'The Blue Lightning:' You Call That an Opal

The DVD release of the "The Blue Lightning" is the first title in the catalog of Shout Factory subsidiary Timeless Media that is being reviewed in this space. Timeless offers great vintage films and movies, such as "The Loretta Young Show", that are less mainstream than a typical Shout title. These titles also include "The Virgnian" and other '60s westerns.

"Lightning" is a delightfully cheesy 1986 TV movie in which "I Spy'" and "The Greatest American Hero's" Robert Culp plays a brutal IRA soldier with an amusingly inconsistent Irish accent who has moved to the Australian outback to create a criminal empire. Despite having an underground lair and a team of thugs, Culp's Lester McInally would end up crying for his Ma even at the mention of James Bond's name.

The titular Blue Lightning is a world-class opal that McInally sells a world-class billionaire but literally fails to deliver the goods on being paid. This prompts said billionaire to recruit tough guy for hire Harry Wingate to retrieve either the gem or the money.

One of the best lines of the film comes within a few minutes of Wingate arriving in Australia. He quickly kills a poisonous reptile that is in his hotel room courtesy of McInally. Wingate then tosses the reptile on the floor outside his room and tells a hotel employee that the plumber forgot his snake.

Wingate and his predictably inevitable love interest then repeatedly fight off a pair of McInnally's thugs who are charged with preventing Wingate from reaching McInally. The action includes an in-air gun fight that is reminiscent of the hilarious '60s cartoon series "Dick Dastardly and Muttley" and a collision between a large cattle truck and an obstacle on the highway that reminds one of the Road Runner cartoons.

Wingate's initial confrontation with McInally sets the scene for the middle of the film in which Wingate bonds with the aborigines who ultimately join his campaign for traditional reasons that relate to honor.

The final battle royale is a fitting end to the film.

The fact that this tale is not particularly original and the acting is not award (or sponge cake) worthy does not mean that it is not entertaining. It is 90-minutes of good escapism with nice desert scenery. Further, the cliches only add to the enjoyment of the film.

Anyone with questions about the film or "Muttley" is encouraged to email me.

'Quincy, M.E.:' Crusader Coroner

The six-disc 22-episode set of "Quincy, M.E.'s" 1979-1980 Season Five is the latest example of Shout Factory's great track record regarding adopting classic shows after another studio stopped releasing them. Although Shout is not releasing this set until March 19, 2013, it is well worth the wait.

This release comes a few months after star Jack Klugman's Christmas Eve 2012 death. The fact that "Quincy," rather than Klugman's arguably more popular show "The Odd Couple," is featured on Klugman's imdb.com page indicates a great deal about that exceptional series that was still going strong after five seasons.

The credit for the exceptional quality of "Quincy" extends beyond Klugman's contributions. Donald P. Bellisario, who is perhaps best known for creating the even more successful "Magnum, P.I.," and "The Hardy Boys" TV series creator Glen A. Larson also helped bring "Quincy" to life.

Although losing any prospect of hoisting a domestic beer at a bar and grill with Klugman is sad, I am fortunate to have a six degrees of separation style connection with this truly talented actor and mensch. 

A good friend's grandfather was Klugman's cousin. That grandfather was born with the name Klugman and changed it to King to further his own successful show business career.

A recent news story about Klugman provided insight regarding how he successfully portrayed the down-to-earth and intelligent characters Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple" and "Dr. Quincy," whose undisclosed first name garnered as much interest as that of Seinfeld's Kramer roughly 15 years later.

The story was that Klugman appeared for his "Odd Couple" audition wearing sloppy clothes. On being told that that was one reason that he was cast as the slovenly Madison, the already successful Klugman reportedly responded that he had worn his nicest clothes and thought that he looked his best.

"Quincy" was an early procedural that was Klugman's version of "Matlock" or "Murder, She Wrote" in that it was his semi-retirement mystery series. However, comparing Klugman's series to the other two is like comparing the military sitcoms "The Phil Silvers Show" and "M*A*S*H" to "Major Dad."

The titular character was a highly skilled coroner who was often called in on tough or VIP cases. Regardless of the catalyst, the autopsy results typically indicated some form of societal evil that Quincy was bulldog determined to rectify.

The season opener demonstrated the series' concept well. This plot about a plant growth stimulant that was turning marijuana lethal was essentially an "Afterschool Special," complete with Quincy addressing a high school assembly.

Despite the hookey elements, the story was good and had important messages that included the challenge of regulating advertisements of marijuana-related items. 

Another equally timely episode had Quincy battling a rich and powerful hospital owner who provided literally criminally negligent care and turned away even critical cases if the patient lacked medical insurance. 

A third episode about incest was less "After School Special" than the marijuana one. That one included both below-the-surface reasons for that icky practice and the message that father-daughter sex was not limited to lower income households.

It could be argued that an episode in which Quincy helped determine the identity of a D.B. Cooper style hijacker and the cause of that person's death simply by examining a skeleton that was found hanging in a tree by a parachute inspired the creators of the current procedural "Bones." An Anthrax outbreak was another current element of that episode.

No list of noteworthy episodes from the season would be complete without one that involved the death of a disgraced televangelist  from a fatal combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. Quincy's inability to determine whether the death was accidental or suicide prompted calling in consultants to perform a psychological autopsy to determine the televangelist's mental state at the time of his death.

Watching the consultants perform the psychological exam was fascinating, and the true circumstances regarding the cause of death included above-average twists.

The bottom line is that the series, including its fifth season, has enough appropriately toned drama, humor, and social commentary to make "Quincy" worth owning.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Quincy" is encouraged to email me.

'A Star Is Born' Blu-ray: The Sublime Miss S Rocks Out

Evaluating the audio and video quality of the Blu-ray edition, which is being released on February 5, 2013,  of the 1976 Barbara Streisand/Kris Kristofferson remake of  "A Star is Born" is easy. The sound is very crisp and the picture is incredibly clear.

Further, Warner Brothers includes great photos and background information in the bound booklet in which the Blu-ray is encased. The Streisand narrated special feature on the wonderfully dated '70s fashions from the film is also great fun.

The bottom line is that "Star" is a classic and that fans of the '70s and/or Streisand will enjoy it if only for the music and the groovy fashions. The film is additionally notable for the Oscar-winning soft rock uber-hit "Evergreen" that Streisand and legendary song-writer Paul Williams co-wrote and that Streisand flawlessly performs.

Evaluating the film itself is tougher and requires treading very lightly on Faberge eggshells. The quasi Ike and Tina Turner plot of an aging self-destructive rocker experiencing a vicious cycle (this is hilarious to anyone familiar with "Star") who falls in love with an unknown and then launchs said unknown into stardom as he dramatically sabotages his own career makes for good cinema. 

Additionally, the 1954 Judy Garland/James Mason version of "Star" is a very tough act to follow. This one belongs on any list of top 100 films.

Streisand's effort to make this great story relevant in a time that classic '70s rock, easy listening hits, and disco were converging was a challenging undertaking. Additionally, any effort to modernize a classic tale is always risky.

It is equally important to remember that Streisand is incredibly talented. Her film roles show that she can handle screwball comedy as deftly as drama. 

Those roles, and her recordings, further demonstrate that no can belt out show tunes or sing ballads any better. "Star" simply was one of Streisand's efforts that slightly lowered her world-class batting average. However, even a not spectacular Streisand film is pretty darn good.

Streisand's ironic effort to modernize the "Star" story is a victim of her trying to control every aspect of the production. A simpler way of stating this is that one theory of cinema is that someone who tries to do more than one or two things in a production ends up not doing any of them particularly well.

Streisand stars, produces, writes music, and provides her personal clothing for "Star." (It is unknown if Streisand also cooks for the cast and crew and builds sets.) She even essentially states in her commentary for the special feature on the film's fashions that its good to be king in reference to her behind-the-scenes roles allowing her to control her fellow actors.

At the incredible risk of incurring the wrath of Streisand fans everywhere, this effort to make the film all about Barbara has a negative impact.This is unintentionally reflected in having the initials of Streisand's character Esther Hoffman Howard spell EHH.

It seems that miscasting hard-living country singer Kristofferson as both hard-living and hard-rocking John Norman Hoffman was designed to avoid diverting focus from Streisand. On my making that observation, my friend who watched the film with me commented that Greg Allman  of the Allman Brothers would have been a good choice.

Further, Kristofferson is one of Streisand's few leading men with whom she lacked chemistry. They are both strong performers but did not convey the love, the passion, and the frustration that their characters experienced.

Streisand went further by robbing Kristofferson of any truly strong moments. This extended to Kristofferson's final scene, which should have been all about Kris.

Streisand's biggest (and most amusing) mistake was trying to perform rock and disco music. Her wearing the androgynous slacks and blouses that the Woody Allen character Annie Hall made fashionable (and that Ellen DeGeneres rocks today) while getting down with her bad self did not play particularly well. 

I really tried to be kind but could not resist commenting "Mrs. Kotter rocks out" (You Millennials can Google it.) on seeing the mid-30s lanky Streisand strut her stuff and frantically bob her head decked out in an Annie Hall outfit. 

As stated above, "Star" was not a total car wreck (which is also hilarious to anyone familiar with the film.) It simply was a case of  Streisand initially experimenting in an area that did not play to her strengths, taking a role that was better suited for a younger actress, and compounding things by playing too large a role backstage.

Please direct all hate mail to my email address.

'The Hardy Boys' S3: Shout Factory's Valentine Gift for Classic TV Fans

 

The DVD Set, which Shout Factory is releasing on February 12 2013, of the third season of "The Hardy Boys" is the latest show of Shout's deep love for hardcore sofa spuds. It is also another example of Shout releasing additional seasons of an awesome childhood favorite after another studio only released a season or two.

Other, out-dated, news regarding Shout is that it is now the parent company of Timeless Media. Timeless shares Shout's love of classic shows and has great titles. These include the '60s Western "The Virgnian" and  the "Hardy" era family show "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams."

"Hardy, " which was based on the uber-popular book series that produced more titles than Stephen King, was a mid-70s Sunday night must-see show for the tween set a decade before Fox launched its "21 Jump Street" anchored lineup that night. Incessant badgering was a proven technique for parents agreeing to forgo "60 Minutes" in favor of Frank and Joe's latest action-packed adventure.

Frank and Joe Hardy were a much kinder and gentler, and less homoerotic, version of Sam and Dean Winchester of "Supernatural." Dreamy teen idol Shaun Cassidy, who had a bubble gum pop music career similar to that of his dreamy teen idol older brother David from "The Partridge Family," portrayed Joe and eclipsed co-star Parker Stevenson.  

Stevenson was perfectly dreamy and had his well-deserved share of coverage in "Tiger Beat" but simply lacked the puppy dog eyes and overall "it" of Cassidy. I, and many others, still would not kick Stevenson out of our ice cream parlors.

Before leaving this discussion of harmless heartthrobs, the oft-overlooked Cassidy bro Ryan deserves some ink. Ryan showed as much charm and rocked a shorty robe in a brief stint on the '80s sitcom"The Facts of Life" just as well as David and Shaun smiled and strutted around in barely buttoned shirts on their shows. It is difficult to imagine anyone not letting Ryan move into their attic even today.
 
Les freres Hardy spent most of their first two seasons investigating crimes and mysterious happenings around their New York state home ala the Scooby gang in the current "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" series.

Frank and Joe did take road trips and teamed up with fellow teen sleuth Nancy Drew, whose show alternated with the boys' timeslot in the early season, in some first and second season episodes.

The third season began on a dark and unintentionally comic note with an episode in which Joe got engaged within five minutes only to have his fiancee killed in an accident ten minutes later. Frankly (no pun intended), Cassidy and the girl lacked much charisma.

The incident and the law's refusal to act as aggressively as Joe wanted caused that sweet innocent twink to try to act tough and go rogue with predictably amusing results. 

Although the award for best line in the episode goes to Frank, who straight-faced (pun intended) and completely seriously says "you're beautiful too" to Joe during a discussion of Joe's dead fiancee, Joe's line "not when there's a fed around" when the bad guy offers him a doobie comes a close second. The elevator music version of the disco tune in the background adds to the entertainment value.

That episode also had a bit of "jump the shark" irony in that the first half ended with Frank being lured into surfing into shark-infested water. The spoiler alert is that he did not become chum.

The better news is that the series really rallied after the first episode, which made it seem that "Hardy" had jumped the shark.

It is possible that, like older brother David, Shaun had tired of playing things light and wanted to act (pun intended) more his age. He, and the producers, wisely abandoned that course. The show became MUCH better after the first episode.

The boys became federal investigators after Joe's visit to the dark side. The rest of the season had them traveling around the world where they locked lips with babes and crossed swords with nefarious criminals. 

One particularly good episode had the boys posing as archeology students searching for the lost city of Atlantis in the Greek Islands. (Of course, any fanboy knows that Atlantis is now at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay under where Voyager will make its triumphant return home.)

Seeing Joe resent getting sweaty and filthy while a clean and comfortable Frank made time with the babe of the week was quite amusing; further, a true cliffhanger scene in which Frank faced imminent peril was genuinely suspenseful.

Other exotic locales included Hawaii and the South of France. 
 
 

Contest Winners Announced; Warner Releases 'Best Picture' Collection

 
Shout Factory for Joy, soon to be renamed to reflect my regular reviews of Warner Brothers releases as well, is pleased to announce both the winners of my Warner Brothers sponsored giveaway contest and the release of what seems to be a great DVD set of classic Warner Brothers films.

The prize was a bundle of Blu-ray releases of the the Best Picture winners "Grand Hotel," "Mrs. Miniver," and "Driving Miss Daisy." The contest, which reflected my love of Warner Archives' releases of '70s Hanna Barbera cartoons, asked that contestants write a short essay on which of the three films mentioned above would best be suited for a cartoon series and why.

Both Ron and Jim chose "Daisy." Ron astutely pointed out that Morgan Freeman was an awesome, my word not his, voice actor and had shown his comedic side. Ron added that the friendship between Miss Daisy and her chauffer Hoke would allow for some great adventures and "fun mishaps."

Jim noted that "Daisy" provided a good chance to educate kids about the period from the 1940s to the 1970s that that film depicted. 

Jim's great idea, which could have been executed in a properly "hip" manner, evoked memories of the feds quasi ruining Saturday morning cartoons in the mid-70s, well after "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids" and "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space", by requiring that kids' programming include educational content. I suspect that I would have started a "Keep Your Laws Off My Scooby" if I had been a little older in the '70s.

Jim also channeled the "Laverne and Shirley" early '80s cartoon series, which had the gals serving under a pig in the army, by suggesting the additional Southern element of adding the animated pig mascot from the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain in the series.

Good job guys! I hope that you enjoy the Blu-rays.

This contest winners announcement coincides with what seems to be another winning Warner release. The "Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film Collection Best Pictures" DVD set hits stores tomorrow. I have not seen this one yet but will report on it  more fully when I add it to my collection.

Warner divides the set into three chapters; the first, which is labelled "A New Era," spans the period from the introduction of "The Jazz Singer" and other "talkies" to the beginning of World War II." It does not include "Singer," which did not win Best Picture but that I recently reviewed,  but does include "Mutiny on the Bounty" and other classics that are just as good as "Singer."

The second chapter leaps over the war years to the post-war period known as "The Golden Years." This portion begins with 1946's "The Best Years of Our Lives" and ends with 1959's "Ben Hur."

The set rounds out with the Clint Eastwood  (insert your own imaginary world leader joke here) era dubbed "The New Classics." The Eastwood directed flicks "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" are joined by the truly epic "Chariots of Fire," the wonderfully subversive "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" featuring Nurse Ratched, and a handful of other favorites from the '70s through 2006.

I cannot imagine Warner doing anything short of a spectacular job with the set but look forward to verifying that it is a must-own collection for this year's pre-Oscars period. Anyone with questions or comments regarding classic films is welcome to email me.

  

 

 

   

 

'The Jazz Singer' Blu-ray: Nicely Transforms Diamond in the Rough

Warner Brothers' three-disc blu-ray release of the 1927 classic "The Jazz Singer" is so indescribably awesome that it make me regret choosing a bare-bones DVD of the equally timeless "Citizen Kane" over Warner's 70th Anniversary blu-ray release of that film about a boy and his sled.

"Singer" is best known for being cited as the first "talkie" film despite having most of the sound consist of tons o' really great music, rather than dialogue, and for spawning the 1980 Neil Diamond remake.

The 1927 version stars Al Jolson as Jake Rabinowitz, the son of a strict immigrant (insert your own "Coming to America" joke here) orthodox Jewish cantor who demands that his son follow his career of singing in the synagogue. Jake, on the other hand, wants a career singing secular songs in taverns and other "unclean" establishments.

A violent confrontation prompts teen Jake to run away, change his name to Jack Robin, and establish a career as a jazz singer. This defiance prompts Rabinowitz senior, played by Charlie Chan actor Warner Oland, to dramatically declare that he has no son and to forbid his wife from even reading letters from Jake.

The action quickly advances 20 years to just before Jack gets a chance to fulfill his dreams of pursuing both the girl of his dreams, who is not a store-bought woman but does make Jack sing like a guitar hummin', and a Broadway career.

Jack's return to New York stirs up drama with his father and presents Jack with a true Sophie's choice.

The story holds up very well and is timely nearly 90 years after its release. Also, the Warner wizards did a stunningly awesome job cleaning up the film for blu-ray.

The picture is very sharp for a non-hi-def film, and there are none of the expected scratches or dirt marks. Additionally, the sound and overall presentation is virtually perfect.

The expert presentation extends to the truly collectible bound book in which the three blu-rays are encased. The booklet starts with a TCM host Robert Osborne worthy recap of the introduction of talkies, goes on to provide stills from the film, and winds up with extensive promotional material from the film.

The second blu-ray in the set is a feature-length documentary, including clips, of the early talkies. I have not watched this yet but it seems very interesting.

I did watch some of the roughly 30 early "talkie" shorts on the third discs. Like "The Jazz Singer," most of  the sound from the shorts from the 20s consisted of music and background noise. These evolved to full dialogue and musical numbers by the mid-30s.

One stand-out was a short titled "Night Court," which shared elements of the sitcom of the same name. The judge had a night club's performers do their acts so that the judge could determine if they were "risque" and otherwise illegal as charged.

The penultimate short was special as well because it had the hilarious Burns and Allen do a true vaudeville routine that broke down the fourth wall between them and the audience. Burns' straight man performance did not evoke hilarity that prompted shouting "Oh God" but was still great classic comedy.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "The Jazz Singer" is welcome to email me.

Classic WB Film Blu-Ray Giveaway: From Garbo to Tandy

Although regular readers might think that Warner Brothers Archive's catalog is limited to "lost" '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, such as "Goober and the Ghost Chasers" and "The Funky Phantom" , this ginormous collection extends to a wide variety of enduring and cult television programs and films.

Examples from my extensive WB Archive collection include the film noir classics "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" and "The Public Enemy." A recent addition is the high camp series "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.," which stars Stefanie "Mrs. H." Powers as a hip '60s superspy. The equally campy film "Torch Song Trilogy," which stars Matthew Broderick and Harvery Fierstein, and features very cute bunny slippers is on my wishlist.

WB Archive's sibling company Warner Brothers Home Entertainment (Home) is contributing to the effort to collect some of the best films ever made  by offering blu-ray versions of several classic films. I look forward to this chance to watch enhanced versions of these productions that I enjoyed so much either on PBS or Turner Classic Movies (TCM). 

My only negative comment is that the sets do not include introductions by the bodaciously awesome TCM host Robert Osborne. I would sacrifice the left anything off my anatomy to discuss classic movies with this gregarious filmophile.

Home is celebrating this next step in its evolution by sponsoring a give-away  bundles of three of the Best Picture winner blu-ray titles in this group. They have allocated two sets to me, and contest details follow the descriptions of the prize package films.

The first title is the 1932 film "Grand Hotel" in which Garbo, and just about every other mega-star of the period, speaks. I do not recall if Joan Crawford makes an issue about wire hangers or dirty bathroom floors but am sure that she does not warn anyone about initiating unlawful carnal knowledge with her. 

This highly superior inspiration for Neil Simon's "Suite" films, "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Hotel," and "Hotel Babylon" tells the dramatic tales of the guests and staff of Berlin's Grand Hotel.

The second equally good film is 1942's "Mrs. Miniver." All that needs to be said about this must-see film is that it tells the tale of an ordinary English housewife who closely follows the principle of "Keep Calm and Carry On" despite experiencing horrible tragedies during World War II.

The lighter 1989 film "Driving Miss Daisy" rounds out the set. This truly modern classic  always has me think of my favorite "In Living Color" sketch "Riding Miss Daisy."  It has also often inspires me to be rude to friends who give me rides and to refer to a need to "make water" on virtually ever road trip.

This charming tale of mid-20th century small town Southern life depicts the evolving friendship between feisty Jewish widow Daisy Werthan, played by Jessica Tandy, and her black driver Hoke, played by Morgan Freeman. 

Hoke is thrust (pun definitely intended) on Miss Daisy after age-related infirmities make it unsafe for her to drive. This aspect of the film evokes memories of my grandmother, who would leave parking lots through entrances if they were closer than the exits and would ignore stop signs that she did not feel like obeying.

In honor of both the wide range of titles in the Warner Brothers catalog, and the recent DVD release of V1 of the "Police Academy" animated series, I will award a blu-ray bundle of "Grand Hotel," "Mrs. Miniver," and "Driving Miss Daisy" to the two people who email me the best response to the question of which of these three films would make the best cartoon series and why.

Replies must be no more than 50 words and be received by 12:00 p.m. EST Friday January 25, 2013.

'Police Academy: The Animated Series' V1: True to the Lore of the Steve Guttenberg Bible

Warner Archives' latest gift to classic animation fans in the form of the 30-episode DVD set "Police Academy: The Animated Series" V1 evoked fond memories of similar late 80s'/early 90s cartoon series of classic '80s live action comedies. The "Real Ghostbusters," "Back to the Future," "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," and "Teen Wolf" cartoons were favorites from that era. "Ghostbusters" is on my list of desert island DVD sets, and "Bill and Ted" is high on my wishlist of series that I would love released on DVD.

These series are also notable because, along with "Academy," they marked the end of broadcast networks airing traditional Saturday morning cartoons.

Warner Archives' traditional release schedule indicates that fans of "Academy" can expect the release of the remaining episodes in roughly May 2013.

Like the titles mentioned above, "Academy" follows the proverbial winning formula of transporting the characters from the successful film franchise into an animated world with their personalities fully intact. This works particularly well in the case of "Academy" because most of the bumbling and/or quirky police recruits were essentially cartoon characters. Officer Jones, who was well known for his talent for creating sound effects with just his mouth, is a prime example of this. 

"Academy" notches up the franchise's surreal elements by having Mahoney and his gang of misfits face off against super-villains, such as the Phantom and the Kingpin. This squad receives aid from the very cute dogs in the K-9 corps, whose first assignment pits the entire two and four-footed gang against cat burglar The Claw and his real cat accomplice. 

The specific kid-friendly formula is that a typical episode begins with the uber baddie of the day committing the first in a series of crimes that prompts police involvement. This leads to the squad's nemesis Captain Harris assigning them to nab the perp, predicting that they will fail. The first attempt to thwart the evil scheme fails, often due to Harris' interference, and the second effort succeeds thanks to a team member's quirk-related talent.

Each episode winds up with a safety tip that is reminiscent of similar segments in "The Superfriends." These topics include bicycle safety and not going in strangers' home when you go door-to-door to do things such as collecting on your paper route or selling girl scout cookies. This is an early form of stranger danger.

Anyone with questions or thoughts regarding "Academy" is welcome to email me.