To have these three classics for this rude note is incredible. One film is the 1938 version of the classic Christmas Carol this one starring Reginald Owen as a very righteous Scrooge. If you can refrain from comparing him to Alastair Sim, you will be better able to delight in another interpretation of Scrooge, and it is a magnificent one. Owen is truly miserly and melancholy, as befits Scrooge, and very believable. The overall production is amazing, the only drawback was the casting of Terry Kilburn as Slight Tim…Diagram over the top, to the point where he is annoying. But all in all, a big version, and Ann Rutherford as the Ghost of Christmas Past is sharp.
Christmas in Connecticut is very satisfying; a right original England Christmas, with Barbara Stanwyck in one of her lighter roles. This is luscious for those who are alone over the Holidays and a gargantuan film to scrutinize with family for those who will have a stale Holiday, with family and friends.
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I saved the best for last…Boys Town.
This is absolutely one of my all-time favorites, with Mickey Rooney in one of his definitve, cocky wise-guy roles. No one could touch a Mickey Rooney performance in this type of role; he cornered the brash market…as he proves in this movie. It is a true treat to peer him interact with Spencer Tracy, THE finest actor Hollywood has ever produced, IMO. He has dignity, he commands respect simply by virtue of his beget mild, firm presence.
The other boys were mountainous complements to the production; all very natural, and Bobs Watson particularly heart-breaking in his role; what a colossal actor he was! (If you can derive a copy, scrutinize him with Cedric Hardwicke and Lionel Barrymore in “On Borrowed Time”, a Precise tear-jerker.)
I wish I could have been on the location of this one! They must have had a ball. When I saw it, as a child, I view it was a movie, therefore fantasy, and not real; when I found out that Father Flanagan was indeed genuine, as was Boys Town, it gave the movie even more of a dimension and interest. His tenet, “There is no such thing as a dreadful boy”, is touching in its simplicity and pure, simple faith. Father Flanagan’s secret for success with even the most recalcitrant youth was this faith and his refusal to bag any boy’s lack of self-esteem or concept in himself; with FF ALL things were possible.
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When Spencer Tracy was voted best Actor at the Academy Awards that year, he became the first actor to come by the award two years in a row…the first was for his piece as Manuel, in “Captains Valorous.” Being the beneficial, fantastic man he was, he well-liked his award with crude humility, and gave it to Father Flanagan, whom he highlighted in his acceptance speech.
This movie has drama, excitement and some very laughable moments and shows the fabulous versatility of a very young Mickey Rooney. A truly gigantic steal.
The Classic Holiday Collection is a gargantuan one - “Boys Town,” “A Christmas Carol,” and, especially, the worthy “Christmas In Connecticut” are all movies that you can relish year after year.
I unbiased wish they had also included “The Man Who Came To Dinner” (Bette Davis, Monty Wooley, Ann Sheridan) and “Holiday Affair” (Janet Leigh, Robert Mitchum), two other beloved holiday films that Warners owns. Throw in the tall “Esteem Finds Andy Hardy,” which has a holiday setting and is already out on DVD, and maybe a disc of Christmas cartoons, and Warners could grunt a second holiday collection. (Please do!)
“Christmas In Connecticut” has been a well-liked holiday movie of mine since the early `80s, when I caught it by chance for the first time on a local space while relaxing during a holiday visit to my parents’ house. Although my mom, brother, and I hadn’t really planned to spy a whole movie lawful then, we all stayed with this colossal movie until the waste, and really enjoyed it. The wry humor, the spacious actors (Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall, Dennis Morgan, Reginald Gardner, Una O’Connor), and the warm country setting invent it a movie you’ll want to watch over and over. Since that first viewing almost 25 years ago, I probably haven’t missed seeing it during the holiday season. I’ve been waiting for this to appear on DVD, and am pleased it’s finally here!
“Boys Town” stars two of the greatest actors of the golden era of Hollywood, Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy, and their parts in this movie are among their best roles. “Boys Town” doesn’t have quite as end a connection to Christmas as the other two titles in this collection (there’s one scene location on the holiday), but this honest record of a priest who builds a boarding school for frightened youth is one that will warm your heart. Tracy plays Father Flanagan, a kind, socially conscious priest who can be tough when he needs to be, and Mickey Rooney displays his wide-ranging acting talent (from tough talk to tears) as one of the neglected boys whom Flanagan sets on the suitable path.
The 1938 version of “A Christmas Carol” is fleshy of shiny renderings (even though it’s in black-and-white) of very familiar Dickens characters, Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and Exiguous Tim among them. Reginald Owen does a honorable job as Scrooge - showing both his stingy ill-humor and his awakening as a human being — although one wonders how remarkable better the movie might have been if Lionel Barrymore had reprised his regular radio role as Scrooge here. (This was apparently the novel scheme of MGM, but Barrymore had health problems that prevented this participation. And he eventually played his contain version of Scrooge in “It’s a Fantastic Life,” of course.) Illustrious character actor Gene Lockhart is a bit more portly as Bob Cratchit than I had imagined that character, but he does his usual broad job of portraying the downtrodden Cratchit who maintains a pleasant humor while enduring Scrooge’s abuse. Lockhart’s real-life wife and kids, including young June Lockhart, are featured as other members of the Cratchit family, with the exception of Shrimp Tim, who is played by Terry Kilburn. Kilburn is a bit too cute for my taste, but I have to admit that Dickens seems to have intended Tim to be cute. Ann Rutherford, often seen as Andy Hardy’s girlfriend Polly Benedict, does a splendid job as the ghost of Christmas past (although the blonde hair gives her a very different survey) . Others have pointed out that MGM cleave and changed the narrative a capable bit, but if you can overlook that, this is a nice, brisk telling of a large yarn.
The extras on these discs are outstanding, although perhaps not as numerous as those for some unusual movies. All include the movie trailers; the “Christmas Carol” trailer is especially entertaining, because Lionel Barrymore appears to tout his friend Reginald Owen as Scrooge, apparently to befriend audiences glean over their disappointment that Barrymore himself wasn’t playing the role himself after appearing in it famously on radio.
The “Christmas In Connecticut” disc includes the outstanding Oscar-winning short film “Star In The Night,” which brings the Nativity account to a 1940s diner/motel in the desert. Within a compelling re-telling of that archaic anecdote, this film helps the viewer understand how the spirit of Christmas applies in the fresh era - easily one of the best short films I’ve ever seen.
The “Christmas Carol” disc includes “Jackie Cooper’s Christmas Party,” in which the child star (”The Champ,” “Admire Island”) hosts a party for his friends on an MGM soundstage, with Clark Gable, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, and other stars serving dinner for the kids. (Witness for a very laughable Santa Claus played by - well, I won’t raze the surprise.) The disc also has a short film of young Judy Garland singing “Soundless Night” with a choir, and the Oscar-nominated cartoon “Peace on Earth” (1939), which laments man’s self-destructive warring instinct (and which was remade in the 50s as “Friendly Will To Men” - both with a message that’s composed directly relevant) .
“Boys Town” is accompanied by its contain less-famous sequel, “Men Of Boys Town,” so you’re getting two features on one disc. You also accumulate a featurette about the loyal Boys Town (which serene exists and has expanded beyond its novel Nebraska station), as well as a 1939 radio program promoting the movie with Tracy and Rooney.
The Classic Holiday Collection, as its name suggests, is one that will please anyone who loves classic movies or the holiday season. To follow up on this Christmas gift to us, Warners should establish out a second volume with some of its other holiday classics!
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