Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (2 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

I will have Wake Island in a few days and very excited about it. It's not shown on tv too much and it's been years since i seen it.

I know this 1942 WWII movie like the back of my hand. I couldn't tell you how many times I must have watched this movie. Hell, I bet you I watched it a half dozen times with my old man alone. It's right up there with "Bataan" (1943), "Guadalcanal Diary" (1943) and "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) as movies filmed back in the 1940's, about WWII that really influence me being a film buff growing up in the 1960's as they were constantly on local NYC TV stations.

Edit: Anyhow, this Kino BD looks very good good as it's easily the best looking video presentation I've seen of it. The increased resolution of the BD accentuates film grain/noise compared to the 2004 DVD. Also, not much cleanup done in comparison of the two discs. However, this Blu-ray has a terrific audio commentary by Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin. As to the movie, it's about a small detachment of marines holding out against the Japanese on Wake Island during the early days of the WWII. As you can see by the artwork, the movie had a top notch cast of actors that were directed by the underrated John Farrow. This movie was nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (William Bendix) and Best Original Screenplay. The special effects during the battle scenes are simply amazing as they actually blew up a bunch of stuff which had to be very dangerous and would never be approve in today's film industry.

Later today, "Red Ball Express" (1952) starring Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, Charles Drake and a young Sidney Poitier and Hugh O'Brian. Directed by Budd Boetticher.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just got my copy today with FLASH GORDON. I hope to get around to watching it this week.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Just got my copy today with FLASH GORDON. I hope to get around to watching it this week.

Just received mine and more. Will have a great upcoming weekend.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The Kino Blu-ray of this 1952 movie looks good video-wise, especially with all of the actual WWII combat footage. My great uncle never liked this movie because he said it didn't truly represent those the Red Ball Express. If some of you weren't aware, Patton's Third Army moved too fast for the supplies to keep up with them so the Army used the Red Ball Express to supply Patton's Army with thousands of trucks for a period of time until November, 1944. Those truck drivers used dangerous roads that included pockets of enemy troops throughout their truck routes. As the audio commentary stated, 75% of the Red Ball Express drivers were African-American as they were deemed expendable in a still segregated United States Army. When the movie came out, we still had a Jim Crow in the South so I can understand why Universal made the decision to have more "White" actors than what would normally be in a Red Ball Express unit. My problem with this movie has always been not enough action in it. My film grade has always been about a 2.5 grade due to lack of action in the picture. I'm still glad to have this movie in my BD library so I can ditch that Universal Vault DVD.

My second movie today was "The Eagle and the Hawk" (1933) starring Fredric March, Cary Grant, Jack Oakie and a young Carole Lombard on screen for just a few minutes. A movie about WWI pilots that dealt with the daily dangerous flying missions those pilots had to endure in WWI. It is definitely anti-War and is a damn good movie. The movie mostly centered around March and how the stress of battle negatively affected him. With that said, Grant does have his moments in this movie and so does Oakie. The video presentation is not pristine, but it's a noticeable improvement over the 2010 TCM Vault DVD. One day I'll revisit this BD because of the audio commentary. I always liked this movie so my film score is a 4.0 on a grading scale of 1-5.

 

[Robert Crawford]

TCM FILM TRIBUTE - AUGUST 23 (ALL TIMES EST)

6:00 AM (ET)​		The Male Animal (1942)
8:00 AM (ET)​		Princess O'Rourke (1943)
10:00 AM (ET)​		Light in the Piazza (1962)
12:00 PM (ET)​		In This Our Life (1942)
1:45 PM (ET)​		Captain Blood (1935)
4:00 PM (ET)​		Dodge City (1939)
6:00 PM (ET)​		The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
8:00 PM (ET)​		Gone With the Wind (1939)
12:00 AM (ET)​		The Heiress (1949)
2:15 AM (ET)​		To Each His Own (1946)
4:30 AM (ET)​		Hard to Get (1938)

 

[Robert Crawford]

From Kino, probably in early 2021. Hopefully, in its OAR:

Coming Soon!

Brand New Master by MGM!

APACHE (1954) Starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Peters, Charles Bronson, John McIntire & John Dehner – Music by David Raskin (Daisy Kenyon, Will Penny) – Shot by Ernest Laszlo (Judgment at Nuremberg, Vera Cruz) – Screenplay by James R. Webb (The Big Country, Cape Fear) – Based on a Novel by Paul Wellman (Jubal, The Comancheros) – Directed by Robert Aldrich (Attack, The Dirty Dozen, The Killing of Sister George, Ulzana’s Raid).

 

[Robin9]

Mmm. A new master from MGM! I'll wait for a review from someone I trust. I like the film and have always admired Jean Peters. So did Robert Aldrich who spoke very highly of her.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Mmm. A new master from MGM! I'll wait for a review from someone I trust. I like the film and have always admired Jean Peters. So did Robert Aldrich who spoke very highly of her.

If it's a new master and is in its OAR, why would you wait for a review? It's been almost 20 years since it was released on DVD in 1.33. It's not like there is going to be another BD release any time soon.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Executive Suite. My no-Noir Alley B&W viewing this week is a film I would have had no interest in if I hadn't spent some time in my career in corporate America. There you find a tribal and political reality that you either fall in line with or buck. It's why I still watch Survivor . The strategies, backstabbing, and social game of clawing your way to the top are an accurate mirror of this same environment in a firm such as Tredway. Populate this world with a galaxy of stars such as William Holden, Fredric March, Barbara Stanwyck and more, and it's a pretty compelling watch.

The limited locations and boardroom dramatics feel like 12 Angry Men, and there's definitely a liberal slant to the final speech that seals the deal of who will fill the void left by the opening scene POV death of the company's CEO (no spoilers, it's a talkie, folks). I see it was adapted from a novel, but it definitely could have been a play. Screenwriter Ernest Lehman scored big for Hitchcock (North By Northwest) and served as the President of the Writers Guild. That final speech almost makes it feel like this is a Paddy Chayefsky vehicle, which is no small praise. And is there a genre film director Robert Wise didn't nail? Why isn't his name up there with the greats?

Bonus comment: So I watched TCM's presentation of The Searchers last night under the Summer of Stars salute. But why is this in the Natalie Wood category when she's barely in three scenes and has maybe five lines? But one thing I did get this time that I blanked on in previous viewings was how much of a comedy it is at times. There's no way to explain Jeffrey Hunter's broad overacting (and reacting) other than he was directed to do so by John Ford. It's also a physical performance bordering on slapstick. It somehow works in contrast to John Wayne's over serious (and racist) Ethan antics. The scenes where he inadvertently marries a Comanche squaw reminded me of the tone of my favorite comedy western Little Big Man, where Dustin Hoffman has to service not only his squaw bride but all her sisters, as well. I still laugh thinking of that.

 

[Pete York]

There was a DVD release of APACHE in its OAR--one of those Timeless Media double features--so the BD should be good to go.

 

[Robin9]

If it's a new master and is in its OAR, why would you wait for a review? It's been almost 20 years since it was released on DVD in 1.33. It's not like there is going to be another BD release any time soon.

Because I'm not willing to spend my money on a typically bad MGM transfer.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Because I'm not willing to spend my money on a typically bad MGM transfer.

Fair enough! I'm buying it because I want Kino to continue to release these titles that should have been on BD a long time ago.

 

[Cranston37+]

 

[Cranston37+]

Thought I'd drop this here because I know we talked about it in this thread - one of my favorite noirs "Try and Get Me" appears to have been added to iTunes recently, via Paramount.

The cover art makes it look like a screwball comedy, which it decidedly is not...

EDIT to add another streaming title I just noticed added - "Ball of Fire"

 

[Mark-P]

Thought I'd drop this here because I know we talked about it in this thread - one of my favorite noirs "Try and Get Me" appears to have been added to iTunes recently, via Paramount.

ooh, that’s another Olive Blu-ray going digital. I know Robert already has the BD, but I will certainly spring for the iTunes version next time it goes on sale. Looks like I missed the short window when it was $4.99

 

[Cranston37+]

ooh, that’s another Olive Blu-ray going digital. I know Robert already has the BD, but I will certainly spring for the iTunes version next time it goes on sale. Looks like I missed the short window when it was $4.99

I would love to see on iTunes Cry Danger, Force of Evil, and The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry...

 

[SeanSKA]

A shame that TCM ran one of my favorite films "A Hatful of Rain" , a 20th Century Fox CinemaScope production, in a pan and scan version tonight.... This is one tiltle I was always hoping Twilight Time would put out. Fox's own MOD DVD was p&s as well... The only time I ever saw it in wide-screen was may 15 years ago or more, when AMC had a lot of the Fox catalog on their station...

People always try to say what the best movie year is (and there's a very good book out that makes the case for 1962), but I'm going to say that 1957 may be Hollywood's greatest year

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. My No-Noir-Alley B&W TCM viewing was this classic I hadn't seen since I can remember. Man, does the camera love Maureen O'Hara's face. I lost count of the extreme close ups of her. What a deliberate Beauty and the Beast contrast to Charles Laughton's Quasimodo (excellent makeup that holds up even in a crisp HD print).

I forgot what a spectacle this is, with thousands of extras filling the square, and getting either bludgeoned to death by stones or scalded to death by molten metal. Quasimodo's deafness or pure cluelessness comes into critical play for the plot when you consider the townspeople were rushing Notre Dame to rescue and protect the girl, and the king's soldiers were going to rush Notre Dame to capture and hang her under the new "No Sanctuary" decree. Yes, even in those days a King thought his whims could easily be above the law by signing a quickie Executive Order.

I hope it's no spoiler (c'mon filmgoers, even Disney redid this story) to surprisingly discover again that Quasimodo doesn't die. Or that Esmeralda ends up with the poet (he's a writer not a fighter!) instead of the dashing soldier. And how could I not immediately see the poet is Edmund O'Brien? I noticed the resemblance early on but still didn't suspect until the final credits. Isn't it nice that these two young O'Irish folks ended up together?

Finally, I question my youthful collection of Aurora's Monster Model Kits (Dracula, Frankenstein, the Creature, the Mummy), but wonder why the gentle, not-an-evil-hump-in-his-body Quasimodo was included among those more notorious monsters. Just because he was ugly? Talk about shallow prejudices. Oh, well, I guess Disney figured that out, as well, and history was rewritten and repaired. Long live Quasimodo! (How come there was never a sequel?)



(When it was vociferously protected by the gargoyles and
still intact upon my visit)

 

[Angelo Colombus]

TCM was showing 55 Days at Peking today and even though the print used was not same as the beautiful looking Blu-ray i hope more folks will see this great film. Like to see more of Samuel Bronston on Blu-ray.

 

[Robin9]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. My No-Noir-Alley B&W TCM viewing was this classic I hadn't seen since I can remember. Man, does the camera love Maureen O'Hara's face. I lost count of the extreme close ups of her. What a deliberate Beauty and the Beast contrast to Charles Laughton's Quasimodo (excellent makeup that holds up even in a crisp HD print).

This Land Is Mine also has numerous close-ups of Maureen's magnificent face.