Tonight's Movie: Heaven Down Here (2023)

The Hallmark Christmas movie HEAVEN DOWN HERE (2023) is quite different from the usual Hallmark holiday fare.

There's no romance to speak of, and indeed, the storylines are pretty heavy going for much of the film, before finally landing in more typically uplifting Hallmark territory.

The movie concerns a disparate group of people who find themselves stranded in a diner on Christmas Eve thanks to a massive snowstorm and unlucky circumstances.

Imani (Krystal Joy Brown) plays a recently widowed waitress who's financially struggling as she raises her two young children (Jayden Oniah and Isabel Birch).

Imani's manager Dan (Richard Harmon) is a jerk who makes her work on Christmas Eve and then even forces her to stay late, causing her to be marooned at the diner due to the storm.

Little does Imani know that Dan, having no place to go for Christmas, is hiding in a back room playing video games...

Also stranded at the diner is Felix (Juan Riedinger), the pastor of a struggling church who has a broken family in his past, including an estranged son (Jace Fleming).

And Clara (Tina Lifford), a retired teacher turned hospice caregiver, has been contending with a demanding, unhappy patient (Phylicia Rashad, THE COSBY SHOW) and the fact that her daughter (Kelcey Mawema) will soon be leaving to attend college in California.

Imani, Dan, Felix, and Clara spend Christmas Eve together overnight at the diner and gradually open up and impact each other in positive yet quite believable ways. These are struggling, human people but thanks to their Christmas Eve together their lives improve for the better.

There's a giant coincidental twist near the end, which won't be revealed here, which is seemingly too good to be true, as it solves multiple problems at once.

That said, the cast all sell this unexpected development with everything they've got, and honestly, everyone's situations have been so bleak up to that point that the plot twist is most welcome. The movie was dark enough early on that I was dubious it would be able to pull out of that mood for a nice Christmasy ending, but it definitely makes it in the end.

The movie does a good job making the point that there's often more going on with people than what we see on the surface, and it thus unscores the importance of treating others with grace and kindness. 

Clara, in particular, didn't have much reason to go out of her way to help her cranky employer, yet in doing so she changed multiple lives.

The movie also spends a little more time on religious faith than the average Hallmark film, which was welcome. Riedinger, playing the pastor, has an odd accent which comes and goes; he's otherwise effective as an imperfect man of God.

Brown is a Broadway actress whose credits have included HAMILTON, and she has multiple chances to sing, which also makes this film a little different. She's also a believable dramatic actress and does a nice job in her role.

Rashad and Lifford are two pros who handle their edgy storyline with grace and leave us smiling in the end.

HEAVEN DOWN HERE was written by Alison McKenzie and Shana Lloyd. It was directed by Anne Wheeler.

HEAVEN DOWN HERE originally aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. It's available on a two-film DVD along with HOLIDAY ROAD (2023).

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Tonight's Movie: The Trouble With Harry (1955)

I've been gradually working my way through a small stack of films I've never seen directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock.

The autumn season made it the perfect time to finally check out THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955), which was shot in Vermont in the fall of 1954.

I'd put off seeing this film as I'm not the world's biggest fan of Shirley MacLaine, plus I'd heard it was "offbeat" -- I mean, it's focused almost entirely around a dead body?!

Well, I've now seen it and can say it was very definitely offbeat, but in the most delightful ways. I was almost surprised that I found it quite entertaining, even heartwarming. It sounds absurd to describe it that way, but Hitchcock really accomplished something unique with this film.

And more than that, Shirley MacLaine was perfect for this role, and some of her line deliveries made me laugh out loud, which I don't often do when watching movies alone at home. I was actually glad she was in the cast.

The plot, such as it is, concerns various people in a small rural village stumbling -- some of them quite literally -- over a body on a hill outside town.

The people who come in contact with the body include a retired sailor, Albert Wiles (Edmund Gwenn); a handsome young artist named Sam (John Forsythe); a young mother, Jennifer (MacLaine), and her little boy Arnie (Jerry Mathers); and an older woman, Ivy (Mildred Natwick), for whom the discovery of the body leads to unexpected late-life romance.

None of these folks are particularly concerned or disturbed to find a dead man in their midst; indeed, the identity of the corpse comes as a relief to Jennifer, as he's a difficult person from her past.

But who killed him, and why? What should be done with the body? And will the Deputy Sheriff (Royal Dano) unfairly suspect one of the townspeople is the murderer?

It's a bizarre little 99-minute movie about absolutely lovely people with a problem on their hands. I was amused that at various times it reminded me of "feel good" films as diverse as CHRISTMAS IN JULY (1940) and DONOVAN'S REEF (1963).

The CHRISTMAS IN JULY connection comes when a millionaire (Parker Fennelly) stumbles across Sam's art; rather than asking for money, Sam has each of his friends (including Mildred Dunnock as a storekeeper) name what they'd like most before he whispers his own request to the man. Each person wants something simple yet meaningful.

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY also reminded me of DONOVAN'S REEF insofar as it's what I think of as a near-plotless "hangout" movie with a fun group of people. It's even got occasional John Ford player Natwick in the cast!

And how fun is it that Hitchcock utilized Edmund Gwenn 15 years after my favorite Hitchcock movie, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)?

The clever script was written by John Michael Hayes from a novel by Jack Trevor Story. Among the funny quotes was MacLaine's deadpan "He looked exactly the same when he was alive, only he was vertical."

Vermont was filmed in its autumnal glory by Robert Burks, with a superb Bernard Herrmann score to accent the action.

I watched THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY on Blu-ray.

Anyone open to trying something completely different from the norm should check out THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY...and this is definitely the perfect time of year to watch it.

Among the Hitchcock films remaining in my stack: LIFEBOAT (1944), UNDER CAPRICORN (1949), THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956), and TOPAZ (1969).

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

One of this year's most delightful movie surprises was the announcement that Kino Lorber would be releasing DEAR RUTH (1947) on Blu-ray.

I was charmed by DEAR RUTH when I first saw it in 2010, and to my knowledge it has not been previously available on VHS or DVD. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting it thanks to Kino Lorber.

It's 1944 and Lt. William Seacroft (William Holden) arrives on leave in the United States with just one goal in mind: Meeting his lovely penpal Ruth Wilkins (Joan Caulfield).

Bill has no idea that he was actually writing to Ruth's teenaged sister Miriam (Mona Freeman). Ruth not only has no idea who Bill is, but she's just become engaged to a fussy banker, Albert (Billy De Wolfe).

Oh, what a tangled web Miriam has weaved...woven?

Edward Arnold, who plays Ruth and Miriam's father, starred in a series of charming family comedies in the '40s, including not only DEAR RUTH and its sequels DEAR WIFE (1949) and DEAR BRAT (1951) but JANIE (1944), JANIE GETS MARRIED (1946), and WALLFLOWER (1948).

All of them are good, featuring Arnold as the head of loving families in cozy homes, but DEAR RUTH, written by Arthur Sheekman from the play by Norman Krasna, is probably the best of them all.

The comedic situations escalate so beautifully in DEAR RUTH that by the end I'm laughing out loud, especially at Arnold's reactions; my favorite moment is when he advises his befuddled wife (Mary Philips) "Just drift."

Freeman's deadpan line deliveries tickle my funnybone. She was 20 when this was filmed, playing a 16-year-old, and does so very effectively; indeed, Freeman would alternate playing leading ladies and teenagers until she was in her mid 20s!

Freeman's earnest, emotional Miriam makes a nice contrast with Caulfield's Ruth, who starts out as a sensible young woman marrying for security but inevitably finds her feelings floating in the direction of Bill instead of Albert.

My one criticism of the film remains that the screenwriters should have given Ruth more of a chance to show emotion and conflict as her feelings develop for Bill.  Some of this is Caulfield's acting choices, but the script could have given her more opportunities.  Still, that's a minor quibble for a very enjoyable 95 minutes.

DEAR RUTH was directed by William D. Russell and filmed in black and white by Ernest Laszlo.

Kino Lorber's print is for the most part excellent. A couple of random scenes suddenly go a bit fuzzy, but overall it looks very good, with strong sound.

The lone extras are a trailer gallery for five other films available from Kino Lorber and a soundtrack by the always-worthwhile Farran Smith Nehme.

I enthusiastically recommend this delightful film, which would be a marvelous film to share with family during the upcoming holiday season, and I hope for the eventual Blu-ray release of the film's two sequels.

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

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Tonight's Movie: Airport '77 (1977) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

AIRPORT '77 (1977) may be the goofiest of the quartet of AIRPORT movies, but it's also almost surprisingly compelling.

I really enjoyed returning to it for the first time in years thanks to the new Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber.

AIRPORT '77 was the third in the series, following the previously reviewed AIRPORT (1970) and AIRPORT 1975 (1974). It would be followed by one more film, THE CONCORDE...AIRPORT '79 (1979), which I'll be reviewing soon.

As when I first saw the movie in 2012, I found AIRPORT '77 "a bit hokey and improbable," but also "quite entertaining." Whatever else this 114-minute movie may be, it's definitely not boring!

That enjoyment is thanks to both a wild scenario, scripted by Michael Scheff and David Spector (based on a story by Charles Kuenstle and H.A.L. Craig), and a terrific cast including pros such as Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia de Havilland.

Lemmon plays pilot Captain Don Gallagher, piloting a jet owned by wealthy Philip Stevens (Stewart) on its inaugural flight. The plane is carrying a load of VIPs and artwork to the opening of Stevens' new art museum.

The artwork is the impetus for things going wrong, as the copilot, Chambers (Robert Foxworth), and his henchmen knock out Gallagher and the flight engineer and gas the passengers so that they're unconscious.

The thieves' plan is to fly the jet at a low altitude, in order to escape radar detection, and then land at an abandoned air strip to offload the art and escape. There's just one problem: The low-flying Chambers hits an oil rig and the plane goes down in shallow waters...in the Bermuda Triangle!

Gallagher regains consciousness and realizes how dire the situation is, especially the fact that rescuers won't even know where to look for them, given that the jet was off radar for some time before crashing.

Lemmon is completely committed to his role, making Gallagher both a likeable and heroic man who not only figures out a way to alert rescuers to their location but then plays a key role in the navy helping to raise the plane before it sinks further or explodes due to water pressure.

I also love Darren McGavin as Stan, whose deep knowledge of the plan enables him to aid Gallagher in making the best of a very bad situation.

The previously mentioned veteran actors all play gallant characters who have substantial screen time, not simply cameos. They add a great deal to the viewing pleasure.

Producer Jennings Lang's wife Monica Lewis, who often appeared in his films, shows up here in a nice part as a stewardess. She has a delightful exchange with a doctor (M. Emmet Walsh) on board who's very helpful, if not quite all he seems to be.

Other passengers include Brenda Vaccaro, Pamela Bellwood (DYNASTY), Kathleen Quinlan, Christopher Lee, Monte Markham, Robert Hooks, and Lee Grant. Grant is sadly poorly used as Lee's alcoholic wife.

Of course, it wouldn't be an AIRPORT movie without miracle man Joe Patroni (George Kennedy). He only has a few scenes but provides his usual reassuring presence, aiding rescuers with his knowledge of the plane.

AIRPORT '77 was directed by Jerry Jameson and filmed in Panavision by Philip H. Lathrop.

Kino Lorber's print is from a new HD master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. It also features 5.1 Surround sound.

Kino Lorber's Special Edition comes with a cardboard slipcase. Disc extras consist of the trailer; a gallery of five additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber; and a commentary track by Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff.

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

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Tonight's Movie: The Racket (1951) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

It's hard to believe it's been close to two decades since I first saw THE RACKET (1951), which has just been released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

THE RACKET is a solid telling of a classic film noir tale about organized crime and corruption in the big city.

Robert Mitchum plays Captain Thomas McQuigg, an honest cop who's been pushed from precinct to precinct by shadowy criminal forces trying to keep him from interfering with their business interests.

Mitchum's fellow noir icon Robert Ryan plays Nick Scanlon, a mobster who's now being controlled by a crime boss known simply as "the old man."

A battle between good and evil ensues, with several people caught in the middle, including Nick's brother Joe (Brett King); Joe's fiancee, nightclub singer Irene (Lizabeth Scott); McQuigg's wife Mary (Joyce MacKenzie); a newspaper reporter (Robert Hutton); and another honest cop, Officer Bob Johnson (William Talman).

Mitchum's performance in this is extremely low-key, but I wonder if it was a conscious decision on his part in order to provide contrast with the flashy Ryan, whose character at times seems mentally unbalanced. The rest of the cast all do a fine job, on the level one would expect.

Perusing my 2006 review, my feelings about the movie remain the same: It's a well-crafted film, and I only wish one character's doomed end wasn't telegraphed virtually from the start of the film.

Otherwise it's quite an entertaining 88 minutes thanks to a marvelous cast. Ray Collins joins his fellow PERRY MASON alum Talman in the cast, plus William Conrad, Les Tremayne, Herb Vigran, and Virginia Huston. I found Conrad particularly fun to watch as a cop on the take.

This RKO film was a Howard Hughes production directed by John Cromwell and a host of uncredited contributors including Nicholas Ray, Tay Garnett, and Mel Ferrer.

The film was written by W.R. Burnett and William Wister Haines, along with uncredited script work by Samuel Fuller.

One humorous note: Mitchum's character refers to Talman as a "kid," when in real life Talman was 2-1/2 years older than Mitchum.

Another interesting trivia note is that Mitchum shares a single scene with Huston, his angelic girlfriend Ann from OUT OF THE PAST (1947).

George E. Diskant's black and white photography gleams thanks to this Warner Archive Blu-ray. The film looks great, and the disc's sound quality is a match for the print.

The lone extras are the trailer and a commentary track by Eddie Muller which was imported from the original 2006 DVD release.

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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Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...The Warner Archive Collection has announced its December 2025 Blu-ray releases. The titles include ON BORROWED TIME (1939), SAN ANTONIO (1945), THE VALLEY OF DECISION (1945), I LOVE MELVIN (1953), and INTERRUPTED MELODY (1955). I'm hopefully anticipating that the Warner Archive will do their usual stellar Blu-ray restoration work and address the muffled soundtrack issues for THE VALLEY OF DECISION which marred both their prior DVD and TV showings of the film.

...The University of Southern California is celebrating the 75th anniversary of their adoption of the "Conquest March" as a school fight song. The music was composed by Alfred Newman for CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE (1947) and donated to USC in 1950.

...Here's a great-looking book published earlier this year: THE PALM SPRINGS SCHOOL: DESERT MODERNISM 1934-1975 by Alan Hess. It was published by Rizzoli.

...From Colin at Riding the High Country: A review of GUN FURY (1953) starring Rock Hudson and Donna Reed.

...At Shadows and Satin, Karen Burroughs Hannsberry spotlights actor Jack Lambert, a frequent supporting player in both film noir and Westerns.

...Recent Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray reviews by Glenn Erickson: INTRUDER IN THE DUST (1949) and THE RACKET (1951).

...The Hollywood Bowl has dedicated its stage to composer-conductor John Williams.

...A few weeks ago Ruth of Silver Screenings reviewed a favorite screwball comedy, IF YOU COULD ONLY COOK (1935), which stars Jean Arthur, Herbert Marshall, and Leo Carrillo.

...The Film Noir Foundation's annual Noir City Christmas will be held at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on December 17th. The evening will feature a screening of I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES (1948) along with the unveiling of the 2026 Noir City schedule.

...Notable Passings: Japanese star Tatsuya Nakadai has passed away at the age of 92. I most recently saw him when I revisited HIGH AND LOW (1963) this summer at the Egyptian Theatre. He played the chief detective investigating the kidnapping...Tony-winning actress Elizabeth Franz has died at 84...Actor-Producer Ted Hartley (HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER), the widower of Dina Merrill, has died at 100.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my November 8th column.

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TCM Classic Film Festival Passes on Sale December 9th

Tickets for the 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival will go on sale Tuesday, December 9th, 2025.

As announced last month, next year's festival will be held in Hollywood from April 30th to May 3, 2026.

Early bird pass pricing will be available until Friday, January 9th, at which point steeper regular pricing will kick in.

The 2026 festival's theme is "The World Comes to Hollywood."

The first movie titles to be shown in 2026 have now been announced. They are:

*A 90th anniversary presentation of MODERN TIMES (1936), directed by and starring British-born Charlie Chaplin

*GASLIGHT (1944) directed by George Cukor

*The classic film noir OUT OF THE PAST (1947), directed by French-born Jacques Tourneur

*A 75th anniversary screening of Disney's animated classic ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951)

*A 75th anniversary presentation of A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) directed by George Stevens

*A 75th anniversary screening of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) directed by Robert Wise

*THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) directed by John Sturges

Information on guests and additional films will be forthcoming, and, as always, I will cover all the announcements here.

TCM has also announced that their presenting partner, Fandango, now has 2026 festival merchandise for sale online.

For those who might be wondering, last year's online Fandango merchandise was different from what was sold in the boutique at the festival.

Previously: TCM Announces 2026 Festival Dates and Theme..

Updates: New Titles Announced for 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival; The Latest 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival Titles; More Titles Announced for the 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival; TCM Classic Film Festival Announces Additional Titles; TCM Announces 2026 Festival Schedule; The 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule.

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Tonight's Movie: The Great Gatsby (1949) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

One of my favorite actors, Alan Ladd, plays the title role in THE GREAT GATSBY (1949), now available on Blu-ray in the Kino Lorber Dark Side of Cinema XXVI Collection.

THE GREAT GATSBY is also available as an individual single-title Blu-ray release.

It's been a very long time coming for this Paramount Pictures film to be released on Blu-ray in the U.S. To my knowledge, it never had a U.S. VHS or DVD release; it was released on Blu-ray in Australia in the fairly recent past.

I first saw THE GREAT GATSBY at the 2012 Noir City Hollywood Festival with Alan Ladd's daughter Alana (who passed on just a couple years later), costar Macdonald Carey's son Steve, and screenwriter Richard Maibaum's son Paul in the audience. Needless to say, it was a special evening I have always remembered fondly.

Maibaum cowrote the brisk 91-minute screenplay with Cyril Hume, based on the Fitzgerald novel. I'll add that it's been long enough since I last read the novel that I'm responding to it strictly as a film, without comparisons to the book.

Ladd and Carey give the finest performances in this adaptation, which I like very much despite one key flaw, the stark miscasting of Betty Field as Daisy. As I wrote in 2012, nothing in Field's dimwitted performance gives a hint as to why she's Gatsby's dream girl.

Ladd, on the other hand, is utter perfection as the self-made Gatsby, equal parts powerful and vulnerable. This is one of his best performances.

Carey is also spot-on as Nick, who serves as the conscience of the movie, expressing the audience's thoughts on each of the other characters aloud. Carey's Nick is both honest and likeable.

I'm a fan of Barry Sullivan but there's a sense his Tom could have been more; he alternates pugnacious, possessive behavior with moments where he's more solicitous of Daisy...meanwhile he's goofing around with other women behind her back. I wanted to know more about his motivations, but perhaps he was simply a confused jerk!

Ruth Hussey is fine as Jordan, who's both direct and manipulative, while perhaps wanting to strive to be something better. Both Jordan and Tom are interesting characters but ultimately each one is something of an enigma.

Despite any flaws, I find this version of GATSBY quite a memorable film, including the shocking conclusion. Ladd's performance is both powerful and touching; the depth of his anxiety upon meeting Daisy for tea at Nick's is striking. The movie has stuck with me since my first viewing over a dozen years ago. I'm very glad it's now readily available for home viewing at long last.

The cast also includes Shelley Winters, Howard DaSilva, Elisha Cook Jr., Jack Lambert, Ed Begley (Sr.), Henry Hull, Carole Mathews, and Tito Vuolo.

The movie was directed by Elliott Nugent and filmed in black and white by John F. Seitz.

The Blu-ray print is from a new HD master from a 4K scan. It looks very good, if not quite perfect, and the soundtrack is strong.

Extras consist of a commentary track by Paul Talbot; the trailer; two additional Alan Ladd trailers; and a 2012 interview with David Ladd and Alan K. Rode, filmed at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs.

I've previously reviewed the other films in this set, DR. BROADWAY (1942) and SMOOTH AS SILK (1946). Both THE GREAT GATSBY and this Dark Side of Cinema set are very much recommended.

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

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Tonight's Movie: Airport 1975 (1974) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

One of my favorite '70s films, AIRPORT 1975 (1974), is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber has just released all four AIRPORT movies, including the original AIRPORT (1970), which I recently reviewed.

I'm being quite serious when I say this film is one of my favorites of the era. I've previously written about seeing it in 2010 and 2014, and as I wrote on Twitter after rewatching it for this review, "Whether you take it seriously, view it as AIRPLANE! style comedy, or a little bit of both, this movie never fails to entertain."

The plot finds a small plane piloted by Dana Andrews colliding with a 747 coming in for a landing in Salt Lake City. The collision kills the bigger plane's copilot and flight engineer and incapacitates the pilot (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), leaving head stewardess Nancy (Karen Black) to fly the plane.

Eventually a wild plan is concocted to lower a very experienced pilot (Charlton Heston) -- coincidentally Nancy's boyfriend -- into the broken cockpit window via a helicopter so that he can land the plane.

The actors play it absolutely straight, but I can't help chuckling at times. That said, the only really painful part is Helen Reddy singing to Linda Blair. Otherwise, I love it all; it's simply grand fun, from the pink and purple airplane seats to the big stars and also the small parts filled by Universal contract players.

There are many fun stars to watch in this film, including Myrna Loy (who's hilarious), Nancy Olson, and Gloria Swanson. Heston's BEN-HUR (1959) mother, Martha Scott, is even on board as a nun!

For a few more details, including a great bit of trivia on the Andrews and Zimbalist pilot roles, I also recommend checking out the piece I wrote when I first saw the movie 15 years ago.

AIRPORT 1975 runs 107 minutes. It was directed by Jack Smight, written by Don Ingalls, and filmed by Philip H. Lathrop.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray print is from a new HD master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. It also features 5.1 Surround sound.

This film is presented as a Special Edition with a cardboard slipcase. Extras consist of the trailer; a gallery of five additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber; and a commentary track by Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson.

Very much recommended.

Coming in the future: Reviews of Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray releases of AIRPORT '77 (1977) and THE CONCORDE...AIRPORT '79 (1979).

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

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Tonight's Movie: That Midnight Kiss (1949) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The MGM musical THAT MIDNIGHT KISS (1949) is now available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

I've always been a huge fan of MGM musicals, but I don't recall this one being on TV much when I was growing up. I never saw it as a teenaged musicals fan, either on television or in a revival theater.

My records show I saw it on TNT many years ago, when that channel ran classic films before the advent of Turner Classic Movies, but it was during a time period of a few years where I have very little recall of the new-to-me movies I saw. I attribute this "movie amnesia" to it being when I was raising babies and not sleeping a lot!

So, although I'd seen it in the past, watching THAT MIDNIGHT KISS today was like watching a brand-new movie, and I really enjoyed it.

The plot's slightly weak in that the comedic aspects go on too long; the movie could have stood to be 10 minutes shorter than its 98 minutes. (IMDb's listing of a 96-minute running time is a bit off.) That said, running a little too long is the only negative; I quite enjoyed the movie thanks to the music, great cast and costumes, and brilliant Technicolor.

Kathryn Grayson plays Prudence, a Philadelphia soprano whose wealthy grandmother (Ethel Barrymore) runs a symphony and later an opera company.

Prudence has completed years of vocal training and wins the leading role in an opera to be conducted by Jose Iturbi.

Prudence isn't thrilled with the opera star (Thomas Gomez) she'll be singing with, and then she chances to meet Johnny Donnetti (Mario Lanza), a truck driver who's also a trained opera singer. Johnny ultimately wins the opera's leading role and Prudence's heart.

However, before the happy ending there's the matter of Johnny's relationship with his dispatcher Mary (Marjorie Reynolds) to be cleared up first...and the fact that while Mary loves Johnny, Johnny's best pal Artie (Keenan Wynn) loves Mary.

This was Lanza's first leading role, and he's really quite personable and handsome in this. MGM set him up for success by surrounding him with a cast of pros who also include Arthur Treacher, J. Carrol Naish, Jules Munshin, and Ann Codee. Amparo Iturbi, Jose's sister, also turns up for a piano duet with her brother.

Grayson looks gorgeous in Helen Rose gowns, Barrymore and Iturbi are always fun, the music is enjoyable, and this film is basically just a lovely diversion which I was very glad to watch today.

The movie was written by Tamara Hovey and Bruce Manning, directed by Norman Taurog, and filmed in Technicolor by Robert Surtees.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray print is from a new 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the original Technicolor nitrate negatives. It looks and sounds fantastic.

Extras consist of a song outtake; the cartoons SENIOR DROOPY (1949) and HEAVENLY PUSS (1949); the trailer; and an always-welcome song selection menu.

Here's hoping Grayson and Lanza's THE TOAST OF NEW ORLEANS (1950) will also be out on a Warner Archive Blu-ray before long.

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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