Leading Ladies Collection, Vol. 2 (DVD)

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And that's about it. Yet the cast is so good, you can't help following every detail. Not only are Fonda and Woodward good, but there is a supporting cast whose faces, if you are old enough, you will recognize instantly. Jason Robards, Kevin McCarthy, Charles Bickford, Robert Middleton, and John Qualen play the rich gamblers. Paul Ford plays a cantankerous old banker. Burgess Meredith plays the kindly town doctor. There's even a bit part played by Chester Conklin, a fellow whose Hollywood career started in 1913. These colorful, well-known character actors could make the telephone book come to life.

Although you don't have to like poker to like the movie, you might have to have a certain tolerance for TV-type movies. This one was made for theatrical release and did fairly well at the box office, but it has a made-for-television feel about it. The filmmakers shot most of it on a soundstage simulating the confines of the hotel, so it seems a bit claustrophobic. Beyond the actors' salaries, the production costs were probably minimal. It looks like an episode from the old "Gunsmoke" series. The musical score also has the feel of television, unmemorable stock snippets of melodramatic tunes. And despite the period 1880s setting, the actors betray the 1960s by their costumes, men's haircuts, and women's hair styles.

But the most frustrating thing in this otherwise clever and witty piece of writing is the padding. As I said, it started life as a one-hour TV episode, "Big Hand in Laredo," which probably only lasted forty-five minutes with commercials. So the screenwriter, Sidney Carroll, for this nine-five-minute movie version of his own television script, literally padded it out with another forty minutes or so of material, and it shows, especially at the beginning and the end.

Yet the film works despite the handicaps. "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" is a charmer.

Video:
All five of the films come in 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratios, and all are in color except "I'll Cry Tomorrow." The color and definition in "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" are indicative of the rest of the set. Its Technicolor is good, helped in its natural tones and deep richness by a high bit rate and an anamorphic transfer. The film's outdoor opening shot is rather grainy, but don't let it worry you. Things clear up considerably once the picture gets underway. The object delineation is fine, if a tad soft, and the film itself betrays no obvious signs of age.

Audio:
The films all carry a standard 1.0 monaural soundtrack of the day, processed in Dolby Digital. It's good mono sound, although a touch hard. The main thing is that it's clean and quiet. As the card game in "A Big Hand" heats up, you don't care much what the sound is like because you don't even notice it.

Extras:
Among the extras scattered around on the discs, you'll find an audio commentary by director Alan Parker and screenwriter Bo Goldman on "Shoot the Moon"; a vintage newsreel and TV excerpts on "I'll Cry Tomorrow"; several vintage short subjects; a few theatrical trailers; English as the only spoken language; English and French subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. Specific to "A Big Hand for the Little Lady," you'll find twenty-one scene selections and, uh, twenty-one scene selections. Yeah, well, that's all that's on the disc.

Parting Thoughts:
With the "Leading Ladies Collection," Volume 2, you get a varied assortment of films, some good, some not as good. If you're a fan of any of the actresses, naturally you'll want either the whole box or the individual title of your choice. But, as I say, I found "I'll Cry Tomorrow" and "Up the Down Staircase" the prestige items, with "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" a pleasing find.

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