JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (ClassicFlix)
While I would never tout this as a great Abbott and Costello comedy, the vast array of bonus features on this release supersedes my interest in the film itself. Kudos to Bob Furmanek and the team at the 3D Film Archive for all the work they put into this production. An informative commentary track features recollections of the movie’s young costar David Stollery (better remembered for Walt Disney’s Spin and Marty serial) and Lou Costello’s daughter Chris. Jack Theakston explains the history and technology of CineColor, which reached its zenith with SuperCinecolor, as seen in this feature. The musical aspect of Jack is ably handled by Ray Faiola. A&C expert Ron Palumbo guides us through scenes that were cut from the final release print. For completists there is a terrific 1940 version of “Who’s on First?” that hasn’t been seen before and an excerpt from the Colgate Comedy Hour featuring Lou with the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) and the Creature from the Black Lagoon (Ben Chapman). You certainly get your money’s worth with this release, which is clearly a labor of love. www.classicflix.com
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS: DOUBLE TROUBLE AND MR. FIX-IT (Film Preservation Society)
Two exceedingly rare Douglas Fairbanks features make up this Blu-ray release. Double Trouble (1915) was missing in action for most of the past century. This Film Preservation Society copy has been painstakingly cobbled together from various sources and still shows signs of nitrate decomposition in several scenes. Fairbanks aficionados will still be happy to see this early example of the stage actor in transition to a man of the screen. That metamorphosis is completed by the time of Mr. Fix-It (1917), a delightful star vehicle written and directed by Doug’s longtime collaborator Allan Dwan. I saw this restoration several years ago at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, where it met an enthusiastic response. Two examples of early Biograph one-reelers wondrously brought back to life by the FPS complete the program. It’s hard to believe that one is watching films made in 1909 when confronted with the incredible quality of these prints; they look like they were photographed this morning. www.filmpreservationsociety.org
TOO MANY KISSES (Film Preservation Society)
This pleasant 1925 silent-film vehicle for handsome leading man Richard Dix would be forgettable if it weren’t for the brief appearance of one “Harpo” Marx in his screen debut. The romantic comedy takes place in a Basque community where Dix is supposed to be doing mining business for his father. Harpo is billed as “The Village Peter Pan” and plays an impish character with mischief in his eyes. The film was shot at Paramount’s Astoria, New York studio and the Marx brother’s role—what little there is of it—was something of a lark for him and the filmmakers as well. The FPS is presenting it looking splendid with its original color tints and a newly commissioned score by Harpo’s son Bill Marx which is quite good. Bonus features include The House That Shadows Built, a 1931 promotional feature in which the Four Marx Brothers do one of their well-oiled vaudeville routines which was later shoehorned into Monkey Business. As an example of the work the Film Preservation Society is doing restoring D.W. Griffith’s Biograph shorts, an early Mary Pickford one-reeler A Child’s Impulse is also included. You’ve never seen a film from 1910 looking this vivid; in fact, it’s flawless. www.filmpreservationsociety.org
THE GIRL CAN’T HELP IT (Criterion)
Much as I admire filmmaker Frank Tashlin, I’ve never been terribly fond of this film, but I must admit the parts are greater than the whole. Those parts include a memorable pre-credit sequence featuring Tom Ewell, who visually introduces CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color… complete performances by a top-tier roster of rock ‘n’ roll acts including Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, The Platters, and Eddie Cochran (not to mention Julie London, Abbey Lincoln, The Treniers, Barry Gordon, and Ray Anthony and some uniquely Tashlinesque sight gags revolving around the cartoonish anatomy of the movie’s star, Jayne Mansfield. The Criterion bonus features are especially good, including an interview with the picture’s number-one fan, John Waters; a perceptive video essay by David Cairns; an irreverent conversation about the musical acts on display by two savvy djs from radio station WFMU; a vintage local television interview with Jayne Mansfield; a useful rundown of her career by biographer Eve Golden; and a partial reprint of Frank Tashlin’s impossible-to-find booklet How to Create Cartoons. As with Jack and the Beanstalk (see review above) this material outweighs the value of the movie itself and is well worth the cost of the Blu-ray. www.criterion.com
