Tuesday, September 27, 2011

DVD Extra: LaCava, Clara Bow and other western rareties


DVD Extra: LaCava, Clara Bow and other western rareties
"Treasures 5: The West,'' the latest DVD set of extremely rare films from the National Film Preservation Foundation, collects 40 shorts and features restored by various American film archives -- 10-hours' worth -- depicting seven western states, as well as a ringer shot in western Canada, spanning the years 1898 to 1938.
The majority are silent with newly composed music scores and scholarly commentary tracks. In addition to four more or less complete features, there are travelogues, documentaries (including a restaging of the capture of the Wild Bunch with the original lawman), newsreels, Kodachrome home movies, and promotional films (one in an early color process touting Del Monte products) in this cinematic treasure trove.
Two of the most interesting shorts -- "The Sergeant'' (1910) and "The Better Man'' (1912) -- were repatriated from a New Zealand film archive. Donations supporting their restoration were solicited through "For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon,'' for which Marilyn Ferdinand (Ferdy on Film) and my pal Farran Smith Nehme (The Self Styled Siren) corraled a large band of bloggers, including yours truly, in January 2010. We're amply credited in a book of copious program notes.
The set also includes one-reelers with Tom Mix, Broncho Billy and Mabel Nomand, with even Sessue Hayakawa turning up as an Indian's chief's son.
"The Lady of the Dugout'' (1918) stars legendary outlaw-turned-actor/filmmaker Al Jennings, who is heard discussing the film in an interview from 45 years later, when he was 94. It's well directed by future studio workhorse W.S. Van Dyke ("The Thin Man''). "Salomy Jane'' (1914), an impressive independent western -- co-directed by the ridiculously prolific William Nigh and co-photographed by future Oscar winner Hal Mohr on stunning locations -- features Beatriz Michelena, who is believed to be the first Latina screen star.
Western mythology gets a kidding in one of the comedy features in the set. The delightful if obscure "Womanhandled'' (1925), an early but impressive directorial effort by Gregory La Cava ("My Man Godfrey''), stars cowboy actor Richard Dix in a rare comic turn as a polo-playing playboy who pretends to be a westerner to impress a woman (Esther Ralston) he meets in Central Park who thinks New York men are mollycoddled. The fun begins when she pays a surprise visit to his uncle's Texas ranch -- where where they round up steers using flivvers -- while our hero is vacationing. Dix is obliged to re-create the old west in a hurry and hide the resident showgirls for her benefit. Funny stuff.

DVD Extra: LaCava, Clara Bow and other western rareties

MGM mainstay Victor Fleming ("The Wizard of Oz,'' "Gone With the Wind''), already an established director at Paramount, directs his then-girlfriend, Clara Bow, in arguably her best screen performance in the western sex comedy "Mantrap'' (1926). The title refers to a remote outpost in Canada, where the extremely sexy Bow marries a rough-hewn trapper (Ernest Torrence) but isn't at shy about flirting and more with a New York lawyer (Percy Marmont) and his pal (Eugene Pallette) who are hunting in the area. This hilarious feature based on a forgotten novel by Sinclair Lewis, like the others never available on DVD in the U.S., has an excellent commentary track by Fleming biographer Michael Sragow.

The newly composed and recored scores by a variety of musicians on "Treasures 5: The West'' and excellent transfers really help bring these old films to life.
The percussion-heavy Alloy Orchestra, which has gained a formidable reputation for its live performances as well as its exemplary recorded scores for silent films, does the honors on all 14 short films in Flicker Alley's recent "Wild and Weird'' DVD set. Many of these titles are familiar, and have been on video before, but Alloy's efforts and superb transfers from the best available material adds new interest to the likes of George Melies' "Trip to the Moon,'' Buster Keaton's "The Play House'' and "The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra,'' an silent experimental film co-directed by Robert Florey, Slavko Vorkapich and Gregg Toland.
On the Blu-ray front, I covered Warner's gorgeous upgrade of "Ben Hur,'' out today, on Sunday in the print edition. It's also showing on Saturday at the New York Film Festival. Based on recent experience, I'd expect that Warner will be releasing a less-pricey movie-only edition by the end of the year, possibly as an exclusive from one of the big-box retailers. For those who have been asking about "The Magnificent Ambersons'' DVD, currently available only as a $10-add to the "Citizen Kane'' Blu-ray at Amazon, I'm told it willl be receiving a proper wide release next year -- quite possibly in Blu-ray itself.

I also highly recommend Paramount's stunning high-definition transfer of "Breakfast at Tiffany's,'' released last week, which I discussed when it premiered in April at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The copious special features are carried over from the previous two-disc edition issued as part of the studio's defunct, or perhaps just suspended, Centennial Collection. My colleague Stefanie Cohen recently wrote about the film's enduring popularity, particularly among New Yorkers, despite its more problematic aspects. Her piece is well worth a read.
Fox/MGM has postponed next month's scheduled Alfred Hitchcock Blu-ray set consisting of "Rebecca,'' "Spellbound'' and "Notorious'' (all Selznick library titles licensed from Disney). I hear it will likely be turning up in January. In the meantime, E1 is releasing something they called "The Great Alfred Hitchcock Movie Box'' on DVD on Nov. 8. It consists of three silents: "The Pleasure Garden'' (1925), "The Farmer's Wife'' (1928) and "Easy Virtue'' (1928). The latter is a Noel Coward adaptation that was (badly) remade a few years ago.
Today's passel of family-oriented DVD releases from the tireless Warner Archive Collection includes Andrew Marton's "Gallant Bess'' (1946) with Marshall Thompson, MGM's only feature release in Cinecolor; Fred Zinnemann's atypical comedy, the wonderfully-titled "My Brother Talks to Horses'' (1947) starring Butch Jenkins and Peter Lawford; and "It's a Dog's Life'' (1955) with Jeff Richards and Edmund Gwenn. The latter is directed by Herman Hoffman ("The Invisible Boy'') from a screenplay that John Michael Hayes ("Rear Window'') adapted from a story by Richard Harding Davis.
WAC is also reissuing a pair of long out-of-print, special-effects oriented fantasies directed by George Pal: "tom thumb'' (1958) starring Russ Tamblyn, Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas; and "The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao'' (1964) with Tony Randall in the title roles, and Barbara Eden.

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