Classic Matinee Triple Bill-Stewart Granger (1947)

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    In their Classic Stewart Granger collection Beyond have given us three choice selections from the 1940s, a decade in which the British film industry, encouraged by huge wartime audiences, rose to great heights. There is a tearjerker, a Bernard Shaw classic and finally a superb example of Gothic melodrama. An array of truly genuine and brilliant stars, excellent direction, superb production values and two of the three are in Technicolor. The source prints and their transfers range from excellent to very good. For less than $15 this is a steal - but it is a pity that there is nothing extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Love Story (1944)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation-Live footage in cinema recreation, vintage projector audio.
Rating
Year Of Production	1944
Running Time	108:13 (Case: 107)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Leslie Arliss
Studio Distributor	Gainsborough Picture Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Margaret Lockwood Stewart Granger Patricia Roc
Case	6 Clip and Ring
RPI	Box	Music	Hubert Bath - "Cornish Rhapsody"

     Beyond Home Entertainment have recently given us the release of a number of movies under the banner Classic Matinee Triple Bill. Each case contains three separate discs, with three separate titles featuring the same leading actor. The first of these sets that I have seen is Classic Stewart Granger, which contains that actor's Love Story (1944), Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) and Blanche Fury (1948).

     Although the slick for this release claims that these films are all "gems from the (J.Arthur) Rank catalogue", Love Story - renamed A Lady Surrenders in the U.S.- was actually produced by Gainsborough Pictures, with the famous logo of the Gainsborough Lady still elegantly intact at the beginning of this release. J. Arthur Rank was to purchase the entire Gainsborough organization during the production of Caesar and Cleopatra the following year, including the services on Gainsborough's contract stars. Gainsborough had been a company initially famed for its comedies, but during the years of World War II a new genre became recognized as the mainstay of Gainsborough productions. With the appearance of The Man in Grey (1943), Gainsborough became forever associated with "a group of lurid and often ludicrous melodramas". These romantic offerings were frequently period costume pieces, but their themes and attitudes were strongly tied to the particular social pressures on British women in wartime, many of them forming romantic, basically sexual, relationships with soldiers they might never set eyes on again. Although Love Story is not in the customary Gainsborough period melodramatic mould, it does feature a central woman whose life is determined by external social forces, and it also features three of Gainsborough's leading stars Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc and Gainsborough's biggest female star, Margaret Lockwood. (The other two major Gainsborough stars were James Mason and the delightful Phyllis Calvert.)

     In his autobiography Sparks Fly Upward, Stewart Granger has only this to say of Love Story: " ... it was crap. I played a man going blind. The villagers dislike me as they think I should be in the army. Why don't I tell them I'm going blind? Margaret Lockwood is dying of some unnamed disease. We meet. I don't tell her I'm going blind. She doesn't tell me she's dying. The audience knows all this but we don't. We fall in love. Great stuff! She is a pianist/composer and writes the Cornish Rhapsody - the best thing in the film, incidentally - and so it goes on. I was wrong, of course. It was a smash hit and there wasn't a dry eye in the house."

     Margaret Lockwood was the biggest British female star of the early forties. Having starred for Alfred Hitchcock in The Lady Vanishes, Miss Lockwood's screen image became forever associated with the Gainsborough films The Man in Grey and The Wicked Lady (1945) - was any lady ever so wicked on screen? Immediately after the conclusion of the war the popularity of the actress promptly waned. Despite trying, she seemed unable to shake her so firmly established wicked and wayward screen persona, which was out of place in the new post-war morality. The actress did have later success on television when she starred as no-nonsense barrister Julia Stanford in Justice from 1971 to 1974, and she still looked stunningly glamorous in her final film, The Slipper and the Rose in 1976. Here in Love Story the star is directed once again by Leslie Arliss, who had helmed both The Man in Grey and The Wicked Lady. Under his efficient and clean direction, the actress plays a dying concert pianist, displaying more charm and sweetness than in most of her screen appearances. Making a fine fist of the pantomimed piano playing in the climactic six minute performance of Cornish Rhapsody, she creates an attractive and sympathetic heroine. Stewart Granger is all large-framed handsome masculinity, and is as equally charming. The actor was unusual for British cinema, indeed also for American cinema of the time, with a large burly frame, proudly displaying his massive torso when the opportunity arose. This was an era when most male stars were on the slim side, and a leading man who bared a generous torso - Granger, Ricardo Montalban, Victor Mature, Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster - was fairly rare, creating quite a stir in the stalls (that's "downstairs" to any youngster reading this) when his chest was bared. Along with his Gainsborough co-stars, Granger’s contract was bought by Rank , and later in 1950 the actor moved to Hollywood under a lengthy contract with MGM. Under Leo's banner he was to score heavily with King Solomon's Mines, Young Bess, Bhowani Junction and The Little Hut amongst many others less notable. Then came freelancing years, the actor working consistently through to his death.. If we are to believe his autobiography, Granger was more interested in extra-curricular macho activates, such as hunting, than his actual work on the screen.

     Also in the cast is prettily attractive Patricia Roc, Gainsborough's resident ingénue, here with a little more spine and venom than usual. Unfortunately Miss Roc is required by the script to smoke in almost all her scenes. She looks extremely awkward with a cigarette dangling from her fingers or her lips, continually asking her male co-stars to "give (her) a light". This very quickly becomes a distracting and irritating aspect of her performance. Even Granger "lights up" when trapped underground in one sequence, where surely the quality of the scarce air would be crucial. A tobacco company must have had some money in this one.

     The almost pristine print makes the most of some attractive Cornish location work, unfortunately juxtaposed with equally unattractive and unconvincing soundstage footage. Photography in general is fine, particularly in that final sequence of the star at the keyboard, and other technical features are extremely high for a British film of that period. The direction of Leslie Arliss is crisp and efficient and the sound recording is certainly of a very high quality. This is a three-hanky weepie, featuring the biggest British female star of the time co-starred with her regular stable mates. There is heaps of nostalgia, loads of war-time references such as rationing and a dismissive attitude towards theatricals in war-time directed at Miss Roc's open-air production of The Tempest.This is vintage British cinema from years when the sight of the nodding "Gainsborough lady" guaranteed that we were in for a couple of hours of first-rate cinema entertainment.

Video

     The video transfer of Love Story on this disc is very close to being excellent. So many old films, particularly British films, have suffered from the poor prints we have seen on TV since the introduction of that medium. It is wonderful to see this vintage movie looking fresh and sparkling in this quite luminous presentation. Obviously taken from a very good print, there has been some digital enhancement, but only minor artefacts were noted.

     The original 1.37:1 image is here presented at approximately 1.30:1. The black and white image is rock steady, sharp, crisp and clean, with modest grain and a wide and attractive grey scale. Blacks are deep and solid, and whites are stable and without flare. The image detail is extremely good, even in the occasional darker scene.

     The digital processing has resulted in some minor artefacts, but these are not troubling. There is some minor aliasing, examples seen on the beach umbrella at 29:23 and Miss Lockwood's sweater around 52:00. There are also some noise reduction problems with some background rocks (32:35), but these are minor issues in a basically very fine transfer. The print is completely free of debris, and reel cues have been removed. Film artefacts are only minor, with the occasional white fleck and a couple of momentary vertical white scratches at 34:15.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There in one audio stream on the disc, English mono Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded at 192 Kbps.

     The almost seventy year old soundtrack is in extremely good condition and complements the outstanding image on the screen. Dialogue is beautifully recorded, with not a trace of any sync problems. There is a very slight background hiss in some sequences, but this is only noticeable at high volume with your head virtually in the speaker. There is one very fast "glitch" or pop at 48:28, that has to be replayed to make sure that it is indeed a "glitch".

     The mono sound is generally full and satisfactory, with the piano and orchestra in the final musical sequence sounding very fine indeed. The original composition, Cornish Rhapsody, was composed by Hubert Bath and is performed by The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sidney Beer. The pianist heard on the soundtrack is Harriet Cohen, under the musical direction of Louis Levy. The rhapsody is featured extensively throughout the film, and the old mono sound does an extremely good job of presenting this romantically lovely piece.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Apart from the Main Menu the disc contains only the feature film.

Main Menu

     There is a quite attractive graphic of a cinema ceiling and proscenium, with curtains flanking the wide screen. On the screen are scenes from Love Story, unfortunately blown up to fill the dimensions of the screen, with top and bottom of the image cropped. The accompanying audio is the sound of an ancient projector.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

     There is no Region 1 release of this title. In Region 2, two generous box sets have been issued which both include Love Story.

     The first is The Stewart Granger Collection (12 discs) which includes Adam and Evelyne, Blanche Fury, Caesar and Cleopatra, Captain Boycott, Fanny by Gaslight, The Lamp Still Burns, Love Story, Madonna of the Seven Moons, The Magic Bow, Waterloo Road, Woman Hater and Caravan.

     The other set is The Margaret Lockwood Collection (6 discs) which includes The Lady Vanishes, Love Story, The Wicked Lady, Bank Holiday, Highly Dangerous and Give Us the Moon.

     Both of these sets are available from Amazon UK, the Granger set costing ₤23.97 less tax plus freight, the Lockwood set ₤12.93 less tax plus freight.

     Very much a product of the wartime years, this much loved British film is here presented on a quite wonderful DVD transfer. Three of the biggest British stars of that era are showcased in an almost epic weepie, filled with patriotism, Cornish scenery, quaint British folk and romantically lush music. As the first in a budget three-disc set of Stewart Granger movies, this is great value.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

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General		Extras
Category	Classical	Main Menu Audio & Animation-Insert screen w live action plus vintage projector audio.
Rating
Year Of Production	1945
Running Time	122:37
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Gabriel Pascal
Studio Distributor	Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Claude Rains Vivien Leigh Stewart Granger Flora Robson Cecil Parker Basil Sydney
Case	6 Clip and Ring
RPI	$14.95	Music	Georges Auric

     Beyond Home Entertainment have recently given us the release of a number of movies under the banner Classic Matinee Triple Bill. Each case contains three separate discs, with three separate titles featuring the same leading actor. The first of these sets I have seen is Classic Stewart Granger, which contains that actor's Love Story (1944), Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) and Blanche Fury (1948).

     Although the slick for this release claims that these films are all "gems from the (J. Arthur) Rank catalogue", Love Story - renamed A Lady Surrenders in the U.S.- was actually produced by Gainsborough Pictures, with the famous logo of the Gainsborough Lady still elegantly intact at the beginning of this release. J. Arthur Rank was to purchase the entire Gainsborough organization during the production of Caesar and Cleopatra the following year, including the services of Gainsborough's contract stars. The George Bernard Shaw play was a major undertaking for the burgeoning but still fledgling Rank organization. Stewart Granger writes in his autobiography: "The Hungarian director, Gabriel Pascal, who had conned G.B.S. into giving him the film rights of all his plays, had a great critical success with the film of Pygmalion, starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Pascal persuaded Rank that he should make a blockbuster film and that he, Pascal, had the very subject : Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra. He promised that it would be the most star-studded, expensive, prestigious film made in the history of the British cinema. Unfortunately Rank fell for it. Claude Rains was cast as Caesar and Vivien Leigh ... was to play Cleopatra. I was to play Apollodorus, a character that completely confused me as I think Shaw meant him to be queer, which was not exactly my scene."

     Granger may have been confused by his role, but he makes a welcome entrance to the film fifty-eight minutes in, oiled, tan-sprayed, in a nipple revealing off the shoulder toga, striding around the set or lounging on cushions, giving a freshness and exuberance to every line. If all performances were at this energy level Pascal would have delivered a much more enjoyable offering. The Roman ruler, "a funny old gentleman ... old and rather wrinkly" meets Cleopatra, "a divine child" and Bernard Shaw created a work of wit and intrigue. This film version delivers loads of intrigue, but very little wit. Claude Rains miraculously lifts all of his scenes, with just the right charm and wit. There is a real spontaneity to his performance and I am sure that there is even one instance where he cuts off Basil Sydney's line, stops then starts again (53:56). Rains does get some assistance from a few in the cast. Amongst these are Flora Robson as Cleopatra's "chief nurse" Ftatateeta, Basil Sydney, Ernest Thesiger and the wonderful Cecil Parker as a slightly daffy Britannus. Others are extremely stodgy, including Francis L. Sullivan, Stanley Holloway and Leo Genn. Other faces you may recognize include those of Ronald Shiner, John Laurie, Felix Aylmer, Valentine Dyall, Jean Simmons playing a harp and, in one court scene, John Gregson (28:00). It says little for the dramatic proceedings that one turns to spotting known faces amongst the extras on screen!

     Cleopatra, herself is a great disappointment. Miss Leigh fell pregnant to Laurence Olivier at the beginning of shooting and Pascal agreed to speed up production to accommodate his pregnant star. However the physical demands of one scene, six weeks into shooting, with multiple takes of Leigh whipping a slave, ended with a fall and a miscarriage, causing a rift and tension between star and her director. In her biography of Vivien Leigh, Anne Edwards writes : "after a few days of recuperation, Vivien went back to complete the film. She played the banqueting scene where Cleopatra orders the murder of Pothinus with a new maturity, and in the close-ups Pascal was taken back (sic) by the unexpected passion in her face.... To the unobservant she remained a dream, an apparition from the past. But Pascal had seen the truth on the screen and it had severely shocked him. There was something frightening in her eyes, something that made one fear for herself more than for oneself."

     I felt compelled to go into some depth about Vivien Leigh's condition during the making of this film. She will always be one of the greatest beauties the world has produced, on or off the screen. Scarlett O'Hara will always be an iconic performance in a monumental film ; and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire is the greatest female performance ever captured by the camera. Sadly, in Caesar and Cleopatra the actress delivers a one dimensional performance, alternating between the childlike teenaged kitten and the maturing scheming venomous queen, with no crossover from one to the other. The first lengthy scene between Leigh and Rains is a delight, but this levity becomes lost in the stodginess of later scenes. The actress's previous film had been Lady Hamilton four years earlier, so this Pascal film was much anticipated. Sadly she would not be on the screen again until Anna Karenina in 1948, and after that not until Blanche was unleashed in 1951. After Streetcar there would be only three more films for Vivien Leigh's fans before her death at the age of fifty-three. Thankfully Australia did see her in her old Vic Tour of 1961.

     As Pascal had promised, production values were extremely high and the film did become notorious as the most expensive production to that date from an English studio. The credits list four great film photographers : Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia), Robert Krasker (Brief Encounter), Jack Hildyard (The Bridge on the River Kwai) and Jack Cardiff (The Red Shoes). No wonder the film looks so good! Decor and costumes ( by Oliver Messel) are first rate, and the art direction by John Bryan stirs memories of The Thief of Baghdad. Georges Auric's music is frequently lovely, though at times adds to the deadening effect. Cleopatra's last entrance is an instance where, despite her funereal garb, the music could have added some wit to the scene. There does seem to be an oppressive earnestness over the entire production, which only Rains, Granger and Parker consistently rise above.

Video

     The video transfer of Caesar and Cleopatra on this disc is very close to being excellent. This film, like many "old" British films, has suffered from the poor prints we have seen on TV since the introduction of that medium. It is wonderful to see this vintage movie looking fresh and sparkling in this superior presentation. Obviously taken from a very good print, there has been some digital enhancement, but only minor artefacts were noted.

     The original 1.37:1 image is here presented at 1.33:1. From the first frame of the opening credits, the Technicolor image is rock steady, without any jitters, crisp and clean, with a spotless light background for the titles. The image detail is extremely good, with modest film-like grain. Costumes are particularly dazzling and close-ups are extremely sharp, to an unflattering extent in some of Vivien Leigh, particularly as her youth is consistently referred to. Some of the darker scenes do lose some detail. Colours are rich and vibrant, with the entire spectrum brilliantly presented. There is the occasional scene which does look a little washed out, the major area suffering being the extremely pale complexion of Vivien Leigh. These scenes are, however, rare in a two hour production.

     The digital processing has resulted in some minor artefacts, but these are barely noticeable. There was no aliasing, even on highly detailed fabrics, the only real issue being an occasional halo effect on moving actors (20:30 / 30:90). This is extremely minor. The print is completely free of film damage or dirt, except for one vertical white scratch (62:42). Reel cue marks have been removed.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There in one audio stream on the disc, English mono Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded at 192 Kbps.

     The sixty-five year old soundtrack is in extremely good condition, and complements the outstanding image on the screen. Dialogue is beautifully recorded, with post dubbing only noticeable in a couple of scenes. There is almost no background hiss and there was not one pop or crackle noted.

     The mono sound is generally full and satisfactory, with the score sounding generally fine in the mono reproduction. The score is by Georges Auric (Roman Holiday) and is played by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Apart from the Main Menu the disc contains only the feature film.

Main Menu

     There is a quite attractive graphic of a cinema ceiling and proscenium, with curtains flanking the wide screen. On the screen is a scene from Caesar and Cleopatra, unfortunately blown up to fill the dimensions of the screen, with top and bottom of the image cropped. The accompanying audio is the sound of an ancient projector.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

     Region 1 has a release of a version with the same packaging as a local MRA release of a few years back. This release was taken from a print inferior to that of this new Beyond release.

     In Region 2, a generous box set devoted to the films of Stewart Granger is available. This is the The Stewart Granger Collection (12 discs) which includes : Adam and Evelyne, Blanche Fury, Caesar and Cleopatra, Captain Boycott, Fanny by Gaslight, The Lamp Still Burns, Love Story, Madonna of the Seven Moons, The Magic Bow, Waterloo Road, Woman Hater and Caravan.

     If your major interest is in Caesar and Cleopatra this Beyond release is good value. The best image I've seen on a home video release of the title, plus two other Stewart Granger features well worth seeing - all for under $15.

     More a curiosity piece than a "classic", this is a colourful though stodgy presentation of George Bernard Shaw's play. Claude Rains does a wonderful job, but gets little assistance from the occasionally magnificent Vivien Leigh. Stewart Granger struts and smiles with virile energy. A very good print with no extras, in a package giving you three movies for less than $15.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Blanche Fury (1947)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio-Insert live-action screen plus vintage projector sound.
Rating
Year Of Production	1947
Running Time	94:19
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Marc Allegret
Studio Distributor	Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Valerie Hobson Stewart Granger Michael Gough Walter Fitzgerald
Case	6 Clip and Ring
RPI	$14.95	Music	Clifton Parker

     Beyond Home Entertainment have recently given us a release of a number of movies under the banner Classic Matinee Triple Bill. Each case contains three separate discs, with three separate titles featuring the same leading actor. The first of these sets that I have seen is Classic Stewart Granger which contains that actor's Love Story (1944), Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) and Blanche Fury (1948).

     Although the slick for this release claims that these films are all "gems from the (J. Arthur) Rank catalogue", Love Story - renamed A Lady Surrenders in the U.S.- was actually produced by Gainsborough Pictures, with the famous logo of the Gainsborough Lady still elegantly intact at the beginning of this disc. J. Arthur Rank was to purchase the entire Gainsborough organization during the production of Caesar and Cleopatra the following year, including the services of Gainsborough's contract stars, including those of Stewart Granger.Blanche Fury though, was a fully fledged Rank production and together with the same year's Saraband for Dead Lovers, produced by Michael Balcon's Ealing Studios, marked the end of the "Gothic melodrama" that had been so successful since The Man in Grey in 1943. These flamboyant, emotionally overwrought films had taken Stewart Granger to the top of the list of British box office favourites, but after five years their popularity had waned. Just around the corner for Granger lay Leo the Lion ready to pounce from Hollywood, and King Solomon's Mines (1950) the first of his films under his lengthy MGM contract.

     In his biography Sparks Fly Upwards, Granger has nothing good to say about Blanche Fury, the only film in this set in which the actor gets top billing. Despite Granger's billing the film is dominated by the titular heroine, played by the elegant redhead Valerie Hobson. Hobson excelled in witty, sophisticated comedy and her early body of work in England earned her a stint in Hollywood, most notable for her appearance in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). After returning to England, Hobson was cast by Alexander Korda in his Technicolor production of The Drum. Once British audiences saw the dazzling beauty of Miss Hobson in three-strip Technicolor, her popularity soared. The actress's final film was Knave of Hearts (1954), in the same year that saw her make her final acting appearance in the London production of The King and I opposite Herbert Lom. Seeing the beauteous actress in the gorgeous gowns created for Blanche Fury, it is very easy to imagine how dazzling she must have been as Anna Leon Owens in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. In the year of that stage success, 1954, Valerie Hobson announced her retirement to marry politician John Profumo. Then in 1963 came the infamous scandal involving Profumo with call-girl Christine Keeler which resulted in the downfall of the Harold Macmillan Conservative Government. The beautiful Hobson face was on the world's front pages for all the wrong reasons. Despite this, the actress remained married to Profumo until her death in 1998.

     With echoes of so many films, including Rebecca, Jane Eyre and Dragonwyck, Blanche Fury is a hot blooded pot-boiler about the governess (Hobson) who is abused by employers and then finds she has family ties to a wealthy estate, Claire. She arrives on the doorstep of the imposing estate and her uncle takes her in as governess. She climbs to respectability and wealth by marrying the prissy heir to the property (Michael Gough - Batman's butler "Albert"), only to fall for the handsome strapping b****** son (Granger) who lusts for what he believes is rightfully his - the estate and the redhead, in that order of priority. There is infidelity, murder, misadventure, a scandalous trial, gypsies, heaving breasts, horseback riding to release those animal lusts, all packaged up in the glory of Technicolor. The sets are dazzling and the costumes, particularly our heroine's, quite beautiful. The plot is fast and uninvolved and the two leads charismatic and extravagantly attractive. Valerie Hobson begins all prim, proper and resolute but as her passion for Granger grows her performance develops subtle changes that take her way beyond any stereotype. Her iciness in the opening sequence transforms during the drama into a woman of emotional depth, warmth and quite radiant beauty. This is quite a performance. Two Academy Award winning photographers were responsible for the filming of Blanche Fury, principal photographer Guy Green (Great Expectations) and, for the exteriors, Geoffrey Unsworth (Cabaret). The direction of Marc Allegret, whose work was primarily in French cinema,, is unobtrusive and thoroughly disciplined. In a running time of approximately ninety minutes the time flies by leaving one at the end title quite breathless and wishing there was a little more of this entertaining, lusty confection.

     Blanche fury and Saraband for Dead Lovers brought to an end a golden era in British filmmaking. British producers, and their artists and craftsmen, had perfected the Gothic melodrama as a cinematic genre, thrilling audiences with their lustily flawed heroines and dashing, often despicable, heroes. These were superbly entertaining films with a style all their own.

     You will never regret meeting Blanche Fury, and her like has sadly departed the silver screen. We have lost the stylish elegance and sophistication that made these sensual treats such pleasures.

Video

     The video transfer of Blanche Fury given to us here is a little below the quality of the same set's Caesar and Cleopatra . This film, like many "old" British films, has suffered from the poor prints we have seen on TV since the introduction of that medium. It is pleasing to see this vintage movie looking clean and relatively without damage in this satisfying presentation. Obviously taken from a very good print, there has been some digital enhancement, but only minor artefacts were noted. There is no aliasing, even on the highly detailed fabrics. The original 1.37:1 image is here presented at 1.29:1.

     From the first frame of the opening credits the Technicolor image is rock steady, without any jitters, crisp and clean, with a spotless light background for the titles. The image detail is good, with modest film-like grain. There are many darker scenes, and detail does tend to be lost here in the murk. Costumes are particularly dazzling and close-ups are extremely sharp; a number of scenes between Granger and Hobson, largely filmed in close-up, become dazzling displays of beautiful, sympathetic photography and superb make-up. Skin tones are particularly good, from the tanned masculinity of Granger to the English rose pallor of Hobson. Miss Hobson's make-up is subtle and barely noticeable, unlike that in many films of the 1940s. Colours are rich and vibrant, with the entire spectrum pleasingly presented.

     There is no debris and only minor blemishes. There are a few scratches at one of the last reel "changes", but these are brief and minor. Cue marks have been removed.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is one audio stream on the disc, English mono Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded at 192 Kbps. The sixty-three year old soundtrack is in extremely good condition, and complements the outstanding image on the screen. Dialogue is beautifully recorded, with post dubbing noticeable in the exterior scenes. There is a modest amount of background hiss, and the occasional crackle. There were no dropouts.

     The mono sound is generally full and satisfactory, with Clifton Parker's (The Blue Lagoon - the Jean Simmons one)) score enhancing the at times tempestuous atmosphere on screen. Although the reproduction is limited, there is a dramatically satisfying performance of the score by The Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of - whom else? - Muir Mathieson.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Apart from the Main Menu the disc contains only the feature film.

Main Menu

     There is a quite attractive graphic of a cinema ceiling and proscenium, with curtains flanking the wide screen. On the screen is a scene from Blanche Fury, unfortunately blown up to fill the dimensions of the screen, with top and bottom of the image cropped. The accompanying audio is the sound of an ancient projector.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

     There is at present no Region 1 release of Blanche Fury.

     In Region 2, a generous box set devoted to the films of Stewart Granger is available. Included in the The Stewart Granger Collection (12 discs) are : Adam and Evelyne, Blanche Fury, Caesar and Cleopatra, Captain Boycott, Fanny by Gaslight, The Lamp Still Burns, Love Story, Madonna of the Seven Moons, The Magic Bow, Waterloo Road, Woman Hater and Caravan.

     I can only repeat my comments on other reviews of the movies in this set. If you are an avid fan of Stewart Granger, then the Region 2 box is an excellent buy. If you are content with the three titles which comprise this set, then this Beyond release is good value - three movies for under $15.

     Bringing to a close the famous cycle of Gothic melodramas produced in Britain during the forties, Blanche Fury is a thoroughly satisfying movie experience, with at its centre a fascinating heroine played superbly by Valerie Hobson. The Technicolor production values demonstrate British cinema at its peak and, though the print has some minor drawbacks, the transfer is clean and at many times is extremely beautiful, particularly in its close-ups. This is great melodramatic entertainment, and it is sad there is not one second of extras in this set of three memorable British films.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall