Gunslingers, Godfathers, Truck Drivers, & Silent Stars, plus 3 Films from the 80s & 90s
Apr 24, 2024Episode 143
George Feltenstein
We're peeling back the curtain on Warner Archive's March releases, with a special nod to the unexpected Blu-ray revival of the classic TV Western "Colt .45." Next we review the John Ford and John Wayne western "3 Godfathers" (1948) and its redemption story for the outlaws. Three modern classics are next, with the timely "The Little Drummer Girl," (1984), the inspiring "Stand and Deliver," (1988), and the action-comedy "Money Talks" (1997). We jump back to the 1920s with a review of the delightful silent double feature "The Boob/Why Be Good" and a hint at future silent film releases. We wrap up with director Raoul Walsh's "They Drive By Night" (1940), which is loaded with terrific performances by classic Hollywood favorites George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino. We provide a review of each film, the restoration, and all of the extras to help you decide if you want to add it to your physical media collection.
If you pre-ordered the MONEY TALKS Blu-ray you may have received a disc with 2.0 instead of 5.1 audio. If that is you, send an email to the following address to request a replacement disc: avdefreturns@alliedvaughn.com
We're peeling back the curtain on Warner Archive's March releases, with a special nod to the unexpected Blu-ray revival of the classic TV Western "Colt .45." Next we review the John Ford and John Wayne western "3 Godfathers" (1948) and its redemption story for the outlaws. Three modern classics are next, with the timely "The Little Drummer Girl," (1984), the inspiring "Stand and Deliver," (1988), and the action-comedy "Money Talks" (1997). We jump back to the 1920s with a review of the delightful silent double feature "The Boob/Why Be Good" and a hint at future silent film releases. We wrap up with director Raoul Walsh's "They Drive By Night" (1940), which is loaded with terrific performances by classic Hollywood favorites George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino. We provide a review of each film, the restoration, and all of the extras to help you decide if you want to add it to your physical media collection.
If you pre-ordered the MONEY TALKS Blu-ray you may have received a disc with 2.0 instead of 5.1 audio. If that is you, send an email to the following address to request a replacement disc: avdefreturns@alliedvaughn.com
Hello and welcome to the Extras. I'm Tim Lard, your host, and joining me today is George Feltenstein to review some of the March TV and film releases from the Warner Archive. Hi, george.
Speaker 2:
Hey Tim.
Speaker 1:
Well, March I'm looking at March and it's like this is a very, very busy month, so we have a lot of titles that we're going to be talking about today, but I think, probably, going back to the announcement, one of the real pleasant surprises about this month was when you announced this release of the classic TV Western series Cold 45. I don't think anyone saw that one coming. I know we get a lot of requests for various TV series, but the fact is is that as I watched this, I was so enjoying it and I'm so glad that this series is getting a new life on Blu-ray for people who maybe never saw it. On Blu-ray for people who maybe never saw it because it looks terrific and it's highly entertaining.
Speaker 2:
Well, count me as one of the people that never saw it. This was before my time in all ways, and if I wanted to see an episode, we had nothing to look at, because this is a series that was never put on videotape, even ancient 1980s, one inch, you know right, this was just not around. And there were actually some. A lot of people wouldn't know this because it's not like, uh, wade preston gets up and sings a warner brothers music publishing song or something, which is the issue that keeps some of our other classic warner brothers tv series, uh, in the land of difficulty. But there were music clearances of the music in this series that held it up years ago, like if we wanted to put it out when we were doing Lawman, bronco, the Dakotas, maverick, cheyenne, all the Warner Brothers Westerns. We couldn't get to a few of them because of music and this was one of them and it just happened to be.
Speaker 2:
We were having a conversation internally Westerns and this series seemed like a perfect choice as we all sat around the table and were thinking, you know well what hasn't been around at all, and putting everything together, scanning the negatives at 4K, coming out with a beautiful Blu-ray set in a sleeve where the seasons are individually packaged in an amary.
Speaker 2:
So it's sturdy. You know three amaries, one for each season, and so I'm very happy with the presentation. I'm super happy that people such as yourself share my enthusiasm, you know, because as I was going through the episodes as they would be completed and checking the quality and so forth and so on, I just found it was very snackable. The shows are short and before you know it they're over and you're on to the next one and you've got that wonderful production quality of having been made here at the studio. So I just thought it was a perfect opportunity for us to let people know that television is going to be more of a prominent focus within our activities. I take my hat off, as I always do, to William T Orr, because under his aegis Warner Brothers Television was founded and flourished, and this is just alongside. It fills a hole of a missing Warner Brothers Western series, yeah, yeah, and the fan response has been tremendous.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean it's one of those kind of pleasant surprises and I think anybody who picks up this set is going to just really enjoy To your point. You can watch one. They're self-contained, they go by quickly. And just for people who don't know, wade Preston plays Christopher Colt. He's an undercover I guess it's an army undercover officer posing as this salesman of the Colt pistols and he arrives in a town or a setting and he has a little you know something he has to uncover or deal with, or some gunman or bad guy or whatever. They're just so highly entertaining. It's a great formula. You know it's a formula that's been done, but it's really fun, creative. And Wade, who I didn't really know, wade Preston, I mean he just really fits the part he looks it he fits it so much.
Speaker 2:
He's terrific. You just took the words right out of my mouth.
Speaker 2:
I was going to say he's terrific, he's charming, he's very matter of fact and it's easy to see why he fell alongside so many of the Warner Western stars that were in these series made in the late 50s and early 60s. I'm very proud of the release. As I indicated the last time I was with you, or one of the last times I was with you, we've got another Western in the oven and that should be ready once the pop-up timer comes up. Hopefully we'll be letting people know what the next one will be. It's very exciting and I hope we'll be able to bring lots more television as we continue on our mission to unleash the library.
Speaker 1:
And just to further explain for those listening, this is a what? Uh, three seasons, so there's what? 10 discs and 67 episodes, right? So there's a lot of entertainment in this and I saw um a good chunk of these episodes, and it was fun to see the guest stars. Dan Blocker, of course, famous from Bonanza, angie Dickinson, is in there. I really enjoyed the one with Leonard Nimoy. Yes, it was. He plays a, not a good guy.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and Adam West in three different episodes as three different characters.
Speaker 1:
Three different, including one is Doc Holliday, and each performance very different. I enjoyed all three of those and then each season I noticed that they did a new intro. I just couldn't help noticing that. Or he comes in and he does a little intro. You know just the theme song and intro. So really great production value and great guest stars and it's just a lot of fun. So highly recommended to those who want to get their Western collection on Blu-ray now because it looks so much better. I mean the images just looks pristine.
Speaker 2:
Well, I thank you for the kind words and again the hat gets tipped off to our wonderful colleagues at Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging. They worked wonders. These negatives hadn't been touched really in much more than 60 years, so it was a great opportunity also to protect the show. When you go back to elements that you haven't touched in over 60 years, you have to make sure that they're not going vinegar and so forth and so on. So everything was scanned and protected and there are also backup film element protections as well. So there is analog and digital protection.
Speaker 1:
Yeah Well, it was really great and I thought that would kind of lead us into the discussion of the one Western you had in March fan favorite, I would say, classic in so many ways and that's Three Godfathers from 1948. I know so many people hold this film dear and they, you know, watch it at Christmas time because of the storyline that's there. And this new master for this film really showcases the Western setting, you know, the desert scenes and everything, and of course the performances are terrific.
Speaker 2:
I was extraordinarily excited about this. I was disappointed we didn't have it ready in time for Christmas, but this is not, you know, a quintessential Christmas film the way you know a Christmas Carol is, or Christmas in Connecticut no, you can. This can be watched any time of the year and enjoyed. But the thing that's most important is the technicolor restoration and the fact that we had complete nitrate technicolor negatives and could scan each of them, then recombine for perfect precision using our own technology, and the result of this is incredibly sharp, beautiful images. These Technicolor restorations hold great importance in my mind because this film was mastered in HD about 20 years ago for the purposes of releasing on DVD from an interpositive, and that's what's been kicking around until now and it doesn't look terrible. But you put that up against this and you see the difference. And we won't take those old HD masters that are filled with all sorts of antiquated noise reduction and we're QC'd on CRTs. We have to start from the beginning on this and that is why so many things take a long time to get out.
Speaker 2:
But I'm delighted we were able to do a full restoration on this, as well as on the 1936 version of Three Godfathers that MGM made. This is based on a very famous story by Peter B Kine and was filmed numerous times. It was filmed at Universal as a very early talkie called Hell's Heroes, which we also own because MGM bought the story to remake it. And Hell's Heroes and Three Godfathers 1936 are on a double feature DVD that we put out a long time ago. But we did a full restoration on both the 36 and the 48, but made the 48 the prominent feature, because that's what people really, really want and to be able to offer two films on the disc with such exceptional quality is extraordinarily gratifying. And again, it's MPI to the rescue Right.
Speaker 1:
And of course, it's the teaming of John Ford and John Wayne, and I think for fans of the Western genre, I mean, any and all of their collaborations are something that you treasure and kind of want to have on your shelf, and having an HD is a tremendous upgrade.
Speaker 2:
Well and again all of those original negatives. The three strip Technicolor negatives were scanned individually at 4K then recombined for this new master. The results speak for themselves. People have reviewed the disc and loved it very much, especially because it has two versions on it also.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's pretty impressive that you were able to get that other one on there too.
Speaker 2:
And I didn't want it to end up being a two-disc set, you know. And the other thing that was important is I talked to our colleagues and said can we get both on the disk without sacrificing the Warner Archive minimum for bitrate, because we insist on very high bitrates so that the consumer gets the best possible viewing experience. And I think that we have that here and I'm very proud of it.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah. It's a terrific film. It looks terrific and I couldn't recommend it more highly for fans of the genre. John Wayne, John Ford, all of the above, it's just a great film.
Speaker 2:
It's just a great film, and the thing that really touches me about this is the little tribute to the late Harry Carey, who had just passed away and was so much part of the Ford Stock Company, and the introduction of his son. It just gets you in the heart. Especially if people are fond of the Ford Wayne canon and the John Ford group of stock players. It's particularly moving. And then, of course, harry Carey Jr was outstanding two years later in another Warner Archive release from RKO in 1950, wagon Master, which is another remaster we're very proud of. So we're very fortunate to be able to be the custodians of such incredible work and people can have it on their shelf without any internet interruptions. That's the best part of it.
Speaker 1:
And it's an MGM feature as well, yes, so for those who are looking to add to their MGM library for the celebration of the 100th, this is a terrific opportunity here, so that's a lot of fun. Well, why don't we jump ahead? Because you have three films from the 80s and 90s and I did want to go through those, and I have to say that this first one, from 1984, the Little Drummer Girl, it works well in its own merits as a thriller and it's enjoyable, but with what's currently going on in the world today, it couldn't be more relevant. And it just shows that you know John LeCair and the storyline and what the filmmakers did has. You know it has an enduring element to it, you know, all wrapped into this very entertaining thriller.
Speaker 2:
And the fact that the film is 40 years old and it tells you that this unfortunate set of circumstances does make it very timely and prescient. But George Roy Hill, who directed the film, was really an exceptional talent, and Diane Keaton really played a very different role than we had seen her in previously. She had already given an amazing dramatic performance in Reds, followed by another amazing dramatic performance in Shoot the Moon, but this is right up there with her best work, and I think the film was probably a little bit on the forgotten side and I'm hoping that with this new Blu-ray presentation people will really reevaluate it and see that there's great work at hand here.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, diane Keaton is terrific. I mean she has to play quite a range and, without giving away any spoilers, you know she's an actress and because of that to some extent she gets pulled in right to play a role and we won't give away anything there. But she just does a terrific job kind of playing those two parts, or two elements, I should say, to the storyline and really, you know, really sets you in and does a terrific job, of course, of the undercover role. So, yeah, I mean I thought it was a good one. It's great to see her at, you know, when she was younger, at her peak there, and she's such a terrific actress.
Speaker 2:
One of my personal favorites. I have to say yeah, she's terrific and this film is really worthy of reappraisal and rediscovery.
Speaker 1:
Well, our next film is also from the 80s and it's such an inspiring film. I mean, when I watched it I just had the same feelings as when I watched it the first time, you know, back in 1988 when it came out. And that's Stand and Deliver. It's just so good. But what I want to be sure we really talk about is how good it looks on blu-ray and this is a 4k scan off the camera negative.
Speaker 2:
Everything that you've seen up till now is over 20 years old. That was the last time they mastered this, probably 22, 23 years ago, and it really looked awful. It should be noted this was a very low budget production. This was also a production not intended initially for theatrical presentation. This was a production that I believe. I'm not sure of this, but I believe it started with PBS's series American Playhouse. They had the funding in the late 80s and early 90s to make independent films, some of which did get theatrical releases before they ended up on PBS. This is something that just had so much buzz to it that Warner Brothers jumped to the pool and said, yeah, we want a part of this and we think it's bigger than just a television film. And, of course, edward james almost is magnificent. Yeah, he's just fantastic and there's a great supporting cast yeah, I guess.
Speaker 1:
Well, he was nominated for a best actor academy award. I mean, he just really uh, I mean he he's just the image of that east la teacher, that inspiring teacher, I think. Uh, that kind of endures. Now, you know, in other films that have come that have maybe been kind of like Stand and Deliver, you know in terms of inspiring teachers and things of that nature. But it's such an LA film Very much so both live here in LA and I'm watching it and I'm like recognizing all of these locations and the bridges in East LA that cross the river and just the feel everything. It's a terrific LA story, the filming of it and the setting, but it's the acting, these young actors, including Lou Diamond Phillips, and how they just inhabit these young students, and it's so memorable. And then it was fun to see I kind of had forgotten, but you get to see a young Andy Garcia in there. It was kind of fun to see him.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips. I think this followed La Bamba, if my memory is correct. But he made such an impression in this film. It's really hard to imagine that he didn't win the Oscar, but it was tough competition. But that doesn't take anything away from it being an Oscar-worthy performance for sure.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's terrific and I think that the film already has so many fans and for those fans of the film, for the teachers, the young people, for them to be able to see it now, looking so good I think helps and we've talked about this before, George how these new HD masters really help anybody who's a little younger and not used to seeing film and film grain, you know, it makes them so much more accessible to them so that they can just get sucked into the storyline of these films, because the story and the message and the inspiration that this movie has resonates today and will continue to for a long, long time.
Speaker 2:
Amen to that.
Speaker 1:
Well, the next film is an action comedy from 1997. And it really, I mean it's just such a film of its era and that's the Chris Tucker, charlie Sheen of film Money Talks. That's a play on words, of course, because his character talks nonstop, the Chris Tucker character, and he's the humor and he's the driving force, of course, in this film. And it's from a first-time director, film director Brett Ratner, who teamed up with Chris Tucker just the next year on the Rush Hour series, where they used the same formula that really they created here in Money Talks. So it's great that this film is finally getting out on Blu-ray.
Speaker 2:
And we've had a great deal of requests for it. I mean, there is a fan base that wants to see these films and we're always happy to oblige. Years old and the whole change of whether it be hairstyles or the size of cellular phone devices. It's very, very different, yeah, but what holds up is the entertainment and the chemistry between the two of them is particularly sheen and tucker. It's really terrific and it's a beautifully shot movie and that's why the new master looks so great on Blu-ray.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and it's another kind of quintessential LA you know film we just talked about that for Stand and Deliver in East LA, and this one is quintessential LA as well. You've got all of the highways and chases and all of the different locations, from the tough neighborhoods to the ultra wealthy in Beverly Hills, and so that's kind of a time capsule as well. That's really fun from the nineties there as well. Yeah, so I mean this film has so many fans. I mean Chris Tucker has not done that many films, if you look at his filmography, other than the three rush hours and this one. I mean he's been in some other ones but in terms of I think you know this one was really his first starring role and set up you know what stardom he found. Then you know mega stardom with the Rush Hour trilogy after that. So it looks great. Anybody who's a big fan of Charlie Sheen, chris Red Ratner, those films of the 90s, I think they're going to want to have this one for sure.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely.
Speaker 1:
Well, now I wanted to kind of go back quite a few decades to review the silent classic double feature. I know we had so many people interested to hear a review on this one and that a double feature includes the boob. And why be good and kind of like the comment I made with the the more recent stand and deliver about making it accessible because of the great quality of the remaster. These I mean, these are way older but they look so good and that really helps, as you're watching these to you know, in terms of your enjoyment of them, and I thoroughly enjoyed these.
Speaker 2:
They work very well together as companion pieces. Neither film is particularly at the top of the list of something you'd find in essential silent film viewing, but they're products of their time and they really capture the eras so well. And just between 1926, when the Boob was released, and 1929, when why Be Good was released, things had moved at such a fast clip. Of course why Be Good has that synchronized Vitaphone score telling you that talkies were about to be the norm, and these silent films that went out with synchronized scores and effects were kind of filling the demand as studios were building sound stages and converting more and more to silence. The boob was preserved by MGM during the 1960s as part of their Nitrate to Safety conversion program, so the safety elements that survive were the basis of the work that was done on that film. Then why Be Good was considered a lost film. Most of the Warner Brothers and First National Pictures silent movies the original negatives burnt in a fire on the Warner Brothers lot in the mid-30s and that's why it's so hard to find a lot of Warner Brothers films and some of the early talkies as well, because there's no trace of them except in overseas archives or private hands, and this was located in an overseas archive and it was a group effort of a lot of different organizations to restore the film from a surviving Italian print, which means that all the titles had to be redone in English so that people could read the intertitles properly.
Speaker 2:
This is something we put out on DVD a few years ago, but to be able to put it out on Blu-ray is very exciting. And of course, in the first film it's notable as an early Joan Crawford silent appearance. The star is Gertrude Olmsted, but the director is William Wellman and very important people involved in the making of that film and with why Be Good, Colleen Moore was one of the biggest silent screen stars of her time and quite adorable on the screen, I have to say. And to be able to bring these two films together on one Blu-ray it's a very good value for the consumer, for the consumer, and we do have another silent film that has been in the works for quite some time, which we hope to be releasing in the next few months and I'm hoping there will be more.
Speaker 2:
But in the meantime we have this, which I really urge all silent film fans to pick up a copy if they can and support it, Because the more. These things can perform admirably enough to make our financial people happy, because profitability is first and foremost what we have to focus on. We have to entertain the people and find that balance of art versus commerce. So hopefully people will pick up this release and let us know as a company that there is a demand for high quality Blu-ray restoration, and this is just a lot of fun. It's a jumping off point to learn about a lot of other people that were involved in making these films happen, and what else did they do?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, they're both good. It's fun to see Joan Crawford show up in the Boob and, of course, seeing one of the early films I don't know if it's one of the early films, but of William A Wellman is a lot of fun to see and the storyline on that one is, you know, being kind of lampooning Hollywood gangsters and cowboys makes it really fun because there was what? So many of those kinds of films coming out at that time. So it's really charming in that way. And then, in terms of why be good? Colleen Moore is terrific. I mean, as you mentioned, she was a huge star. You can see why she just is so charming in that film.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean she did make some early sound films and there was nothing wrong with her voice at all, but I think she kind of pulled away from the whole industry. Pulled away from the whole industry and what was nice. In her later years she was interviewed very often by historians and there are wonderful filmed interviews of her that are part of Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's massive story of silent cinema Hollywood, which was produced by four Ths television in the 80s, and the colleen moore interviews in there are. Just you just fall in love with her. She's just as spunky as she was 40 years earlier or 50 years earlier in silent films that she made and made her such as she was a superstar.
Speaker 1:
She really was, yeah well, we have one more film, george and I'm not going to say we saved the best for last, because they've all been good, but I know this is a fan favorite and that's raul walsh's. They drive by night from 1940. This is a highly entertaining film and it's the cast that's so terrific. I thought I mean you have four huge stars. George Raft is great, but I guess I really was drawn to the performance by Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino. I just thought they were fantastic.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I remember seeing this film when I was young, probably younger than 10 years old, maybe like eight or nine years old. It was on the afternoon movie and that was the only way you could see things like this, and I was especially taken aback by the dialogue, the rapid fire dialogue, which is so sharp and so on the nose and so witty, and, being a Warner Brothers movie, it moves at a rapid pace. Aya Lupino chews up the scenery, not in a bad way, in a great way, and it was because of her performance in this film that she ended up locking herself in with a Warner Brothers contract and she did some spectacular work while she was here.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and she was very young, was she not, when she did this film, but her presence on screen is well. You could just tell she was going to be a huge star from that performance. And you have a great amount of extras on here as well, and that's where you could kind of get a little bit of the story of behind the scenes of the film. With that feature at Divided Highway Right, they drive by night, so it's a really nice amount of extras with this one.
Speaker 2:
I've always felt this film was kind of a little bit left out when they're talking about, quote unquote, the great gangster films. This isn't a gangster film in the sense of Public Enemy or Little Caesar or Roaring Twenties, but it is a film that's a crime drama. That's a crime drama as well as a love story as well, as it has some noir aspects to it. It's got everything and the cast is magnificent and, of course, we've talked many times on this podcast about how wonderful the performances of these great actors are, and when you bring them all together from the Warner stock company, it's magic.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, to that point. You know, like Humphrey Bogart doesn't have that big of a part in this film and you know, maybe of the four he has the least meaty role, but he of course when he's on screen it's great to see him and he's in a lot of scenes with George Raft because they play the brothers. I'm watching this movie and it's the terrific kind of social commentary as well about these truckers and business. So it has all of these diverse elements, like you mentioned, some of the noir and some of the other. So it's complex. In that way it's not as easy to define or pigeonhole. But I think that gives it some of the enduring quality to it and why, you know, it's a favorite of so many people.
Speaker 2:
For sure. We've had so many requests for it, as we do for so many films from this period, and I'm glad we were able to come through with this, and there will be more.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, just a great lineup for March, George, and it's always fun to go over them with you. It's just such a pleasure to watch these and then talk about them with you. They were all exceptionally fun to watch, and I can't help but think that it's just another forecast of how great this year is that you're putting together with just such a diversity of more recent films, silent films, and then these classics and then the TV box sets which I know so many people are looking forward to. So it's a great way to offer things for the diverse audience out there so that everybody can find something that they're going to be interested in in the month of March.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, and we're hoping to do just as you say to bring more of the same and hopefully make a lot of people happy.
Speaker 1:
As always, there are purchase links in the podcast show notes and on our website for those interested in purchasing the TV series Colt 45 and the films that we reviewed today, and there is one update on Money Talks For those who pre-ordered and have received the film. There was an audio issue that is being resolved and a disc replacement program is currently being formulated, so we will have that info on our Facebook page when it is released. So keep an eye out for that. And if you're not currently following the show on Facebook, you can find all of our social media links in the podcast show notes. And if you aren't yet subscribed or following the show at your favorite podcast provider, please do that. That helps the show and helps us bring you more of these episodes about the Warner Archive releases. Until next time you've been listening to Tim Millard, stay slightly obsessed.