As Marilyn Monroe’s penultimate film, and her last in color, and her final completed film for Fox (her final work was the extraordinary The Misfits, which should not be missed), it has an interesting place in history.
Great film?
Not by a long shot.
But…
There’s treasure to be mined here.
With a film starring Marilyn and Yves Montand, the one actor that would never appear might be Milton Berle.
But he does.
And he’s terrific.
Literally stealing the film away from the two stars.
Add Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly (as themselves), brought in to try to help Montand learn to act, and one can only wonder what director George Cukor might have done with a better screenplay.
As a disc, the Twilight Time release is okay.
Sound is fine, but image is problematic, appearing as overall faded, with almost non-existent blacks, and shadows disappearing into the backgrounds.
Not horrible, but noticeable.
Might the film have been worth a full-blown restoration?
Not sure.
Image – 4
Audio – 5
Upgrade from DVD – Probably
Pass / Fail – Pass
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads