Ronald Reagan Centennial Collection

Dark Victory (1939), Knute Rockne All American (1940), Kings Row (1942), Desperate Journey (1942), Irving Berlin's This is the Army (1942), The Hasty Heart (1949), Storm Warning (1950), The Winning Team (1952)

In observance of what would have been former US President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday in early February of 2011, Warner Home Video has re-packaged DVDs of eight films in which he appeared during his long association with the Warner Bros. Studio in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s into a box set called the Ronald Reagan Centennial Collection.  All titles are previously released, and the contents of each disc are bit-identical to the earlier DVDs. 

The heart of this collection consists of the same five films previously included in the 2006 Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection box set.  This set was reviewed upon its release for the Home Theater Forum by Herb Kane, and I direct readers looking for information on those films, their A/V quality, and the included special features to Herb's excellent and comprehensive review available in this forum thread:  HTF REVIEW: Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection (RECOMMENDED).  

For this review, I will focus my comments on the additional three films included in this Centennial Collection, which consist of:

• Dark Victory, which is identical to the version included in the 2005 Bette Davis: The Signature Collection box set not previously reviewed for the HTF
• Desperate Journey, which I reviewed previously when it was released as part of the TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures DVD box set
• Irving Berlin's "This is the Army", which I reviewed previously when it was released as part of the 2008 Warner Bros. and the Homefront Collection DVD box set

The Films

Dark Victory (Warner Bros. - 1939 - 104 Minutes) ****

Directed by: William Goulding

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Cora Witherspoon, Ronald Reagan, and Henry Travers

In Dark Victory, Bette Davis plays wealthy heiress Judith Traherene whose carefree lifestyle is upended when she is diagnosed with a brain tumor by Dr. Frederick Steele (Brent).  Judith recovers well from the operation to remove the tumor, but Steele and the physicians with which he consults come to the sober conclusion that the surgically removed tumor will return and prove fatal in less than a year's time.  Steele conspires to hide this information from Judith even as they fall in love, confiding only in his fellow doctors and Judith's best friend, Ann (Fitzgerald).  When Judith ultimately learns the truth about her negative prognosis, she accuses Steele of betrayal, and he must try to convince her both of his abiding affection and the need for her to make peace with her condition.

Dark Victory is about as pure of a star vehicle as has ever been produced by Hollywood.  Bette Davis dominates almost every frame of the film in a bravura performance that carries the audience, and all of her fellow actors, along on her roller coaster of emotions.  The film may fall just shy of greatness by succumbing from time to time to the tendency to lay the melodrama on a bit thick, but there is no doubt that at its center is a great performance.  The character of Judith Traherene is easily one of the most sympathetic roles of Davis' long career, and illustrates her ability to operate outside of the "bitch on wheels" persona that audiences and critics have come to associate with her best remembered work. She does summon up a bit of that defiant knife-twisting energy for a scene where she taunts Brent and Fitzgerald's characters about the information they have been trying to hide from her, but it amounts to only one of many brief stops along an arc that has her character progress from carefree to quietly dignified.  

The supporting cast is largely outshone, but George Brent and Geraldine Fitzgerald both register positively.  Brent's best moments come early in the film in scenes where he most "handle" reluctant patient Davis, manipulating her so that he can do things such as perform diagnostic tests and convince her to take her medicine.  Fitzgerald serves as the voice of concern and chief confidante to both Davis' and Brent's characters.  She subtly imbues Ann with enough humanity to avoid the traps that can sometimes make these types of characters come across as nothing more than a prop to be used as a sounding board for the dialog of others.  Ronald Reagan does not fare quite so well as one of Judith's idle rich party friends, but the role is so brief and underwritten that he is given virtually nothing with which to work.  This was a stage in his career when he was being "brought along" as a contract player for the studio, and is typical of his early roles where he would be given larger roles in shorts and B-pictures and occasional third or fourth billed male supporting roles in bigger pictures to see how audiences would respond to him.  Film legend in waiting Humphrey Bogart is legendarily miscast as an Irish stablehand with repressed longings for Judith.  His performance is not quite as terrible as some critics have claimed through the years.  That being said, his come and go accent does seem to get in the way of his heavier dramatic scenes, and the character is certainly out of whack with both the sadistic gangsters that marked his early career and the sympathetic tough guys that would eventually define his persona as a movie star.

Desperate Journey (Warner Bros. - 1942 - 108 Minutes) ***½

Directed by: Raoul Walsh

Starring: Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ronald Sinclair

In Desperate Journey, a British Bomber with an international crew including Australians, Americans, and Canadians, is shot down in occupied Poland after an otherwise successful attack on an important rail line. Under the leadership of ranking officer Terry Forbes (Flynn), the surviving crew, consisting of Lieutenants Johnny Hammon (Reagan) and Jed Forrest (Kennedy) and Sergeants Kirk Edwards (Hale) and Lloyd Hollis (Sinclair), are captured by Nazi officer Major Otto Baumeister (Massey). The resourceful fliers quickly manage to escape from Baumeister's clutches while also acquiring some valuable intelligence about underground Nazi fighter plane manufacturing. They attempt to make their way through the enemy countryside, and are aided by some sympathetic Germans inclusive of Kaethe Brahms (Coleman), who conceals them and offers some much needed medical attention. Over the protestations of the conservative Forrest, the somewhat reckless Forbes cannot resist participating in a little sabotage along the way, which ultimately makes their attempt to escape and deliver the captured intelligence to the Allied commanders significantly more difficult.

Desperate Journey is pure propagandistic action fantasy, which would be a cause for dismissal were it not so darn entertaining. Warner action maestro Raoul Walsh keeps things moving at such a breakneck pace that viewers are barely given any time to ponder the sheer implausibility of the events unfolding before their eyes. With the exception of Arthur Kennedy who is saddled with the thankless "voice of reason" role, the cast of protagonists is uniformly charismatic, keeping up a plucky and/or wisecracking demeanor for most of the film's running time. The filmmakers prevent this from going over the top by inserting a few scenes where the men must mourn their dead as well as a thread where Flynn's Forbes begins to question his reckless decisions and fitness for command. Despite these moments of self-reflection, the film ultimately plays out exactly the way that action-oriented audiences would want, with a series of narrow escapes and bravura chase scenes with state of the art circa 1942 camera and special effects work by Walsh and his crew.

This is the Army (1943 – Warner Bros. – 121 minutes) ***½ 

Directed By: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Ronald Reagan, Joan Leslie, George Murphy, George Tobias, Alan Hale, Charles Butterworth, Dolores Costello, Una Merkel, Stanley Ridges, Rosemary DeCamp, Ruth Donnelly, Dorothy Peterson, Frances Langford, Gertrude Niesen, Kate Smith, Joe Louis

This is the Army uses a multi-generational framing story in order to present a series of elaborately staged production numbers of patriotic Irving Berlin songs. It opens in the World War I era with singer/dancer Jerry Jones (Murphy) being drafted into the Army and staging a Broadway show starring his fellow servicemen to raise money for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. After the successful show's run, Jerry is deployed to Europe where he suffers a leg injury that ends his dancing career. Flashing forward about 25 years, the USA is entering World War II and Jerry's son, Johnny (Reagan) has enlisted in the Army. Another morale-boosting fundraiser is commissioned, and Jerry gets the opportunity to reunite with his old service buddies, update his show, and work with Johnny to stage it. As the show is put together and performed across the country, additional drama plays out involving Johnny and his fiancée, Eileen (Leslie). Johnny refuses to marry Eileen until after his military commitment is over, despite Eileen's wishes.

For modern audiences, the appeal of this film comes down to two things: patriotic nostalgia and Irving Berlin. Fans of either element will have a lot to enjoy, including a stirring rendition of "God Bless America" by Kate Smith that is the epitome of both. The film is largely an adaptation of Army Emergency Relief Fund benefit shows Berlin staged circa World War I and World War II. The production numbers, which are the films real raison d'etre feature several well known actors from Warner Bros. films such as George Tobias and Alan Hale, music/radio stars such as Smith, and a large cast of GIs, many of whom performed in Berlin's contemporaneous stage show. Considerable novelty is added by production numbers featuring heavyweight champion Sergeant Joe Louis working a speed bag while James Cross sings "That's What the Well-Dressed man in Harlem Will Wear" and Irving Berlin himself performing the doughboy's lament "Oh How I Hate to Get up in the Morning".

Director Michael Curtiz keeps things moving along at a zippy pace and uses a variety of techniques to give the stage numbers their own visual signature. When the production numbers start getting especially large near the film's conclusion with what seems like an endless formation of GIs on the stage, one cannot help but think of how Busby Berkeley, who had left Warner Bros. a few years earlier, would have handled them.
 

The Video *** 

All titles are presented in black and white 4:3 video appropriate for their original theatrical presentations with the exception of Irving Berlin's "This is the Army" which is presented in color.

Dark Victory has source issues and a coarseness of grain suggesting that the element  used for transfer was more than a couple of generations down from the film's original negative.  Critical viewers will see evidence of just about every type of source element wear and tear one can imagine from time to time, but the artifacts are generally muted, indicating that some effort was put into cleaning up a rough element. The level of grain is fairly constant, and despite the normal difficulties with encoding coarse grain, the only digital video artifacts appear to be some occasional light mpeg ringing along high contrast edges.

Desperate Journey has impressive near-pristine video with natural film grain, an even range of contrast with no crushed blacks or blooming whites, and only minor and infrequent source flaws.

Irving Berlin's "This is the Army", the only Technicolor title in the set, looks good for the most part, although the element used for transfer has sporadic registration issues. Additionally, shots involving opticals such as titles or fades have greatly increased contrast and blown out highlights in bright areas of the screen. Color seems somewhat desaturated based on modern ideas of Technicolor, but this is probably consistent with the look of contemporaneous release prints (none of which I have seen, so take that comment in the spirit of modestly informed speculation with which it is offered). Detail is generally very good, visible print damage is minimal, compression renders the relatively unfiltered grain acceptably, and video-realm high contrast edge ringing is minimal to non-existent.

The Audio ***

All films are presented with English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono tracks Desperate Journey and Irving Berlin's "This is the Army" exhibited acceptable fidelity with low levels of noise and few obvious noise reduction artifacts. Audio processing artifacts were a bit more overt on Dark Victory with what sounds like noise gate artifacts noticeable during quieter scenes and a slightly more muffled tone than the better titles in this set. That being said, the minor artifacts were not significant enough to seriously detract from the outstanding Max Steiner score which is my favorite aspect of the film aside from Bette Davis' performance. Alternate French and Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 dubs are available on Desperate Journey.

The Extras***½

The films come with a mix of both critical retrospective and vintage extras all of which are presented in 4:3 video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound unless otherwise indicated below.  A break down of the features on the three discs not already covered by Herb Kane's review of the 2006 Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection DVD set follows:

Dark Victory

Commentary by Historian James Ursini and CNN Film Critic Paul Clinton is a screen specific track that runs the full length of the film.  Ursini and Clinton are recorded sitting together.  The track is in stereo with Ursini normally in the center and Clinton to the right.  Ursini provides the majority of the comments and generally sounds quite well prepared.  While Clinton is clearly familiar with the film, it does not sounds as if he has watched it as recently as Ursini.  Truth be told, both participants in the commentary seem to run out of gas after about the first 40 minutes.   In that time, they discuss topics inclusive of the film's popularity, the way the entire enterprise centers around Davis' performance, the supporting cast, the shooting style, the music, and several biographical notes about Davis and how Dark Victory fit into her personal and professional life.  After that, they tend to get caught either reacting to the on-screen action, describing the events that are occurring or about to occur, or pointing out how a particular scene illustrates one or more of the observations they made earlier in the commentary. While the track is worth at least a single listen since both Ursini and Clinton offer up some useful factual and analytical comments, one could save themselves a bit of time by simply listing to the first half and skipping to later scenes if one wants to see illustrations of their main points.  There is one brief anecdote offered up by Clinton late in the commentary about his one and only meeting with Bette Davis, but it's probably not worth sitting through the repetitive observations that lead up to it.  As your full service reviewer, I will therefore do you the service of informing you that the anecdote begins at the 65 minute mark.

1939: Tough Competition for Dark Victory (9:30) is a brief critical retrospective featurette on the film that derives its title from an observation that Dark Victory has been somewhat overshadowed over the years by the unusually large number of great films released that year.  While this point is made a few times, it is not central to the featurette, which primarily focuses on the production, the historical context, the public and critical reception of the film, and the technical merit of the film.  It consists of a mix of film clips, pans across behind the scenes and promotional images, and talking head interview segments from critics and film scholars.  On camera comments are offered by Newsday Film Critic John Anderson, Clinton, Ursini, and Author and Film Historian Rudy Behlmer.

Theatrical Trailer (3:15) is a lengthy promo that begins with some outstanding studio hyperbole: "Warner Bros. now proudly present the most exciting star on the screen in a story that lights the full fires of her genius".  The trailer also incorporates a number of spilt screen effects that shows that Warner was giving the film the full-on promotional push befitting its biggest female star.  The last seconds of the trailer even conveniently remind the audience that Davis is the reigning "Best Actress" winner for her "perfect" performance in Jezebel.

Desperate Journey

Under the banner of "Warner Night at the Movies" we get the following features: (32:25 w/"Play All")

• Murder in the Big House Theatrical Trailer (1:45) is a promo for the B. Reeves Eason directed crime drama starring Van Johnson.
• Newsreel (2:32) "Nazi Disaster in the Snows of Russia" shows footage of Russian bombers blasting German tanks and artillery.
• Borrah Minnevitch and His Harmonica School (8:51) is a comic musical one-reeler directed by Jean Negulesco. A high energy orchestra of harmonica playing "students" wearing matching sweaters is led by Minnevitch dressed in a top hat and goofy jacket. Occasional vocals and dancing contributions add to the fun. Songs include Glenn Miller ballad "Always in My Heart" as well as Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine"
• The United States Army Air Force Band (10:16) is a one-reeler from Director Jean Negulesco with the titular band performing patriotic songs at a Washington DC location near the US Capitol Building intercut with troop and plane footage.
• The Dover Boys at Pimento University (8:55) is a classic Technicolor "Merrie Melodies" short from Director Chuck Jones. It is a wild, heavily stylized parody of "Gay '90s" melodramas in general and the "Rover Boys" series of juvenile books in particular. Animation historians frequently point to this as a key short in the development of Jones as a director, and it clearly signaled his breaking away from the heavily Disney-influenced style of his early directorial efforts. The full title is: The Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Rocquefort Hall.

The Tanks are Coming (20:04) is a Technicolor two-reeler from Director B. Reeves Eason starring George Tobias. It is a propaganda piece encouraging enlistment and military preparedness. Tobias plays a comic NY cab driver who enlists in the Army and experiences training to become a tank driver. This short was included on the previous standalone release of Objective, Burma!, but has been coupled with Desperate Journey in this box set to align with their mutual 1942 release dates.

Theatrical Trailer (3:00) Has a moment of suspense built in where it trumpets "Errol Flynn as a soldier who knew but one command:" followed by an audio drop out meaning we will never know what it is.  The narrator also pronounces the second lead actor's name as Ronald "Ree-gun".

This is the Army

Commentary by Joan Leslie and Dr. Drew Caspar is primarily a commentary by film scholar and USC professor Dr. Drew Caspar. He gives his usual breathless lecture about the film, Curtiz, Berlin, techniques employed by the filmmakers, breakdowns of the history of the genre, and several other topics. Around the 89 minute mark, Joan Leslie joins Dr. Caspar for a sixteen minute Q&A session where she fields questions and offers anecdotes about This is the Army, her Hollywood career, and a few other films including Thank Your Lucky Stars and Hollywood Canteen. She does not always have illuminating answers, but it is nice to hear from her. My favorite bit is when she discusses having to get Ida Lupino's permission for her impression of her in Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Warner at War (47:01) is a newly produced documentary by Warner go-to guy Constantine Nasr that takes a look at how Hollywood in general and Warner Bros. Studio in particular supported American and Allied efforts in World War II. The documentary looks at the early history of Warner Bros., the patriotism of Jack and Harry Warner in particular, the controversy over Confessions of a Nazi Spy and Charlie Chaplin's UA film The Great Dictator, the effect of Pearl Harbor and the USA entering the War, the formation of the OWI, hindsight controversy over Mission to Moscow, postwar films addressing veterans issues, and myriad other topics. Footage consist entirely of archival footage, photo pans and zooms, and film clips held together by a narration by Steven Spielberg. It is presented in 4:3 color video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio. This is a very interesting and informative documentary and one of the highlights of this collection.

"My British Buddy" Outtake (2:16) presents Irving Berlin singing the song in tribute to America's friends across the Atlantic. This Technicolor outtake looks almost as good as the feature film.

Theatrical Trailer (2:45) shows that Warner marketed this aggressively emphasizing the patriotic message and star wattage.

Under the "Warner Night at the Movies" banner, we get the following features presented in black and white 4:3 video with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound:
 

• "Edge of Darkness" Theatrical Trailer (2:16) is a promo for the Errol Flynn film in which he plays a Norwegian resistance fighter opposing Nazi occupation.
• Newsreel (1:41) Consists of war footage under the heading "MacArthur's Yanks Blast Salamaua" showing multiple bombing runs. You get to see McArthur himself near the end
• The United States Army Band (8:39) is a one reel short that features footage of the titular band playing in Washington D.C. mixed with newsreel footage of Army soldiers in action.
• Confusions of a Nutsy Spy (7:35) is a Norm McCabe directed Looney Tunes cartoon in which police officer Porky Pig and his dog, Egghead, try to capture the elusive terrorist spy known as "Missing Lynx". Norm McCabe does not have quite the sense of story pacing of the best Warner directors, but the cartoon does feature some funny animation and good gags.

Packaging

The discs are assembled in a "super-fatboy" hard plastic case with four hinged trays inside with two discs attached to each tray on either side.  The artwork for the case includes many sepia-tinted images of Reagan from the included films.  The emblem representing a variation on the US Presidential Seal developed to mark various products and events associated with the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration is also incorporated into the cover art. Each film and its accompanying special features are encoded on their own dedicated single-sided dual-layered DVD-9 disc except for Storm Warning and The Winning Team which are encoded on single later DVD-5s. A two-sided paper insert in the case promotes various officially licensed pieces of swag that can be purchased to commemorate the Reagan Centennial (paper weights, cuff links, coffee mugs, eagle statue, and desk plaque).  The plastic case is in turn surrounded by a thin cardboard slipcase that reproduces identical artwork on its front cover, but includes small samples of original theatrical poster art for all eight films on its back cover.  The plastic case appears sturdy, but purchasers take warning: I picked the set up once with the spine side up, and all four trays detached from their hinges and fell to the floor due to the weight of the discs.

Summary****

Warner's Ronald Reagan Centennial Collection is a re-packaging of eight previously released on DVD titles featuring Reagan during his long association with Warner Bros. Studio.  It includes Knute Rockne All American, Kings Row, The Hasty Heart, Storm Warning, and The Winning Team, which were previously included as part of the Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection DVD box set in 2006.  It also includes the 2005 remastered DVD of the 1939 Bette Davis vehicle Dark Victory, the DVD of the Technicolor WWII musical propaganda extravaganza Irving Berlin's This is the Army that was previously released as part of the 2008 Warner Bros. and the Home Front DVD Box Set, and the DVD of the WWII action propaganda film Desperate Journey that was previously included as part of the TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures DVD box set from 2010.  The discs are bit identical to the previous releases, so fans who already own them need not double dip and fans who do not will find an excellent value proposition.

I just noticed that the formatting of the "Special Features" section of Herb Kane's review of Ronald Reagan: the Signature Collection was somehow garbled when the Home Theater Forum was migrated to its latest platform.  For convenience, I will reproduce it here with the formatting restored: