Tonight's Movie: Red Mountain (1951) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Over the years a number of films have been produced about the renegade Confederate general William Quantrill, including KANSAS RAIDERS (1950) and QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS (1958).

He appears again, with his name spelled Quantrell, played by John Ireland in RED MOUNTAIN (1951), available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. To my knowledge this is the first time the movie has been available for home viewing in the United States.

RED MOUNTAIN is one of several very welcome Kino Lorber releases of Alan Ladd films in recent months, including other first-time U.S. disc releases such as SAIGON (1947), CHICAGO DEADLINE (1949), and BOTANY BAY (1953). Ladd fans such as myself owe Kino Lorber a debt of gratitude for making so many of his films available in beautiful copies.

In RED MOUNTAIN Ladd plays Captain Brett Sherwood, a Confederate soldier detailed to head west in the waning days of the Civil War to assist General Quantrell.

Along the way Sherwood saves a prospector, Lane Waldron (Arthur Kennedy), from being lynched for the murder of an assayer; we eventually learn that Sherwood is involved in the assayer's killing, but his motives are initially a mystery.

Despite Sherwood saving Waldron's life, Waldron and his girl, Chris (Lizabeth Scott), eventually take Lane prisoner; however, the balance of power between the two men swings back and forth, with Sherwood finally gaining the upper hand when Waldron breaks his leg.

Quantrell, having met up with Sherwood, is interested in obtaining the location of Waldron's gold claim, but Sherwood, realizing that Quantrell is now only acting for himself, not the Confederacy, does what he can to bide time and save the lives of Waldron and Chris, especially as he's developing feelings for Chris.

The film is interesting as a relic of the era when it was fairly common for Confederates to be movie heroes; Joel McCrea in BORDER RIVER (1954) is another example which comes to mind. However, while the film has a good Ladd performance and striking New Mexico locations, overall I was disappointed.

The script by John Meredyth Lucas, George F. Slavin, and George W. George, based on a story by Slavin and George, is extremely repetitive, with control shifting back and forth and back again between the Ladd and Kennedy characters.

Much of the film is set in a cave where Waldron and Chris are trapped and held prisoner by Quantrell; there's surprisingly little action at times, but a lot of talking. The film has a strong cast, yet they're trapped by a script that doesn't go much of anywhere, and when it does move forward, it's slowly.

None of the characters in this 84-minute film are provided with much back story, other than having suffered on their chosen sides due to the war, and Sherwood's attraction to Chris seems to develop out of almost nowhere. For Chris's part, she seems to abandon her feelings for Waldron incredibly quickly; I'd choose Alan Ladd over Arthur Kennedy too, but still...!

I found Kennedy and Scott less interesting than usual, whereas Ladd always manages to be compelling, even with little to work with. He does an excellent job moving from a man of at times ambiguous intentions to conveying his growing dismay with Quantrell; the script doesn't always help him but he's able to do a lot with facial expressions and the tone of his line readings.

While I found this film sub-par, especially given the cast, Ladd is always worth watching and I was glad to see this film on his account. By this time he's certainly moved into my top five favorites, probably third after Tyrone Power and Joel McCrea.

Ireland is good as the scholarly yet evil Quantrell, who doesn't blanch at killing anyone, and he plans to include Waldron and Chris among his victims.

The supporting cast includes James Bell, Jeff Corey, Walter Sande, Whit Bissell, Neville Brand, and Jay Silverheels.

The movie was directed by William Dieterle and the uncredited John Farrow, with Technicolor cinematography by Charles Lang. The musical score was by Franz Waxman.

The movie's Technicolor wasn't especially striking to me, but it's a fine print free of scratches or jumps. This Blu-ray is definitely the way to see this film.

Extras consist of a commentary track by Samm Deighan, plus a gallery of eight trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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Tonight's Movie: Juror #2 (2024) - A Warner Bros. Blu-ray Review

Over the last few years I've become increasingly interested in the career of Clint Eastwood, both in front of and behind the camera.

Eastwood, who turned 94 last May, most recently directed JUROR #2 (2024), which was released around Christmas last year; it had an inexplicably short exhibition window in a limited number of theaters and I wasn't able to catch it then.

It was released on an "MOD" Blu-ray earlier this month, and I was glad to have the chance to see it.

That said, while being a "glass is half full" viewer and an Eastwood admirer, I watched much of this movie's 114 minutes in a state of disbelief, as I couldn't believe the plotting, especially the way Jonathan Abrams' script consistently skirted around the way trials are actually conducted.

Abrams comes right up to the line of acknowledging the story problems by working mentions of the issues into the script, but it really didn't work, at least not for me.

In order to address my issues with the film, I'm going to talk about problems I had with the plot with more specificity than I often do. Please consider this a spoiler alert for anyone who doesn't wish to know the plot to stop reading here and come back to compare notes after seeing the movie.

As the movie begins, recovering alcoholic Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) and his wife Allison (Zoey Deutch) are nearing the due date for their first child. It's an anxious time, as it's a high-risk pregnancy after Allison previously miscarried twins.

Justin is called to jury service and is unable to be excused despite being near the baby's due date. He's selected to serve on a trial in which the defendant (Gabriel Basso) is accused of following his girlfriend (Francesca Eastwood, daughter of the director) after a barroom argument and running her down deliberately with his car.

As Justin listens to the attorneys present their opening statements, he realizes the details sound strangely familiar...he was in the bar around that time frame -- not drinking -- and remembers thinking he hit a deer on his way home, but when he stopped his car he couldn't find anything he'd hit, just some car damage.

Justin goes to see Larry (Kiefer Sutherland), the head of his AA group, asking him to be his attorney. Larry warns Justin off turning himself in, saying no one will believe he wasn't drinking and that he'll be locked up for years, which horrifies Justin given he's about to be a father.

This was my first issue with the film, as Justin correctly suggests that turning himself in as soon as he realizes there's a problem will cut in his favor. I was surprised at his lawyer essentially counseling him to remain silent, all the more so as given their AA relationship, one would think Larry would realize the kind of pressure the situation would put on Justin to stay sober.

Coming forward immediately and throwing himself at the mercy of the court would have been Justin's best option, but even in a later scene Larry advises Justin of tactical reasons for his benefit that the jury needs to avoid a mistrial and come to a verdict. Of course, Justin discussing deliberations outside the jury with someone else, even his attorney, is a huge no-no; Justin would have heard those instrutions and his lawyer certainly knew as well.

Of course, if Justin went to the judge with what he knew, there would be no movie, so I was willing to cut the film some slack on these issues. However, another part of the story, on top of the previously mentioned weaknesses, became so absurd it marred the movie for me.

Granted, as I wrote in my review of 12 ANGRY MEN (1957), I'm very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of murder trials due to proofreading trial transcripts for decades. But even family members without that background recognized the problems.

Harold (J.K. Simmons), one of the jurors, identifies himself to his fellow jurors during deliberations as a retired homicide detective. When asked why he didn't tell the lawyers, he says "No one asked." Harold also visits the scene of the crime and starts doing literal detective work on the case.

First, asking jurors if they or family members have legal or law enforcement backgrounds during voir dire is standard practice. It's inconceivable that not one but both attorneys didn't ask this question when selecting jurors for a murder trial. It's also extremely common for jurors to be asked if there's anything the court and attorneys should know that hasn't already been asked.

It's also a typical instruction not to investigate the scene of the crime but evaluate only the evidence presented to the jury in court.

As a detective, Harold would have sat at counsel table during murder trials over the course of his career, not simply testified as a witness, and he would personally know all of the above. The fact that he would hide his background, go to the scene, and then start doing research was simply laughable. He ultimately tells the District Attorney (Toni Collette) he felt he was upholding his oath as a police officer over his oath as a juror, but no. He doesn't get a free pass for that. He's lucky the judge (Amy Aquino) didn't hold him in contempt.

Later on, the jury visits the scene of the crime/accident and they are instructed by the judge not to discuss the case while they're there. So what happens but a lengthy discussion between Justin and another juror (Cedric Yarbrough), violating not only the judge's specific order but the general order typically given to juries to only deliberate when the entire jury is together in the jury room.

The District Attorney's job is to seek justice, whatever that might be, not guilt, so I didn't have a problem with her digging deeper into evidence while the jury deliberated, but after all that went before, we also had to go along with her not realizing that Allison was the wife of a juror when she interviewed her about car damage repairs which took place around the time of the "murder." Granted, Allison and Justin went by different last names, but Justin's name wasn't anywhere in the documentation for ownership or repair? It was just a little too cute having to buy that on top of everything else.

And I haven't even mentioned the film's open-ended, ambiguous final shots, which suggest Justin's life is about to grow more complicated...

Like 12 ANGRY MEN, a film admired by many which I strongly dislike, the entire plot is a house of cards which should have collapsed at any of several different points. The acting is fine and keeps the viewer watching till the end, but I really don't know why they chose this script, unless it was the chance to work with the great Clint Eastwood on potentially his final film. (We'll find out...!)

In the movie's favor, it's not boring, I just found it very silly throwing so much logic and common practice completely out the window. I know a number of people who've enjoyed it so "Your mileage may vary," as the saying goes.

The movie was filmed by Yves Belanger and scored by Mark Mancina.

The widescreen print is excellent, and sound quality is also good. This is a fine way to see the film if one is inclined to check it out.

There are no extras on this "manufactured on demand" disc, but it does come with a digital code to access a streaming copy via the Movies Anywhere site. The disc does include optional subtitles.

Thanks to Warner Bros. and Allied Vaughn for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. JUROR #2 may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...There's been some very exciting Blu-ray release news this week! First off, the Warner Archive Collection announced a disc sure to gladden the heart of "B" Western fans: Monogram Matinee Vol. I, which will be released March 25th. It will feature three films from 4K scans of nitrate and safety archival elements: MISSISSIPPI RHYTHM (1949) starring Jimmie Davis, CRASHING THRU (1949) with Whip Wilson, and WESTERN RENEGADES (1949) starring Johnny Mack Brown. The latter film was released in the Monogram Cowboy Collection Vol. 10, but to my knowledge the other two titles are new to home viewing. I have all the Monogram Cowboy DVD sets and assumed that was the last we'd ever see as far as new releases of Monogram's "B" Westerns. The fact that this is "Vol. I" is very encouraging, and I hope everyone will support this release so that we see more in the future!

...Also coming from the Warner Archive Collection on March 25th: Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone in SADIE MCKEE (1934). I've also heard that the complete CHEYENNE TV series, originally due out last month, will be released on Blu-ray March 25th.

...Thanks to John Knight for letting me know about the MGM Blu-ray release of LADY OF VENGEANCE (1957) starring Dennis O'Keefe. It's due out February 18th.

...Some very interesting titles are coming to Blu-ray from Viavision Imprint in Australia, including IVY (1947) with Joan Fontaine and BRIDE OF VENGEANCE (1949) with favorites John Lund, Paulette Goddard, and Macdonald Carey. To my knowledge these movies have never been released for home viewing in the United States. I've noticed that sometimes a film released by Imprint will have a U.S. release a few months later, and I hope that will be the case with these films.

...Last week I shared news regarding an upcoming biography of Ray Milland, DASHING TO THE END: THE RAY MILLAND STORY. Turns out there's another Milland book on the way, due out in October from the University Press of Mississippi: RAY MILLAND: IDENTITY, STARDOM, AND THE LONG CLIMB TO THE LOST WEEKEND by Gillian Kelly. Worth noting that there's an older book on Milland, RAY MILLAND: THE FILMS, 1929-1984, by James McKay for McFarland Books, and Milland also wrote a memoir in the '70s.

...And speaking of Milland, I'm excited about an announcement of an upcoming Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray release of a Milland film, FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS (1940), costarring Ellen Drew. What welcome news! Kino Lorber also just announced the Dark Side of Cinema XXVI collection, featuring DR. BROADWAY (1942), SMOOTH AS SILK (1946), and THE GREAT GATSBY (1949). The latter film, starring Alan Ladd, will also have a single-title release. I'll share the release date here when it's available.

...UK Blu-ray producer Powerhouse Indicator's April titles are LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW? (1934), SPAWN OF THE NORTH (1938), DANGEROUS TO KNOW (1938), and BEHOLD A PALE HORSE (1964). The first three titles on this list were released in the U.S. by Kino Lorber Studio Classics; the Indicator releases have new extras, including a Jeremy Arnold commentary track on DANGEROUS TO KNOW.

...A Connecticut lawmaker has proposed legislation requiring movie theaters to state the actual time movies start, rather than when the pre-movie ads and trailers start.

...I came across an interesting title published by Abbeville Press last November: MOXIE: THE DARING WOMEN OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD by Ira M. Resnick and Raissa Bretana. It profiles a number of actresses including Claudette Colbert, Ida Lupino, Kay Francis, Barbara Stanwyck, and more.

...A long-lost film directed by and starring Francis Ford, brother of John, has been found. THE HEART OF LINCOLN (1915) was located in an archive last year and has now been digitally preserved.

...Some of the latest reviews I've enjoyed reading: Colin recently wrote about Douglas Sirk's THE TARNISHED ANGELS (1957) at Riding the High Country...Over at Speakeasy Kristina's latest posts include reviews of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934) and JOHNNY EAGER (1942)...Karen Burroughs Hannsberry writes about BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) at Shadows and Satin...Rick revisited THE RED SHOES (1948) at Classic Film & TV Cafe...and CineSavant Glenn Erickson has taken a look at GABRIEL OVER THE WHITE HOUSE (1933) and the Dark Side of Cinema XXIII collection at Trailers From Hell. This Dark Side set contains ROPE OF SAND (1949), KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE (1950), and NEVER LOVE A STRANGER (1958).

...Notable Passings: Actress-Singer Olga James, who appeared in CARMEN JONES (1954), has died at 95...Actor Tony Roberts has passed on at 85...Disney animator Joe Hale has passed away at 99. His long career included work on some of my all-time favorite Disney films, including ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951), PETER PAN (1953), and SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959).

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my February 1st column.

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Tonight's Movie: The Ballad of Josie (1967) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

THE BALLAD OF JOSIE (1967), one of the last handful of films made by the great Doris Day, was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

This was also one of just a handful of Day films I'd not yet seen, so I was glad to finally catch up with it thanks to this new release. It was only a so-so movie, but I enjoy watching Day in pretty much anything.

I could tell the movie would be a little odd right off the bat when the title song wasn't sung by Day but by Ronnie Dante. It was...unmemorable. Day never sings in this film, which is strictly a Western comedy.

I use the word "comedy" advisedly, as while it has some amusing moments, much of the movie features characters fighting over any number of situations, while spousal abuse and misogyny are treated as lighthearted subjects. Even taking into account that it was made a few decades ago, the screenplay, written by Harold Swanton, was on the strange side.

As the movie begins in a small town in Wyoming territory, Josie Minick (Day) and her little boy Luther (Teddy Quinn) prepare for the imminent arrival home of Josie's drunken, violent husband Whit (Robert Lowery). They secure breakables and then lock themselves in their rooms in what's obviously a familiar routine.

The only thing that doesn't go according to the usual plan is Whit falling backwards off the staircase and killing himself -- which unbelievably results in Josie standing trial for murder.

Josie is acquitted, but her powerful father-in-law Alpheus (Paul Fix) is awarded custody of Luther until Josie can show a means of supporting her son. Josie looks for work and finally hits on the idea of returning to a homestead she and her husband claimed outside town. She initially thinks of raising cattle, but convinced it's too difficult, she instead hits on the idea of an easier sheep herd...which doesn't go over well with the cattlemen in town, especially Arch Ogden (George Kennedy).

This film is a rather odd duck, so to speak. It's a watchable 102 minutes, with a deep cast which includes not only Day and the previously mentioned actors but Peter Graves, Andy Devine, William Talman, Harry Carey Jr., David Hartman, Don Stroud, Audrey Christie, Elisabeth Fraser, and Ed Faulkner.

That said, it's really just not a particularly good movie, basically one long shouting match with various characters fighting and saying obnoxious things about women. I'm far from a "politically correct" viewer but the overall tone was simply unpleasant. That's a bit ironic as Wyoming Territory was the only place in the U.S. which gave women the vote. (For more on that, I recommend Loretta Young in the hard-to-find but delightful THE LADY FROM CHEYENNE.)

I have a soft spot for Graves and find him attractive, but even he was annoying much of the time playing Josie's old friend -- and new suitor -- Jase. While Jase eventually comes around to Josie's way of thinking and becomes supportive, it's not before he says a number of regrettable things himself.

It also doesn't help that, as was typical for period films released in the '60s, Day has a big bubble of a '60s bouffant hairdo which looks completely out of place. I wrote a bit more about this odd '60s phenomenon in my review of NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY (1966).

Among the cast I particularly enjoyed seeing Faulkner as the livery stable man. I had the pleasure of seeing Faulkner at a couple of Lone Pine Film Festivals. A decade ago he gave an hour-long extemporaneous talk in which he spoke warmly of both John Wayne and this film's director, Andrew V. McLaglen, who each gave him considerable work over the years.

THE BALLAD OF JOSIE was filmed in widescreen Technicolor by Milton R. Krasner. The Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray print looks and sounds great. This may not be Day's best film, but for Day completists -- and I am one -- this is certainly a fine option for seeing the movie.

Disc extras consist of a commentary track by Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell; the trailer, remastered in 2K; and a gallery of five additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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Tonight's Movie: Pursued (1947) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

PURSUED (1947), a "noirish Western" directed by Raoul Walsh, is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

This is an upgrade from an older 2012 Blu-ray I own which was released by the now-defunct Olive Films. Kino Lorber's disc was actually released around last summer, but dipped lower in the review stack as I watched "last in, first out." That said, my slight delay in watching is certainly no reflection on the movie, which is a longtime favorite of mine going back to my teen years.

I first reviewed PURSUED here back in 2011 when I saw it at UCLA as part of a series of Robert Mitchum Westerns. (I'll pause here to recommend the book THE WESTERN FILMS OF ROBERT MITCHUM by Gene Freese, which I described briefly at Classic Movie Hub.) I've very much looked forward to revisiting PURSUED, which is a terrific film which should appeal to fans of Westerns, film noir, Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, or all of the above.

The movie was written by Wright's then-husband, Niven Busch, and its unusual framing demands the viewer's attention from the opening moments. Jeb Rand (Mitchum) and his wife Thor (Wright) are anticipating a posse to arrive at their hideout, and their story is told in flashback as they try to understand how their lives have come to this point.

As a newly orphaned child Jeb Rand (Scotty Hugenberg, later Ernest Severn) is adopted by Ma Callum (Judith Anderson) one fateful night. After finding Jeb and bringing him home, Ma loads up her other children Adam (Mickey Little, later Charles Bates) and Thorley (Kathy Jeanne Johnson, later Peggy Miller) and flees the area.

As young adults, played by Mitchum, Wright, and John Rodney, the unrelated Jeb and Thor discover they aren't meant to be siblings, as they were brought up, but lovers.

Jeb and Adam, meanwhile, are constantly at odds with one another, ultimately leading to tragedy. And Grant Callum (Dean Jagger), having tracked down Ma and her children at long last, is always lurking about, ready to cause trouble.

The performances and staging of this 101-minute film are top-notch, holding up to numerous revisits over the years. Somehow I also always manage to forget exactly why Grant has it "in" for Jeb, which keeps the movie somewhat fresh for me.

One of the moments which stays with me is the nightmarish sequence where Ma brings Jeb home. He climbs into a bed with Adam and Thor; beautiful little Thor turns over and regards Jeb with wide eyes, then starts to go back to sleep. Even then Jeb and Thor's relationship is delineated: There are tempestuous moments -- and one day, a major conflict between the two -- but also instinctive trust.

Given the film's flashback structure, I was also musing on this watch about the fact that just the year before Mitchum had appeared in a film famous for its extremely elaborate flashbacks, THE LOCKET (1946). THE LOCKET and PURSUED are also both examples of mid-'40s Hollywood's fascination with psychology, which I've written about here on multiple occasions.

The PURSUED cast, including Anderson, couldn't be better. PURSUED was released right as Mitchum was approaching peak stardom; his other films in 1947 included OUT OF THE PAST (1947) and CROSSFIRE (1947). He's extremely handsome in this movie, and his performance is typical Mitchum: Low-key yet compelling, while also exuding sensuality.

Wright starts out in one of her typical sweet "girl next door" roles before she takes a detour into Thor being a much more conflicted, calculating character, only to ultimately swing back again. Her emotional character works as well as it does partly because she's playing against Mitchum's perpetual stoicism.

The movie also features Harry Carey Jr., Alan Hale Sr., and Ian Wolfe, who has a terrific scene heading up a jury.

The movie was filmed in black and white, on New Mexico locations, by James Wong Howe, with a score by Max Steiner.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print is described as a 2022 Paramount Pictures HD master of a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative, dupe negative, and comp print. It's an excellent print; it's always been a rather visually dark film, but the Blu-ray picture quality is such I felt it's the easiest it's ever been to watch.

PURSUED is presented as a Special Edition with a cardboard slipcase. It contains a vintage introduction Martin Scorsese plus a new commentary by the always-excellent Imogen Sara Smith. A gallery of a dozen trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber is also included.

I wrote a little more on this film in a 2019 Western RoundUp column on "Noir-Tinged Westerns" for Classic Movie Hub.

PURSUED and this Kino Lorber Blu-ray are both highly recommended.  Be sure to grab the Blu-ray while it's available!

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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Quick Preview of TCM in March

It's time for a quick look ahead at what's coming to Turner Classic Movies in March!

The 31 Days of Oscar festival will run through March 3rd this year, and the regular March schedule will then begin on March 4th.

The March Star of the Month will be a popular choice: Barbara Stanwyck. Approximately 46 Stanwyck films will be shown every Wednesday evening in March, continuing into the daytime hours Thursday.

Barbara Stanwyck was previously Star of the Month in September 1994, April 2002, and December 2012.

The TCM Spotlight on Fridays will focus on "Movie Mix-Ups," showing films such as NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) and THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934).

The March Noir Alley titles will be THE VELVET TOUCH (1948), GUN CRAZY (1950), CLASH BY NIGHT (1952), and COUNT THE HOURS! (1953).  THE VELVET TOUCH, starring Rosalind Russell and Sydney Greenstreet, is seen here.

March programming themes will include two evenings featuring Women Filmmakers, plus horse racing, 1930s horror, spring, heist movies, and "Western widows."  And, as usual, there's a fun "Irish" movie lineup for St. Patrick's Day.

Filmmakers receiving multifilm tributes in March include John Garfield, Dorothy Arzner, Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, Harry Belafonte, Edward Everett Horton, Deanna Durbin, Edith Head, Flora Robson, Ron Howard, and Lloyd Bacon.

I'll have much more on TCM's March 2025 schedule available here around the end of February. In the meantime, enjoy 31 Days of Oscar!

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Tonight's Movie: The Spanish Main (1945) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The RKO swashbuckler THE SPANISH MAIN (1945), just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection, is both a delightful movie and a spectacularly good-looking disc.

THE SPANISH MAIN was written by George Worthington Yates (THE TALL TARGET) and Herman Mankiewicz and directed by Frank Borzage, whose beautifully crafted films are consistently enjoyable.

Paul Henreid plays Laurent Van Horn, a Dutchman whose ship is thrown off course by a hurricane, landing him in Cartagena. Don Juan Alvarado (Walter Slezak), the comic yet cruel despot who runs Cartagena, throws Laurent and the others from his ship into prison or slavery.

Laurent escapes along with a group of friends (including Mike Mazurki and Curt Bois) and becomes a pirate known as the Barracuda. Eventually he and his crew overtake the ship which carries Francesca (Maureen O'Hara) to be Alvarado's bride.

Laurent decides he'll thwart his enemy by marrying Francesca instead...and Francesca doesn't really oppose the idea, given that she's been taken with Laurent at first glance.

And there's much more swashbuckling excitement to come...!

I had never seen THE SPANISH MAIN and was completely charmed by it. It's up there with CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) and THE BLACK SWAN (1942) as a high quality pirate film.

THE SPANISH MAIN has a good cast, headed by Henreid and O'Hara; Henreid is almost surprisingly effective as the dashing hero, and O'Hara looks as lovely as she ever has playing the brave young woman who becomes his wife.

Whether she's dueling Laurent's old flame Anne (Binnie Barnes), cagily standing up to Don Alvarado, or engineering a prison rescue of Laurent and his crew, O'Hara is absolutely captivating.

Director Borzage is especially known for his moving romances (such as HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT), and he brings a strong romantic tone to the film which is most welcome. The movie is not simply cartoonish swordplay; it has some depth and fiery passion along with the action.

Slezak hits just the right notes as Don Alvarado; he's simultaneously ridiculous and menacing, inasmuch as he has an army of flunkies who do whatever awful thing he orders.

Barnes is a lot of fun as a spunky lady pirate who's upset when she learns Laurent has taken a wife, yet she ultimately comes to quietly respect Francesca. Barnes typifies the tone of the cast in general: They all seem to be having a grand time. I was thinking while I watched that it must have been great fun to come to work every day when making a movie like this!

This 100-minute film has a cast which also includes Barton MacLane, John Emery, J.M. Kerrigan, Dan Seymour, Antonio Moreno, and Ian Keith.

An especially nice surprise is a very young Nancy Gates as Francesca's lady's maid Lupita.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray shows off the Technicolor cinematography of George Barnes to stunning perfection. This disc looks as good as any Blu-ray ever has, with a strong soundtrack. Between the quality of both film and disc I very highly recommend THE SPANISH MAIN.

Disc extras consist of the trailer; the 17-minute short MOVIELAND MAGIC (1946; and two cartoons, BUCCANEER BUNNY (1948) and CAPTAIN HAREBLOWER (1954).

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: Beware, My Lovely (1952) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Today I've circled back to the Kino Lorber Dark Side of Cinema XIX collection to watch the final film in the set, BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952).

I've previously reviewed the set's NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950) and DARK CITY (1950); NO MAN OF HER OWN in particular is a big favorite.

This was the first time I'd seen BEWARE, MY LOVELY since the 2011 Noir City Hollywood Festival, and I quite enjoyed revisiting it after so much time.

The movie reunited Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan from the previous year's outstanding ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951). BEWARE, MY LOVELY is a smaller film, not of the same caliber as ON DANGEROUS GROUND, but it's still an interesting and worthwhile watch.

The film is set in 1918. Lupino plays Helen Gordon, a widow whose husband died in the war. She gets by renting a room to a kindly boarder (Taylor Holmes) who's heading out of town for the holidays. Helen seems to have a busy life, involved with her niece Ruth (Barbara Whiting), local children, and her community.

Helen hires Howard Wilton (Ryan) to do some handyman work around her home as she prepares for Christmas. But Helen doesn't know what's revealed to the viewer in the movie's opening sequence: Howard is a mentally disturbed killer.

Things start off fine as Howard polishes Helen's floors, but then Howard begins to act increasingly "off." Helen is initially sympathetic and kind, then tries to politely send him on his way...only to discover he's locked the doors and hidden the key, setting the stage for a terrifying afternoon.

BEWARE, MY LOVELY is a compact 77-minute suspense drama which rather reminds me of another short thriller from the previous year, CAUSE FOR ALARM! (1951) with Loretta Young. In each film an ordinary middle-class housewife suddenly finds her day has gone terribly wrong, spiraling into a panic situation.

Although there are a handful of supporting characters, this is essentially a two-person show. Ryan is effective as the troubled man whose behavior is all over the map, veering from kindly and concerned to confused to psychotic.

For my money, though, the main reason to watch BEWARE, MY LOVELY is Lupino, who does superb work taking Helen through a progression of emotions: The busy woman trying to knock her home into order, followed by her thinking she understands Howard's loneliness and then realizing she needs to send him on his way...only to find he won't go.

The movie, written by Mel Dinelli based on his short story and play, also has the plus of not wearing out its welcome. Just when it's becoming a little too exhausting, things wrap up in a satisfying way.

The screenplay and actors also do a good job making the situations believable, including Helen's difficulty getting away.

BEWARE, MY LOVELY was directed by Harry Horner and filmed in black and white by George Diskant.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print, a new HD master from a 4K scan, is excellent, on a par with the company's usual fine releases.

Disc extras consist of the movie's trailer plus two additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber, plus a commentary track by Jason A. Ney.

I've enjoyed all of the Dark Side of Cinema sets to date, and this collection of early '50s titles is one I particularly recommend.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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Tonight's Movie: Road to Zanzibar (1941) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

ROAD TO ZANZIBAR (1941) is the second of the seven films in the On the Road with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Blu-ray collection from Kino Lorber.

ROAD TO ZANZIBAR follows the previous year's ROAD TO SINGAPORE (1940). Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour play completely different characters in an equally giddy comedy.

This time around Chuck (Crosby) and Fearless (Hope) are carnival performers in Africa, of all places. They have all sorts of misadventures and end up on safari with a pair of con artists, Donna (Lamour) and Julia (Una Merkel).

That's really about the extent of the plot, which essentially strings together a series of comedy sketches, but the movie is fairly amusing, enlivened by the additional presence of Merkel and character actor Eric Blore.

A scene where Chuck and Fearless believe Donna has died is out-and-out funny, and there are also some good gags involving subtitles for African natives' discussions when they imprison Chuck and Fearless. (At one point it just says "CENSORED!")

Some jokes, a couple of pleasant songs, gorgeous Lamour, and a sparkling Blu-ray print make this a pleasant diversion. It's by no means a great film, but it's perfect company to relax with on a lazy afternoon.

ROAD TO ZANZIBAR was directed by Victor Scherzinger, who also directed ROAD TO SINGAPORE. Unlike SINGAPORE, Scherzinger did not also cowrite the songs for this film with Johnny Burke; this time around Burke teamed with Jimmy Van Heusen.

Scherzinger sadly died the same year ROAD TO ZANZIBAR was released, only 53 years old.

The movie runs 91 minutes and was written by Frank Butler and Don Hartman based on a story by Hartman and Sy Bartlett. The black and white cinematography was by Ted Tetzlaff, who filmed a number of favorite films and later became a director (THE WINDOW).

This is one of five films in the set which has English-language captions. Only ROAD TO RIO (1947) and ROAD TO BALI (1952) do not have captions.

Extras consist of the trailer; three additional trailers for other "Road" movies; a 15-minute featurette, "Bob Hope and the Road to Success"; and a short, COMMAND PERFORMANCE 1944: STRICTLY G.I.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Turner Classic Movies has announced that the 2025 recipient of the Robert Osborne Award at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival will be George Stevens Jr. TCM also announced several programming plans for the coming year on the network, including honoring Dick Van Dyke as Star of the Month for his centennial next December.

...Raquel Stecher has posted a list of new and upcoming classic film books at her blog Out of the Past. Raquel puts a lot of work into these lists, which are always very long and interesting to scroll through. VERA MILES: THE HITCHCOCK BLONDE WHO GOT AWAY by Christopher McKittrick for University Press of Kentucky is a title which particularly caught my eye.

...Also of note from the above list: THE ART OF CLASSIC CRIME AND MYSTERY MOVIES, edited by Ed Hulse, who has been a part of past Lone Pine Film Festivals, and DASHING TO THE END: THE RAY MILLAND STORY. The latter is by Eric Monder for the Hollywood Legends biographical series published by the University Press of Mississippi.

...Leonard Maltin also has a survey of "New and Notable Books" at his site.

...Thanks to Keith on Twitter for making me aware of the upcoming book THE ONLY WOMAN ANIMATOR: BESSIE MAE KELLEY AND WOMEN AT THE DAWN OF AN INDUSTRY. It's by Mindy Johnson, author of the important (and beautiful!) history INK & PAINT: THE WOMEN OF WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATION.

...Continuing with a books theme, I was recently contacted by Running Press regarding two upcoming books by TCM hosts. Alicia Malone has written TCM IMPORTS: TIMELESS FAVORITES AND HIDDEN GEMS OF WORLD CINEMA, while Eddie Muller has a "revised and expanded edition" coming out of his classic book DARK CITY DAMES: THE WOMEN WHO DEFINED FILM NOIR. I anticipate reviewing both books here. Having read books by both authors in the past, including the original DARK CITY DAMES, I'm confident they'll be enjoyable reads.

...Thanks to reader Ashley for letting me know about the upcoming MGM Blu-ray release of OUTPOST IN MALAYA (1952) starring Claudette Colbert. It's due out later this month.

...Blu-ray release dates announced over the last few days by Kino Lorber Studio Classics: The John Wayne films DONOVAN'S REEF (1963) and SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949) will be released in Special Editions on April 15th; both films will also be available on 4K...THE CRUEL SEA (1953) and FOUL PLAY (1978) will both be out on April 22nd.

...Toby of 50 Westerns From the 50s shares the news that a double feature Blu-ray disc of PANHANDLE (1948) and APACHE RIFLES (1964) is now available. While I haven't yet seen APACHE RIFLES, which stars Audie Murphy, I'm a big fan of PANHANDLE.

...Glenn Erickson's latest Blu-ray reviews at Trailers from Hell include TEACHER'S PET (1958) with Doris Day and Clark Gable, just released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and THE SPANISH MAIN (1945) with Paul Henreid and Maureen O'Hara, now out from the Warner Archive Collection. I'll be reviewing both titles here soon.

...I was fascinated to learn that an Oscar nominee for Best Short Documentary for this year's Academy Awards is THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA (2024). It's a 34-minute film on double bass player Orin O'Brien, who blazed a trail when she was the first woman hired to play in the New York Philharmonic in 1966. What makes the film of particular note for classic film fans is that Orin is the daughter of actors George O'Brien and Marguerite Churchill. A review by Paul Emmanuel Enicola may be read here. THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA is currently available to stream on Netflix.  I expect to watch it soon.

...The 2025 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival dates have been announced. The 26th edition of the festival will take place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center from May 8th through 11th. I highly recommend attending!

...There's also a screwball comedy film series coming to Palm Springs from March through June, with speakers introducing the movies including Scott Eyman, Molly Haskell, Steven C. Smith, Olympia Kiriakou, and Mark Vieira, among others.

...Notable Passings: Actress Jan Shepard has died at the age of 96. As it happens, I was fortunate to meet her at the 2019 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, seen here. She was at the festival for a screening of KING CREOLE (1958), in which she played the sister of Elvis Presley, and gave a very interesting interview...The great figure skater and skating commentator Dick Button has passed away at 95.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my January 25th column.

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