Kings Row (DVD)

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Parris has come to like Cassie a lot, but Cassie's father (Claude Rains) is mysteriously overprotective of her, keeping her under lock and key, not letting her out of the house, and certainly not letting her see men. Meanwhile, Parris comes to the father's house daily for tutoring in preparation for his eventually going to medical school. At the same time, Drake is hotfooting it around town with various ladies and getting a reputation as a wild fellow. When he and Louise Gordon fall in love, her father, Dr. Gordon (Charles Coburn), will not hear of it; his daughter is much too good for such a low life as Drake. Later, Drake strikes up a romance with childhood friend Randy, making Louise jealous.

Then, about halfway through the narrative, when most of the mushy stuff is out of the way, adversity strikes, and the movie takes on its ominous dark shadows. Death, murder, and suicide shock the town. Secrets develop, social class distinctions become more apparent, and further scandals rock the townsfolk. When Parris goes off to Vienna to study psychiatry, Drake takes over the story, and things take a definite turn for the better, story-wise if not for the character himself.

As tragedy piles upon tragedy, as the iniquities and mental disorders of some of the townspeople become ever more known, "Kings Row" becomes more melodramatic. And every step the movie takes in that direction makes it all the more fascinating to watch. It does not paint a pretty picture. This is no romanticized Americana; this is a Norman Rockwell painting turned inside out. But it does create a vivid sense of place and character, and it deals with serious issues that Hollywood had previously hushed up. Censor Breen had promised that "decent people everywhere" would condemn the picture. People didn't. People loved it. Today, the movie seems rather old-fashioned and quaint in its cleaned-up guise; but it was undeniably influential, another small step toward the freedoms of expression we now enjoy in movies and television.

Video:
The 1.33:1 standard-screen transfer is among the best Warner Bros. have done of an older black-and-white film. The print was clearly good to begin with and undoubtedly WB's touching up helped it look even better. There are a few jitters now and then and some very minor grain, probably originating with the original film stock, but nothing of concern. Contrasts are strong, definition is fairly sharp, and there are very few signs of age--scratches, flecks, lines, or fades.

Audio:
The audio engineers have done a commendable job reproducing the 1.0 monaural sound via Dolby Digital processing. Noise reduction makes the backgrounds quiet, and the midrange response is quite clear and natural. Understandably, the frequency span and dynamic impact are limited, but we have come to expect that.

Extras:
Warner Bros. provide a few extras that one might have found accompanying the film back in 1942. The first is a vintage, 1942 musical short, "The United States Marine Band." The second is a classic Merrie Melodies cartoon, "Fox Pop." And the third is a theatrical trailer. The extras conclude with thirty-six scene selections (but no chapter insert); English as the only spoken language; and English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Parting Thoughts:
Although "Kings Row" is episodic and sentimental and filled with all kinds of unlikely turns of events, there is no denying the characters are endearing, and the ending is uplifting. It's all quite hard to resist.

Warner Bros. have made "Kings Row" available separately or in a box set, "Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection," which also includes "Knute Rockne All American," "The Hasty Heart," "Storm Warning," and "The Winning Team." All the titles are exclusive to the set except "Kings Row" and "Knute Rockne."

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul." --W.E. Henley

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