Tonight's Movie: Torrid Zone (1940) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The very entertaining Warner Bros. film TORRID ZONE (1940) has just been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

I first reviewed TORRID ZONE here nearly two decades ago, in 2007. I very much enjoyed it then, but I don't think I'd seen it again in the years since.

What a treat to finally revisit the movie on this new Blu-ray, which looks absolutely terrific. Thanks to this release, TORRID ZONE is more enjoyable than ever.

Pat O'Brien plays Steve Case, the hard-edged manager of a Central American banana enterprise. Steve resents Nick Butler (James Cagney) for helping end his marriage, but he also needs Butler's help and manipulates him into staying on the job when Butler intends to leave for the U.S.

Ann Sheridan plays Lee Donley, a pretty American entertainer (and occasional card cheat) who Steve tries to run out of town. Lee and Nick run into each other, sparks fly, and Lee ends up smack dab in the middle of things on the banana plantation.

The 88-minute story essentially finds O'Brien, Cagney, and Sheridan going in circles with one another, arguing and romancing, while interacting with a tremendous supporting cast which includes Andy Devine, George Tobias, Jerome Cowan, George Reeves, Helen Vinson, Grady Sutton, John Ridgely, and Frank Puglia.

Perhaps the plot doesn't really go much of anywhere, yet how can anyone not love it? Time spent with this cast is a joy.

The sharp script was written by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay, with William Keighley directing and James Wong Howe filming in beautiful black and white.

As I noted in my 2007 review, some have compared this film to the same year's HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940), as it's a "workplace comedy" with a similar fast-talking, combative yet funny tone. I think it's an apt comparison.

The chemistry of the three leads is a big key to the movie's success. O'Brien and Cagney may battle throughout, yet the audience knows that deep down they really depend on each other. The two actors, lifelong friends, were in nine films together.

Cagney and Sheridan also have a pleasingly sparky chemistry, and I particularly got a kick out of her repartee with Tobias in a seriocomic as a revolutionary leader. There's a moment she yells "Touchdown!" when he escapes that cracked me up.

Among the supporting cast, Devine adds a cozy comedic touch, and look for Reeves in an unexpected role as a Tobias henchman.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray is from a 1080P HD master from 4K scans of the original nitrate camera negative. As has happily become common when it comes to the Warner Archive, both the print and sound quality are top notch.

Three of the Blu-ray extras duplicate what appeared on the 2007 James Cagney Signature Collection DVD years ago: The 10-minute short OZZIE NELSON & HIS ORCHESTRA (1940), directed by Roy Mack; the 20-minute Technicolor short PONY EXPRESS DAYS (1940) with George Reeves, directed by B. Reeves Eason; the Tex Avery cartoon A WILD HARE (1940).

Excellent extras which are new to this disc are two Screen Guild Theater radio broadcasts. A 1940 production runs 26 minutes and features Cagney and Tobias from the movie cast, along with Brian Donlevy and Joan Bennett. Tobias returns in a 27-minute 1942 production starring George Raft, Jack Carson, and Paulette Goddard. Hearing these "alternate casts" with big stars in condensed radio versions is great fun.

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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