Warner Archive brings classic movies to Blu-ray

The Warner Archive Collection has released a line of Blu-rays featuring classic movies from soapy dramas to Technicolor musicals and 1960s counter-culture comedies. Check out the reviews below, and click on the links to make a purchase, add the films to your library -- physical media will last longer than streaming -- and help support Hotchka at the same time!

Click on a title to go directly to the review:

The Shining Hour • Mr. and Mrs. Smith • Bathing Beauty

Three Little Words • You're a Big Boy Now

The Shining Hour (1938)

Joan Crawford stars in The Shining Hour as nightclub dancer Olivia Riley, tired of the showbiz life, ready to marry wealthy farmer Henry Linden and move to their soon-to-be built home in Wisconsin. Harry's family is adamantly against the relationship, and his brother David even flies to New York to try to dissuade Henry from going through with it. But marry they do and when they arrive in Wisconsin, Olivia is met with the coldest of shoulders by the entire Linden family, constantly verbally sparring with sister-in-law Hannah. But the return to the family home has also changed Henry, who begins falling in love with his brother's wife, Judy, the only person with whom Olivia has become friends. Judy does all she can to push Henry away. Things begin to spiral when David makes a move on Olivia and after kissing her, Judy spies some lipstick on her husband's lip but tells him she was just brushing away a piece of cigarette paper. To escape the family drama, Olivia and Henry decide to go away for six months. Hannah confronts Henry and fears she is driving him away, while in the new house Olivia has to resist David. But Olivia is surprised when the selfless Judy asks her to leave with David. News comes that the new house is on fire -- set by Hannah -- and Judy runs into the flame in an attempt to kill herself. Olivia runs in to save her, which she does though Judy is badly burned. Olivia convinces David he truly loves Judy, and she tells Henry she is leaving without him. Will Henry let her go, or will he get some encouragement from unlikely sources to go after her?

The Shining Hour is a pretty entertaining soap opera with all of its criss-crossing love stories, although it is missing some of the bite it probably could have had if it had just been made and released five years earlier before the Hays Code went into effect. The performances are uniformly melodramatic, with Margaret Sullavan a stand-out as Judy, and Hattie McDaniel stealing every scene as the Lindens' housekeeper Belvedere. Crawford gives a performance that one would expect, but it is interesting for audiences to see TV's Marcus Welby, Robert Young, much younger and playing a bit of a cad. Frank Bozage's direction is fine, if a bit rooted in the theatre (the movie is based on the play of the same name), and the production design is handsome but also a bit stagey. Still, it's an entertaining film that shows off Crawford, Sullavan and McDaniel.

As far as the presentation of the film, the Blu-ray has been sourced from a 4K scan of the best surviving elements, meaning the original negative is either lost or not available in its complete form, so an archival or distribution print or prints, or any combination of those elements was used to produce the film in its complete version. As such, the black-and-white image looks wonderful despite a noticeable change in quality during transitions. Film grain is fine for the most part, but changes at times to become more coarse which is due to the use of a lesser quality element. The audio is uniformly good, with only a few instances of low level hiss or crackle, again owing to the differences of the source material. Considering the obstacles in restoring this film, it's another terrific job by the Warner Archive. Bonus materials include a 23-minute except from MGM Radio Program promoting the film with audio clips; three restored Merrie Melodies cartoons -- Love and Curses, Porky's Five and Dime, The Sneezing Weasel; and a theatrical trailer. All in all, this is an entertaining film, definitely for Crawford enthusiasts and film lovers in general.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)

Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery star as Ann and David Smith in Alfred Hitchcock's only screwball comedy (in the US), Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The couple obviously love each other wildly, but learn a legal loophole at the time of their marriage has meant the two have not actually been husband and wife, at least not in the legal sense of the words. Their situation become more tumultuous when Ann asks David if he'd marry her again given the chance and his answer is not exactly what she wants to hear. She kicks him out of their lavish art deco apartment and begins dating David's co-worker Jeff Custer, who then sets David up on a date with another woman. With pressure coming at them from all sides to just move on, they each plan a ski trip getaway and end up at the same resort in cabins right next door to each other. When David discovers Jeff has also shown up at Ann's cabin, things escalate as David and Ann then do what they can to make the other jealous. But will true love win out?

Mrs. and Mrs. Smith is a charming film, never laugh-out-loud funny, but it does have a few chuckles. Lombard is delightful in what would be her next to last film before her tragic death in a plane crash. It makes one wonder if Hitchcock, who allegedly directed the film as a favor to her, would have utilized her in his future films had she lived. She certainly was his 'type'. Co-star Robert Montgomery is fine playing opposite Lombard, but it's a shame Hitch hadn't employed the comedy talents of Cary Grant, who by this point in time (1941) had made a name for himself in screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, My Favorite Wife and The Philadelphia Story (Grant would actually appear the same year in Hitchcock's thriller Suspicion, with Joan Fontaine). Despite the skills of the actors, the film's major flaw is that it just ... ends, right there at the ski resort, leaving the story feeling unfinished. That abruptness changed my whole enjoyment of the film to one of being cheated as the destined lovers reunited (and perhaps the truncated ending had something to do with the Hays Code because it looks like Ann and David are about to do something the censors would not approve of). It was just a completely weird ending that took the film down a couple of notches.

The visual presentation, though, is mostly stunning, a 4K scan most likely from the original nitrate negative, giving the film a clarity with very nice contrast levels in the black-and-white cinematography. The sharpness of the image only makes the handful of shots sourced from other elements stand out more as the grain becomes more apparent and the contrast levels drop. Despite the minor flaws due to the materials, the image here is stunning. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix keeps the dialog front and center, mostly crisp and clear, but with a few minor hints of hiss or distortion owing to the elements. Bonus materials include the 16-minute retrospective Mr. Hitchcock Meets the Smiths; two Merrie Melodies cartoons: Holiday Highlights and Stage Fright; the Technicolor short film Cinerella's Feller (not restored but upscaled with a decent presentation); two vintage radio broadcasts: Lux Radio Theater and Screen Director's Playhouse, both with very abridged versions of the story (the Lux presentation features Lombard and Bob Hope, while Hitchcock introduces the other broadcast); and a short theatrical trailer that doesn't even credit the director.

While Mr. and Mrs. Smith is Hitchcock's only American comedy, and it is never ranked among his best films, it is still worth the addition to your collection for Lombard's performance and the participation of Hitchcock.

Bathing Beauty (1944)

Red Skelton stars in MGM's musical Bathing Beauty as songwriter Steve Elliot, who plans to quit his career to marry his sweetheart Caroline Brooks (Esther Williams), a college swimming instructor who is also planning to give up her career as well (what they plan to live on with no work between them is unknown). Steve is informed that his manager has already hired him to complete a few new songs for a water ballet show, which Steve wants no part of. Hoping to force Steve to do the work, manager George (Basil Rathbone) asks aspiring actress Maria Dorango to help him convince Steve to do the work ... and help she does, but not in the way George intended. Just as Steve and Caroline are pronounced husband and wife, Maria storms in with three red-headed children, claiming Steve is the father. Seems logical, so Caroline immediately dumps Steve without explanation and runs off to her old teaching job at Victoria College -- an all female institution -- in New Jersey.

Poor Steve is beside himself, but while drowning his sorrows at a New York nightclub he talks to a slightly tipsy lawyer who informs Steve that he is working on changing the charter of Victoria College, which currently has a little-known loophole that actually does allow male students. Bingo! Steve returns to the college where he was previously forbidden entry, armed with this new information and is reluctabtly allowed to enroll but none of the faculty or the dean know of his relationship with Caroline. There is one catch to Steve's enrollment -- if he gets 100 demerits he's out, and the faculty will be doing all they can to make sure he gets those demerits. Steve makes that harder by being an exemplary student, but Caroline continues to give him the cold shoulder and make his life difficult. She's also being wooed by botany professor Willis Evans (keep in mind, she and Steve are still technically married), so Steve enlists his friend Carlos Ramirez (playing himself), Harry James and his orchestra and some talented music students to help impress the faculty with his interpretation of the classic song Loch Lomond. It's a hit and Steve gets an A, and Caroline may also be beginning to thaw. Many complications stand in the way of the two coming to an understanding and rekindling their romance, but will true love win out?

Bathing Beauty is a bit of an oddity as far as MGM musicals go. The story is weak, nonsensical and convoluted, probably because the script started out as a Red Skelton vehicle called Mr. Co-Ed, but MGM execs felt Esther Williams should have a more prominent role so it was retitled and her swimsuited figure became the movie's selling point ... basically tricking audiences into thinking this was going to be Williams' Technicolor swimming musical debut, but she only has two swimming scenes and one is basically just her in the pool at a pool club doing laps while Xavier Cugat and his orchestra entertains the crowd, while the other is one of those spectaculars that she became known for but it still doesn't feature some of the tricks that made her popular (and considering this performance is for an audience in the venue, she spends a lot of time underwater where the crowd absolutely can't see her). She does handle the non-swimming, comedic parts of the film well even if she often looks like she's about to break character and start laughing many times. Skelton does what Skelton does best, including his pratfall style of comedy, but really showing off in that Loch Lomond number. What really makes this film worth watching, though, are the numerous musical numbers that basically overtake the slim story. You've got Cugat and his orchestra, and Harry James and His Music Makers doing a couple of fabulously staged nightclub performances, and the two orchestras even come together at one point. Add in singers Lina Romay, with Cugat, and Helen Forrest, with James, and you really can't go wrong. But wait, there's more. You will be absolutely astounded by the magnificent, magical finger work of organist Ethel Smith, who gets a couple of numbers of her own and performs in the Loch Lomond number. All of these musical numbers and performers really make the movie worthwhile. And there's also Marx Brothers foil Margaret Dumont in a small role as the mother of one of the students, played by Jean Porter. Bathing Beauty may not make a lick of sense, but it's wildly entertaining because of its musical numbers.

Besides the music, this Blu-ray is worth adding to anyone's collection, especially Williams or Skelton fans, for its stunning presentation. For Bathing Beauty, the Warner Archive had the original camera negatives on hand from which to create the scans, accurately reproducing the bold Technicolor color palette, showing off the textures and natural film grain that makes the movie look as it did the day it was released, if not better. It really is a near perfect presentation. And that goes right down to the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio soundtrack as well, highlighting the clear dialog, and really revving up during the musical numbers, keeping the sound nicely balanced at an even volume level so there won't be any need to keep the volume button on the remote at the ready. If you're looking for a perfect classic musical on Blu-ray to show off your home theater, or if you're just a classic musical movie buff, a fan of Skelton or Williams, or are interested in seeing the performances of Xavier Cugat and Harry James, this is the disk for you! The disk does also come with a collection of bonus material, carried over from an earlier DVD release, including a trailer, the Tom & Jerry short Mouse Troubles (also released on the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection), a World War II patriotic short titled Main Street Today, and an episode of TCM's Private Screenings with Esther Williams, where she and Robert Osborne reminisce and look at old film clips covering her career. There is also a menu feature that allows you to go directly to the specific musical performances. The film itself is decent enough, the music is outstanding and the Blu-ray presentation makes Bathing Beauty a must have.

Three Little Words (1950)

Three Little Words tells the story -- with some liberties taken, of course -- of the songwriting duo Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), their long friendship sustained by love, loss and shared hobbies (magic and baseball, with magic often incorporated into some of the dance routines), with the pair even riding out a sustained time when Kalmar suffered a knee injury that kept him from performing for quite some time, but allowed him to focus more on the music writing. The story also includes their wives Jessie (Vera-Ellen) and Eileen (Arlene Dahl), and features Debbie Reynold, in just her second credited on-screen appearance, as Helen Kane (her Betty Boop-ish singing voice dubbed by the real Kane), with Gloria DeHaven playing her real mother, Carter DeHaven. The real Harry Ruby even has a cameo as a baseball catcher. Three Little Words isn't a movie that needs a full plot synopsis to understand or enjoy, because the entire production is top-notch from start to finish, packed with terrific music and some astounding dance routines, all shown off in glorious Technicolor.

Fred Astaire is just perfection as Kalmar, and he had noted the film as one of his favorites. His performance even earned him the very first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. His dancing is, as one would expect, outstanding (with his choreography also giving Vera-Ellen a chance to show off her technical prowess). He also has great chemistry with Skelton, making their partnership feel all the more authentic. For his part, Skelton manages to rein in his usual comedic pratfalls and goofy faces, giving a real performance as a real person instead of a character, though he does get some comedy bits to himself. The two of them are so good that scholars have noted their portrayals of the partnership and friendship is psychologically accurate. Vera-Ellen and Dahl also acquit themselves nicely, and Reynolds is a stand-out, a real star in the making (her third credited film was 1951's Mr. Imperium, then she would burst into stardom in 1952's Singin' in the Rain). There is also some nice supporting work by Keenan Wynn as agent Charlie Kope.

The Warner Archive presentation of Three Little Words is nothing short of spectacular, sourced from a new 4K scan of the original Technicolor nitrate negatives, rendering the image as close to perfection as one could get, colors simply popping off the screen in an image that probably looks equal to or even better than it did upon its original theatrical release in 1950. It is a beautiful presentation, solid contrast, with deep blacks and stable whites, and no color bleeding particularly with the many red or red-adjacent costumes. If you are a fan of MGM Technicolor musicals, you must add this Blu-ray to your collection. Matching the superb visuals is the well-balanced DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track. It's not going to give your stereo system a workout, but the audio dialog and singing is clear, front and center, never overwhelmed by the music or ambient sound effects, and free from any hiss, pops, crackle or distortion. This presentation is as good as one can get for a film of this vintage. Bonus materials include the mid-2000s featurette Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys; Tex Avery's 1950 short Ventriloquist Cat (which was previously included in WAC's Tex Avery Screwball Classics, Volume 2); a 'Traveltalks' short, Roaming Through Michigan; vintage radio program Paula Stone's Hollywood USA, promoting the film; the original theatrical trailer; and instant access through the menu to the movie's musical numbers.

Overall, Three Little Words is a solid musical biopic with some terrific, endearing performances, pulse-pounding dance routines, and blazing Technicolor visuals. Any classic film fan should add this Blu-ray to their collection today.

You're a Big Boy Now (1966)

You're a Big Boy Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola six years before The Godfather, is one of those head-scratching 1960s films obviously inspired by hippie and drug culture ... it's the only real explanation for this wildly disjointed production. Peter Kastner stars as Bernard Chanticleer, 'Big Boy' to his overbearing parents, whose father is a curator at the New York Public Library where Bernard works as a low-level assistant, rollerskating through the stacks to get requested items and send them to the main floor via a dumbwaiter, which Bernard also uses as an elevator. Bernard's co-worker, Raef del Grado (Tony Bill), either verbally bullies Bernard or tells the innocent to do things he probably shouldn't. Another co-worker, Amy Partlett (Karen Black), seems to be interested in Bernard but he seems oblivious at first as he is determined to move into his own apartment to escape his suffocating parents. Bernard gets a room in a rooming house run by Miss Thing (Julie Harris) with his mother leaving her with strict instructions to not allow any loose women into his room. Amy shows up later and Miss Thing tries to intervene but ends up falling down the stairs and injuring her arm. Bernard and his parents go to see a play at a local theatre starring the enigmatic Barbara Darling (Elizabeth Hartman), causing Bernard to become smitten, seeing her face all over New York. Finally going on a date with Amy, they choose a club where Barbara also happens to be a go go dancer, drawing all of Bernard's attention away from Amy. Bernard writes a bit of a love letter to Barbara, is invited to come to ger dressing room backstage after the play, and ends up going to her apartment but her behavior is so all over the place that nothing happens. Yet Bernard persists, basically ignoring Amy -- who has been painted as a cheap women by Miss Thing and Mrs. Chanticleer -- and with the belief that he and Barbara are a couple, leaves some of his personal items at her apartment. Mr. Chanticleer isn't happy about the situation when informed by Miss Thing and sends Raef to retrieve Bernard. When Bernard shows up at Barbara's apartment, he finds Raef already there, in a bathrobe, the two suggesting strongly that it is they who are an item, obviously having engaged in sexual activity, destroying Bernard's world. But Amy, who is entirely too sweet for any of this, may be there to pick up the pieces.

I thought this would be a fun 1960s swinging romp but it's just a curio of the era and the style of filmmaking prevalent at the time, leaving one to ponder how Coppola ever got the job of directing The Godfather, this one feeling more like the films during his tenure with Roger Corman (and this was only Coppola's second feature film). Where it succeeds is in its performances. Rip Torn as Bernard's father, Geraldine Page as his mother and Julie Harris as Miss Thing could be filed under 'eccentric', with Page completely over-the-top and stealing every scene she's in. Peter Kastner, obviously a bit older than 19, has the man-child act down perfectly, and Tony Bill is a complete slimeball as Raef (the idea for the film actually came from Bill, who loved the novel upon which the film is based). The two outstanding performances belong to Hartman, who is magnetic in her indifference to just about everything, and Black, the sweet heart of the film. The 1960s New York locations are appropriately gritty, and offer a nice time capsule of the era. Coppola's direction is adequate but his screenplay is a bit too mean-spirited and, while it's an interesting film to watch, it's not overly enjoyable save for the performances of Hartman and Black. Another draw for music lovers is a soundtrack peppered with songs by The Lovin' Spoonful. One thing film lovers may want to look for here are striking similarities to The Graduate, which was not released until a year later.

Film completists will definitely want to consider adding this to their collections. The Blu-ray was sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, accurately reproducing the film as it was seen in 1966 ... probably even better. The urban landscape is gritty, the colors are natural, the film grain is appropriate for a movie of this vintage and budget, so there really isn't anything to complain about as far as the presentation. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio soundtrack is actually quiet spectacular in its clarity, and gives a nice boost to the featured songs, even though they do feel a bit pumped up volume-wise compared to the rest of the soundtrack. You may need to have your remote in hand to adjust the volume. The only extra on the disk is the film's trailer. It may be worth a look for those interested in the career of Coppola, those interested in 1960s 'counter-culture' films, and those interested in some really intriguing performances particularly the enimatic and tragic Elizabeth Hartman, who died much too young in 1987. It's definitely for a niche audience, but Warner Archive has done a terrific job restoring the film for new generations to experience.