Reviews (4)

Delightful ghost story based on a classic tale
Based on a short story by non other than the legendary Oscar Wilde this version of the "The Canterville Ghost" makes really delightful viewing boasting top notch production values, a superb cast in fine form, and a terrific look that gives the film an appealing and enjoyable appearance.

Being in theory a ghost story the story is full of much well seasoned comedy and really is a film suitable for the whole family to enjoy. I tend to watch this film around Christmas each year and never fail to enjoy the high spirited carryings on of Charles Laughton in what I feel is one of his most appealing roles. "The Canterville Ghost", set in one of those far off misty castles that only MGM could cunger up, tells the story of how Sir. Simon de Canterville through an act of cowardice is walled up in a room of the castle and is doomed to walk the face of the earth for all eternity unless a relative can commit an act of bravery to lift the curse from him. The story jumps ahead a few centuries to the present (1944) where the castle is occupied by visiting soldiers involved in the war. Among them is Sir. Simon's distant relative Cuffy Williams (Robert Young at his most endearing) who is the one selected to perform the brave deed to free his ancestor from his ghostly imprisonment. The tale is an amusing one as Laughton's character first tries to scare and then win over his cynical relative to help him. Charles Laughton is wonderful as the cowardly ghost appearing out of nowhere, screaming, rattling chains and showing his own failings only too obviously. He is surrounded by a terrific supporting cast beginning with gifted child actress Margaret O'Brien as Lady Jessica de Canterville the present owner of the castle. O'Brien, at the peak of her career around this time with triumphs in "Journey for Margaret", and "Meet Me in St. Louis", is a cute delight as the spunky little girl who is not afraid of Laughton's over the top bellowing and corny scare tactics. Robert Young in his last MGM film is also in top form as the young soldier who first is in danger of falling into the same habits as Sir. Simon but who in the end comes through to succeed in freeing his ancestor from his ghostly sentence by an unselfish act of bravery.

"The Canterville Ghost" is about as English a tale as you can get and came along during the war years when all things British were revered in Hollywood. Keeping company with such British outings as "Mrs. Miniver", and "The White Cliffs of Dover", "Canterville' also boasts a superb supporting cast of stalwart British performers so popular in Hollywood during these years. Headed by Laughton himself the film contains great work by the likes of Reginald Owen, Una O'Connor and Peter lawford who give just that right British feel to a production which because of the war had to be filmed in the USA. Technically the film is a superb achievement with Laughton's ghostly special effects a remarkable effort. The sight of Laughton disappearing through walls and flying across a room remind one of that great 1930's ghost story "Topper". Being a product of MGM the film boasts top flight production values in every department and has superb settings with the castle interiors appearing wonderfully spooky and beautiful on the eye.

Among the many versions filmed of "The Canterville Ghost", I feel this is by far the best. Centred on Charles Laughton's unforgettable ghost the production is enjoyable and a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Before computers created all the special effects this film proved what the old Hollywood was capable of achieving. A totally delightful film to be enjoyed by the whole family.

A Charming Bit of Hollywood Fluff
Very, very loosely based on a short story by Oscar Wilde--so loosely that he is probably turning in his grave--THE CANTERVILLE GHOST is nonetheless a charming bit of 1940s Hollywood fluff about an English ghost who runs afoul of American pragmatism. In the film version, the Americans arrive in the form of WWII soliders, including Robert Young, who are billeted at a notoriously haunted castle where they encounter a legendary spectre much given to theatrical materializations.

Although the story is very, very slight, the cast makes it enjoyable. Child star Margaret O'Brien gives a typically enjoyable performance as the unwilling heiress to the castle, and Robert Young and his fellow actors mug their way through the script with entertaining aplomb. The greatest pleasure, however, is Charles Laughton as the ghost, which he plays most delightfully. The emphasis is on comedy rather than ghostly thrills, and although the comedy is quite mild it is expertly done. THE CANTERVILLE GHOST will never make any one's short list of "great cinematic art," but both grown-ups and kids alike will have a good time with it; recommended for an old fashioned family night.

How could it miss?
This is a movie that could cure a rainy day. Great story, great cast, fun SFX (even by modern standings). I think this is the kind of movie they're trying to make again, with mixed success. Funny without being coarse, outrageously sentimental without being cloying, and, my goodness--the "chemistry"! Entertainment you don't have to feel guilty about enjoying.

Very Enjoyable!
By far the Best version of the many made of Canterville Ghost! Robert Young plays his part so well! And the little girl is an inspiration! Many laughs! ... Read more

Reviews (38)

STUNNING! This HARVEY GIRLS DVD is "Metro-GARLAND-Magic"
Hats off to Ted Turner's crew and their partners at Warner Home Video for a simply stunning DVD presentation of THE HARVEY GIRLS. The film looks sumptuous. A thrilling example of Technicolor at its most splendid. Although THE HARVEY GIRLS is a thoroughly delightful entertainment, there isn't much substance to the plot. It seems to hardly matter, as the film's major virtues are its great score by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren, superb performances from a great cast, and of course, the peerless Judy Garland.

If anyone else had played the lead in this picture, it would have been long forgotten. This is Judy's show, all the way, and everything about it is designed to show off her immense talents.
She is at the top of her form here...looking lovely, singing gorgeously, dancing with aplomb, and handling both dramatic and comedic scenes better than anyone else could ever dream to. The biggest highlight of the film is the mammoth eight-minute production number ON THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND THE SANTA FE which ended up winning a Best Song Oscar. This sequence alone is worth the price of the DVD, and the Warner Home Video people give us an extra bonus by presenting the number separately in TRUE STEREO! Astounding!

The supplementary materials are vast and beautifully assembled. The commentary by recently-deceased director George Sidney was fortunately captured for this release, and his thoughts and reminiscences are entertaining and charming. There were four musical numbers intended for this picture which were cut before release. MARCH OF THE DOAGIES and its reprise and MY INTUITION are the three that were filmed, and they are included on this DVD, looking like they were filmed yesterday (actually they look TOO good to have been filmed in this day and age). The one unused song that was recorded but not filmed called HAYRIDE is among the more than 20 pre-recording sessions included on the DVD's "Sing Song Express". A captivating opportunity to be present on the Metro recording stages as they laid down these historic tracks. You can hear the starts and stops, the banter and laughter...It's almost like being there. The disc also includes a trailer.

Hats off to Warner and Turner for a splendid job well done, a VAST improvement from the once-impressive laserdisc release, which is now unwatchable in comparison to this DVD. Add to this the VERY reasonable price of this movie, and it can't be beat. Now the big question: "When will Warner give us MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, EASTER PARADE and the rest of the golden Garland catalog?" Let's hope it's soon. If this DVD is any indication of what those will be like, we are in for a treat.

Judy at her comedic best!
"The Harvey Girls" is my favorite of the MGM musicals. It has everything: a superb star (Judy Garland), a great supporting cast (headed by a young Angela Lansbury, with Ray Bolger and Marjorie Main), fantastic songs (featuring the Academy Award winning "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe"), and a funny plot. Susan Bradley (Garland) decides to marry the man she has been writing love letters to, and travels with the Harvey restaurant chain to a town in the Old West to meet him. When she gets there, she realizes the romantic letters were written by his friend, the owner of the town saloon (played by John Hodiak). Susan decides to join the Harvey girls in setting up the new restaurant. When the town leaders try to scare the Harvey girls away because they are taking business from the saloon, Susan must help keep the restaurant in order. Angela Lansbury shines as the villainous saloon girl, as do Marjorie Main as the Harvey House cook, and Ray Bolger as the local blacksmith.

Something for everyone.
Even though the film starred Judy Garland, what I really enjoyed about The Harvey Girls is that it operates as an ensemble musical. That is, it gives features and spotlight numbers to just about everyone in the mammoth cast. This kind of thing is usually done for all-star films or stage musicals only, but back in 1946 MGM's roster of talent was strong, if not yet infamous. Players like hypnotic deadpanner Virginia O'Brien and dancer Cyd Charisse were fairly new back then, but this film gives them individual spotlights: not only do they both sing with Garland in the nighttime ballad "It's A Great Big World," but O'Brien gets to sing "The Wild, Wild West" (with comic blacksmith Ray Bolger looking on) and Charisse gets to display her ballet dancing opposite Kenny Baker's ballad "Wait And See." Marjorie Main sings bits of "The Waltz" and "The Train Must Be Fed;" Angela Lansbury is featured in *two* saloon numbers, and Ray Bolger gets to do some of his rubber-legged dancing at the Harvey House party. And, of course, it seems like everyone on the planet is assembled for the big, eight minute production number "On The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe." There's literally something for everyone- even the oil-and-water romance (if you like that sort of thing) between Garland and John Hodiak.

Bravo! Bravo!
This is definetly one of Judy Garland's best movies. I think the songs are great,and Judy is so funny when she holds up the bar across the street just to please her customers. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you have to see the movie to understand. I also loved the casting. Angela Lansbury was wonderful and the "villian". And for anybody who's a Judy Garland fan, you must see this!

That Garland Magic!
To those people who are new to a Judy Garland musical, excluding those who have seen OZ. I highly recommend mandatory Judy Garland Musical watching. No one in this life, past or present can ever compare to this stunning singer and actress as she was and still is the greatest musical star ever. Streisand attempted to take her place in the late 60's but lets be honest. No one ever could. Judy is in a category all her own. The Harvey Girls is just another example of her brilliance as entertainer. Watch "One Take Judy" as George Sidney affectionately calls her as he remembers in the audio commentary of her delivering one of her most memorable performances in one take, yes one take of Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. She generally recorded her songs in one take and could watch a stand in doing the movements before camera and step in and do it exactly in one take. Amazing. This film is one of those examples of that talent. The songs in the movie are all very well crafted with stunning results like the opening song, "In the Valley where the evening sun goes down" and It's a great big world". Virginia O'Brien adds some sass, which we miss later in the film after she has exited due to pregnancy. I always wondered why her character disappears without a word and this audio commentary explains all. Angela Lansbury is interesting to watch being that she was all of 18 years old and plays a worldly older woman to Judy's character and does it excellently. Its interesting hearing her do an American accent so well. She never looked more beautiful than in this film. Glorious Technicolor is very well utilized in this film. The restoration work that went into this film is amazing. It is crystal clear and the colors, oh the colors! For anyone who has never seen this film I recommend it greatly. They just don't make it like this any more. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This 1946 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story adds well over an hour of new material to the original tale. The reason is, while director Robert Siodmak, star Burt Lancaster, and an outstanding supporting cast are faithful to Hemingway's work, his story only takes up about 15 minutes of screen time. Burt Lancaster plays the doomed man sought by hired guns in a small town. Hemingway's bruisingly concise dialogue makes an early sequence set in a diner quite unnerving, but after the killers dispense with their prey, Siodmak turns to an insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) who looks into the reasons behind the murder. An exemplary film noir (complete with a fickle femme fatale played by Ava Gardner), The Killers is all mood and fatalism. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Siodmak Scores
Adapted from an Earnest Hemingway short story, The Killers is an exceptional noir classic, showcased by Burt Lancaster's screen debut and Ava Gardner's stealthy performance as a seductress. The film opens with two ominous hitmen driving into a small town who stop at the local diner. The title implies that the film centers on these two characters but the two hired guns only set up the realistic tone that pervades the film. At the diner, the henchmen interrogate, taunt, and intimidate the proprietor, a customer, and the cook. The opening sequence is tinged with deadpan dialogue, harsh lighting, and a foreboding warning that death is imminent. Charles McGraw and William Conrad play the torpedeos to the hilt. "Talk to me, bright boy, what do you think's going to happen? I'll tell you. We're going to kill a Swede. Do you know a big Swede named Ole Andreson?" (Lancaster). When a customer (Phil Brown) tries to warn the Swede of the impending doom, the Swede lying in bed can only lament that running will not solve his problem. Shortly after, the hitmen burst into the dingy boardinghouse room and blast away. The film then becomes a narrative flashback interspersed with an insurance agent's quest to unravel the circumstances of the Swede's demise. It seems that something far more dangerous than bullets killed the Swede years before- the unrequited love for a manipulative vixen named Kitty (Gardner). The film is brilliantly directed by Robert Siodmak who assumed direction from a disgruntled John Huston. Siodmak uses his European influence as he paints a canvass of dark moods and brushes in a desperate stroke of male vulnerability. The Swede may have been a tough boxer, but he is no match for the cunning Kitty. Edmond O'Brien turns in a credible performance as the insurance investigator who pieces together the events, places, and people that ultimately led to the Swede's death. All of Siodmak's ventures into the realm of noir were excellent (Cry of the City, Criss Cross, The Phantom Lady), but The Killers ranks as his crowning jewel.

Star-making vehicle
Bleak and darkly disturbing film-noir about a double-cross that really turns out to be a triple-cross in disguise. This is the film that made both Burt Lancaster (in his screen debut) and Ava Gardner stars and it is easy to see why by their sincere, solid performances. Ruggedly handsome Lancaster stars as Ole "Swede" Anderson, a former boxer turned criminal; gorgeous Gardner smolders opposite him as Kitty Collins, the duplicitous and manipulative vixen who gets under Swede's skin--with deadly consequences. Up to this point Gardner was wasted for years by MGM, her "home" studio, plodding thanklessly in bit parts and one-dimensional leads. It took a loan-out to Universal and a meaty, multi-dimensional part to finally make Gardner the star she deserved to be, and also revealed that there was some acting ability behind what surely must have been one of the most ravishing women who ever lived--the scene of her in a black satin dress and gloves is the stuff of male fantasies! (and probably a lot of women's, too!). Edmund O'Brien justifiably won an academy award for his portrayal of principled, meticulous insurance investigator. "The Killers" tells the tale of Swede's involvement with criminal kingpin "Big Jim" Colfax (Albert Dekker of "Dr. Cyclops" fame) and his merry gang in a masterminded payroll office heist. Kitty, who is Colfax's moll, deliberately misinforms Swede of the others' plan to cut him out of his share and convinces him instead to beat the others' at their own game and take off with the loot and her. Of course the lovestruck Swede agrees only to wind up the patsy when Kitty slips out with the dough and rejoins her lover Colfax--leaving Swede holding the bag. Wonderfully gritty B&W photography which serves perfectly to emphasize the doom and gloom of the situation, tight, briskly paced direction, stark realism, and the previously mentioned performances make this excellent viewing!

Cast Pins Story
Here's an example of an assortment of fine actors, and a dedicated and imaginative director, overcoming a sloppy script. Once the Hemingway material was used up the screenwriters emptied the sack of film-noir spare parts in an effort to keep this vehicle running: the fight game, the big heist, the prison cell buddies, the nightclub shootup, the chanteuse, the double-cross. But just watching the actors delivering their lines and director Robert Siodmak's lighting and camera work make it worthwhile. And you'll never see better black and white cinematography than here. Burt Lancaster is pretty awkward in his first film, but he gives a glimpse of the power and screen magnetism he later devleoped.

"Once, I did something wrong."
"The Killers" is based on an Ernest Hemingway story and begins with the cold-blooded murder of a humble garage attendant known as the Swede (Burt Lancaster). Two violent strangers arrive in the small town of Brentwood looking for the Swede. They lay in wait for him at a local diner, but when he doesn't show, they move on to his rented room. Even though the Swede has a brief opportunity to escape, he stays--waiting for death.

An insurance man (Edmond O'Brien) becomes intrigued with the case, and against the wishes of his superior, he begins an investigation. Just who was the Swede? Why did two professional hit men hunt him down? And why did the Swede accept his death as inevitable?

Director Robert Siodmak never loses a beat in this excellent film noir. The plot moves seamlessly back and forth in time as the investigation into the Swede's past continues. This structure gives the film a very modern feel. Burt Lancaster is in his element here as the Swede--a professional boxer who is forced to start earning money a different way when his right hand is broken. I always find that Burt Lancaster has a sort of blustery presence which may or may not work--depending on the role he assumes. In "The Killers", Lancaster is believable as the boxer who falls for Kitty Collins (the sultry Ava Gardner). As the Swede, Lancaster is a little naïve and gullible, and this role works very well for him. Plus Lancaster is murdered in the opening sequence, and the rest of the film is spent on unraveling the mystery behind the murder. The segmented delivery of the film ameliorates Lancaster's screen presence. I found myself swept along with the investigation, and I certainly didn't guess the ending. This gripping film kept me intrigued from the very beginning, and I recommend it wholeheartedly--displacedhuman

The Swede Lives Forever
Edmond O'Brien, the King of Noir. Ava Gardner, like a porcelain goddess femme fatale. Burt Lancaster as the victim in waiting. Albert Dekker, the villain from "Kiss Me Deadly". What more do you want?
The climax in the roadhouse with accelerating piano notes will have you grabbing your chair, the curtains, and the carpet all at once. A great noir film that never loses its path or pace, it's about greed and lust and all the death that follows it.
Look for an appearance by William (Cannon, Jay Ward cartoons) Conrad as a brutal hit man. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Kiss Me Deadly starts off with a bang--a young woman (Cloris Leachman) in bare feet and a trench coat runs along a highway, frantically trying to flag down help. In desperation, she finally throws herself into traffic, and the car she stops belongs to detective Mike Hammer. The pace never lets up--we're not even 15 minutes into the movie and there's already been a murder, a mysterious letter, an attempt to kill Hammer, and, of course, a warning to just stay out of it. Hammer, tired of lowlife divorce cases, smells something big and can't let it go. The film is exciting, about as dark as a noir can get, and full of skewed camera angles and mysterious whose-shoes-are-those shots. At the center, of course, is Mike Hammer, a detective so cool he can win a fight with nothing more than a box of popcorn as a weapon. Hammer knows his opera singers as well as his amateur prizefighters, and he makes the ladies swoon, but he's far from a conventional hero. In fact, he's rather emphatically not a nice guy; Hammer happily whores out his secretary-girlfriend Velma to cinch up those divorce cases and has a penchant for slamming other people's fingers in drawers. Even the bad guys know he's a sleazebag. ("What's it worth to you to turn your considerable talents back to the gutter you crawled out of?") Ralph Meeker plays Hammer's ambivalence brilliantly, swinging easily between sexy and just plain mean. Kiss Me Deadly is just terrific. Stop reading this review and watch it already. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (34)

One of the best of the genre!
This is easily one of the most outstanding pieces of film noir ever made. Ralph Meeker, (An actor who usually played bad guys.), plays a very anti-heroic Mike Hammer.

The Mike Hammer that Meeker portrays is greedy and sadistic. He takes great pleasure inflicting pain on others, and stepping on as many toes as possible to get what he wants. With a lead character as trashy as the one Meeker portrays you can only imagine how cold-blooded the rest of the people in this movie are.

"Kiss Me Deadly" is one of the more rarely seen classic detective pictures; this is a shame. From the very first shot of this picture, you can feel the crime-detective genre being pushed and beaten into directions no one has ever seen before.

There are some people who did not understand the ending of this picture. It's simple: "Be careful what you go looking for, you might not like what you find."

This is one wonderfully stylish, suspensful, and unusual motion picture. You owe it to yourself to check it out!

Kiss Me Deadly
Condemned by censors, panned by critics, and banned by the Btritish when it was released in 1955 KISS ME DEADLY is today universally considered one of the definitive and perhaps most perfectly realized films noirs ever made. Director Robert Aldrich and screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides, both having a mutual contempt for right wing pulp novelist Mickey Spillane and all he stood for, nevertheless smartly capitalized on the extraordinary success of the author at the time, basing their film on Spillane's book of the same name while taking such drastic liberties with his story, characters, and ideologies that the finished product would be nearly unrecognizable to serious Spillane fans. This point seems to be forshadowed, as film noir scholar James Naremore has pointed out, in the weirdly reversed opening credits which seem to stand Mickey Spillane on his head.

The movie opens with divorce detective Mike Hammer(Ralph Meeker) forced to pick up a barefoot and naked-under-a-trenchcoat Christina Baily(Chloris Leachman in her first screen role)who, as we soon find out, has escaped from a mental institution and is running down the middle of a remote California road at night. When Hammer is quickly run off the road by gangsters who torture Christina to death and nearly kill Hammer himself his interest is sparked. Hammer smells something big and the cut of something big is...well, big. He decides to give the divorce work a rest and devote himself, his adoring secretary Velda(Maxine Cooper), his Greek mechanic friend Nick(Nick Dennis), and anyone else he can get to do his dirty work for him to this new mystery. The film is rich with Cold War fear and nuclear paranoia as all the characters relentless focus of selfish greed is on "the great whatsit", the mysterious glowing box of material stolen from a nuclear testing facility. Mike Hammer's detective is totally enjoyable to watch although a distinctly unfavorable and immoral character. He whores out his secretary, Velda, without remorse to adulterous husbands to wrap up divorce cases, gets his innocent friend Nick killed by involving him in the case, is a markedly poor detective, and sadistically enjoys physically punishing those who get in his way.

KISS ME DEADLY is fundamentally wrapped up in the definitions of the film noir genre, containing all the elements--a stark opening sequence on a dark road, destructive manipulating femme fatales, low-life cheap gangsters, dark expressionistically lit night-time scenes, a vengeful (or greedy?) quest, maybe the best, and most anti-, anti-hero of the noir canon, and a dark mood of hopelessness.

An absorbing film
Besides the fifty years difference fact since this film was made, it's worthy to remark the clever script in that black decade that permeated the minds of so many artists all around the world.
This film , undoubtly belongs the film noir genre , but goes far beyond and becomes a clear warning about the implications of dealing with such dangerous weapon in the underworld.
In this sense, the dramatic wrenchs produce interesting and new events that feed and redefine the film noir for that historical moment. Don't forget the Cold War and the dark clouds of fear and hopeless still surrounded the mind and soul of many people in USA.
Watch this film . Robert Aldrich , with this film defined his artistic personality in the American Cinema.
And other movies directed by him , specially "In cold blood" , gives us important clues about his world's sight.

A classic...but oh, so grim.
Kiss Me Deadly is stylish and moves along nicely but whichever ending you choose, its unrelenting in its grimness.

I disagree that Meeker portrays Mike Hammer as a bad guy. He gives everybody what they've got coming; its just that he enjoys it.

Don't want to give away the ending but let's just say it has more in common with science fiction than film noir. Those expecting a happy ending should get a different DVD.

One of the great P.I. noir films, with the restored ending!
Robert Aldrich's 1955 detective thriller, "Kiss Me Deadly," came at the end of the American classic film noir cycle, and shows the genre at its most violent, surreal, cruel, cynical, and visually bizarre. It's the last great explosive moment of the classic era of film noir -- and I do mean explosive. This is one detective film, like "Chinatown," which you won't soon forget.

Aldrich and screenwriter A. I. Bezzirides took on Mickey Spillane's popular P.I. Mike Hammer, but aside from keeping the basic plot outline of the original novel, they completely changed the nature of the character in a very reactionary move. Spillane's Mike Hammer is a New York detective-avenger, a self-righteous vigilante who deals out justice when the paralyzed forces of the law can do nothing: he's a vicious knight on a mean-spirited quest to right wrongs through brute force. (The title of the first Hammer novel, "I, the Jury" pretty much sums up his attitude.) The movie relocates Hammer to Los Angeles and turns him into a shallow con-artist who only cares about his car and his looks. He's a lousy detective too, relying on knocking people around for information, often innocent inoffensive folks, and never really paying attention to the important details of the case. His detective work is entirely matrimonial, where he and his 'assistant' Velda put the squeeze on couples to blackmail them. Hammer's motto is simple: "What's in it for me?" Ralph Meeker is perfect in the role, looking as if someone carved him out of slab of meat.

No doubt, in this story Hammer is in way over his head...if only he knew it. He picks up a nearly naked girl (Cloris Leachman in an early role) who throws herself in front of his sports car. Later, they're run off the road, and faceless gangsters torture her to dearth and leave Hammer for dead. Hammer sets out to find out what's up; not because he cares what happened to the girl, but because he sniffs out big money and he'd like to get the guys who wrecked his sports car! Hammer finds himself in a violent quest to locate an object that everyone desires: a package called 'The Great Whatsit.' The Great Whatsit isn't a meaningless red herring or Hitchcock McGuffin, however. Its contents are the great surprise of the plot, and the perfect exclamation point on a movie taking place in a chaotic world that seems to be falling apart. I won't tell what the Great Whatsit is (and shame on the reviewers here who have!), but...oh wow!

And this brings us to the issue of the ending, and the only extra on this disc. (Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the ending.) For years, "Kiss Me Deadly" had a mysteriously abrupt finale that many people praised for its surreal, weird quality. This was how I first saw it. However, in 1997 the original ending was discovered in Aldrich's personal print of the film by editor Glenn Erickson and film noir scholar Alain Silver. Apparently, an accident involving a careless projectionist snipped off part of the ending, so what we had enjoyed and critiqued for years was actually a mistake! The new ending shown on this disc fortunately doesn't change the tone of the film: it's still pretty astonishing, filled with a brilliant use of light and sound effects. However, there's still something about that abrupt ending that gets to people. The DVD contains the option to watch this original abrupt ending so you can make up your mind which one 'feels' more right to you: what the director intended, or the mistake that many embraced as a stroke of brilliance.

No matter which ending you like, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a fabulous piece of brutal crime cinema. The photography is amazing, filled with weird and surreal images and crazy camera angles. The performances are all dead-on: Meeker's ugly Mike Hammer; Albert Dekker as the sinister and poetry spouting Dr. Soberin; Wesley Addy as Hammer's police acquaintance Pat, the sole voice of reason in the mess; Paul Stewart as a smarmy L.A. gangster; the late Jack Elam as freaky thug; and Gaby Rodgers in the film's strangest performance as the distant, weird, but ultimately very dangerous (to every living thing on the planet!) Lily Carver.

If you love detective films and film noir, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a great must-see classic. For a 1950s film, it is surprisingly violent and far ahead of its time. And either end will leave you shivering in shock. If only they had the guts to end films this way today! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

SO WATCH IT BUSTER
When I walked over to the classics section of my video store-I was suprised to find a MARTIN&LEWIS video of SCARED STIFF!

I thought it was a good show-with Jerry being as crazy as ever and Dean being as cool as ice!

The film is about these two men who get invited to a haunted house-and get almost killed and trapped!

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the crazy cats-and wants to see them get scared!

I just hope my video store will sell the rented ones to me-since its christmas!

A Martin and Lewis essential...
The reason why I found this particular Martin and Lewis film 100% pleasing is because it not only incorporates classic M&L antics, jokes and over-the-top characterizations of both men, it also includes a steady storyline that is easy and entertaining to follow. Although the seldom dull storyline is due to the already established original film "Ghost Breakers" the film is quite worth viewing for any M&L fan, especially since most plots of M&L films are slightly less stable. Therefore, along with such M&L films as "The Stooge" and "My Friend Irma" (which the exception of M&L not being 'headliners' in their first film), "Scared Stiff" is a M&L essential. However, for less entusiastic fans of the comedy team, the original "Ghost Breakers" release may seem to deserve more credit; personally, having not seen the original film in addition to my neverending admiration for M&L, "Scared Stiff" is a wonderful addition to my M&L video collection.

A Remake that Did Not Work
This movie is a remake of a 1947 Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard movie, Ghost Breakers. Not only is the plot identical, many of the lines are exactly the same. What worked with Bob Hope deliviering the one liners and playing off of the attractive and suprisingly stalwart Paulette Goddard does work well with the sophisticated Martin and inane Lewis.

If you are looking for a fun movie to watch with the family, try the original, Ghost Breakers with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Unless you are a big time Martin & Lewis fan, Scared Stiff is best left on the shelf

A Must For Your Martin and Lewis Collection
"Scared Stiff" though less mysterious, when it should be, than "Ghost Breakers" is a classic Martin and Lewis Comedy. Dean Martin is the usual smooth-talking, girl watching, under booked singer Larry Dodd teamed up with his clumsy fried Myron M. Mertz. Larry has a misunderstanding with a mob leader and Myron tries to defend Larry by taking a visit to the ganster's hotel. When Larry finds out and realizes the danger Myron is in goes to the hotel as well to try to save his friend. This is when the fun begins. Murder, mystery, witch craft and zombies all make for a delightfully funny movie. Be sure to count the many stars who appear in the film. Earl Haldeman [sic]as the elevator operator, Percy Helton, Carmen Miranda, Dorothy Malone (Peyton Place) and many more. This is a true value. Be sure to buy "Ghost Breakers" with Bob Hope.

Myron Myron!!
This is a fine piece of entertainment. The family loved this film. Martin and Lewis put their spin on the Bob Hope Ghost Breakers remake called Scared Stiff. It is a pretty good remake but with some differences. Jerry is a hoot as always! The only comparisons I found not to be as good as Ghost Breakers is the zombie, he was not as spooky in Scared Stiff but still it was good! I also preferred Paulette Goddard from Ghost Breakers over Lizabeth Scott (Scared Stiff). Both films are great. Scared Stiff has some things I liked better and so does Ghost Breakers. Get em both, you'll go Bonkers!! My daughter just laughs and laughs at Jerry Lewis playing Myron Myron as he does all his antics and silly voice. I highly recommend this film (Scared Stiff) as another great Spooky Comedy!! My favorite parts are: Jerry Lewis shows you how a zombie acts and then when Jerry gets scared it's fun to see his expression on his face. When Jerry does the Carmen Miranda imitation is a Hoot!! Ah and don't forget the surprise at the end!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Classic Bob Hope Comedy!!Happy 100th Birthday Mr. Hope!!
Bob Hope stars as an inept insurance salesman who sells the outlaw Jesse James a 100,000 dollar life insurance policy with hilarious results.This is a classic Bob Hope Comedy along with a great cast.By the way ,Happy 100th Birthday,Mr. Hope and thanks for the memories,we all love you!! ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Underrated western with two top Hollywood stars!
When lists of the best westerns are drawn up, rarely is "Vera Cruz" included. This is most unfortunate, for this 1954 Robert Aldrich adventure features Hollywood legends Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster at their peaks and is rousing good fun. It is also able to tell a story in less than two hours.

The story is set in Mexico, following the end of the American Civil War. Two men, Joe Erin, a wanted criminal (Lancaster) and Benjamin Trane, a civil war veteran, (Cooper) decide to work for the Emperor Maximillian in a job that involves escorting a woman of the court, Countess Marie Duvarre, to the port of Vera Cruz along with other soldiers. But they are unknowingly escorting something else: A large cache of gold. Everyone involved seems to want that gold for themselves and the journey is full of double crosses and attempts at theft. Lancaster and Cooper's characters get along through most of the film, but it is clear that Joe wants all he can get (As he states, "I'm a pig"). His greediness and double crossing culminates in a climatic shoot-out.

Ben, on the other hand, is a southern gentleman. He is more to himself and is more dignified, treating people with respect by saying "sir" or "mam". Another good example is when Joe, Ben and Emperor Maximillian practice target shooting. All three have excellent aim, yet Joe shoots it seems without aiming, while Ben and the emperor take their time. Cooper's character also is not seemingly too social or outgoing and seems to take his time thinking, while Lancaster blurts things out. This kind of regular guy character was what made actors like Cooper, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda popular with audiences.

If you have yet to see "Vera Cruz", you are in for a big treat at your local video store. Enjoy!

Vera Cruz-Grossly underrated
When lists of the best westerns are drawn up, rarely is "Vera Cruz" included. This is most unfortunate, for this 1954 Robert Aldrich adventure features Hollywood legends Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster at their peaks and is rousing good fun. It is also able to tell a story in less than two hours.

The story is set in Mexico, following the end of the American Civil War. Two men, Joe Erin, a wanted criminal (Lancaster) and Benjamin Trane, a civil war veteran, (Cooper) decide to work for the Emperor Maximillian in a job that involves escorting a woman of the court, Countess Marie Duvarre, to the port of Vera Cruz along with other soldiers. But they are unknowingly escorting something else: A large cache of gold. Everyone involved seems to want that gold for themselves and the journey is full of double crosses and attempts at theft. Lancaster and Cooper's characters get along through most of the film, but it is clear that Joe wants all he can get (As he states, "I'm a pig"). His greediness and double crossing culminates in a climatic shoot-out.

Ben, on the other hand, is a southern gentleman. He is more to himself and is more dignified, treating people with respect by saying "sir" or "mam". Another good example is when Joe, Ben and Emperor Maximillian practice target shooting. All three have excellent aim, yet Joe shoots it seems without aiming, while Ben and the emperor take their time. Cooper's character also is not seemingly too social or outgoing and seems to take his time thinking, while Lancaster blurts things out.

If you have yet to see "Vera Cruz", you are in for a big treat at your local video store. Enjoy!

A truly underrated western with great cast
Vera Cruz is an excellent western that was years ahead of its time, serving as a blueprint for plenty of westerns made years later. The story takes place during the Mexican Revolution after the conclusion of the Civil War. A prologue states that many Americans went south into the country hoping to become rich by prospering off of the revolution. One of these men is Ben Trane, an ex-Confederate officer hoping to earn some money to help out the war-torn south. He teams up with cocky gunfighter, Joe Erin, to help Emperor Maximilian transport a countess to the port of Vera Cruz. Joining them are Erin's gang, a bunch of adventurers, mercenaries, criminals, and hired guns, and a company of French lancers. Ben and Joe find more than they bargained for when they discover the countess wants out and they are also guarding $3 million in gold. This is a great western full of action with plenty of double and triple crosses. What makes it fun is that you never really know what the characters are going to do. Will Ben and Joe steal the gold? Filmed entirely in Mexico, Vera Cruz is beautifully shot and looks great in letterbox.

Gary Cooper stars as Benjamin Trane, the ex-Confederate officer who sees an opportunity to make a lot of money. He plays straight man to Burt Lancaster's Joe Erin, the amoral gunfighter who really only looks out for himself. Cooper and Lancaster are great together, with Burt stealing the show much of the time, but Cooper never lets him outshine him. Denise Darcel plays Countess Duvare while Sara Monteil plays pickpocket, Nina. Erin's gang includes Ernest Borgnine as Donegan, Charles Bronson as Pittsburgh, Jack Elam as Tex, James McCallion as Little-Bit, and Archie Savage as Ballad. The movie also stars Cesar Romero, Henry Brandon, George Macready, and Morris Ankrum. The DVD includes the widescreen presentation and a theatrical trailer. For a beautifully shot, underrated western with plenty of twists and turns and a great cast, check out Vera Cruz!

Pure Corn
Ok I understand that standards were different in 1954 and escapist entertainment was in vogue. Viewing Vera Cruz in that light is enjoyable enough. The campy performances of Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper are so uneblievably corny and yet difficult to stop watching at the same time.The Mexicans are all stereotypical cartoonish characters and the Emperor Maximillian's court scenes are like something out of the Roman Empire.
The movie is a great example of 1950's Hollywood corn and can be appreciated as such despite the cheezy screenpaly.

Before "The Dirty Dozen" there was the Dirty Duo...
Directed by Robert Aldrich pre. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and DIRTY DOZEN, VERA CRUZ is a western which sees the teaming of movie legends Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper as mercenaries in the 1860s Mexican revolution. In a novel twist Benjamin Trane (Cooper) is the good guy and Joe Erin (Lancaster) is the bad guy, but are both drawn together when a gorgeous Countess (Denise Darcel) offers them $50,000 to escort her and a fortune in gold to the Emperor's troops in Vera Cruz. Not surprisingly the two men's growing greed and jealousy over the cash and the Countess place them further at odds with each other, which really isn't the best of situations when you're in the middle of a raging war; as well as being pursued by a band of outlaws led by Ernest Borgnine.
VERA CRUZ is a watchable western that coasts a long way on star power but climaxes in an all too predictable HIGH NOON finale (Which in 1954 would actually have been a reasonably innovative wrap-up to spring on audiences of the era). The movie is also notable for an early screen appearance by Charles Bronson, in his final billing under the name "Charles Buchinski" playing a member of Borgnine's gang. An entertaining movie, but there's not a lot here that distinguishes VERA CRUZ from countless other westerns of the day. It's still worth a look. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

An Enchanting Movie
This is my favorite movie of all time. In todays movie market it is so rare that we find a movie that the whole family can enjoy, and this is one of our favorites! I've let all my friends watch it, and they love it too. I'm thinking about buying a few copies for Christmas presents.

A Vision of America That Never Was
There is a rural vision of America that is seen only in Hollywood or comic books. In this America, the majority of the inhabitants are the good, decent, sort who value family, tradition, and honor. The miscreants who intrude on this vision make no lasting mark on the lives of the good countryfolk. In STARS IN MY CROWN, director Jacques Tourneur depicts a post Civil war small town whose inhabitants look to their trusted elderly doctor (Lewis Stone) to care for their bodies and to an equally trusted parson (Joel McCrea) to care for their souls. What is startling is Tourneur's use of a rarely used device in film, the omniscient narrator (Marshall Thompson), who as an adult reviews his life and his earlier boyish self, well played by child actor Dean Stockwell. Despite the frequent use of this narration, the pace never drags nor does it intrude heavy-handedly.

The plot revolves around the twin tragedies of a typhoid epidemic that sweeps through the town killing indiscriminately and the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan as it tries to intimidate a proud black man (Juano Hernandez) into selling his valuable land for peanuts to the local Klan bigshot (Ed Begley). Into this maelstrom lies a subplot of the antagonism between the doctor son of the town's much respected physician (Charles Kemper) and the Parson (McCrea). Through the typhoid outbreak, the viciousness of the Klansmen, and the general slow-paced life of the villagers are the thoughts of the mature narrator often commenting on himself and the passing scene.

Most of the film is really a kaleidoscopic peek into a past that, outside the media, never really existed. The tragedy of typhus is real enough, however, as the audience feels the pain of the loss even when the survivors bravely shake their heads at their acceptance of the inscrutable will of God. The climactic confrontation between the parson and the Klan does not ring true as director Tournreur tries to make the viewer believe that beneath the white sheets of the Klan beats a heart that can be reached by shame. Still, movies like STARS IN MY CROWN reach the audience in such a way as to once again show the potency of the screen to make tragedy more human and evil more amenable to being touched by humanity.

Family All The Way!!!
I absolutely love this video. I have only had it for a short time and we have already watched it many times. This show is about a man who just becomes a preacher and enters a new town. His first sermon is in a saloon. Yes!Of course he gets laughed at but watch and see how he gets everyone quite.
Heart touching, fun, different.If you are looking for good clean family movies,try this movie.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MOVIE !

McCrea Classic a Family Must-See!
'Stars in My Crown' is over 50 years old, yet in it's humor, it's message of brotherhood, and it's depiction of small-town Western America at a time when religion was the true center of everyone's lives, this film has rarely been equaled!

The story is told through the observations of young John Kenyon (sensitively portrayed by Quantum Leap's Dean Stockwell, with Daktari's Marshall Thompson voicing Kenyon as an adult), who lives with Soldier-turned-Minister Josiah Dozier Grey (Joel McCrea, in one of his finest performances) and his wife, Harriet (Ellen Drew). Grey is kind, warm, and totally sincere, with a penchance for telling funny stories with a Message, rather than being 'preachy'...in short, the kind of Parson who can win hearts, as well as souls!

Grey's congregation includes some of Hollywood's finest character actors, including Lewis Stone (Judge Hardy) as a crusty old doctor, James Mitchell (Days of Our Lives) as his doubting physician son, Alan Hale (The Adventures of Robin Hood) as a Civil War buddy with a large family (including 'Matt Dillon' James Arness!), Amanda Blake (who would costar with Arness in 'Gunsmoke') as the schoolmarm, Arthur Hunnicutt (The Big Sky) as a local character nicknamed 'Chloroform'(!), Oscar-winner Ed Begley as a rich mine owner, and, in a remarkable performance, Juano Hernandez as 'Famous Uncle Prill', a Black farmer who experiences with dignity the racism of the time.

Director Jacques Tourneur, best-known for his gothic classic 'Cat People', shows patience and restraint, allowing the story to build under its own steam, which gives the climaxes (a typhoid epidemic and a Klan near-lynching) an emotional wallop. McCrea's scene with the incensed Klan members foreshadows Gregory Peck's confrontation with the lynch party in 'To Kill a Mockingbird', and is truly unforgettable.

'Stars in My Crown' is a rich, wonderful film that your family will cherish. It is on the short list of my favorite films, and is one that you can enjoy for years to come!

A real picture
This is a real view of another world. There may always have been this dichotomy, two worlds, two Americas. There was a reference that came to my mind regarding C.S. Lewis regarding Logres and Britain - two Englands in effect. The great dichotmy is the subject of relatively few works of art, and this is not one of them. This is simply a view of a time in the real world where the Americans had good preachers, and by golly, this one's a cracker. He just turns up in a saloon bar and preaches. If you don't think this is possible, I have to tell you this has been done by a few brave men, Arthur Blessett, David Wilkerson, and a few nameless wonders. The man in the movie, the preacher, is quite a character, loves his wife, fights an outbreak of typhoid, suffers terribly in this fight, and prevails, and finally rescues some wonderful black fellow from being lynched. At this point the movie is just too much and I suspect far too sentimental for most folks. I don't care, I loved this.

I like the movie because it reminds me of some very real people who I knew as a boy who are no longer here, but, as you might say, are now in glory - and of an America that sadly, no longer exists, but I sincerely believe, did once. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

From cattle chaos to homesteading order
This film is interesting because it shows how a city that was built and that prospered thanks to the driving of cattle from the SouthWest to the Middle West becomes a farming town. The fight between the drovers and the homesteaders is very well depicted, with its killings when the drovers deem it necessary to impose their domination. But the city is cut in two. On one side of the street the saloons. On the other side of the street the shops. The change comes when the homesteaders cut the trail with their barbed wire and when the shopkeepers understand that there is more money on the homesteaders' side than on the drovers'. The drovers push their last pawns, with the support at first of the saloonkeepers. But it means killing some homesteaders and the local marshall opposes it and imposes law and order. The drovers are driven out of the city. The city becomes a farming city and Kansas moves from a state that is crossed by herds of cattle to a farming state. This is possible, though never really said, because the railroads make it feasible to transport the cattle from Texas to Illinois without having to cross any farmland any more. But this future is made a reality because of the alliance of the shopkeepers with the homesteaders. We thus are shown history in its making.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Cattlemen vs homesteaders vs law
In this opus,town marshall(Randolph Scott)his his hands full keeping trail hands,at the end of a drive from treeing his town. Added to this is an enept sheriff(Edgar Bucannan),a hot headed farmer (Lloyd Bridges)and the town's saloon keepers -who will do anything to make a fast buck ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great footage of many early jazz legends
I have always found jazz performances much more captivating live rather than recorded, and although I can't travel back in time and see Louis Armstrong play during his prime, this video is the next best thing.

The makers of New Orleans did not waste the talents of the musicians, and a good chunk of the movie is concert footage of many of the giants from the golden age of Jazz including Kid Ory, Woody Herman and Billie Holiday doing old standards such as Basin Street Blues and Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans.

These performances truly convey the joy that enrapt the musicians as they played, and Armstrong in particular, is irresistably charming and funny as usual and appears for much of the film.

Unfortunately, Holiday is possibly the most wooden actress I have ever seen, but since for most of her comparatively short screen time is spent singing, it isn't a problem.

I strongly recommended this one to all fans of early jazz.

Who knows
What are the names of the classical music songs and the jazz by Woody Herman?

Silly plot, fantastic music
I bought this DVD blindly just because I'm such a fan of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and of New Orleans in general. The plot (what there is of it) is clichŽd and uninteresting, but the music is fantastic, and I ended up playing the musical pieces over and over. The entire movie is filmed on a Hollywood soundstage; if you're looking for shots of old New Orleans, look elsewhere.

B-grade movie comes alive via Satchmo and Lady Day!
For years I've wanted to see NEW ORLEANS, knowing that thestoryline wouldn't match the quality of the music, and now it is finally available...on DVD no less. After watching it, I can say that the movie lived up (musically) and down (plotwise) to my expectations. However, with Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong and Billie 'Lady Day' Holiday in prominent roles, the musical strengths more than cancelled out the thematic/cinematic shortcomings.

The musical footage of Holiday and Armstrong (seen in solos and duets) is worth the price of admission, and the entirety of the movie is fairly entertaining if you don't expect too much....

Amid the cliched plot threads... fortunately the racial stereotypes are quite inoffensive by 1947 standards (albeit Billie is cast as a maid). Due to the lack of available Billie Holiday footage alone, this movie approaches essential status, at least among jazz fans.

The DVD includes two bonus shorts: a young Louis Armstrong sings and plays in the 1932 A RHAPSODY IN BLACK AND BLUE, and Duke Ellington teams up with a VERY young Billie Holiday in the priceless 1935 short SYMPHONY IN BLACK. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Bogart at his best.
Stark sets, simple dialogue and a straight-forward plot help Bogart dominate this crime film. Every gesture, from his face to his hands, and the way he walks, and every word he says, makes an even bigger impression against this minimalistic backdrop.

The sets at the start are immensely black with long shadows in the dead of night. But as the film progresses and light is let in, through city and through country, things open up. It's a gritty world of immigrants and the unfortunate fear of people with names like Mendoza and Olga.

The character actors do memorable things with their lines and there is a more than effective use of flashbacks in the plot.

The music of a Romantic European orchestra, all heavy with strings and blaring brass, once again adds to a Bogart movie.

This may all seem rather tame and simple-minded to viewers raised on more recent crime films. But I find these old black-and-white pictures by Bogie and Cagney to be perfect in their own way.

Their "unrealistic realism" is less cluttered, more like art, but not pretentiously so. And they show an understanding of human nature, especially violence and the allure of the gun, which later films lack.

More than anything, this film has the greatest screen presence of them all, the dominating force that was Humphrey Bogart.

Good crime thriller
This is a decent thriller circa 1950 with Bogart in the role of DA for the jurisdiction. Well acted with a decent script it delivers. With language such as "hit" and "contract" now commonplace in the action/thriller genre it's a little odd to hear them used as if they were new term (and they were then).

The story centers around the breaking of a crime syndicate whose work consists of murder for hire. Much of it is told in flashback with few flagging moments. This isn't Bogart's best, but you won't be disappointed. This is a water-down version of a real life event based in the mid-40's in NY City. Another film, Murder, Inc with Peter Falk is a grittier tale of the same incident.

Look for Zero Mostel in a supporting role and for the work of Raoul Walsh who has several uncredited directing scenes.

A Huge Bogart Fan...couldn't watch the whole thing.
The plot drags. Bogart is magnetic, but seems bored, and the film tries to milk his presence instead of working the plotline or magnifying the other characters.

I actually turned it off, and I love to watch Bogart films.

Don't bother, unless you have to watch them all.

Amusing crime story
This obviously is not Bogart's most famous or memorable film, but it is an entertaining film noir that holds your interest from start to finish. They don't make 'em like this no more. The plot involves Bogart as a D.A., whose star witness in bringing the head of a murder racket to justice dies before the trial. In a lengthy flashback, Bogart retraces the case from the beginning, looking for some bit of testimony that might help him nail the killer before he goes scot free. Bogart is good as his usual tough-guy self, and it's fun to watch the erie black-and-white cinematography. While it's nothing to write home about, it is a good cheap thriller, much better than many of the big-budget ones that have come out since then. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sometimes lively, sometimes pokey, this Technicolor MGM musical inspires mixed feelings in aficionados of the form--except on one point. No viewer will question why "On the Atchison, Topeka, & the Santa Fe" won the best song Oscar for 1946. This is a brilliant, inventive song given an epic staging. Director George Sidney pulls out all the stops for this wowser--even Marjorie Main sings, an eardrum-testing sound. The real-life Harvey Girls were waitresses imported to the far-flung Fred Harvey Hotels, civilizing oases along the railroad lines out west. The fictional Harvey Girls is set in Sandrock, where the traveling waitresses are joined by a sort of mail-order bride (Judy Garland) whose prospective husband is a bust--he's a roughhewn rancher played by Chill Wills. Garland is in fine spunky form; unfortunately, her romance is with John Hodiak (as the owner of a dance hall), that uninspiring World War II-era lead. The film's other great Johnny Mercer-Harry Warren song is the unexpectedly melancholy "It's a Great Big World," performed in a lovely trio by Garland, Virginia O'Brien, and the young Cyd Charisse. The tall, deadpan O'Brien also does a comic take on "The Wild, Wild West" while shoeing a horse. With kewpie-faced Angela Lansbury as a bespangled dance-hall gal and Ray Bolger high-stepping through a dance solo, there are enough good people on board to keep the wheels a-turning "all the way to Californ-eye-yay." --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (38)

STUNNING! This HARVEY GIRLS DVD is "Metro-GARLAND-Magic"
Hats off to Ted Turner's crew and their partners at Warner Home Video for a simply stunning DVD presentation of THE HARVEY GIRLS. The film looks sumptuous. A thrilling example of Technicolor at its most splendid. Although THE HARVEY GIRLS is a thoroughly delightful entertainment, there isn't much substance to the plot. It seems to hardly matter, as the film's major virtues are its great score by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren, superb performances from a great cast, and of course, the peerless Judy Garland.

If anyone else had played the lead in this picture, it would have been long forgotten. This is Judy's show, all the way, and everything about it is designed to show off her immense talents.
She is at the top of her form here...looking lovely, singing gorgeously, dancing with aplomb, and handling both dramatic and comedic scenes better than anyone else could ever dream to. The biggest highlight of the film is the mammoth eight-minute production number ON THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND THE SANTA FE which ended up winning a Best Song Oscar. This sequence alone is worth the price of the DVD, and the Warner Home Video people give us an extra bonus by presenting the number separately in TRUE STEREO! Astounding!

The supplementary materials are vast and beautifully assembled. The commentary by recently-deceased director George Sidney was fortunately captured for this release, and his thoughts and reminiscences are entertaining and charming. There were four musical numbers intended for this picture which were cut before release. MARCH OF THE DOAGIES and its reprise and MY INTUITION are the three that were filmed, and they are included on this DVD, looking like they were filmed yesterday (actually they look TOO good to have been filmed in this day and age). The one unused song that was recorded but not filmed called HAYRIDE is among the more than 20 pre-recording sessions included on the DVD's "Sing Song Express". A captivating opportunity to be present on the Metro recording stages as they laid down these historic tracks. You can hear the starts and stops, the banter and laughter...It's almost like being there. The disc also includes a trailer.

Hats off to Warner and Turner for a splendid job well done, a VAST improvement from the once-impressive laserdisc release, which is now unwatchable in comparison to this DVD. Add to this the VERY reasonable price of this movie, and it can't be beat. Now the big question: "When will Warner give us MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, EASTER PARADE and the rest of the golden Garland catalog?" Let's hope it's soon. If this DVD is any indication of what those will be like, we are in for a treat.

Judy at her comedic best!
"The Harvey Girls" is my favorite of the MGM musicals. It has everything: a superb star (Judy Garland), a great supporting cast (headed by a young Angela Lansbury, with Ray Bolger and Marjorie Main), fantastic songs (featuring the Academy Award winning "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe"), and a funny plot. Susan Bradley (Garland) decides to marry the man she has been writing love letters to, and travels with the Harvey restaurant chain to a town in the Old West to meet him. When she gets there, she realizes the romantic letters were written by his friend, the owner of the town saloon (played by John Hodiak). Susan decides to join the Harvey girls in setting up the new restaurant. When the town leaders try to scare the Harvey girls away because they are taking business from the saloon, Susan must help keep the restaurant in order. Angela Lansbury shines as the villainous saloon girl, as do Marjorie Main as the Harvey House cook, and Ray Bolger as the local blacksmith.

Something for everyone.
Even though the film starred Judy Garland, what I really enjoyed about The Harvey Girls is that it operates as an ensemble musical. That is, it gives features and spotlight numbers to just about everyone in the mammoth cast. This kind of thing is usually done for all-star films or stage musicals only, but back in 1946 MGM's roster of talent was strong, if not yet infamous. Players like hypnotic deadpanner Virginia O'Brien and dancer Cyd Charisse were fairly new back then, but this film gives them individual spotlights: not only do they both sing with Garland in the nighttime ballad "It's A Great Big World," but O'Brien gets to sing "The Wild, Wild West" (with comic blacksmith Ray Bolger looking on) and Charisse gets to display her ballet dancing opposite Kenny Baker's ballad "Wait And See." Marjorie Main sings bits of "The Waltz" and "The Train Must Be Fed;" Angela Lansbury is featured in *two* saloon numbers, and Ray Bolger gets to do some of his rubber-legged dancing at the Harvey House party. And, of course, it seems like everyone on the planet is assembled for the big, eight minute production number "On The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe." There's literally something for everyone- even the oil-and-water romance (if you like that sort of thing) between Garland and John Hodiak.

Bravo! Bravo!
This is definetly one of Judy Garland's best movies. I think the songs are great,and Judy is so funny when she holds up the bar across the street just to please her customers. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you have to see the movie to understand. I also loved the casting. Angela Lansbury was wonderful and the "villian". And for anybody who's a Judy Garland fan, you must see this!

That Garland Magic!
To those people who are new to a Judy Garland musical, excluding those who have seen OZ. I highly recommend mandatory Judy Garland Musical watching. No one in this life, past or present can ever compare to this stunning singer and actress as she was and still is the greatest musical star ever. Streisand attempted to take her place in the late 60's but lets be honest. No one ever could. Judy is in a category all her own. The Harvey Girls is just another example of her brilliance as entertainer. Watch "One Take Judy" as George Sidney affectionately calls her as he remembers in the audio commentary of her delivering one of her most memorable performances in one take, yes one take of Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. She generally recorded her songs in one take and could watch a stand in doing the movements before camera and step in and do it exactly in one take. Amazing. This film is one of those examples of that talent. The songs in the movie are all very well crafted with stunning results like the opening song, "In the Valley where the evening sun goes down" and It's a great big world". Virginia O'Brien adds some sass, which we miss later in the film after she has exited due to pregnancy. I always wondered why her character disappears without a word and this audio commentary explains all. Angela Lansbury is interesting to watch being that she was all of 18 years old and plays a worldly older woman to Judy's character and does it excellently. Its interesting hearing her do an American accent so well. She never looked more beautiful than in this film. Glorious Technicolor is very well utilized in this film. The restoration work that went into this film is amazing. It is crystal clear and the colors, oh the colors! For anyone who has never seen this film I recommend it greatly. They just don't make it like this any more. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

From cattle chaos to homesteading order
This film is interesting because it shows how a city that was built and that prospered thanks to the driving of cattle from the SouthWest to the Middle West becomes a farming town. The fight between the drovers and the homesteaders is very well depicted, with its killings when the drovers deem it necessary to impose their domination. But the city is cut in two. On one side of the street the saloons. On the other side of the street the shops. The change comes when the homesteaders cut the trail with their barbed wire and when the shopkeepers understand that there is more money on the homesteaders' side than on the drovers'. The drovers push their last pawns, with the support at first of the saloonkeepers. But it means killing some homesteaders and the local marshall opposes it and imposes law and order. The drovers are driven out of the city. The city becomes a farming city and Kansas moves from a state that is crossed by herds of cattle to a farming state. This is possible, though never really said, because the railroads make it feasible to transport the cattle from Texas to Illinois without having to cross any farmland any more. But this future is made a reality because of the alliance of the shopkeepers with the homesteaders. We thus are shown history in its making.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Cattlemen vs homesteaders vs law
In this opus,town marshall(Randolph Scott)his his hands full keeping trail hands,at the end of a drive from treeing his town. Added to this is an enept sheriff(Edgar Bucannan),a hot headed farmer (Lloyd Bridges)and the town's saloon keepers -who will do anything to make a fast buck ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Robert Newton's over the top performance as Blackbeard
"Blackbeard the Pirate" was one of the films that really freaked me out as a kid. This is not because this 1952 film is anywhere near a great film but because of the way that Blackbeard (Robert Newton) meets his fate at the end. That might be the first genuinely scary thing I ever saw in a movie on a Saturday afternoon (after the transformation of Elvira Gulch into the Wicked Witch of the West). You would expect more from director Raoul Walsh ("Captain Horatio Hornblower," "They Died With Their Boots On," "High Sierra," "Battle Cry") but this film is subverted by the over the top, eye rolling, leering performance by Newton. Come up with the most extreme seafaring pirate accent you can come up with ("Aarrr") and you will still fall short of what Newton uses in "Blackbeard the Pirate" (and that includes Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"). The only thing that makes Newton's performance look okay is that of William Bendix, who plays first mate Ben Worley and is so miscast in the role that it makes his infamous performance in the titel role of "The Babe Ruth Story" look better in comparison.

Linda Darnell has little to do besides looking good as damsel in distress Edwina Mansfield, the comely captive with whom the 17th century buccaneer falls in love. Yes, yes, that is indeed Irene "Granny" Ryan as Alvina, the lady in waiting. Torin Thatcher (great name) is Sir Henry Morgan, the former pirate who is set by the King of England to hunt down Blackbeard. Just to make things interesting, Edwina turns out to be Morgan's daughter. But she likes Edward Maynard (Keith Andes), a honest lad who ends up as the ship's surgeon on Blackbeard's pirate vessel. By the standards of the time this is a pretty bloody little film, and you can certainly argue that Blackbeard gets his just deserts (shudder), but time and time again Newton's performance turns this into too much of a cartoon; even if the end of this film still freaks me out.

Blackbeard sails once again!!!.....the DVD
I have this movie recorded on tape, but I just now stumbled on the DVD on Amazon. This movie nearly outranks Treasure Island which is also one of my favorites. Robert Newton, fresh from his role of Long John Silver in Treasure Island, does a surperb job in the role of Blackbeard, the most feared of all pirates. William Bendix adds comic relief as Blackbeard's First Mate Mordey. Linda Darnell does really good in her role as Edwina Mansfield, and I forgot who did the role of Robert Maynard, but he does a good job in the role, and last, but not least, whoever does the role of Sir Henry Morgan, does a excellent job of it. I saw this movie on DVD, and I may purchase it off Amazon. If you didn't see this movie, you don't know what you're missing. I recemend this movie to everyone who loves pirate movies. Glad it's on DVD. Thanks Amazon.

Robert Newton's over the top performance as Blackbeard
"Blackbeard the Pirate" was one of the films that really freaked me out as a kid. This is not because this 1952 film is anywhere near a great film but because of the way that Blackbeard (Robert Newton) meets his fate at the end. That might be the first genuinely scary thing I ever saw in a film on a Saturday afternoon (after the transformation of Elvira Gulch into the Wicked Witch of the West). You would expect more from director Raoul Walsh ("Captain Horatio Hornblower," "They Died With Their Boots On," "High Sierra," "Battle Cry") but this film is subverted by the over the top, eye rolling, leering performance by Newton. Come up with the most extreme seafaring pirate accent you can come up with ("Aarrr") and you will still fall short of what Newton uses in "Blackbeard the Pirate." The only thing that makes Newton's performance look okay is that of William Bendix, who plays first mate Ben Worley and is so miscast in the role that it makes his performance in "The Babe Ruth Story" look better in comparison.

Linda Darnell has little to do besides looking good as damsel in distress Edwina Mansfield, the comely captive with whom the 17th century buccaneer falls in love. Yes, yes, that is indeed Irene "Granny" Ryan as Alvina, the lady in waiting. Torin Thatcher (great name) is Sir Henry Morgan, the former pirate who is set by the King of England to hunt down Blackbeard. Just to make things interesting, Edwina turns out to be Morgan's daughter. But she likes Edward Maynard (Keith Andes), a honest lad who ends up as the ship's surgeon on Blackbeard's pirate vessel. By the standards of the time this is a pretty bloody little film, and you can certainly argue that Blackbeard gets his just deserts (shudder), but time and time again Newton's performance turns this into too much of a cartoon; even if the end of this film still freaks me out.

Blackbeard the Pirate
This film is classic Saturday matinee pirate fare from 1952. The tongue-in-cheek coupling of 18th century lingo with 1950's hip slang is clever. Critics who bashed this film missed the point--it's simply to be enjoyed. It's a semi-farce,and should be viewed as such.

Excellent casting, charaterizations and script. Good seafaring musical score and great special effects considering the technology that was available at the time the film was produced. And Robert Newton, despite criticisms, is clearly the best pirate to ever grace the silver screen. Good perfomances by Linda Darnell, Keith Andes, William Bendix, and Irene Ryan (granny Hillbilly). Better than average in every way. But what less