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NATALIE WOOD: She was a rarity in motion picture history … a child actress (MIRACLE ON 34th STREET, THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR, for example, both 1947) who grew up to become one of the industry’s greatest stars and an iconic figure of the 60s and 70s. Natalie Wood (1938-1981) had talent, beauty, and grace, and Warner Home Video celebrates her legacy with the six-title THE NATALIE WOOD COLLECTION, appropriately subtitled “The Girl Who Grew Up with the Movies.” Warners made her a star with key roles in Nicholas Ray’s REBEL WIHOUT A CAUSE (1955) and John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS (1956), then cultivated a fake studio romance with in-the-closet Tab Hunter in THE BURNING HILLS and THE GIRL HE LEFT BEHIND (both 1956). In Gordon Douglas’ BOMBERS B-52 (1957), she has a co-starring role as the daughter of cranked Air Force mechanic Karl Malden, romanced by his nemesis Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It’s an entertaining Cold War drama in CinemaScope and Warnercolor about testing the new 200-ton B-52 Stratofortress. There’s a terrific Chuck Jones cartoon, BOYHOOD DAZE (1957), about a kid sent to his room where his imagination runs amok, included on the disc. In Joseph Pevney’s CASH McCALL (1959), the 21-year-old Natalie is paired with Warner star James Garner (hot off his MAVERICK TV series), in a romantic comedy adaptation of the book by Cameron Hawley (EXECUTIVE SUITE), with Garner as a charming rogue corporate raider tamed by gorgeous Wood. Nina Foch, Dean Jagger, and E.G. Marshall co-star. Another wonderful Jones cartoon, the Oscar-nominated HIGH NOTE (1960) is included, with notes on sheet music bringing Strauss’ “Blue Danube” to animated life.
The gem of this collection is the Elia Kazan masterpiece SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961), beautifully restored from the original elements, and living up completely to Danny Peary’s assessment that it is “still the quintessential film about young love” (in Guide for the Film Fanatic). Set in a small town in 1920s Kansas, written by the great, tortured William Inge (who won an Oscar for his script, and makes a cameo as Reverend Whitman), the movie follows the romance of two teens from different social backgrounds -- Wood, and in his auspicious screen debut, Warren Beatty. There are outstanding performances from Pat Hingle (who passed away on January 3 at age 84) and Kazan protégé Barbara Loden, an exquisite score by David Amram, and wonderful work from cinematographer Boris Kaufman, production designer Richard Sylbert, and costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone. Natalie Wood provides the film’s heart, with one of the most powerful performances by an actress ever committed to celluloid; I always show her bathroom breakdown scene to my acting students at the Neighborhood Playhouse and it never fails to impress these young actors mightily. I won’t spoil it for you, but SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS also boasts one of the most poignant endings of all time. It is one of the most perfect movies ever made, truly essential viewing. The disc includes Chuck Jones Oscar-nominated Road Runner cartoon BEEP PREPARED (1961).
GYPSY (1962) is the lavish screen adaptation of the Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim/Arthur Laurents Broadway sensation, with Rosalind Russell as Mama Rose and Natalie as Louise aka Gypsy Rose Lee, based upon Gypsy’s memoirs of rise from vaudeville to burlesque. The classic songs include “Some People,” “Small World,” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” and Jerome Robbins (WEST SIDE STORY) handles the choreography, but the movie is marred by Mervyn LeRoy’s heavy-handed direction. LeRoy’s a rather remarkable case. He was Warners’ Boy Wonder during the early 30s, churning out a succession of fascinating, fast-paced Pre-Code beauties (LITTLE CAESAR, FIVE STAR FINAL, THREE ON A MATCH, TWO SECONDS, THE HEART OF NEW YORK, I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933) but most of his subsequent work tends to disappoint, directed at a snail’s pace, with the exception of WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940) and THE BAD SEED (1956). GYPSY is newly remastered from the original elements, and the DVD includes two musical outtake numbers, “You’ll Never Get Away from Me” (duet version) and “Together Wherever We Go,” and Friz Freleng’s Oscar-nominated cartoon THE PIED PIPER OF GUADALUPE (1962) with Sylvester the Cat and Speedy Gonzalez. SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL was hot stuff in 1964, based on the book by Helen Gurley Brown (played by Natalie); today it’s dated but still lots of fun, thanks to a great cast that includes Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall, Mel Ferrer, Edward Everett Horton and Count Basie and His Orchestra, with knowing direction by romantic comedy master Richard Quine (OPERATION MAD BALL, BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY, PARIS WHEN IT SIZZLES, HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE). The disc includes the Oscar-nominated Chuck Jones cartoon NELLY’S FOLLY (1961) about a singing giraffe. Produced by Alan Pakula and directed by Robert Mulligan during their fruitful partnership (FEAR STRIKES OUT, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER, BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL, UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE, THE STALKING MOON), INSIDE DAISY CLOVER (1965) casts Wood as a 15-year-old waif (she was 27 at the time) who becomes a movie star during the 1930s, with a young Robert Redford as her love interest and Ruth Gordon as her overbearing mother (an Oscar-nominated performance). It’s a diverting old school melodrama, written by Gavin Lambert (NBR William K. Everson Film History Award winner in 1997) brought alive by Wood’s exuberance and the Pakula/Mulligan producer-director team. The cartoon on this one is a Chuck Jones Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote, WAR AND PIECES (1964). In an adjunct to their Natalie Wood collection, WHV has also released her last film, Douglas Trumbull’s excellent sci-fi thriller BRAINSTORM (1981), co-starring Christopher Walken, Cliff Robertson and Louise Fletcher, with a soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. This title, and all the box set movies, include the original theatrical trailers.
WHV’s ALL-STAR ROMANCE promotion brings us five sought-after titles new to DVD. LeRoy’s WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940) is a remake of James Whale’s superior 1931 Universal picture (available on Volume One of the TCM ARCHIVES FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD COLLECTION from WHV). It’s a much glossier, and (compared to the Pre-Code original) bastardized version of the Robert Sherwood play about a London girl who turns to prostitution after she gets word (mistakenly) that her lover has been killed in the war. The appeal in this version are the two stars – Robert Taylor, in his favorite role in a long career), and Vivien Leigh in her first movie after GONE WITH THE WIND. Their star power and charisma is undeniable. Anthony Asquith’s THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE (1964), written by British playwright Terence Rattigan follows the titular car has it enters the lives of three separate sets of characters – no doubt inspired by the coat in TALES OF MANHATTAN (1942) – allowing the filmmakers to move from drama to comedy and back again. There are stunning European locations and an all-star cast including Ingrid Bergman, Rex Harrison, Alain Delon, George C. Scott, Jeanne Moreau, Omar Sharif, Shirley MacLaine, Art Carney and Wally Cox. Riz Ortolani’s score includes the hit song “Forget Domani.” John Schlesinger’s FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967) is finally available in a restored version; in fact this is an extended version with three added minutes of European release footage not shown in American theatres, with a soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Thomas Hardy’s novel is faithfully brought to the screen from a screenplay by Fredric Raphael, perfectly cast with Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, and Peter Finch. This was the NBR’s Best Film for 1967, and Finch was also honored with our Best Actor Award. CANNERY ROW (1982) reminds us how young and lovely Debra Winger and Nick Nolte were in this adaptation of John Steinbeck works, adapted and directed by David Ward (Oscar winner for the script of THE STING). It’s very well done, with a great atmosphere and flavor for the Steinbeck milieu, helped considerably by Jack Nitzsche’s score, Sven Nykvist’s cinematography and John Huston’s narration. Peter O’Toole shows his versatility as the beloved schoolteacher in Herbert Ross’ GOODBYE MR. CHIPS (1969), a musical remake of the 1939 Sam Wood drama starring Robert Donat (who won a Best Actor Oscar, trumping Gable’s Rhett Butler). Petula Clark and Michael Redgrave co-star in the way overlong (151 minutes) original roadshow version.
The WARNER BROS. ROMANCE CLASSICS COLLECTION may be deceiving at first glance, consisting of four Troy Donahue movies from the early 60s. But three of them are among the last works of a great unsung writer-director, Delmer Daves (1904-1977). He cut his teeth as a writer on entertainments like DAMES (1934), THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936) and LOVE AFFAIR (1939); among his first directing jobs were the seminal WWII efforts DESTINATION TOKYO (1943) and HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN (1944). His PRIDE OF THE MARINES (1945) is almost as good as THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) in its depiction of war vets adjusting to civilian life, while DARK PASSAGE (1947) is an inventive noir starring Bogart and Bacall. Like Anthony Mann, he directed a series of memorable 50s Westerns (BROKEN ARROW, DRUM BEAT, THE LAST WAGON, JUBAL, 3:10 TO YUMA, THE HANGING TREE (a Gary Cooper vehicle long overdue for DVD release). In 1959 he directed A SUMMER PLACE (also available from WHV), a romantic soap opera about infidelity and teen love starring Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee that became smash hit, leading to the films collected in this new set – PARRISH (1960), SUSAN SLADE (1961) and ROME ADVENTURE (1962). They’re all beautifully directed, thoroughly entertaining, with lush Max Steiner scores (he also did A SUMMER PLACE) and, in the case of PARRISH and SUSAN SLADE, are almost as compelling as the Douglas Sirk melodramas of a few years prior. PARRISH is set in the tobacco country of the Connecticut River Valley; Donahue plays the title role, Claudette Colbert (in her last screen role) his mother. He clashes with the ruthless grower (Karl Malden) who marries his mother, and romances a local farm girl (Connie Stevens); Dean Jagger, Diane McBain and Madeleine Sherwood co-star, and Sylvia Miles has a small role. In SUSAN SLADE, set in Monterey, the focus is on Connie Stevens in the titular part, following the loves of a young woman who has a knack for getting embroiled in soap operatic situations! In addition to Donahue, the cast includes Dorothy McGuire, Lloyd Nolan, Brian Aherne and Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell on GILLIGAN’S ISLAND). ROME ADVENTURE is much lighter fare, but no less fun, as Suzanne Pleshette (in her first major film role) leaves puritanical New England for the Eternal City, where she’s romanced by Donahue and Rossano Brazzi, with competition from sophisticated Angie Dickinson. Daves’ unerring eye for location serves him well as he paints dazzling compositions of Italian landscapes and landmarks. It’s part travelogue, part love story; in addition to a lovely Steiner score, there are appearances by vocalist Emilio Pericoli singing the hit “Al Di La,” and trumpet great Al Hirt doing an instrumental version, as well as some barroom brawling (the young actor playing Albert Stilwell is Hampton Fancher, who went on to write the screenplay for BLADE RUNNER). Norman Taurog directed Donahue and Stevens in PALM SPRINGS WEEKEND (1963), a romp about a bunch of college kids hitting the resort for spring break, very much in the vein of WHERE THE BOYS ARE (1960). Ty Hardin, Stefanie Powers, Robert Conrad, Andrew Duggan, Jack Weston, and Jerry Van Dyke round out the energetic cast. In 1992, the TNT cable channel (a forerunner of TCM) aired an original three-part series about the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer called WHEN THE LION ROARS. Now this superb documentary is available in a two-disc set. At 366 minutes, it covers the MGM from its beginnings in 1924 through the next five decades. Hosted by Patrick Stewart it is jam-packed with film clips, rare interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage. MGM, the Goliath of film studios, boasted more stars than there are in the heavens, and they’re all here – Gable, Garbo, Harlow, Crawford, Shearer, Tracy, Hepburn, Garland, Rooney, Kelly, Astaire, Taylor and dozens more. It’s a must for hardcore film buffs.
KINO: Here’s another great box set from 2007 NBR Everson Award winner Don Krim and Kino – MURNAU. It beautifully complements December’s magnificent MURNAU, BORZAGE AND FOX set with the master’s best German works, the films that indeed brought him to the attention of Hollywood, where his expressionistic style exerted a tremendous influence on the films of John Ford and Raoul Walsh among many others. All six titles are digitally mastered from 35mm archival restorations supervised by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung in Weisbaden, and look fantastic. THE HAUNTED CASTLE (1921) is an old dark house movie a decade before Whale’s THE OLD DARK HOUSE (also available from Kino), with a gallery of set design paintings by Robert Herlth and excerpts from Rudolf Stratz’ novel. NOSFERATU (1922), Murnau’s timeless adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is included in the same special edition released by Kino several years ago, loaded with extras, include an hour-long documentary, the original score and lengthy excerpts from eight Murnaus (including his last, 1931’s TABU). THE FINANCES OF THE GRAND DUKE (1924) is a little known picture, closer to Lubitsch than Murnau, a playful spy adventure from a script by frequent Fritz Lang collaborator (and one-time wife) Thea Von Harbou (METROPOLIS, SPIES), with photography by the great Karl Freund and a co-starring role for Max Schreck (the vampire in NOSFERATU). Murnau and Freund re-teamed for THE LAST LAUGH (1924) starring Emil Jannings, one of the most influential films in history, released last year in a deluxe edition by Kino and included here as well (see the September 2008 edition of this column for a full review). Murnau’s highly stylized TARTUFFE (1925) is based on the Moliere fable, again with Jannings starring and Freund on camera, and includes a 35-minute documentary, THE WAY TO MURNAU. Murnau’s final German film is no less than an elaborate adaptation of Goethe’s FAUST (1926), one of the finest achievements of German silent cinema, starring Jannings and future director William Dieterle (who would revisit the diabolical theme in his own 1941 THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER). Special features include the original German intertitles, a new musical score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra in 5.1 Stereo Surround or 2.0 stereo, an additional piano score adapted from the original 1926 orchestral arrangement, set designs by Herlth, an essay by Jan Christopher Horak, and lost screen test footage from Lubitsch’s abandoned production of MARGUERITE AND FAUST. Impeccably restored, these films by F.W. Murnau reward with repeat viewings, and should be part of any film study program.
SONY: The NBR honored FROZEN RIVER (2008) with Best Directorial Debut (Courtney Hunt) and a special Spotlight Award to star Melissa Leo (it also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance). It’s an emotionally harrowing drama about an impoverished mother living near the U.S./Canadian border, beautifully portrayed by Leo. She gets involved in smuggling illegal aliens for cash to keep a roof over the heads of her two boys, and today’s economic climate gives the film an even deeper significance. Melissa Leo’s been doing great work for nearly 30years (most notably on the TV series HOMICIDE) and she finally gets a chance to carry a picture with her prodigious skills. It also bodes well for future work from writer-director Hunt, who provides an audio commentary with producer Heather Rae.
Sony’s released a second wave of “Martini Movies,” catalogue titles that have never been available on DVD. Like the first wave it’s a mixed bag with some definite goodies, especially Carol Reed’s spy comedy OUR MAN IN HAVANA (1960), written by Graham Greene, with a fantastic cast including Alec Guinness, Maureen O’Hara, Ernie Kovacs, Burl Ives, Noel Coward and Ralph Richardson. The other titles are Arch Oboler’s watershed post-atomic drama 5IVE (1951), about five survivors of a nuclear blast, filmed in Oboler’s own Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Cliff House; Richard Rush’s counter-culture Vietnam-era campus comedy GETTING STRAIGHT (1970) with Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, Jeff Corey and a pre-AMERICAN GRAFFITI/STAR WARS Harrison Ford; the satirical detective movie GUMSHOE (1971), an early effort from director Stephen Frears (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, THE GRIFTERS, DANGEROUS LIASONS, THE QUEEN), starring an hilarious Albert Finney; and Ken Kwapis’ ludicrous VIBES, with Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum as psychics searching for lost treasure in Ecuador. Each disc comes with original theatrical trailers and frankly useless promotional featurettes like “Secrets of Seduction” and “How to Travel in Style,” but who cares as long as Sony keeps on releasing movies like OUR MAN IN HAVANA and GUMSHOE, and, from the first wave, $, THE GARMENT JUNGLE and THE NEW CENTURIONS?
Also new from Sony: John Erick Dowdle’s effective horror thriller QUARANTINE (2008), starring Jennifer Carpenter (DEXTER), Jonathan Schaech (PROM NIGHT, THAT THING YOU DO) and Jay Hernandez (HOSTEL); and the brilliant satire I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND (2006), a Czech film from director Jiri Menzel (the 1968 Oscar-winning Best Foreign Film CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS), set at a luxurious hotel in pre-war Prague.
TOUCHSTONE: Spike Lee’s MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA (2008) was an unmitigated box-office dud, and even angered veteran Resistance fighters in Italy, but it’s actually one of his best films. Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller and John Leguizamo do tremendous ensemble work in a screenplay adapted by James McBride from his novel about the all-black 92nd Infantry Division (the “Buffalo Soldiers”) trapped behind Nazi lines in Tuscany. The picture is beautifully produced, and while overlong at 160 minutes, worth a look if, like most, you missed it in theatrical release.
John Gallagher
jgmovie@gmail.com
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