Tonight's Movie: Juke Girl (1942) - A Warner Archive DVD Review

JUKE GIRL (1942) is another in my ongoing series of reviews of older Warner Archive DVD releases.

The movie was first made available as part of the Warner Archive Collection in July 2009, shortly after the company came into being in March of that year. The film continues to be readily available today as a "manufactured on demand" disc.

JUKE GIRL stars Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan, who costarred the same year in the much better known KINGS ROW (1942).

It's a story of poor migrant workers which calls to mind not only THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) but William A. Wellman's Depression-era film WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (1933), with a touch of THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940) on the side.

Reagan and future director Richard Whorf play Steve and Danny, who as the film begins are looking for work in Cat Tail, Florida.

Steve, whose family lost its farm, goes to work for independent farmer Nick Garcos (George Tobias), while Danny joins up with wholesaler Henry Madden (Gene Lockhart), who controls most of the local produce market. Madden does his best to put Garcos out of business, and with Steve and Danny essentially working in enemy camps, their friendship suffers.

Steve also meets Lola (Sheridan), a "juke girl" whose job at the local bar is to sing a little, dance a little, and convince the workers to spend their money on drinks. Her roommate in the local migrant shanty town is fellow employee "Murph" (Faye Emerson).

Steve wants Lola to marry him, but while she's attracted to Steve, she believes she's a poor bet for a long-term relationship and resists making things permanent.

Then there's an unexpected death and things go south for Steve and Lola in a big way...

Overall I enjoyed this Warner Bros. film, which has a top cast and an interesting story. For the most part it's a compelling watch. I did think the story went off the rails somewhat towards the end, with what was already a fairly tough story going a bit over the cliff with melodrama, but it does pull things back together in the final scenes. I liked the final fadeout.

Sheridan is always compelling as the tough, world-weary Lola; she and Reagan's idealistic charmer Steve are a pair of opposites who are interesting to watch together. The screen presence of both actors does a lot to keep the viewer interested.

Whorf (BLUES IN THE NIGHT) had a propensity to play edgy if rather colorless characters, and I've always felt that switching to directing was probably a good move for him careerwise. Emerson (DANGER SIGNAL) -- later married to Elliott Roosevelt and then Skitch Henderson -- is a striking actress who always makes an impression, though her role here is relatively small.

The cast is filled with additional familiar faces, including Alan Hale (Sr.), Howard Da Silva, Donald MacBride, Willie Best, Spencer Charters, and Fuzzy Knight.

Betty Brewer (seen below) plays a young orphan in the migrant camp, Skeeter. Her self-sufficient, optimistic character is strongly reminiscent, in both looks and personality, of the character played by Dorothy Coonan Wellman in the previously mentioned WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD. It's a bit odd, however, that Brewer's initially prominent character almost completely recedes into the background in the second half of the movie.

JUKE GIRL runs 90 minutes. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and filmed in black and white by Bert Glennon. The film was partly shot in nearby Buena Park, California, which I assume stood in for agricultural Florida.

The unrestored print isn't flawless, with minor speckles and wear, but it was perfectly acceptable viewing, with a strong soundtrack. The lone extra on the disc is the trailer.

For more on this film, please check out a review by Steve at Mystery File.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive DVDs may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where DVDs are sold.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...Coming to Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944), starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, and Peter Lorre. Extras will include a commentary track by Charles Dennis, author of the upcoming book THERE'S A BODY IN THE WINDOW SEAT! THE HISTORY OF ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and a 1952 radio adaptation starring Boris Karloff.

...The Warner Archive Collection September Blu-ray releases will include another Massey film, ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS (1940), along with the classic KING KONG (1933).

...Coming in the UK this fall from Masters of Cinema: A Blu-ray release of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932), which like KING KONG stars Fay Wray. Joel McCrea also stars in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, which I reviewed after seeing it at UCLA in 2019.

...Book News: JEAN SIMMONS: HER LIFE AND CAREER by Michelangelo Capua was published by McFarland last month...Bear Manor Media Tweets that CLAUDE RAINS: AN INVISIBLE MAN by Toby I. Cohen is "On the way."

...Recent blogger book reviews: Last month at Out of the Past Raquel reviewed CAMERA MAN: BUSTER KEATON, THE DAWN OF CINEMA, and THE INVENTION OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Dana Stevens. I just caught up with her review and think the book sounds very interesting. Incidentally I just bought Imogen Sara Smith's book on Keaton recently...Jess at Box Office Poisons reviews LORETTA YOUNG: THE THINGS I HAD TO LEARN, which Young wrote with Helen Ferguson. As a Young fan, I'm going to have to buy my own copy...Digging Star Wars reviews Will Brooker's BFI Film Classics Book on STAR WARS (1977). It's important to note that both the Young and STAR WARS book reviews were part of Raquel's great annual Summer Classic Film Reading Challenge; links to many more book reviews are at Raquel's site, and I highly recommend checking them out...Annette Bochenek previews the new Maria Montez biography by Tom Zimmerman at HOMETOWNS TO HOLLYWOOD.

...More good Kino Lorber Blu-ray news this week! The release date for the Dark Side of Cinema IX has been announced as October 11th, with the Dark Side of Cinema X coming one week later. The films in Vol. IX are LADY ON A TRAIN (1945), TAKE ONE FALSE STEP (1949), and TANGIER (1946), with Vol. X having a boxing theme, containing FLESH AND FURY (1952), THE SQUARE JUNGLE (1955), and WORLD IN MY CORNER (1956). All six films will have new commentary tracks. LADY ON A TRAIN is one of my top favorite Deanna Durbin films, which also stars Dan Duryea, and the other five films in these sets all have great casts including William Powell, Shelley Winters, Marsha Hunt, Maria Montez, Tony Curtis, Audie Murphy, Tommy Rall, and Ernest Borgnine, for starters.

...New Glenn Erickson CineSavant reviews at Trailers from Hell including Kino Lorber's Dark Side of Cinema VIII collection and SUMMERTIME (1955), starring Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi, directed by David Lean.

...Jessica's latest "Musical Monday" review at Comet Over Hollywood is a favorite Esther Williams film, EASY TO LOVE (1953). She says it's "visually stunning and quite funny," and I concur with those opinions.

...Rachel shares her "Ten Favorite Biopics" at Hamlette's Soliloquy.

...A new cookbook coming from Ina Garten in October: GO-TO DINNERS: A BAREFOOT CONTESSA COOKBOOK.

...Notable Passings: Mickey Rooney Jr. has passed away at the age of 77. He was very briefly a Mouseketeer in the '50s and was later a musician; he was in Willie Nelson's band and appeared in a Nelson film, HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (1980). Rooney's mother was Rooney's second wife, Betty Jane Baker...Taurean Blacque (seen here), who played Detective Neal Washington on HILL STREET BLUES (1981-87), has passed on at the age of 82. I really enjoyed him as the very cool, level-headed half of a detective team with hot-tempered J.D. LaRue (Kiel Martin); Martin died back in 1990, only 46 years old. Offscreen Blacque was the father of 13, including 11 adopted children. 12 of the children survive, as well as 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren...Roxene Supple, a former owner of the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, which later became the Palm Springs Cultural Center, has died at 97. I love visiting the Palm Springs Cultural Center each year for the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my July 16th roundup.

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Tonight's Movie: Chicago Confidential (1957) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL (1957) is one of three films in Kino Lorber's Dadrk Side of Cinema VII collection.

The set, which also contains John Payne in THE BOSS (1956) and Dana Andrews in THE FEARMAKERS (1948), was released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics last month.

Volume VIII has also just been released and will be reviewed here, and Volumes IX, X, and XI are scheduled, which is all fantastic news!

CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL is one of those films I like to say may not be "great cinema" but is great fun. This docu-noir style crime film was totally made for me; I loved the omniscient narrator (Carl Princi), the peek at '50s crime-solving technology, and especially the cast, which is filled with fun faces.

The film also fits into the "big city corruption" subgenre, alongside films such as THE TURNING POINT (1952) and THE CAPTIVE CITY (1952).

Brian Keith stars as State's Attorney Jim Fremont, who puts union boss Artie Blane (Dick Foran) in prison for the murder of his accountant. The accountant was actually working with Blane to uncover local corruption, and crime boss Ken Harrison (Douglas Kennedy) uses an alcoholic deadbeat (Elisha Cook Jr.) to frame Blane for the murder. Harrison and his gang then move into the area and take it over.

Blane's devoted fiancee Laura (Beverly Garland) asserts his innocence to Fremont, who's heard that claim one too many times after sending someone to prison. However, to get Laura off his case he has a key piece of evidence analyzed by an expert, and he's as shocked as anyone when he subsequently realizes Laura may be correct.

Jim's job is not simply to prosecute, but to seek justice, so he begins exploring further and uncovers a web of mob corruption and murders.

This film is a very brisk and entertaining 75 minutes with a compelling story and a wonderful collection of faces. Sure, it's all been "done before," but it's familiar in the best kind of way. This is the kind of movie I really enjoy sitting down to relax with for an hour and a quarter.

I loved Garland in both THE DESPERADO (1954) and THE MIAMI STORY (1954), and she's just right here as the woman fighting for the life of the man she loves. I initially thought it might be possible she wasn't on the level and was in the relationship with the clearly older Artie for his money, but she quickly shows she's the real deal. I especially liked her nerve in the final scenes as she tries to fight off Kennedy's henchmen. It's a nice part for Garland, reminiscent of the brave female characters from PHANTOM LADY (1944) and BLACK ANGEL (1946), albeit with a little less screen time.

Another Beverly, Beverly Tyler, who was familiar from THE BEGINNING OR THE END (1947) and the George Montgomery Western TOUGHEST GUN IN TOMBSTONE (1958), also has a very good role here as a terrified defense witness. Both Tyler and Garland are significant reasons I enjoyed the movie.

Foran's role was relatively small, as he's quickly shuffled off to prison, but it was interesting seeing the former cowboy hero and singer in this part. Foran was an older-looking 47 when this film was released.

Paul Langton plays Keith's righthand man, with Phyllis Coates as Keith's wife. Coates had played Lois Lane in the original season of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1952-53).

Kennedy is wonderfully creepy as the evil crime boss. Former leading man Jim Bannon (I LOVE A MYSTERY) pops up as a pilot in the action-packed final sequence. Also on hand are Gavin Gordon, Anthony George, John Hamilton, and Thomas Browne Henry.

I suspect even viewers who aren't really into this type of film won't be able to help finding it entertaining, and viewers like me will find it terrific fun. This is one I'll happily watch again in the future.

Sidney Salkow directed, with black and white photography by Kenneth Peach. Bernard Gordon's screenplay was based on a book by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer and a story by Hugh King.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray print is from a new 2K master; it looks and sounds great. The only extras on this disc are three trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

The other two films in the set have commentary tracks by two of the best, Alan K. Rode and Jason A. Ney. I'll be reviewing those movies here in the future, along with Volume VIII and hopefully future releases as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL and look forward to the other films in the set starring Payne and Andrews.

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

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Happy Birthday, Disneyland!

One of the things I love about Disneyland is the way it honors its history each year by acknowledging the anniversary of its original opening on July 17, 1955.

Disneyland typically has Cast Members greeting guests on Main Street USA before park opening each day, but today there was a particularly big crowd waving and cheering.  The early morning skies were gray, but the atmosphere was simply wonderful.

We headed for a mavelous breakfast on the patio at Carnation Cafe while watching arriving guests walk down Main Street.

We spent the morning enjoying the park, including photographing some favorite spots, such as the Partners statue in the center of the park:

The flowers at the Hub were gorgeous:

We also enjoyed checking out the Submarine lagoon, which is looking wonderful.  

The ride reopens this week after a long closure, dating back before the March 2020 shutdown, and we watched the submarines circling around being tested.  Here they're all lined up ready to go:

Hank the Octopus from FINDING DORY (2016) is a new addition to the lagoon:

Here's a panoramic shot I took:

Later in the morning the sun finally appeared!  Here's a photo of the colorful Mad Tea Party:

It's so great to see characters like Alice in Wonderland interacting directly with children again!

The Dapper Dans were singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" on Main Street:

At noon there was a birthday ceremony which began with a short parade from Sleeping Beauty Castle to Town Square:

Not having been able to be there on the park's birthdays the last couple years, it felt especially joyous having thousands of happy people coming together to celebrate today.

The parade concluded with everyone singing "Happy Birthday" at the train station.

I'll conclude this post with a photo of the plaque containing Walt Disney's opening day speech from July 17, 1955.

Happy Birthday, Disneyland!

Previous Disneyland Birthday Posts: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 (and more here), 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

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Tonight's Movie: Francis Goes to the Races (1951) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES (1951) is the second film in the Francis the Talking Mule Blu-ray collection from Kino Lorber.

The seven-film series begins with FRANCIS (1950), which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago.

Donald O'Connor returns in this second film as Peter Stirling, who as the movie begins has been fired from his bank job because of his claims to be friends with a talking mule, Francis (played by Molly, voiced by Chill Wills). Peter and Francis met when Peter was serving in Burma in World War II.

Peter and Francis are wandering down the road when they happen upon a horse racing farm owned by Colonel Travers (Cecil Kellaway). The colonel has a pretty granddaughter named Frances, "with an e" (Piper Laurie). (As opposed to Francis with an "i," of course!)

Francis happens to know one of the Travers' horses, and Peter gets a job working at the farm, becoming entangled with the horses, a mobster (Barry Kelley), and the FBI.

FRANCIS GOES TO THE RACES is a mildly amusing 88 minutes, thanks chiefly to the sunny Laurie and a nice cast of character faces. There are some cute incidents as Francis coaches troubled racehorses, but I didn't find this film on a par with the original FRANCIS, which had some genuinely amusing moments which made me chuckle out loud.

The cast also includes Hayden Rorke, Jesse White, Larry Keating, Don Beddoe, and Bill Walker.

The racetrack cashier in one scene is played by John Beradino, who at the time was still a pro baseball player. The future longtime GENERAL HOSPITAL star's film career had begun in 1948.

The screenplay was written by David Stern and Oscar Brodney, from a story by Robert Arthur, based on Stern's characters.

Arthur Lubin directed, with black and white photography by Irving Glassberg. The racing scenes were filmed at Santa Anita racetrack. Despite that interesting location, one of the film's drawbacks is its exceedingly bland visual style.

The nice Kino Lorber print is from a brand-new 2K master. The disc also has a newly mastered trailer and a commentary track by Eddy Von Mueller.

Look for reviews of the other films in the Francis Blu-ray set over the course of the summer, with FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT (1952) coming up next!

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

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17 Years of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

I wanted to take a moment to note that today marks the 17th anniversary of this blog.

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings began on July 16, 2005. It's been an amazing ride; I continue to be so appreciative of the experiences I've had and especially the friends I've made thanks to this blog.

I'm deeply grateful. My sincere thanks to all my readers.

Previous blog anniversaries: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...First off we've got more good release date news from Kino Lorber Studio Classics: THE TURNING POINT (1952) will be released September 20th. It will include a commentary track by Alan K. Rode.

...Also of note from Kino Lorber, an upcoming release of WARNING SHOT (1967) with David Janssen heading a great cast. I've been interested in seeing this film since Colin reviewed it a couple three years ago at Riding the High Country.

...Happy birthday to Nancy Olson, who was 94 on July 14th, and to Patrick Wayne, who turned 83 on July 15th.

...The city of Santa Clarita is attempting to acquire the William S. Hart Museum from L.A. County. Esotouric raises concerns about abrogating Hart's will and whether Santa Clarita has the resources to properly maintain the museum.

...I learned from this L.A. Times article on the VHS store Whammy! that Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee in North Hollywood closed. I bought a lot of movie stills there "back in the day," and it was also known for its video rentals.

...Tail o' the Pup in West Hollywood has reopened. It's been in business since 1946.

...Continuing with L.A.-centric news, the L.A. Farmers Market on W. 3rd Street in Downtown Los Angeles celebrates its 88th anniversary this week, and the Hollywood Bowl celebrated its centennial anniversary on July 11, 2022.

...Christmas Con is coming to Pasadena next month, featuring around 30 Hallmark Christmas movie stars...and Barbara Eden!

...In June I shared preliminary information on the Cinecon Festival, which returns to Hollywood September 1-5, 2022. Cinecon has just announced that Mitzi Gaynor will be honored at the festival's opening night, with her friend Michael Feinstein on hand to interview her. The festival also made its initial announcements on the schedule, which includes a showing of my favorite Deanna Durbin film, HIS BUTLER'S SISTER (1943), and many other rarely screened titles. Unfortunately the L.A. County Public Health Director currently remains committed to returning Los Angeles County to an indoor mask mandate, which would make it the only county in the country to do so, and that may happen as soon as the end of July. However, doctors at the huge Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center gave a town hall talk in which they emphasized in frank terms that there is not a Covid emergency in Los Angeles, with zero seriously ill patients in their hospital, so we'll see. Whether the mandate will occur and be in place Labor Day Weekend is anyone's guess so I'm holding off on making plans until the situation is clear.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please check out my July 9th roundup.

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Tonight's Movie: Bridge of Spies (2015)

This week I finally caught up with the fact-based suspense film BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015), which I didn't get a chance to see on its initial release.

It took a few years for me to finally see the movie, but I really enjoyed it. Many of my U.S. history courses in college were focused on the Cold War, so it's an era I've long found of interest.

BRIDGE OF SPIES -- what a great title! -- is based on the 1960 Francis Gary Powers incident, when a U.S. spy plane was shot down in Soviet territory and the pilot (played by Austin Stowell) was taken prisoner.

In a parallel story in the United States, insurance attorney James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is requested to defend a Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), in court proceedings. Donovan is chosen in part because of his background working at the Nuremberg trials.

Serving as Abel's attorney and ensuring he receives a fair trial makes life difficult and even dangerous for Donovan, his wife (Amy Ryan), and family. Even Donovan's partner (Alan Alda), who initially insists taking the case is Donovan's patriotic duty, wants him to back off after Abel is convicted and objects to Donovan pursuing any appeals. Donovan, however, is committed to following American legal principles to the end. He believes that showing the world the fairness of the U.S. legal system is all to the good.

Donovan makes the case to the sentencing judge (Dakin Matthews) that Abel not be executed so that the U.S. will have a card to play with the Soviets if needed in the future. He proved to be prescient, as in 1962 the Soviets signaled through back channels that they were interested in a prisoner swap, Abel for Powers.

The U.S. could not take an official position on the exchange for various reasons and had Donovan be the front man for the negotiations. Donovan also worked to secure the release of an American student, Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers), who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and imprisoned in East Berlin.

On February 10, 1962, Powers and Abel were exchanged at the Glienicke Bridge in Germany, while Pryor was simultaneously released at the Checkpoint Charlie crossing between East and West Berlin.

I only know the basic outlines of the Powers incident, so in this review I'm responding to BRIDGE OF SPIES solely as a film and not addressing its historical accuracy; it's common for historical dramas to fudge facts for dramatic effect.

As a movie, it works extremely well, with a gripping storyline and an always-interesting performance by Tom Hanks. He's great as a successful insurance attorney who suddenly finds himself caught up in world events. The relationship he develops with his client is enjoyable to observe, especially the always-calm Abel's response "Would it help?" when Donovan asks if he worries. 

Rylance is also good as the seemingly passive but very observant Abel, who reminds Donovan that there are men doing his job for the U.S. and we would want them treated well if caught.

The movie runs long at 142 minutes; I would have trimmed down some of the Powers scenes for a brisker running time, as the film is always more interesting when Hanks is onscreen. For the most part the film is engrossing throughout.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13 for language along with some non-graphic scenes of torture and violence. It's a pretty mild PG-13 and I would suggest it's probably fine for kids 10 or 11 and up if they're interested in the subject matter; my own kids who loved history and thrillers would have liked it at that age, while others wouldn't be ready for it until they're older.

BRIDGE OF SPIES was directed by Steven Spielberg and filmed by Janusz Kaminski. Location filming included the bridge from the actual event.

The movie is available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack or on a single DVD.

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Tonight's TV: The Indian Doctor - Series 3 (2013) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

This week I returned to THE INDIAN DOCTOR (2010-2013) for a third and final round of episodes.

All three seasons of this UK series are available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber in a single collection. I reviewed Series 1 from the set last fall and Series 2 earlier this year.

It's now 1966 in the small Welsh mining village of Trefelin. The "Indian Doctor," Prem Sharma (Sanjeev Bhaskar), and his wife Kamini (Ayesha Dharker) have now lived there for three years.

Via a letter Kamini writes to her mother, the viewer is quickly brought up to speed on the local goings-on. Receptionist Gina has relocated to London, so Prem is attempting to hire a replacement; young Dan (Jacob Oakley), son of miner Owen (Ifan Huw Daffyd), is doing well in school and still has a close relationship with Kamini; and the Sharmas, who lost a young daughter when they lived in India, are still hoping for a baby.

Pub owner Megan (Mali Harries) and Emlyn the police sergeant (Alun ap Brinly) are now married, but Megan is feeling poorly and seems depressed.

Into this mix arrive businessman Basil Thomas (Will Huston) and his brother, Dr. Robert Thomas (Rhydian Jones), who claim to have big plans to build a new subdivision in Trefelin, but something's not quite right about either man...

Series 3 is in line with the first two seasons in that the lead characters of Prem and Kamini are extremely compelling and the main reasons to watch the series. I also especially enjoy Kamini's motherly relationship with Dan. Dan's father was formerly an alcoholic but has mended his ways and become a better father, but unfortunately he's now in questionable health.

Also like the first two seasons, the Sharmas are up against cartoon villains in the form of the weird Thomases. I continue to find it odd that a show can have such interesting lead characters and a solid premise on the one hand, and cartoony, unbelievable bad guys on the other. It's a pattern for each of the three seasons, and I wonder if this issue had anything to do with the series not continuing further. Perhaps the writers simply didn't know how to draw enough interesting moments out of daily life in the village to sustain the series.

Despite the flaws, I'm sorry the show didn't last longer, especially as the last episode ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. I'd love to know "what happens next" for the Sharmas, Dan, Megan and Emlyn, but alas, it was not to be.

All in all, despite the flaws, I enjoyed this series and have found it memorable.  I'm glad to have spent time with these characters.

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

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Book Review: Frank Sinatra on the Big Screen

After all my travels and film festivals this spring, I've now got several enticing recent books stacked up which I'm looking forward to reviewing this summer!

First up for review is FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN: THE SINGER AS ACTOR AND FILMMAKER by James L. Neibaur and Gary Schneeberger. I read a .pdf copy of this book, which was published by McFarland in late May.

As it happens, one of the very earliest books in my film book library was THE FILMS OF FRANK SINATRA by Gene Ringgold and Clifford McCarthy, published by Citadel Press in 1971; I bought it at Larry Edmunds Bookshop as a teen a few years after it came out. It's amazing to think that earlier book is now over 50 years old!

THE FILMS OF FRANK SINATRA is an enjoyable read which definitely served to generate interest in numerous then-unseen-by-me Sinatra films, but aside from the intro section, it's chiefly a photo book. Each film entry consists of credits, the plot, and review excerpts, with the book's most interesting aspect being the beautifully reproduced photos. This definitely left a big gap for a later Sinatra book to fill with more information and analysis, and FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN does so admirably.

FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN has a much denser text and is more focused on history and film criticism than photos, though it has those too; each film entry is illustrated with one or two black and white photographs. After beginning with just a few pages of introduction and a discussion of Sinatra's career before films, the book then launches immediately into a look at his first starring film, HIGHER AND HIGHER (1943) -- which also happens to be one of the first Sinatra films I ever saw as a child.

The book examines each of Sinatra's films in chronological order; while the entries in FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN do include the type of information found in THE FILMS OF FRANK SINATRA, including brief plot synopses and contemporaneous critical response, it goes into much more depth than the older book. The entries review not just each film as a whole but zero in on the highlights (or lowlights!) of Sinatra's performance; the chronological chapters thus combine to trace the evolution of his screen talent.

The review of HIGHER AND HIGHER is a good example, mentioning that he's not called to act for sustained periods before he resumes singing and noting that he's physically awkward during musical numbers. This contrasts with ANCHORS AWEIGH (1945) just a couple years later, where Sinatra "astonished" audiences with his "vigorous dancing" with Gene Kelly.

Some of the reviews are pretty tough; for instance, THE KISSING BANDIT (1948) is said to have "nothing to offer," and while I agree the film and Sinatra are relatively weak, it does contain one of my all-time favorite MGM dance scenes, featuring Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, and Ann Miller, so the film is valuable to me for that reason. However, such minor disagreements with other film lovers and historians can be interesting and enjoyable to contemplate.

Contrasted with that personal quibble, I really liked the smart analysis scattered throughout; for instance, there's an examination of how the relationships of Kelly and Sinatra's characters evolve through their three films together which gave me a "lightbulb" moment thinking about how their characters flip a bit in their final joint film, ON THE TOWN (1949), with Kelly playing a more naive character similar to the types Sinatra played in their earlier movies.

MEET DANNY WILSON (1951) is also interesting as it's noted this was Sinatra's first chance to play "a character whose primary qualities were something other than shyness, naivete and sincerity." The film was also an important indicator of how Sinatra had grown onscreen since 1943, which he would fully demonstrate in his Oscar-winning role in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1951).

I was also particularly glad to see the appreciation for Sinatra's "bravura performance" with a "demonic edge" in SUDDENLY (1954), a film I admire and wish were more widely seen.

While I've seen a significant number of Sinatra's films of the '40s and '50s, I have little acquaintance with his movies past that point. I've collected a number of them, so the chapters on Sinatra's films from the '60s on were quite educational for me and helped me prioritize what I'd like to watch first. TONY ROME (1967) and THE DETECTIVE (1968) sound like the kind of films I'd particularly enjoy.

I liked that each entry lists the film's songs, which makes the book a nice quick reference source in that regard. In addition to the film history, the book periodically notes what was happening in Sinatra's recording career in parallel to his movies, which is an interesting juxtaposition; for instance, the same year my favorite Sinatra film, THE TENDER TRAP (1955), was released saw the release of his classic LP IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS.

A postscript: Towards the end of the book it notes that Sinatra's gravestone reads "The Best is Yet to Come"; I shared a photo of that gravestone here myself in 2017. However, in a weird relatively recent twist not noted in the book, the gravestone mysteriously changed circa late 2020 and now reads "Sleep Warm, Poppa." The new stone can be seen via FindaGrave. Co-author James Neibaur has noted on Twitter that the book was written in 2020 but publication was delayed by McFarland due to COVID, so I'm assuming that accounts for it not being mentioned.  It's such a curious story -- no one has specifically taken responsibility for the change, though the implications make it fairly obvious -- that it seemed worth updating that fact in this review.

The print copy of FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN is 264 pages including footnotes, bibliography, and index.

FRANK SINATRA ON THE BIG SCREEN: THE SINGER AS ACTOR AND FILMMAKER is a thoughtful and informative book which enriched my understanding of the film career of my favorite singer and is a valuable addition to my reference library.

Thanks to McFarland and co-author James L. Neibaur for providing an e-copy of this book for review.

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