Post by rmichaelpyle on Dec 27, 2010 12:49:11 GMT -6
I recently bought a double DVD package of Wallace Beery films which are part of the Warner Archive Collection. The package contains "The Bad Man" (1941) and "The Bad Man of Brimstone" (1937).
I watched "The Bad Man" which has Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Ronald Reagan, Lorraine Day, Nydia Westman, Henry Travers, Tom Conway, Chill Wills, Chris-Pin Martin, and Charles Stevens. This film is totally in sepia, about the most beautiful sepia tone - and crystal clear picture - I've seen ever. A reviewer at IMDb faults the sepia as "oppressive", but if you've never seen sepia on a big screen before it can be beautiful. On a small screen I suppose it could be strange. I have a nice 42" flat screen and it showed wonderfully, in my opinion.
This is one strange film, in many respects. It's a comedy with some drama attached, but it turns into farce by the end. Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery chew the scenery until there's little left for the viewer to digest. Indeed, Reagan, in a rather understated and well-acted role, is nearly lost to the two "contenders" in the ring. Lorraine Day and Tom Conway, a married couple - so to speak - don't stand a chance in the plot with the two main contenders. Chill Wills and Nydia Westman have enough panache to contend and do well, just not enough screen time to hide the other two long enough to contend!!
Oh, well, it's a good way to waste 70 minutes, to see Beery in a Mexican outfit that looks like it came from a Ken-in-Mexican-outfit doll, to see Reagan before he became president and was honing his acting abilities for next-year's ('42) "King's Row", to see Tom Conway in something besides "The Falcon" series, to see Barrymore become the prototype for Yosemite Sam, to see Henry Travers be Henry Travers still, and to see a Western go from a fine Western drama to a back-yard BBQ family comedy.
Still - worth the price of admission...
I watched "The Bad Man" which has Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Ronald Reagan, Lorraine Day, Nydia Westman, Henry Travers, Tom Conway, Chill Wills, Chris-Pin Martin, and Charles Stevens. This film is totally in sepia, about the most beautiful sepia tone - and crystal clear picture - I've seen ever. A reviewer at IMDb faults the sepia as "oppressive", but if you've never seen sepia on a big screen before it can be beautiful. On a small screen I suppose it could be strange. I have a nice 42" flat screen and it showed wonderfully, in my opinion.
This is one strange film, in many respects. It's a comedy with some drama attached, but it turns into farce by the end. Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery chew the scenery until there's little left for the viewer to digest. Indeed, Reagan, in a rather understated and well-acted role, is nearly lost to the two "contenders" in the ring. Lorraine Day and Tom Conway, a married couple - so to speak - don't stand a chance in the plot with the two main contenders. Chill Wills and Nydia Westman have enough panache to contend and do well, just not enough screen time to hide the other two long enough to contend!!
Oh, well, it's a good way to waste 70 minutes, to see Beery in a Mexican outfit that looks like it came from a Ken-in-Mexican-outfit doll, to see Reagan before he became president and was honing his acting abilities for next-year's ('42) "King's Row", to see Tom Conway in something besides "The Falcon" series, to see Barrymore become the prototype for Yosemite Sam, to see Henry Travers be Henry Travers still, and to see a Western go from a fine Western drama to a back-yard BBQ family comedy.
Still - worth the price of admission...
