Tonight's Movie: San Antonio (1945) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The Errol Flynn Western SAN ANTONIO (1945) was recently released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

I first reviewed the film in 2009, shortly after it was released on DVD as part of the 2008 Errol Flynn Westerns Collection.

It was later reissued on DVD by the Warner Archive Collection in 2016.

I remember the original DVD print as looking quite good, but even so it's hard to imagine it looking any better than this spectacular new Blu-ray.

Combine an outstanding print and sound with a very entertaining movie, and the Warner Archive has itself a real winner with this release.

Flynn plays Clay Hardin, a Texas cattleman whose herd has been stolen. With the help of his lifelong friend Charlie Bell (John Litel) Clay plans to deal with the bad guys and reclaim his herd.

Clay also has a blossoming romance with entertainer Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith), whom he first meets on a stagecoach as she travels to an engagement in San Antonio.

As I described in 2009, this 110-minute movie has just about everything, from a gorgeous, sumptuously gowned (by Milo Anderson) leading lady to spectacular Technicolor to a climactic barroom brawl that, above everything, seems to be a stuntmen's demonstration. It features one amazing drop after another!

Best of all, the movie has Flynn, confidently battling and romancing with good humor. He's perfect, and he's well teamed with Smith, who I think is my favorite of his leading ladies after Olivia de Havilland.

Paul Kelly and Victor Francen are the baddies, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Florence Bates are comic relief as Jeanne's conductor and manager, and also on hand are Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin Martin, Robert Shayne, Robert Barrat, Pedro de Cordoba, Doodles Weaver, and Monte Blue.

Tyler has a downright creepy shootout with Flynn early in the film. Viewers aren't likely to soon forget Tyler's exit.

The movie, written by Alan LeMay and W.R. Burnett, was directed by David Butler and the uncredited Robert Florey and Raoul Walsh. It was filmed by Bert Glennon and the uncredited William V. Skall, including location work in Calabasas.

The movie was filmed in late 1944, then sat on the shelf for about a year after production. This was fairly common with Warner Bros. films in that time frame; there was too much product available for the market to handle.

Max Steiner's main theme recycles Flynn's DODGE CITY (1939); indeed, my husband heard the music from the next room and asked if I was watching DODGE CITY. According to IMDb there was also uncredited work on the film by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

In addition to the trailer, the Blu-ray contains the 18-minute short FRONTIER DAYS (1945) with Robert Shayne and Dorothy Malone, directed by Jack Scholl, and the cartoon TRAP HAPPY PORKY (1945).

For an idea of what SAN ANTONIO looked look in the days when many of us were only able to watch it on commercial television, check out the unrestored trailer on this disc. Memories of watching movies looking like that are why Blu-rays and DVDs still seem like a miracle to me many years after they were each first introduced.

Both this film and the Blu-ray are happily recommended.

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: Manpower (1941) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

MANPOWER (1941), starring the powerhouse trio of Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, and Marlene Dietrich, was just released on Blu-ray last week by the Warner Archive Collection.

MANPOWER was previously released on DVD by the Warner Archive almost exactly 16 years ago, in early 2010. The new Blu-ray is a very good-looking print from a 1080p HD master of a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative.

Johnny Marshall (Raft) and Hank McHenry (Robinson) work together as part of a rowdy crew at a Los Angeles power company.

The men's close friendship is threatened when Hank falls for Fay (Dietrich), the daughter of a fellow crew member (Egon Brecher).

Fay has just been released from a year in prison and soon goes to work at a clip joint managed by Smiley (Barton MacLane).

The awkward Hank, who lacks Johnny's success with the ladies, falls for Fay and marries her despite knowing she doesn't love him.

Fay initially makes a good attempt to make Hank happy in return for him providing her with security, including a nice home, but when Johnny comes to stay with them while recovering from an injury, Fay realizes she loves Johnny, not Hank. Whoops...

This is a fairly entertaining 104-minute film thanks to a deep, deep cast and energetic direction by Raoul Walsh, but it could have been quite a bit better.

Raft is excellent, giving a nuanced, charismatic performance as a nice guy, but both Dietrich and Robinson are saddled playing unlikeable characters.

We know Robinson can do a good, believable job as a loving -- and loved -- husband thanks to a film like BLACKMAIL (1939), but here he's simply an oblivious, socially inept dope. I guess we can credit Robinson with good acting for being believable as a rather crass and unintelligent man. He's almost hard to watch at times, which is not how I typically think of Robinson.

Dietrich is similarly unpleasant. She's virtually always seen with a cigarette, even cooking and washing the dishes, and more importantly has a chip on her shoulder from the moment she shows up. Even when she falls for Raft's character, she doesn't really soften; instead, her treatment of Hank, who's provided for her generously, seems cruel.

Yes, Hank is kind of a dweeb and he knew she didn't love him when they married, but...

Beyond Robinson and Dietrich, Warner Bros. stalwarts Alan Hale (Sr.) and Frank McHugh are way over the top as immature, childlike crew members.

That said, the many other great faces in the cast make it a lot of fun, starting with Ward Bond, Eve Arden, Joseph Crehan, Walter Catlett, Joyce Compton, Barbara Pepper, and Nella Walker.

There are also bit roles played by Faye Emerson (as a nurse), William Hopper (as a power company phone operator), and Jane Randolph (as a hat check girl). It's great fun glimpsing them here early in their careers.

MANPOWER was written by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay. It was photographed in black and white by Ernie Haller.

The lone extras on this Blu-ray are two cartoons from the year MANPOWER was released, SNOWTIME FOR COMEDY (1941) and JOE GLOW, THE FIREFLY (1941).

In the end, despite my disappointments MANPOWER is entertaining enough to be worth seeing, especially given the cast and the beautiful presentation on this new Blu-ray.

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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TCM in February: Highlights

Happy February on Turner Classic Movies!

February will be a bit unusual this year, in that the first 12 days of the month will be a "normal" schedule, followed by the annual 31 Days of Oscar festival starting on February 13, 2026.

31 Days of Oscar runs through March 15th, which is also the date of this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

I'll have a look at the 31 Days of Oscar highlights posted here around the 13th, while this February preview covers February 1st through 12th. Then look for additional March highlights here around March 16th.

The February Star of the Month, from February 2nd through 6th, is Bugs Bunny. Blocks of Bugs Bunny cartoons, 45 in all, will be screened in between feature films each evening.

For those who may not have heard, TCM will be the new "home" of Looney Tunes cartoons thanks to a new six-year deal.

The Noir Alley films shown on the first two weekends of February will be TALK ABOUT A STRANGER (1952), shown January 31st and February 1st, followed by VICE SQUAD (1953) on February 7th and 8th.

VICE SQUAD, starring Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard, is a movie which may not be great -- but is great fun!

Here are more details on some of the fun films being shown on TCM during the first half of February. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read an extended review.

...Overnight, in the wee hours of February 2nd, TCM is showing the masterpiece THE RED SHOES (1948). When I revisited it at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival I Tweeted "Few things on earth are more lovely than Moira Shearer in THE RED SHOES."

...After a day of films featuring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba the Jungle Boy, the first evening of Bugs Bunny films begins on February 2nd. Nine cartoons will be shown in between films such as A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) and WALK DON'T RUN (1966). The cartoons continue every evening this week.

...There's a lineup of films about pilots on February 3rd, including Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan in DESPERATE JOURNEY (1942).

...TCM celebrates Westerns during the day on February 4th, including Randolph Scott in RIDING SHOTGUN (1954) and TALL MAN RIDING (1955). Jeremy Arnold covers the eight-film lineup for the TCM site.

...February 5th features a birthday tribute to John Carradine, including STAGECOACH (1939). That screening could also be considered a belated birthday celebration for John Ford, born February 1st.

...February 6th there's a showing of MGM's little-known telling of the Cinderella tale, THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955). Although I wish Leslie Caron's Ella had been less petulant, overall I love the movie, including Estelle Winwood as the Fairy Godmother, Elsa Lanchester the Stepmother, and Michael Wilding is Prince Charming. Charles Walters directed.

...The Saturday movies on February 7th include Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks' TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), one of the movie which captured my imagination and helped me fall in love with classic movies as a child. As I wrote in my review nearly a decade ago, "In my mind's eye I can still see myself watching the film for hte first time at my grandmother's house, completely entranced by Bogart and Bacall's sizzling chemistry."

...February 8th features comedies, including TWICE BLESSED (1945), a precursor to THE PARENT TRAP (1962) starring identical twins Lyn and Lee Wilde, and, later in the day, Lubitsch's NINOTCHKA (1939).

...February 9th is my favorite day on the early February schedule. It begins with a birthday tribute to Kathryn Grayson, including a very little-known yet very special piece of MGM Americana, THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN (1942). The evening is spent celebrating director Ernst Lubitsch, including a screening of his classic TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), which remains fresh and funny no matter how many times one has seen it.

...February 10th features a favorite lesser-known Western, FORT DOBBS (1958), starring Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, and Brian Keith.

...A day of stories about schools and students on February 11th includes Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, and Bob Fosse in THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953), along with a favorite pre-Code melodrama, FINISHING SCHOOL (1934), featuring Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers.

...February 12th features the excellent WWII thriller YELLOW CANARY (1943), which is also being shown February 10th. Anna Neagle and Richard Greene star.

Those wishing to peek ahead at the 31 Days of Oscar schedule, which begins February 13th, will find information here.

For more on TCM in February 2026, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in February, along with TCM's online schedule.

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