Reviews (3)

One Of The Few Movies About Golf
This is a good biopic about golf immortal Ben Hogan, master of the repetitive swing and accurate beyond belief. It reflects the dramatic standards of 1951, however, and you just have to know that Ben and wife Valerie CRINGED when they saw some of the onscreen exchanges between Glen Ford and Anne Baxter.

Hogan himself hit the golf shots for this film, and you can easily see how masterful he was. The Beatles later wrote a theme song for "Follow the Sun," but there was never enough demand to substantiate a re-release of the movie updated with that musical addition.

Classic B&W Hogan
Hogan is such a mysterious man. Ford tells an adequate job of portraying him, aloof and intense, always polite and maticulously dressed.

The coverage of the accident and rehab is great. Thought maybe the opening of the caddie segment of his life could have been done with little more "up close and personal touch," since this seemed to affect Ben so much.

Sampson's book "Hogan" provides a worthy reference to read along with this video. Heard that there was to be a new attempt at Hogan's story with Kevin Kostner playing Ben.

Neat to have one narrated by Crenshaw or Kris Tschetter and those who actually knew the guy (for sure, Venturi!) Done right, could be great!

Follow the Sun
It has been many years since watching Follow the Sun. This is a motivational movie for any young golfer to watch. It is about faith and persistance.

As a young man this picture had a major influence on my life. When it is available for sale again, I will be the first to buy a copy. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

SONJA EMERGES AS HOLLYWOOD STAR
After One in a Million 1936, Sonja Henie was fast becoming a Hollywood star in the front rank. In THIN ICE she is teamed with her then-boyfriend Tyrone Power and the chemistry is explosive... It`s a Cinderella-story, but given the full treatment by 20th Century-Fox - it`s almost like an MGM extravaganza :-)

The skating is good and Joan Davis as a comedy relief is a winner. As a matter of fact I can`t understand the fuzz they make about the Astaire&Rogers musicals over at RKO... I much more prefer the Sonja Henie`s at 20th Century-Fox... They are never OVERLONG and never outstays their welcome:-)

The affair with Power never ended in marriage; he was bisexual and Sonja found out... When he married French Annabella she was reportedly deeply hurt though they remained friends up until Power died of a heart-attack while filming in 1958.

Great vechicle for Sonja and Tyrone to shine in
"Thin Ice" is a delightful concoction from 1937 and was the film that really catapulted Sonja Henie to top stardom at Twentieth Century Fox. Having the sparkling Tyrone Power as her attractive leading man certainly also helped at the Box Office. The two were destined to co star together twice in films and both times showed a real screen chemistry.

No expense was spared in this production and it shows in the truly lavish skating numbers where Sonja really shows her skill on the ice. Tyrone Power plays Prince Rudolph who masquerades as a reporter at the resort while romancing Henie's skating instructor character. Tyrone, I feel always shows a great flair for comedy and he is totally at home in this part of the handsome prince who just wants to get out on the slopes,do some skiiing and find romance.

The stars are ably supporting by wonderful character actors such as Arthur Treacher, a regular in the Shirley Temple vechicles, and the always excellent Alan Hale..a regular of almost every Errol Flynn film of the 30's and early 40's. There are a couple of largely unnecessary musical comedy numbers to showcase Joan Davis that tend to get in the way of the main story but they are not too distracting.

Tyrone and Sonja make a stunning couple and this production really compliments them both to perfection. Despite Sonja's lack of real acting ability she is well cast here and as always on screen she has a sweet persona that goes very well with a handsome leading man who has a bit of spark to him like Tyrone Power has on screen.

"Thin Ice" is a pleasant vechicle to watch.Twentieth Century Fox was expert at creating this genre of film making and used a regular roster of stars to fill them. I in particular enjoy when Power and Henie were co starred as they really projected old fashioned star power and glamour from the Golden age of Hollywood. Enjoy!

Sonja Henie & Tyrone Power On Thin Ice
THIN ICE(1937) was Sonja Henie`s second Hollywood film and among her greatest hits. Her co-star was Hollywood`s new wonderboy Tyrone Power. During filming they fell in love and almost got married. However, Sonja found out of Tyrone`s bisexuality and before he was confronted, rushed into a marriage with French star Annabella. Sonja and Tyrone remained friends and co- starred in Second Fiddle(1939) as well. THIN ICE has a Cinderella-like story and the stars and supporting cast(Joan Davis, Arthur Treacher and co) shines. Sonja is at her peak on ice in this film. Surprisingly, she d i d her BEST skating in her only one in color, IT`S A PLEASURE(1944)(RKO/ International) at the age of 32. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Bob Hope as the classic cowardly pirate
"The Princess and the Pirate" is one of my favourite Bob Hope comedies right up there with "My Favourite Blonde" and "The Ghost Breakers". During the war years escapism was high on peoples wish list and the period saw an influx of top grade pirate adventures set in far off lands on screen such as "The Sea Hawk", and "The Black Swan". Bob Hope, ever quick to pick up on the latest popular trends created his own mini classic here in "The Princess and the Pirate", with a roushing send up of the whole Pirate genre that suited his comic talents to a tee.

This film has it all, from cut throat pirates to beautiful maidens in distress, fantastic galleons filled with treasure, beautiful technicolour, swashbuckling sword play and at the centre the comic Hope in one of his famous coward roles filled with hilarious one liners. Of course no Hope film would be complete without a few Bing Crosby jokes and they are laid on in abundance here. Even San Goldwyn who produced this film comes in for a comic slaying! Bob Hope plays Sylvester the Great a second rate performing act who unknowingly gets involved with a group of cut throat pirates headed by the notorious "The Hook' played superbly by Victor Mclaglen. In a plot too convoluted to lay out here Hope unknowingly gets a rare treasure map tatooed onto his chest and thus becomes the target for the greedy pirates bent on retreiving the treasure. Along the way Sylvester becomes involved with the Princess Margaret (played by the lovely Virginia Mayo)who is being held as a captive by the pirates and who in a surprise twist at the finale, after romancing Hope throughout the entire film suddenly runs into the arms of a well known rival of Hope's whos name I wont mention here!!

The film is full of wonderful scenes and performances. Walter Brennan in a distinct change of pace literally steals the show as the wacky featherhead, the giggling pirate who tattoes the map onto Hope's chest. Bob Hope's quip upon hearing him giggling to "hurry up and lay that egg" is probably one of the funniest lines in the whole film. Virginia Mayo while perhaps not the best leading lady that Bob Hope had in his films is cooly beautiful as Princess Margaret but does perhaps lack a bit of the fire that a Maureen O'Hara type would have brought to the role. Bob Hope I feel has one of his very best roles here. Whether he is playing the wisecracking Sylvester ducking from cut throat killers or dressed as a cackling old gypsy woman to avoid detection on the pirate ship, romancing the Princess or deceiving the dreaded Hook and the govenor, he is in fine form full of the lovable quips and Crosby insults that were his stock in trade. Hilarious scenes abound throughout "The Princess and the Pirate". Stand outs are the priceless scene where Hope and the princess arrive at the boarding house in port to find a room for the night and find that the previous occupant had mysteriously "checked out" while leaving all his clothes! and the absolute rib tickler where Bob ends up sharing a bath with the corrupt governer La Roche (Walter Slezak in another funny performance) and tries to hide the tattoo of the treasure map from him, that one is guaranteed to have you laughing till you drop!.

The overall look of this production is lavish and no expenses was ever spared on Bob Hope films around this time. The colour is beautiful and the costumes, sets, and period flavour are top notch. For a fun filled, hour and a half of pure mayhem and Hope madness "The Princess and the Pirate", is unsurpassed. If you are a Hope fan like I am you cannot miss this one to see him at the absolute peak of his abilities and comic timing. Enjoy a rousing time on the high seas with Bob Hope at his cowardly best!!

a great and beautiful film!
This film is very good, so entertaining and colorful. It's packed, with glamoour, romance, comedy, and adventure. A little of everything. Virginia Mayo is wonderful in it and so is Bob Hope.

Classic Gut-buster
My siblings and I caught this movie on Sunday afternoon TV once, and laughed until we cried. Very silly gags interspersed with hilarious one-liners make this oldie stay fresh. I'm not someone who generally likes classic comedy, and I LOVE this movie!

Good, simple pic
Everytime Bob Hope made a picture in a costume, people would cringe. It doesn't have to be that way, as this movie is heads and tails above "Cassanova's Big Night". This is a fun, silly pirate movie that I loved as a kid, and still love now as a twenty-something unemployed male unable to graduate from a state college.

Total Brilliance!
This, in my opinion, is by far the best Bob Hope film I've seen. I have watched it repeatedly, and it never fails to make me laugh hysterically. I just love this film and would recommend it to anyone of any age. Just brilliant! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

DELIGHTFUL SPOOF OF GONE WITH THE WIND
This is fun indeed. Sonja is surrounded by toptalent such as Irving Berlin(but not his best score), Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee and Edna May Oliver. Unfortunately she is not given much to do outside her numbers, but it is apparent that she was on her way to become warm in front of the cameras as an actress. Edna May Oliver stands out as a warm and cynic aunt Phoebe. Sonja`s solo on ice is terrific; u can see she is in great pain because of her heart-aches and how she`s feeling better and throws off her sorrows through her work-out on ice. That`s an actress on ice. They say that no one has ever controlled an audience on ice the way Sonja Henie did it.

Her tango was initially edited, but Sonja demanded it back as a whole and she was the only star to contradict Darryl F. Zanuck. Her temperament and clashes with Zanuck are part of Hollywood-legend. Milton Berle once declared: "I wouldn`t say she controlled - but she had the wip!" hehehe...

A delightful little spoof for the year it was made
I find this little film utterly charming. It is very much of its time as it was made and released in that Golden Hollywood year of 1939 when so many wonderful classics were released. In particular this film homes in on the exhaustive search that David O. Selznick undertook to find the perfect Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" as the source for its own storyline of the search for just the right girl to star in a fictional movie called "Girl of the North".

At this time Sonja Henie despite a limited range as an actress had very quickly become a top Box Office attraction and was one of the great stars at Twentieth Century Fox just behind Shirley Temple. She combined supreme skating talents with a sweet persona that won audiences over and made her films for Fox huge money makers.
Sonja was often teamed with the biggest leading men at Fox like Don Ameche, Richard Greene and of course as here, the wonderful Tyrone Power. The two had already had a great success together in 1937 in "Thin Ice" and the two not only looked splendid together on screen but also had a really great screen chemistry.
In "Second Fiddle" they play antagonists who of course eventually fall in love. Being of the time of course no expense was spared on the production which even now has a special glow about it. The production numbers are lavish, and while the Irving Berlin score is not the most memorable it still compliments the overraul production.
Tyrone Power is as always a delight as the male lead showing the right combination of cheekiness and charm as the press agent trying to get Henie's school teacher character to come to Hollwood with him. The always excellent Edna May Oliver lends her usual great presence to this film as Henie's no nonsense aunt and she has a surprisingly wonderful screen rapport with Tyrone and some of the most delightful scenes in the film are when these two "square off' against each other.
If you enjoy musicals from this golden era of Hollywood or are a big fan of Tyrone Power or Sonja Henie like I am you will enjoy "Second Fiddle' Not the greatest musical of this era but an enjoyable hour and a half nevertheless.

Weak Irving Berlin score, but fine cast and production
If you're looking for typical Irving Berlin song hits, skip this one ("The Song of the Metronome" is one of the deathless ditties here). But if you're in the mood for an agreeable musical show, there are engaging vocals by Mary Healy and The King Sisters, and Sonja Henie's skating is impressive. The plot parodies Hollywood's "search for Scarlett O'Hara," with schoolteacher Henie brought to the movie capital by press agent Tyrone Power. Good supporting cast, especially Edna May Oliver as Henie's maiden aunt. The picture and sound quality are excellent.

Spoof search for THE GIRL OF THE NORTH - GREAT FUN
This is propably Sonja Henie`s best film. In this, her skating is at its best. The music by Irving Berlin however is not on par of what we are used to from that composer, but the lines,c costumes, set decorations, photography and supporting cast(TYRONE POWER, RUDY VALEE and EDNA MAY OLIVER) makes this one of the best 20th Century-Fox musicals of the 30s. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Munsters is Coming to DVD and This Should Too!
The Addams Family is one of my favorite television shows. I grew up watching reruns of it in the 70s and I thought it was hilarious and I still do. TV Land recently added this to their lineup and I'm very pleased about that. John Astin and Carolyn Jones are very good as Gomez and Morticia Addams and equally good is Jackie Coogan a former childstar who starred in the Silent movie The Kid with Charlie Chaplin and in this sitcom he played Uncle Fester and the kids are very good too especially adorable Lisa Loring who played Gomez and Morticia's daughter Wednesday. This tape has some good episodes including a very funny episode in which Gomez and Morticia's son Pugsley begins to act like a normal boy and does things like play baseball and joins the Boy Scouts so they get a child psychiatrist for him. The Munsters which is another of my favorite television shows has it's first season coming out on DVD and it will be available for purchase in August and I'm going to buy it but I really want to own the Addams family on DVD too and like The Munsters The Addams Family only had two seasons so it should be a cinch to put both the complete first and second seasons on DVD!

Not Your Average 60's TV Family!!
Remember the Addams family ? From 1964 to 1966, an entire generation grew up watching the antics and misadventures of this mysterious, eccentric and unorthodox family, who were polar opposites to the clean-cut, "Leave It To Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" families on television in the 60's. They were based upon the cartoon sketches of artist Charles Addams in the New Yorker magazine.The cast included Jon Astin as Gomez Addams, the father and head of the family, Carolyn Jones as his wife Morticia, Lisa Loring as their daughter Wednesday and Ted Cassidy as their tall, zombi-like butler, Lurch. The jokes and gags of the family are well known and always comedic. Gomez is a high-class lawyer, of Castilian/Jewish ancestry who loves to go on Safari and who is passionately devoted to his wife Morticia. He would become aroused whenever Morticia spoke French to him. Morticia is a dark, mysterious, intelligent, artistic and classy woman with not so average values. She has raised Pugsley and Wednesday to be so secure in their peculiar ways that the normal people are the odd ones to them. This occurs in the pilot episode, in which Pugsley and Wednesday are sent to school through the admonishment of a truant officer, Mr. Hilliard. But Pugsley and Wednesday prove to be too bizarre and difficult for Mr. Hilliard to handle. Memorable is the scene in which the kids become frightened after reading the Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" and Morticia deems the story too violent because a witch is killed in a hot oven. The second episode has the Addams consulting a child therapist to check on Pugsley, who has displayed "normal" behavior- joins the Boys Scout, plays baseball, etc. The Addams were a family like no other, with the exception, of course, of the Munsters, who were also on their own tv show at the same time (1964-1966). Available at Amazon.com are several episodes of all the seasons the Addams Family were on television. Sit back and enjoy the comic stylings of this unforgettable family. The shock that this must have been to normal families of the 60's are parellel to the same way the Osbornes on MTV continue to surprise their audiences.

The Original & The Best!
The Original "Addams Family" TV series remains true to the art of Charles Addams and the best cast is selected to flesh out his characters. Any remake today may have a larger budget & advanced F/X, but all characterization is only a carbon copy of the richness developed by the original actors back in 1964. 2 episodes are featured per tape, beginning with: "THE ADDAMS FAMILY GOES TO SCHOOL" The village truant officer, Mr. Hillard, gets quite an education when he pays the Addams Family home a visit to find out why little Wednesday and Pugsley are skipping school; "MORTICIA AND THE PSYCHIATRIST" Morticia seeks the counsel of a psychiatrist when Pugsley begins to act like a "normal" 9-year old boy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One of the better episodes.
This was a great treat. Morticia Joins the Ladies League is more primarily about Morticia and just great fun. Fester's Puntured Romance is pretty funny too. Especially if you are a Fester fan and want an episode that goes further into his character. A great addition to any VHS or Addams Family collection.

The best I've seen yet
These two TV shows were livelier and funnier than the previous ones I've bought; perhaps the series got better over time. I expected the show about a gorilla visiting the family ("Morticia Joins the Ladies' League") to be pretty hokey, but it was funny. "Fester's Punctured Romance" was great too. I love it when different characters (Addams and non-Addams) have a conversation in which they both completely misunderstand each other. It's the kind of running joke just gets funnier as it continues and snowballs. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

They don't make the most obvious screen couple--if you squint, you might think Stan Laurel had gotten together with Lauren Bacall--but their differences only serve to make this effervescent musical all the more entertaining. You'll Never Get Rich is the first of two that Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth made together (followed by You Were Never Lovelier). Astaire, who stars as choreographer-turned-soldier Robert Curtis, has rarely been looser, and Hayworth, as dancer Sheila Winthrop, has rarely been more graceful. As in Royal Wedding, Astaire also engages in some fancy solo footwork. Robert Benchley and Frieda Inescort provide priceless support as Robert's philandering boss and his clever wife, and Cole Porter composed the music, including "So Near and Yet So Far," "Dream Dancing," and the Oscar®-nominated "Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye." You'll Never Get Rich is timeless, escapist fun that also serves to prove that sometimes opposites don't just attract--they can make beautiful music together. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Reviews (8)

You'll never get rich
The best of two pairings of Astaire and Hayworth on film. Though Astaire and Rogers claim primacy amongst dancing partners, it is hard to imagine any actress who generates more heat and incandescent charm onscreen than Hayworth. As lovely as he is talented, she holds her own surprisingly well in a film that finds Astaire spending most of his time in a stockade for going AWOL or somnabulent mishaps and mayhem. His centerpiece number "since I kissed my baby goodbye" by Cole Porter might be his greatest solo number of the 40's, beginning as a sly and ingenious bit of improvisation. The film also benefits from a superb supporting cast with Robert Benchley as Astaire's unctuous boss who attempts to pursue Hayworth while covering his adultery by passing off an unwilling (bold plot device for the breathing world) Astaire as her boyfriend. Astair e was eager to work with Hayworth due to his friendship with her father (a fellow choreographer) and it's not at all hard to discover why. A goofy mid-war comedy well worth using to stave off any rainy day.

Definitely worth a look or two
I'm one of those for whom a second tier Fred Astaire film is still more enjoyable than just about anything without him. And there is no question that Fred is at his best in this one. Unfortunately, he just isn't given first-rate musical material around which to wrap his massive dancing abilities. His partner is the extraordinarily capable Rita Hayworth, who spent her teenage years as her father's dance partner in the years when she was both abused by him and when she looked completely Hispanic (plastic surgery, skin lightening, and dying her hair transformed Rita Cansino into Rita Hayworth). They really do make a nice couple, though Fred had the rare ability to make almost anyone look like they were born to dance with him.

The plot is fairly silly, but anyone who loves thirties and forties movies knows when to cut a film a bit of slack. The cast is not outstanding beyond Fred and Rita, with the notable exception of Robert Benchley. This was actually a crucial point in Benchley's career. He had throughout the thirties maintained a dual movie career as the star of a string of hysterically funny one reelers, in which Benchley instructed the public on "How to" do things, such as "How to Vote" or "How to Read." He actually made one of the first talking shorts still to be seen occasionally, "The Sex Life of a Polyp" (1928, a short that obviously couldn't have been made after 1934 and the imposition of the Code). Benchley also made a host of appearances in rather unimportant films during the decade. Starting with Hitchcock's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, however, Benchley began appearing in much higher quality films, including such gems as THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (in which he plays Ginger Rogers's nemesis) and I MARRIED A WITCH. Unfortunately, he died in 1945.

The film was also extremely crucial for the career of Fred Astaire. He had ended his mythic partnership with Ginger Rogers only two years earlier, and his two following films were both disappointments. SECOND CHORUS was probably the worst film in Astaire's career, and BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940, while containing many wonderful moments, teamed him with legendary tap dancer Eleanor Powell. Emending my statement above, these two did not mesh as dance partners. Powell was too individual a performer, and excelled as a solo dancer, not as part of a team. They also failed to generate any romantic chemistry. YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH, while not a massive success, nonetheless reestablished him as a romantic dance star, and made six more films before his "retirement" in 1946 (he broke it as a favor to Gene Kelly in 1948 when Kelly broke his leg and was unable to film EASTER PARADE--the film "unretired" Astaire and he went on to make ten more musicals before retiring as a dancer).

So, this won't be the greatest musical anyone has ever seen, but it certainly won't be the worst. No Astaire fan would dare to miss it.

BETTER LOOKING THAN A LOT OF COLUMBIA "CLASSICS"!
"You'll Never Get Rich" is the first of two musicals Fred Astaire made with Columbia's resident bombshell - Rita Hayworth and although it's light, breezy and brimming to the ceiling with comedy and music - ironically, there's not much for the lovely Ms. Hayworth to do, except tap one solo and dance all too briefly in a contrived song with Astaire. The plot focuses on Astaire's employer - Robert Benchley, whose roving eye gets him in perpetual hot water with his wife. Currently, his eye is on Sheila (Hayworth). But an unlikely affair begins, then stops, then starts up again when Sheila realizes she's falling in love - not with Benchley, but Astaire. How's it end? - with music, fun and good humor; all main staples of the Hollywood film musical at its zenith.
TRANSFER: Well, considering the pure garbage Columbia has been giving classic film buffs of late (Talk of the Town, You Can't Take It With You, The Awful Truth) this DVD is looking pretty snappy! The gray scale is accurately rendered - though several scenes look as though second or third generation film elements were used instead of an original camera negative. There is a definite grain structure to this presentation. Apart from that, the usual aliasing, edge enhancement and pixelization that has accompanied many Columbia titles is thankfully absent herein. The audio is MONO but very nicely balanced and - for its vintage - natural sounding.
EXTRAS: ONLY A COUPLE OF THEATRICAL TRAILERS!!!
BOTTOM LINE: The follow up to this movie (You Were Never Lovelier) is far more engaging musical entertainment but this film showcases Astaire's tapping at some of its very best and it's refreshing to see the lovely Ms. Hayworth in fine comedic and dancing form! Recommended.

The first A-H movie is worth a second look.
YNGR is the first of two films which paired Astaire and Hayworth as dancers, and I initially thought it was the lesser of the two pairings. But I have to admit this film- which puts its audience squarely into the start of World War II- is quite sharp, script-wise, and quite lyrical, music-wise. Astaire's dance director shows an early but distant attraction to chorus dancer Hayworth (and vice-versa), but is drafted into the Army (not to mention repeatedly banished to the guardhouse for various insubordinations) before they can live happily ever after. They were a sweet coupling (despite their 19-year age difference) and Hayworth, as others have mentioned, was quite a revelation as a tap and ballroom dancer. All of their dances are performances only, not love scenes (which are the duets I have always preferred), but they are sensational. The requisite 'big number' is the finale, the "Wedding Cake Walk" (you'll do a double-take at the last image of the tank-shaped wedding cake), and there is an ensemble dance at the start of the film called "Boogie Barcarolle." But two numbers stand out: Astaire's solo dance in the guardhouse, sung by a black jazz chorus (uncredited, but I believe called the Delta Rhythm Boys) and entitled "Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye." It has a marvelous grace and elegance, not to mention a sensational vocal by lead Delta man Lucius Brooks. The other number is Astaire and Hayworth's dress rehearsal "So Near and Yet So Far," a stunning rhumba which shows off Hayworth in a sheer black gown and expands into intricate layers of choreography. This is one of the last films to show Ms. Hayworth as a brunette; shortly after this outing she began doing Technicolor films, and her tresses went red forever after. Their follow-up film, "You Were Never Lovelier," had more of the standard romantic shenanigans and more lyrical dance numbers, but this first one was more screwball comedy and, in a sense, more of a challenge to pull off. See. Buy.

A fun, fast-paced and slightly risque comedy
Fred Astaire meets the draft in this pre-war comedy, featuring Rita Hayworth as a chorine who capures his heart, although she naturally already has a beau, presenting Fred with a challenge he must overcome between stints in the stockade for going AWOL and various other infractions of military law. This tart, well-scripted comedy is a little light on the dancing, but features some of the best, briskest dialogue that came Astaire's way, and a fine supporting cast, including the famous Hollywood "double-talker," Cliff Nazarro, going through his routine in numerous scenes. Hayworth dazzles, as usual, and Fred is in top form. Cole Porter's compositions for this film are not his best work (in fact, I don't think a single tune stuck in my head after watching this one), but they don't detract from the overall charm of this super-fun, class act classic film. Definitely recommended! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

SONJA HENIE'S DEBUT
The finale of this pleasant little diversion from 1936 is Sonja Henie's (pronounced Sunya Henny) triumphant professional debut at Madison Square Garden where, in real life, she made her professional debut in March of that year. The movie gives the cute-as-a-button Norwegian Henie a chance to skate and have a screen boyfriend in the person of Don Ameche (in real life, during this time, she was going with Tyrone Power). 20th Century Fox had to cover its rink with frozen milk because the refrigeration pipes showed through ice water. Executives also had to train chorus dancers to be ice skaters because they couldn't train ice skaters to do chorus routines! Fox paid Henie $100,000 to appear in this film, an astonishing amount for an unknown actress in 1936. In 1927, when she was fourteen, Sonja won her first world's figure skating championship; in 1936, she took her third; this movie is actually semi-autobiographical - Hollywood-style.

SONJA HENIE`S FILMDEBUT
One in a Million borrowed a lot from Sonja`s own life. For starters, Sonja`s father Wilhelm was Norway`s first World Champion ever - winning a bicycle race in the late 1890s. He didn`t have to give back his medal like Jean Hersholt`s character in the film though. The dilemma concerning professionalism in the film is also from Sonja`s life. Swedish ice-skater Vivi-Ann Hulten`s mother tried several times to diminish Sonja`s reputation and Papa Henie`s "unethical" methods. Anyway. ONE IN A MILLION is a showcase for Sonja and indeed Darryl F. Zanuck injected a lot of talent including the Ritz Brothers in order to secure the movie at the box-office. He needn`t worry. Sonja became a star of the first magnitude and was Queen at the box-office until 1939 when the skating craze had ended... It is a showfilm really, made like a music video 2 showcase its talents in the film. Not unlike THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES really... See my MORE ABOUT ME page about my thoughts of SONJA HENIE ... Read more

Reviews (1)

"Sorrowful Jones" will make you laugh and feel great!
I have loved this movie for so many years. Bob Hope has never been better than in "Sorrowful Jones". The little girl is an absolute doll and you will fall in love with her instantly. Lucille Ball has an excellent chemistry with Hope and that is why I suppose they made three other pictures together. The whole movie is just wonderful and I promise you that if you haven't seen it, you will love it. I have seen the original "Little Miss Marker" and all the remakes but this film is the best of the lot. Have some Kleenex close by also because along with being very funny, it will pull at those ol' heart strings too. Don't miss it! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Happy 100th Birthday, Mr Bob Hope!
Another fine Bob Hope movie, Bob Hope must have been at the age of 38 or 39 at the time. He's funny and quick with the lines. Fine delivery. Bob Hope says in this film as he flattens out his hand, "I got a long life". He sure does and we are glad he has given us 65 years of laughter. Happy 100th Birthday, Mr. Bob Hope!

Classic Hope and Carroll a definite plus
This is definite vintage Hope with the added benefit of the beautiful and talented Madeleine Carroll along for the ride. Legend had it that Hope constantly mentioned on his successful radio show how beautiful he found Madeleine Carroll and that any leading man in Hollywood would be lucky to work with her. Madeleine apparently was so touched by this unexpected adulation from the great comic that she called up Hope and said "Hey Bob I think it's time we made a movie together!" Needless to say Bob was happy to oblige and the result is the classic "My Favorite Blonde"
It is without doubt one of Bob Hope's best mixing his usual lovable coward character in with murders, intrigue and a priceless cross country race keeping one step ahead of hit men, police and you name it.
The one liners come fast and furious and will have you laughing from start to finish. The on screen chemistry between Hope and Carroll really works and Madeleine really surprises in holding her own against Hope's scene stealing techniques. Favorite moments are when Bob is accidently dragged in to speak to a room full of women who believe he is a child specialist. It is priceless as is the terrific scene of the "staged" domestic dispute which the pair stage to be "rescued" by the police from an apartment they are cornered in. it will have you laughing till you cry. Bob's comedy act side kick "Percy" the penguin also gets in on the act and has an hilarious scene in a sleeping car of a train when he is dressed in monogrammed pyjamas and night cap!!
Being a Hope film of the early 40's needless to say it has a very [costly] look and benefits from a terrific supporting cast including Gale Sondergaard and the always excellent George Zucco in his usual villanious character. Of course a Hope film wouldn't be complete without its share of Crosby jokes and a very funny little cameo by Bing Crosby himself just prior to the classic "bus scene" which will really have you laughing.
Even in the madcap proceedings there is still time for a bit of glamour and being an absolute fan of the glamour of old Hollywood I can say that never has Madeleine Carroll looked more beautiful than in this film, even despite the fact she spends most of the film on the run! Her Edith head fashions and beautiful Fur Coat make her look like a real glamour Goddess.

"My Favourite Blonde" is a classic of its genre and if you like fast paced comedies with no let up this is the film for you. I know I love it and never tire of its humour. Now if only someone would "rescue" another Hope "Favorite" in this case "My Favorite Brunette" which for too long has been lost in the horrid public domain arena where we can only see it in terrible foggy versions. That is another classic that deserves better.
Enjoy "My Favorite Blonde" she is still a beauty after all these years!

Memories for the grandchildren
Well, I watched this with a couple of the grandchildren--sub-teens. The plot was out-of date, but they howled at the movie's slapstick. They left the screen for a trip to the bathroom when Madeleine and Bob engaged in some "mushy stuff." That's just the way it was when I saw it in 1942. This Hope film provides a bonus which is the performance of Madeleine Carroll. Her acting skills are revealed in several scenes with Hope when she needs to save them by belting out several lines of American slang. Take it from my grandchildren; five years ago they would have claimed that MY FAVORITE BLONDE was a "bad" [super good] movie. Besides there wasn't too much huggin' and kissin' in between the good parts.

Great Hope Spy Farce
My Favorite Blonde is a hilarious edition to the My Favoirte Series. Madeline Caroll makes an excellent Hope cohort as does a certain penguin. I used the think that Bob Hope movies were all horribly dated but this movie proves that Hope's brand of comedy still works. I only wish they would finally re-release My Favorite Spy so that I could own the full series.

Funny Spy Spoof
In this film Bob plays an entertainer with the so familiar weaknes ofr a pretty face. Gullable guy falls for every trick in the book as girl uses him as cover for secert activities underground. They dodge knives and bullets through out and fall in love of course. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Film noir... western style!
A dynamite western -- a film noir, actually, with Stetson hats and horses -- featuring Dick Powell as a wisecracking, no nonsense government agent who's gone undercover in a crooked gambling town to find out who's been stealing shipments of gold, while bumping off Army soldiers as well. A great script, with plenty of snappy dialogue and clever misdirection, as well some hard, gnarly action, and one really brutal fist fight. I've rented this one on several occasions, and enjoyed watching it every time. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Bob Hope as the classic cowardly pirate
"The Princess and the Pirate" is one of my favourite Bob Hope comedies right up there with "My Favourite Blonde" and "The Ghost Breakers". During the war years escapism was high on peoples wish list and the period saw an influx of top grade pirate adventures set in far off lands on screen such as "The Sea Hawk", and "The Black Swan". Bob Hope, ever quick to pick up on the latest popular trends created his own mini classic here in "The Princess and the Pirate", with a roushing send up of the whole Pirate genre that suited his comic talents to a tee.

This film has it all, from cut throat pirates to beautiful maidens in distress, fantastic galleons filled with treasure, beautiful technicolour, swashbuckling sword play and at the centre the comic Hope in one of his famous coward roles filled with hilarious one liners. Of course no Hope film would be complete without a few Bing Crosby jokes and they are laid on in abundance here. Even San Goldwyn who produced this film comes in for a comic slaying! Bob Hope plays Sylvester the Great a second rate performing act who unknowingly gets involved with a group of cut throat pirates headed by the notorious "The Hook' played superbly by Victor Mclaglen. In a plot too convoluted to lay out here Hope unknowingly gets a rare treasure map tatooed onto his chest and thus becomes the target for the greedy pirates bent on retreiving the treasure. Along the way Sylvester becomes involved with the Princess Margaret (played by the lovely Virginia Mayo)who is being held as a captive by the pirates and who in a surprise twist at the finale, after romancing Hope throughout the entire film suddenly runs into the arms of a well known rival of Hope's whos name I wont mention here!!

The film is full of wonderful scenes and performances. Walter Brennan in a distinct change of pace literally steals the show as the wacky featherhead, the giggling pirate who tattoes the map onto Hope's chest. Bob Hope's quip upon hearing him giggling to "hurry up and lay that egg" is probably one of the funniest lines in the whole film. Virginia Mayo while perhaps not the best leading lady that Bob Hope had in his films is cooly beautiful as Princess Margaret but does perhaps lack a bit of the fire that a Maureen O'Hara type would have brought to the role. Bob Hope I feel has one of his very best roles here. Whether he is playing the wisecracking Sylvester ducking from cut throat killers or dressed as a cackling old gypsy woman to avoid detection on the pirate ship, romancing the Princess or deceiving the dreaded Hook and the govenor, he is in fine form full of the lovable quips and Crosby insults that were his stock in trade. Hilarious scenes abound throughout "The Princess and the Pirate". Stand outs are the priceless scene where Hope and the princess arrive at the boarding house in port to find a room for the night and find that the previous occupant had mysteriously "checked out" while leaving all his clothes! and the absolute rib tickler where Bob ends up sharing a bath with the corrupt governer La Roche (Walter Slezak in another funny performance) and tries to hide the tattoo of the treasure map from him, that one is guaranteed to have you laughing till you drop!.

The overall look of this production is lavish and no expenses was ever spared on Bob Hope films around this time. The colour is beautiful and the costumes, sets, and period flavour are top notch. For a fun filled, hour and a half of pure mayhem and Hope madness "The Princess and the Pirate", is unsurpassed. If you are a Hope fan like I am you cannot miss this one to see him at the absolute peak of his abilities and comic timing. Enjoy a rousing time on the high seas with Bob Hope at his cowardly best!!

a great and beautiful film!
This film is very good, so entertaining and colorful. It's packed, with glamoour, romance, comedy, and adventure. A little of everything. Virginia Mayo is wonderful in it and so is Bob Hope.

Classic Gut-buster
My siblings and I caught this movie on Sunday afternoon TV once, and laughed until we cried. Very silly gags interspersed with hilarious one-liners make this oldie stay fresh. I'm not someone who generally likes classic comedy, and I LOVE this movie!

Good, simple pic
Everytime Bob Hope made a picture in a costume, people would cringe. It doesn't have to be that way, as this movie is heads and tails above "Cassanova's Big Night". This is a fun, silly pirate movie that I loved as a kid, and still love now as a twenty-something unemployed male unable to graduate from a state college.

Total Brilliance!
This, in my opinion, is by far the best Bob Hope film I've seen. I have watched it repeatedly, and it never fails to make me laugh hysterically. I just love this film and would recommend it to anyone of any age. Just brilliant! ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Avoid the "moor," but don't miss this classic tale!
Finally a pristine version of the 1939 Twentieth Century Fox classic, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," has been released on DVD -- fully restored, with unsurpassed audio and video quality.
No contemporary film comes close to the suspense you will encounter in this Darryl Zanuck production. Life-long friends Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson) play off each other to perfection in "Hound." What is amazing is that, in actuality, Bruce was three years younger than Rathbone!
There are myriad twists and turns in this thrilling tale. From the opening scene of Sir Charles Baskerville's death to the moment when Holmes reveals the name of Sir Charles' murderer, this classic film will not disappoint.
A stellar supporting cast, lead by horror villains Lionel Atwill (Dr. Mortimer) and John Carradine (Barryman), delights for the entire 80-minutes. In fact, Atwill's Dr. Mortimer is so innately menacing, that it is almost a disappointment that he is not found to be Sir Charles' murderer at film's end. Alas, Holmes' fans are well aware that Atwill returns in the 1942 Universal film, "The Secret Weapon," as Professor Moriarty. As a side note, Atwill was blacklisted by the major studios (Fox, Warners, MGM, and Paramount) after it was made public that he conducted an "orgy" at his Brentwood estate in 1941; thus only the studio known for horror films, Universal, would give him work in the 40s -- a waste of tremendous talent.
Do yourself a favor and purchase "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," (also on MPI DVD) in addition to this classic tale of suspense.

Watson's finest hour on film
Many actors have tried, but none has surpassed Basil Rathbone's embodiment of Sherlock Holmes. The razor-sharp profile, hawk nose and cocaine eyes seem torn straight from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle. This is, undeniably, one of the great pairings of actor and character in film history.

Odd to think, then, that the first Holmes film with Rathbone and his faithful Dr. Watson, Nigel Bruce, gave neither man starring credit. That honor on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" went to the romantic leading man, Richard Greene.

The lapse in logic was quickly corrected, with Rathbone and Bruce going on to top-bill 13 famed Holmes movies from 1939-46.

The UCLA Film and TV Archive has rescued the films from public domain hell, in a restoration that aims to return them to 35mm theatrical condition using original elements and acetate copies. The results as seen on MPI's DVDs are indeed impressive, with shadows and light elegant and edgy. Wear is within reason, and the audio suffices.

Film historians' commentaries have been added to some of the feature films, explaining, for instance, just how the 19th century detectives ended up battling Nazis in WWII.

The MPI collection -- whose titles are available separately and in sets -- started rolling out in the fall. The series concludes at the beginning, with "Baskervilles" and "Adventures," both made by Fox before Universal took over and "modernized" the Doyle stories. The Uni films have their moments -- "Woman in Green," for example, is grand and grisly entertainment -- but there's no topping these initial releases, set in Victorian times.

"Baskervilles" remains one of the most famous and fondly remembered Holmes films, but it is largely Dr. Watson's tale. Nigel Bruce's Watson quickly became a buffoon in the series, but here he is not to be trifled with. (Rathbone later defended his friend and co-star against critics, saying a "less lovable" actor would have ruined the series.)

The restoration puts Fox's amazing sets on full display, including the fog-engulfed moor where the hound fillets his victims. The commentator, chipper British author David Stuart Davies, churns out minutiae and unmasks plot inconsistencies.

HOUND: A Child's Memory
I first saw this movie on TV when I was 9 or 10 in 1963-64. We lived in Los Angeles, and local channel 9 would run the SAME movie, Monday through Friday, for one week at 7:00 or 8:00 on its "Million Dollar Movie" program (a ridiculous title nowadays). Anyway, I watched it all five times in one week and adored it. I didn't see it again until its special, limited re-release to theaters in 1975; by then, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Sherlockian. Remarkably, my 10-year-old mind hadn't exaggerated the greatness of Rathbone or this film. It remained marvelous!

Now it's available on DVD...and what a wonderful transfer. And the commentary is superb. I haven't yet watched it five nights in a row, but it certainly deserves that kind of attention. Highly recommended!

See where Scooby and Shaggy got their Inspiration!
This film isn't perfect: the production values are a bit low and the supporting cast weak; it looks and feels like an early talkie. But that said, The Hound of the Baskervilles is great fun for the whole family. If you have kids in the 7-15 year old range, watching old movies like this is a great alternative to most of the garbage put out today. Basil Rathborne is wonderful in the lead role, and this is one of the finer screen adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous literary character. I would definitely recommend adding this to your DVD collection.

Not Perfect, But Excellent DVD
You will read dozens of reviews of the movie, I'm sure, so I'll leave my review of the movie to two words: "LOVED IT."

DVD quality is really quite good; of course, leaps and bounds beyond ANYTHING available to the home market EVER before. Nice, clean packaging with a thin-looking but richly written booklet included inside. The disc has the photo from the front imprinted, with almost a purple tint... for nighttime I suppose.

As I understand, this restoration was done a number of years ago, and was not digital... I believe it, although I will say I believe the restorers squeezed every square inch of detail out of their source material possible in the analog domain.

First, the flaws: there are still occasional nicks and scratches, although not many more than I see in my DVD of "It's A Wonderful Life."

The sound has some low-level hiss, and there is occasional pop and crackle, only occasionally (once? Twice?) of any significant volume.

About 18 minutes in there appears to be some minor damage, possibly the degrading of the nitrate print they were working from?

Additionally, there are about three places in the film where a single frame appears to be warped, creating a "blip" in the flow of the motion on the screen.

Also odd was my first playing: when it came to the end of the 9th chapter, instead of going on to the 10th it jumped back to the beginning of the 9th! This might have been my player, as I was unable to reproduce this either by scanning back or by playing through the movie from the beginning.

One other oddity is that in multiple places the background seems to "pulse," usually getting slightly darker, and it appears to be two "pulses" per second. Perhaps the processor was averaging contrasts, or perhaps it was the DVD compression, slowly filling in the right computations... I am not sure, I have never seen it before, and it seemed to not at ALL affect the main action / elements on the screen. I also was not aware of it when the camera was in motion, only when we were stationary observing somebody or something.

A minor annoyance was the darkness of the train before we go "inside" to see Holmes & Watson... I'm guessing this was stock footage, a condition of the original print and not something from a historical standpoint that you would WANT to correct.. But the train looks like it's going at night yet the window in Holmes & Watson's car shows a midday countryside passing by. Just odd.

Now, the plusses: this print is beautiful! The detail makes it look like a high-quality print from the 50s or 60s, from Holmes' clothes to the lace on the headrest of the train seats. This is not an easy film to reproduce, with filming having started at the end of '38. The blackest blacks to the whitest whites are there, almost always perfectly balanced. Some shots with the right combination of light and shadow truly are breathtaking. So much fog, combined with pipe smoke and low lighting... an ultimate stress test for DVD compression to reproduce, yet it looks very good here. I cannot imagine you have EVER seen this film look this good, seriously.

The soundtrack, despite its minor low-level noise, is amazing for the time, with the noise present being so low, apparently without any artificial-sounding noise gates or expanders. Crank up the volume in quiet scenes and you will hear the papers being rustled, or the crickets in the distance, of the rustling of clothes. 30s soundtracks often sound HORRIBLE on music, and while the opening 20th Century Fox fanfare sounds like a copy of a copy, the music in the body of the movie itself appears to be clean and undistorted. I noticed it most on the closing credits, which genuinely surprised me with its lack of harshness or square waves. The ending music is downright enjoyable to listen to!

The dialog is both crisp, clear, and with respectable lower tones. You are not going to get earth shattering bass here, but if you are expecting typical thin 30s audio, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Every word is perfectly audible and in balance... I did not feel like I had to turn the volume up and down, nor did it sound "squashed." No "pull-up" of the noise floor, either, indicating no automatic gain controls! VERY nice.

For you audio nuts, I didn't put a spectrum analyzer on it, but to my ears, I was hearing undistorted highs over 5KHz, likely over 6K, maybe over 7, and it MIGHT be making it to 8K. I think it's gone by 10K, but STILL... I was amazed to hear the high frequency harmonics on paper rustling, metallic objects rattling together... and crisp "ch"s and "Th"s and the like!

One more comment, on the audio commentary: outstanding. Really, really good and absolutely worth the time to listen to and watch. A good balance of history, biography, and literary info. Hats off to Mr. Davies! You did a great job.

IN CLOSING: if you have ever wanted to own this movie, even if you already own another copy of it, BUY THIS ONE (from MPI Home Video). I cannot imagine you being disappointed.

For me, this is my first purchase... if the first movie from 1939 looks and sounds this good without the advantages of digital restoration... what do the others look like! Wow, I can't wait to order them!!! :) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

They Really Are a Screa-um!
"The Addams Family" is a great treat to watch on video. The family famous is back with all it's glory on these videos. This is one of the few ways to see the show these days since TV Land dropped it in 1998. Though it was taped in SLP form, there wasn't much difference, partly because SP and SLP/EP modes record mostly in the same condition if it's in B&W. Now, for the episodes them selves:

"The Addams Family Tree"
Pugsley and Wednesday insulted at a neighbors party for their strangness, and according to the neighbors, 'they have no class'. The Addams quickly get a geniologist to find out their history, and find out some interesting things about themselves and their neighbor. Grandmama (BLOSSOM ROCK) does not appear in this episode, which is quite strange, since she probably knows the most about their history.

"Gomez, The Polotician"
Election fever grips the household. Gomez backs a man who is for the draining of swamps. The Addams are famous for backing many losers during campaigns ("Lincoln backed for our help. But we went for old Douglas!" says Gomez). The Addams go to extremes, and Uncle Fester even makes himself lightup. In the end, their canidate joins the traditions of Dewy, Douglas, and others, and becomes a loser.

All in all, these were great episodes!

Pretty good
These two shows were both pretty good, though not my favorites. I enjoyed the return of Mr. Hilliard, the emergence of Kitty Kat (their pet lion), and the way the Addams family terrified one or two people who rather deserved it. Some good parts: Wednesday and Pugsley's scuffle with an obnoxious boy (in which they get the better of him); Morticia and Gomez's swordplay; the feeding of the piranhas; and Morticia's beloved plants strangling each other. I also loved it when Gomez told Morticia not to worry that Hilliard would drain the swamps -- all politicians do exactly the opposite of their campaign promises!

The old Addams family show doesn't have the gloss and style of the movies and cartoons, but it's charming and funny. The laugh track, though, is unnecessary and too loud. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fiendishly Fun
Anybody who is a fan of the Addams family has to see Lurch learn to dance. It's so comical to see everyone in the family teaching
Lurch to dance. You have to see it to believe it! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Swimming Pool Lady Does It Again!
Esther Williams AKA The Million Dollar Mermaid stars in this MGM musical where she among other young ladies join the Navy. Although this film wasn't on a high budget, done by a popular director, or had alot of popular actors, Esther uses her charm to pull the movie together and bring the classic boy meets girl story to life!

Esther plays Whitney Young who leaves her fiance at the alter and joins the Navy. There she meets two other young ladies who are also having trouble with love. One was left at the alter, and one just can't be in the right place at the right time.

They decide they want to travel the world and forget about men altogether, that is until Whitney meets and falls in love with her Lt. Commander. From then on, all she wants to do is win him over whatever the cost. The other two girls play out their own stories of how they find happiness.

No Esther Williams movie would be complete without a swimming scene, and this film is no exception. Esther joins two young children in the pool and creates a very cute performance with some great little swimmers complete with a toy ladder and sailboat.

Just when the girls think they are going to give up, each find their happiness in a corny, but almost tearful conclusion. I really enjoy this film when I want to get away from it all. Skirts Ahoy! may not have been a blockbuster hit, but it definitely is an enjoyable film that can be watched over and over again.

Good family fun
It is hard to find movies that you can trust showing to your children. Besides it being a fun movie, I was stationed at GLAKES Naval Station where it was filmed 10 years previously and it brings back lots of old memories.

Great clean wholesome fun!
This movie is a wonderful look at an era gone by. Esther Williams shows her wonderful since of humor and beauty in this fun filled movie. Look for the wonderful song "What goods a girl without a Guy!?" The music in this movie is timeless and fun for the entire family. END ... Read more

Description

The Hound Of The Baskervilles

The most celebrated tale of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s canon, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ is set in the Victorian Age and was originally released by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1939.It is the first of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

When Sir Charles Baskerville is killed outside of Baskerville Hall, his good friend Dr. Mortimer (Lionel Atwill) fears that the curse of the Baskervilles has struck once again.Mortimer enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone), before yet another Baskerville can succumb to the evil legend.

Sir Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene) arrives in London to claim his inheritance.Mortimer takes Sir Henry to 221b Baker Street and expresses his fear for Sir Henry’s life.Baskerville soon learns that along with the grand mansion on the moor, comes a devilish curse, a curious butler (John Carradine) and a cast of bizarre neighbors. Holmes, pressed with "other business," sends Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) to accompany Sir Henry to the dreary moor to protect the young Baskerville from the legend of the wicked hound.Of course, with danger afoot, Sherlock Holmes may not be so far from the scene as is assumed.

Special Features
-Audio Commentary with David Stuart Davies
-Selected Theatrical Trailers
-Production Notes By Richard Valley
-Photo Gallery
Run Time- 80 minutes ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Avoid the "moor," but don't miss this classic tale!
Finally a pristine version of the 1939 Twentieth Century Fox classic, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," has been released on DVD -- fully restored, with unsurpassed audio and video quality.
No contemporary film comes close to the suspense you will encounter in this Darryl Zanuck production. Life-long friends Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson) play off each other to perfection in "Hound." What is amazing is that, in actuality, Bruce was three years younger than Rathbone!
There are myriad twists and turns in this thrilling tale. From the opening scene of Sir Charles Baskerville's death to the moment when Holmes reveals the name of Sir Charles' murderer, this classic film will not disappoint.
A stellar supporting cast, lead by horror villains Lionel Atwill (Dr. Mortimer) and John Carradine (Barryman), delights for the entire 80-minutes. In fact, Atwill's Dr. Mortimer is so innately menacing, that it is almost a disappointment that he is not found to be Sir Charles' murderer at film's end. Alas, Holmes' fans are well aware that Atwill returns in the 1942 Universal film, "The Secret Weapon," as Professor Moriarty. As a side note, Atwill was blacklisted by the major studios (Fox, Warners, MGM, and Paramount) after it was made public that he conducted an "orgy" at his Brentwood estate in 1941; thus only the studio known for horror films, Universal, would give him work in the 40s -- a waste of tremendous talent.
Do yourself a favor and purchase "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," (also on MPI DVD) in addition to this classic tale of suspense.

Watson's finest hour on film
Many actors have tried, but none has surpassed Basil Rathbone's embodiment of Sherlock Holmes. The razor-sharp profile, hawk nose and cocaine eyes seem torn straight from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle. This is, undeniably, one of the great pairings of actor and character in film history.

Odd to think, then, that the first Holmes film with Rathbone and his faithful Dr. Watson, Nigel Bruce, gave neither man starring credit. That honor on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" went to the romantic leading man, Richard Greene.

The lapse in logic was quickly corrected, with Rathbone and Bruce going on to top-bill 13 famed Holmes movies from 1939-46.

The UCLA Film and TV Archive has rescued the films from public domain hell, in a restoration that aims to return them to 35mm theatrical condition using original elements and acetate copies. The results as seen on MPI's DVDs are indeed impressive, with shadows and light elegant and edgy. Wear is within reason, and the audio suffices.

Film historians' commentaries have been added to some of the feature films, explaining, for instance, just how the 19th century detectives ended up battling Nazis in WWII.

The MPI collection -- whose titles are available separately and in sets -- started rolling out in the fall. The series concludes at the beginning, with "Baskervilles" and "Adventures," both made by Fox before Universal took over and "modernized" the Doyle stories. The Uni films have their moments -- "Woman in Green," for example, is grand and grisly entertainment -- but there's no topping these initial releases, set in Victorian times.

"Baskervilles" remains one of the most famous and fondly remembered Holmes films, but it is largely Dr. Watson's tale. Nigel Bruce's Watson quickly became a buffoon in the series, but here he is not to be trifled with. (Rathbone later defended his friend and co-star against critics, saying a "less lovable" actor would have ruined the series.)

The restoration puts Fox's amazing sets on full display, including the fog-engulfed moor where the hound fillets his victims. The commentator, chipper British author David Stuart Davies, churns out minutiae and unmasks plot inconsistencies.

HOUND: A Child's Memory
I first saw this movie on TV when I was 9 or 10 in 1963-64. We lived in Los Angeles, and local channel 9 would run the SAME movie, Monday through Friday, for one week at 7:00 or 8:00 on its "Million Dollar Movie" program (a ridiculous title nowadays). Anyway, I watched it all five times in one week and adored it. I didn't see it again until its special, limited re-release to theaters in 1975; by then, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Sherlockian. Remarkably, my 10-year-old mind hadn't exaggerated the greatness of Rathbone or this film. It remained marvelous!

Now it's available on DVD...and what a wonderful transfer. And the commentary is superb. I haven't yet watched it five nights in a row, but it certainly deserves that kind of attention. Highly recommended!

See where Scooby and Shaggy got their Inspiration!
This film isn't perfect: the production values are a bit low and the supporting cast weak; it looks and feels like an early talkie. But that said, The Hound of the Baskervilles is great fun for the whole family. If you have kids in the 7-15 year old range, watching old movies like this is a great alternative to most of the garbage put out today. Basil Rathborne is wonderful in the lead role, and this is one of the finer screen adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous literary character. I would definitely recommend adding this to your DVD collection.

Not Perfect, But Excellent DVD
You will read dozens of reviews of the movie, I'm sure, so I'll leave my review of the movie to two words: "LOVED IT."

DVD quality is really quite good; of course, leaps and bounds beyond ANYTHING available to the home market EVER before. Nice, clean packaging with a thin-looking but richly written booklet included inside. The disc has the photo from the front imprinted, with almost a purple tint... for nighttime I suppose.

As I understand, this restoration was done a number of years ago, and was not digital... I believe it, although I will say I believe the restorers squeezed every square inch of detail out of their source material possible in the analog domain.

First, the flaws: there are still occasional nicks and scratches, although not many more than I see in my DVD of "It's A Wonderful Life."

The sound has some low-level hiss, and there is occasional pop and crackle, only occasionally (once? Twice?) of any significant volume.

About 18 minutes in there appears to be some minor damage, possibly the degrading of the nitrate print they were working from?

Additionally, there are about three places in the film where a single frame appears to be warped, creating a "blip" in the flow of the motion on the screen.

Also odd was my first playing: when it came to the end of the 9th chapter, instead of going on to the 10th it jumped back to the beginning of the 9th! This might have been my player, as I was unable to reproduce this either by scanning back or by playing through the movie from the beginning.

One other oddity is that in multiple places the background seems to "pulse," usually getting slightly darker, and it appears to be two "pulses" per second. Perhaps the processor was averaging contrasts, or perhaps it was the DVD compression, slowly filling in the right computations... I am not sure, I have never seen it before, and it seemed to not at ALL affect the main action / elements on the screen. I also was not aware of it when the camera was in motion, only when we were stationary observing somebody or something.

A minor annoyance was the darkness of the train before we go "inside" to see Holmes & Watson... I'm guessing this was stock footage, a condition of the original print and not something from a historical standpoint that you would WANT to correct.. But the train looks like it's going at night yet the window in Holmes & Watson's car shows a midday countryside passing by. Just odd.

Now, the plusses: this print is beautiful! The detail makes it look like a high-quality print from the 50s or 60s, from Holmes' clothes to the lace on the headrest of the train seats. This is not an easy film to reproduce, with filming having started at the end of '38. The blackest blacks to the whitest whites are there, almost always perfectly balanced. Some shots with the right combination of light and shadow truly are breathtaking. So much fog, combined with pipe smoke and low lighting... an ultimate stress test for DVD compression to reproduce, yet it looks very good here. I cannot imagine you have EVER seen this film look this good, seriously.

The soundtrack, despite its minor low-level noise, is amazing for the time, with the noise present being so low, apparently without any artificial-sounding noise gates or expanders. Crank up the volume in quiet scenes and you will hear the papers being rustled, or the crickets in the distance, of the rustling of clothes. 30s soundtracks often sound HORRIBLE on music, and while the opening 20th Century Fox fanfare sounds like a copy of a copy, the music in the body of the movie itself appears to be clean and undistorted. I noticed it most on the closing credits, which genuinely surprised me with its lack of harshness or square waves. The ending music is downright enjoyable to listen to!

The dialog is both crisp, clear, and with respectable lower tones. You are not going to get earth shattering bass here, but if you are expecting typical thin 30s audio, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Every word is perfectly audible and in balance... I did not feel like I had to turn the volume up and down, nor did it sound "squashed." No "pull-up" of the noise floor, either, indicating no automatic gain controls! VERY nice.

For you audio nuts, I didn't put a spectrum analyzer on it, but to my ears, I was hearing undistorted highs over 5KHz, likely over 6K, maybe over 7, and it MIGHT be making it to 8K. I think it's gone by 10K, but STILL... I was amazed to hear the high frequency harmonics on paper rustling, metallic objects rattling together... and crisp "ch"s and "Th"s and the like!

One more comment, on the audio commentary: outstanding. Really, really good and absolutely worth the time to listen to and watch. A good balance of history, biography, and literary info. Hats off to Mr. Davies! You did a great job.

IN CLOSING: if you have ever wanted to own this movie, even if you already own another copy of it, BUY THIS ONE (from MPI Home Video). I cannot imagine you being disappointed.

For me, this is my first purchase... if the first movie from 1939 looks and sounds this good without the advantages of digital restoration... what do the others look like! Wow, I can't wait to order them!!! :) ... Read more