Tonight's Movie: High, Wide and Handsome (1937) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

The Kern-Hammerstein musical HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME (1937) is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

I first saw this film at the Vagabond Theater in Los Angeles as a very young classic film fan. I'm fairly certain it was on a double bill with BLOOD AND SAND (1941), which like this film was directed by Rouben Mamoulian.

As I wrote here in 2010, I went decades without seeing the movie again, but it always stuck in my mind, with Irene Dunne singing "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" a glowing memory. I rather suspect it was a nitrate print, as they were sometimes shown at the Vagabond in the '70s, and in my mind's eye that scene defined the "silver screen."

I was finally able to see the movie again over a dozen years ago thanks to the kindness of the late Gina Neylon ("Moira Finnie"). I was delighted a few years later when the film had a DVD release, and I assumed that was as far as the movie would go. I couldn't have dreamed back then that it would one day have a Blu-ray release.

HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME is admittedly a somewhat odd film, though that's also partly what makes it memorable. Dunne plays Sally, a young traveling carnival performer who spends time at a farm owned by Peter (Randolph Scott) after her wagon burns up.

Sally and Peter fall in love, but their marriage is tested by Peter's preoccupation with building an oil pipeline.

As Peter battles men (Alan Hale Sr. and Charles Bickford) standing in the way of his pipeline success, Sally takes in Molly (Dorothy Lamour), an injured young girl, and helps her just as Peter's grandmother (Elizabeth Patterson) had come to her aid when her wagon burned.

The story culminates in a battle over a pipeline involving elephants...no, really!

Though there's much I like about the film, the screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II and George O'Neil isn't particularly strong, growing redundant in the second half of its 110 minutes. The movie would have benefited from a pared-down script.

That said, the three leads are all charming, especially Dunne, and, as mentioned above, the movie does stick in the memory!

It's hard to believe that Dunne and Scott, both born in 1898, were in their late 30s here, playing younger characters. They had previously teamed in ROBERTA (1935) and would work together again quite delightfully in the classic screwball comedy MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940).

Lamour was in her early 20s and is quite lovely. This was one of her earliest roles; she had made a splash just the year before in her very first "sarong" role as THE JUNGLE PRINCESS (1936).

Patterson is a delight as Scott's grandmother. The supporting cast also includes Akim Tamiroff, Raymond Walburn, Ben Blue, William Frawley, Irving Pichel, and Stanley Andrews.

The movie was filmed in black and white by Victor Milner and Theodor Sparkuhl, with location filming in the Big Bear Lake area of Southern California. Dunne and Lamour's costumes were designed by Travis Banton.

The nice-looking Blu-ray is from a brand-new HD master from a 4K scan. Though there are a few scratches, for the most part the print is outstanding, and sound quality is excellent. 

Disc extras includes a newly mastered trailer; a gallery of five additional trailers; and a commentary track by Eddy Von Mueller.

HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME may not be an especially great musical, but it has enough strengths to make it a worthwhile watch. I'm grateful that this film, which for so many years was only a memory for me, is now readily available on Blu-ray.

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

Tweet