Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ Has Anybody Seen My Gal – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

1952 was a big year for three-strip Technicolor, with high points being films like Singin' in the Rain, The Crimson Pirate, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Importance of Being Ernest, Niagara and Rancho Notorious.

Then there were studio films - over 80 of them - most of which will probably never find their way to Blu-ray in any quality form.

Has Anybody Seen My Gal is a sweet Charles Coburn vehicle from Universal via Kino, directed by Douglas Sirk, before his tear-jerker period, but including Rock Hudson, in an earlyish role, before he became a Sirk stalwart. Piper Laurie gets credit above him.

The point should be made that although this is a Technicolor production, that's not the reason to add this disc to one's collection, as the color is not up to current standards, but still gets the point across.

When production footage is registered, it looks quite nice, while still not full-blown Tech, and when they don't...

I occasionally think of this film in terms of If I Had a Million, but it's quite different, and that omnibus I believe to be a better film.

For Sirk, Laurie and Hudson and American musical completists.

Cinephiles, look for Gloria Holden and James Dean in an bit part.

I believe I may have been a bit strict with rating this release, and have gone back and reconsidered. My grading was based upon comparison to modern scans of OCNs, which is not a fair means of treating a fun B title. New ratings below:

Image – 6.5 -7.5 (excluding out of registration printer functions and frames)

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Works in projection - Yes

Works up-rezzed to 4k - OK

Upgrade from DVD - If you like the film

Worth your attention - 5

Slipcover rating - n/a

RAH

 

[Keith Cobby]

Thanks for the review, it's a tad disappointing because I absolutely adore this film. I'll add a comment when my copy arrives.

 

[Thomas T]

Thanks for the warning. I think I just might stick with the DVD.

 

[Konstantinos]

Pity. I wanted to buy this too...

 

[Robert Harris]

Pity. I wanted to buy this too...

If you’re not seeking Technicolor perfection, the disc is fine.

I doubt that even 5% of all 3-strip films will ever be fully restored.

This disc is an example of a non-restored, straight up recombine, and is something tht could easily play on local TV, or be released as a DVD.

It’s when you go 2k, that the warts show through.

 

[B-ROLL]

Niagara was released on blu-ray by Fox 10 years ago ....

 

[Robin9]

Thanks for the warning. I think I just might stick with the DVD.

I'm thinking the same thing. I'll re-watch that DVD in the next few days and then decide.

 

[Jeff Fearnside]

Thank you, Mr. Harris, for another insightful, and helpful, review. Despite what sounds like a slight upgrade from DVD, I'm going to pick this up anyway, because the DVD I have is in a Rock Hudson collection that I'm trying to replace with Blu-ray copies of the individual films, and after this one, only A Very Special Favor (with Leslie Caron) will be left.

 

[plektret]

Niagara was released on blu-ray by Fox 10 years ago ....

And it's heavily filtered, sadly.

 

[Keith Cobby]

It's been a long wait to have this very charming film on blu ray and overall I'm pleased with the KL release. It's far from perfect but well worth the upgrade if you are a fan of the film (or a James Dean completist). The only comment I would add about the image quality is that closeups are noticeably better than long shots (maybe its due to the lenses used). There's an excellent supplement featuring Gigi Perreau and Piper Laurie who reminisce (separately) about the film (by Fiction Factory) and a commentary with Piper Laurie.