA’S HUNG YOU IN THE CLOSET AND I’M FEELIN’ SO SAD (1967) — odd, failed adaptation of Arthur Kopit farce; Par did briefly bring this out on VHS
THE STRANGER (1967) — Visconti’s failed adaptation of Camus, starring Mastroianni; I think Par still has U.S. rights to this
INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE (1968) — opaque but sort of rewarding adaptation of John Osborne play with striking Nicol Williamson performance; a rare Woodfall- produced film not released by UA
ADALEN 31 (1969) — Bo Widerberg film about violent, tragic 1931 labor uprising in Sweden, nominated for the 1969 Best Foreign Film Oscar; originally X-rated in the U.S.
THE LAWYER (1970) — absorbing legal thriller about a sensational murder trial; if someone more talented than Sidney J. Furie had directed this, it could have been a classic
DEEP END (1971) — hard-to-forget (or describe) utterly original sexually charged drama about a young man working at a London public bath; directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
UNMAN, WITTERING AND ZIGO (1971) — dark thriller set at a British boarding school; with David Hemmings
THE FIVE PENNIES (1959) — good Danny Kaye musical biography with Barbara Bel Geddes; in Technicolor and VistaVision
JOE HILL (1971) — Bo Widerberg film about the famous Swedish-born labor activist and martyr; filmed in Sweden, New York, Chicago and Salt Lake City
THE FIRST CIRCLE (1973) — Danish/German adaptation of Solzhenitsyn novel; adapted and directed by Aleksander Ford
THE MATTEI AFFAIR (1973) — greatish, fascinating Francesco Rosi drama about the life and curious death of an Italian businessman; starring Gian Maria Volontè
LEADBELLY (1976) — biopic of great folk singer Huddie Ledbetter; directed by Gordon Parks
THE MEMORY OF JUSTICE (1976) — 278-minute Marcel Ophuls docu about war, crime and justice; this was restored at some point in the past decade
CITIZENS BAND (1977) — original, brilliant comedy directed by Jonathan Demme (his breakout picture) and written by Paul Brickman; Par did release this on VHS
LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (1977) — not great but commercially successful adaptation of Judith Rossner’s best-seller, with excellent Diane Keaton performance; this was released on VHS, but may have music rights issues
AMERICAN HOT WAX (1978) — nostalgic, music-filled look at the last days of the public life of famed DJ Alan Freed (Tim McIntire, in the performance of his career), directed by Floyd Mutrux; this may have insuperable music rights issues
LITTLE DARLINGS (1980) — teen coming of age comedy with Tatum O’Neal and Kristy McNichol, a big hit back in the day; this may also have major music rights issues.
Best, always — B.
Personally, I’d like to see
THE LAWLESS (1950) — Joseph Losey classic; out from Olive, but only on DVD
LI’L ABNER (1959) — Delightful, favorite musical
DONOVAN’S REEF (1963) — weirdly comforting raucous John Ford, John Wayne, Lee Marvin comedy; beautiful in color
HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS (1960) — Western comedy with Sophia Loren & Anthony Quinn, directed by George Cukor
A BOY TEN FEET TALL (1965) — Alexander Mackendrick’s Sammy Going South, long version please
WARNING SHOT (1967) — Buzz Kulik detective thriller
IS PARIS BURNING? (1966) — French occupation epic; in multi-language version, please.
SEBASTIAN (1968) — decoding drama with Dirk Bogarde, screenplay by Leo Marks
WILL PENNY (1968) — excellent Tom Gries western with Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett
T.R. BASKIN (1971) — drama with Candice Bergen
THE BIG BUS (1976) — goofy comedy
So, any thoughts, corrections, or ‘this is already out in Region A on this label’ information? Thanks.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
Welcome to Ground Zero for ‘Committed Cinema’ Italian style. Director Giuiano Montaldo filmed his dream project on location in Ireland and a bit in Boston, with top stars Gian Maria Volontè and Riccardo Cucciolla. In one of the highest-profile American ‘media’ trials ever the famed immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti were tried for a crime but convicted by politics: even the judge asserted they were guilty by definition. Montaldo shows how wrongly justice can be served without whitewashing the defendants. UK actors Cyril Cusack and Milo O’Shea up the performance level, and the Ennio Morricone / Joan Baez songs have kept the film alive. On Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/21/22
UK correspondent Lee Broughton returns with coverage of a well-realised Spaghetti Western, Michele Lupo’s irony-laden semi-comedy Ben & Charlie. The film’s eponymous anti-heroes are played by fan favourites Giuliano Gemma and George Eastman and the duo receive great support from a number of familiar faces including Marisa Mell, Aldo Sambrell and Giacomo Rossi Stuart. Looking great on Blu-ray from Explosive Media GmbH.
05/21/22
Accept no substitutes! Aleksandr Ptushko’s fairy-tale folk hero saga is the real deal in medieval spectacle. When the nation calls, warriors rise from the steppes to defend against invaders, even if they have to defy royal authority. The first Soviet film in anamorphic scope and stereophonic sound, Ilya Muromets is an eye-opening series of fantastic characters and storybook episodes, loaded with Ptushko’s amazingly beautiful special effects and jaw-dropping scenes with entire armies filling the scene. The capper is one hell of a fierce dragon — the fire breathing, three-headed Zmey Gorynych! On Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile Films.
05/21/22
Hello!
Advisor-correspondent Gary Teetzel reports that Kino Lorber has signed a 65-title Blu-ray deal with Paramount. It’s actually 71 features after adding in 3 ‘Paramount renewals’ and 3 ‘CBS renewals,’ whatever that means. No specific titles were mentioned, but ‘The Kino Insider’ has stated that
— 43 titles will be released for the first time on BD in the U.S., 8 of them the first time on disc.
— “A few” of the titles in the new deal have been previously released by [Imprint].
— The list includes no titles previously released by Olive.
— Kino will remaster a number of titles, any from two to three dozen (seems a safe way to estimate).
— Some films are from the Republic library, but ‘not many.’
AND
— No silent films — No Elvis films — No Miramax titles.
That much information encourages the kind of wild & irresponsible speculation we’re happy to provide here at CineSavant, always no extra charge. Subjectively desired titles offhand include The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (it didn’t migrate to Universal with the other Preston Sturges pics), William Wyler’s The Desperate Hours, with Humphrey Bogart as a gangster, and why not Peter Bogdanovich’s Targets? We’d like to see Catch-22, Oh, What a Lovely War, Dragonslayer, The Tin Star and Wild is the Wind.
My readers are indeed eager for domestic Blu-ray releases of the [Imprint] Sci-fi pictures When Worlds Collide, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, etc.; and I’d like to review them again.
Finally, one 3-D title, unnamed, is said to be part of the deal. We immediately began dreaming that the 3-D Hondo with John Wayne might sneak in there: if we’re going to be unreasonably optimistic, why not go all the way? Unfortunately, ‘The Kino Insider’ put the kaibosh on that notion pretty quickly. Paramount’s arrangement with Batjac doesn’t allow for the title to be sublicensed. So no The High and the Mighty on Blu either.
Outside of that news, Kino has announced that another 3-D title has been added to the release schedule, licensed from MGM. It’s the 1952 3-D picture that launched the Eisenhower-era 3-D craze, Bwana Devil. Written and directed by Arch Oboler, it stars Robert Stack, Barbara Britton and Nigel Bruce.
The Natural Vision ‘depthie’ is on the books as the first full-length color 3-D feature; its success bankrolled Arch Oboler’s next twenty years of oddball film experiments, capped by his development of an improved one-filmstrip, over & under 3-D process called Space Vision.
I’ve not yet seen Bwana Devil — friends that attended the 3-D festivals assure me that . . . it’s a landmark picture, all right!
And we just heard the news about Viavision [Imprint’s] disc lineup for August, and it’s a really impressive list — all desirable features with collectors in mind.
Stanley Kramer’s On the Beach is a two-disc set that includes the 2013 documentary Fallout, about the Shute novel and the making of the movie.
The Essential Film Noir Box 3 contains four definite winners, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, No Man of Her Own, The Turning Point and The Desperate Hours . . . which we were just asking for, above.
The Scarlet Hour is a rare VistaVision noir from 1956 with the movie debut of cult figure Carol Ohmart; also a commentary by Alan K. Rode.
I Am the Law is a seldom-seen 1938 Columbia gangster film with Edward G. Robinson, and a commentary by Jason A. Ney.
Secret of the Incas is the Charlton Heston thriller filmed in Peru at Macchu Picchu; a bogus conspiracy theory has circulated about this show’s relationship to a certain Steven Spielberg adventure thriller.
Storm Center is the 1956 Bette Davis drama about book-banning and political extremism.
Golden Boy is the classic with William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck.
The World of Susie Wong is the drama with William Holden and Nancy Kwan, in a two-disc set with a documentary on the life of Ms. Kwan.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson
George Seaton connected an ideal cast to this true-life WW2 story so good that a lazy script and slack direction can’t sink it. William Holden is the American-Swede who spies for the Allies, ruining his own reputation and schmoozing with Nazis that will kill him if he slips up. Wonderful Lilli Palmer is the patriot-agent who steals his heart. The locations are impressive but one inspired scene captures with perfection the utter depravity of fascist power. If ever a WW2 movie needed a remake, this one qualifies. On Blu-ray from Viavision [Imprint].
05/17/22
It’s back and Criterion’s got it, so be prepared for sharp-talking insights on Billy Wilder’s nearly flawless, cinema-changing ode to cold-blooded murder, Los Angeles style. Edward G. Robinson wants Fred MacMurray but Barbara Stanwyck has him wrapped around her trigger finger. James M. Cain tapped into our city’s domestic malaise — who doesn’t know somebody they’d like to trade in for some extra cash? What about the extras? The Big C has Noah Isenberg, Imogen Sara Smith, Eddie Muller, Angelica Jade Bastién. Plus, we get the legendary Wilder interviews with Volker Schlöndorff, uncut and völlig ungeklärt. Revolver under the sofa cushion, anyone? On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
05/17/22
The good news is that Kino’s new 4K encodings of Sergio Leone’s first two Italo ‘Dollars’ oaters look terrific, with Fistful showing a lot of improvement: the basic restorations are from prime Italian film elements. And the packages are collector / home theater enthusiast friendly — standard Blu-ray encodings are part of the deal. As the films are still licensed from MGM, they include the extras from 2007 of which we’re very proud. The end results may be the first Leone disc release that makes this viewer ‘The Man with No Complaints.’ Don’t forget, they’re separate purchases. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
05/17/22
Hello!
Dick Dinman has a particularly good podcast presently up, hosting Alan K. Rode to Salute the Blu-ray Restoration of 3 Rare Classics. Alan Rode is incredibly busy these days. He also didn’t slow down for a second during the pandemic, turning out a new commentary or producing a Blu-ray disc seemingly every few weeks.
Three big collectors’ titles are discussed in this show, and I’ve vouched for all three of them in reviews: Alfred Werker’s Repeat Performance, Robert Siodmak’s The Whistle at Eaton Falls and Lewis Milestone’s A Walk in the Sun. Theater owners a long while back tended to over-use the sales motto, ‘Movies are Better than Ever!’ I’m not so sure if that blurb fits today’s movies, but Restorations Definitely ARE Better than Ever.
An upcoming slate of films on Turner Classic Movies is cause to wear out one’s eyeballs, or program the DVR: on Saturday May 21st the cable channel will present three pictures Directed by Cy Endfield including a special debut title. The wonderfully subversive The Underworld Story is practically a telegram to the HUAC, shouting ‘blacklist me!’ Endfield’s action hit Hell Drivers stars a full dozen great Brit actors including Stanley Baker and Sean Connery.
The third show is a premiere of ANOTHER new noir restoration by the Film Noir Foundation, Endfield’s first personal directing effort The Argyle Secrets. I’m told that it’s about tracking down U.S. collaborators with the Nazis, after the victory. The fuzzy image above got my attention, so I hope it’s actually from the movie . . .
TCM’s intro article by Jeremy Arnold is a good introduction to Cy Endfield, whose better-known movies include Zulu and Try and Get Me!
Jeremy tells us that Hell Drivers was restored in 2016 in B&W VistaVision. I’ll be tuning in to find out if TCM will replace the miserable old B&W copy they’ve shown for years. Endfield’s movie and Michael Powell / Emeric Pressburger’s 1957 Ill Met By Moonlight were both filmed in B&W VistaVision but something went wrong at the U.K. lab — Powell complained that after lugging heavy VistaVision cameras all over the island of Crete, the finished prints didn’t look any different than normal 35mm (actually a bit worse). The 35mm print I saw of Hell Drivers at the Cinematheque carried a VistaVision logo too — and it didn’t have the visual snap we always associate with VistaVision.
Correspondent Mark Forer recommended that I see Kino’s new Blu-ray of “Mamba” so I’m going to give that a shot.
Mark also reminded me of the Vitaphone Project Facebook Page , and that got me looking also at the very informative (intense, actually) Vitaphone Varieties page. It only seems to have run between 2006 and 2009 but I find the articles fascinating, with so much detail.
Take a look — if it appeals, you may spend more time there than you thought you would.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson