...there is something of value in each of the movies, and Sinatra fans will want them all.
"Step Lively" is empty-headed, to be sure, but it's also breezy, lightweight, antic fun that keeps moving forward at a breakneck speed. The action only slows down long enough to admit a musical number or some snappy dialogue. When Miller's got to figure out how to feed his starving cast, the reply is "They're not human beings; they're actors." When all looks lost, somebody says "Let's think of something." To which comes the response "This is no time to think." Or, my favorite exchange, when Sinatra's character is faking an illness: "What's the matter with him?" "He wrote a play." "Well, a play wouldn't make him sick." "You didn't read the play."
By halfway through the show, things get pretty frantic, with characters dashing about in all directions, typical of a screwball comedy. Yet it's the songs and patter that keep it afloat, a zippy little affair.
Video:
Most of the movies in the box are in a black-and-white, standard-screen format, with the exception of "The Kissing Bandit," which is in Technicolor. With the exceptions of the two earliest films, "Higher and Higher" and the movie I highlighted here, "Step Lively," the prints are clean and free of age markings. The two early ones, though, have some noticeable grain in the opening credits and to one degree or another intermittently thereafter. The overall impression in these two films is slightly gritty. B&W contrasts are good in all cases, however, with deep black levels and glistening whites, and in color "The Kissing Bandit" looks terrific, probably as good as it ever looked.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural sound varies slightly from movie to movie, with, unfortunately, "Step Lively" among the worst. It is rather less than WB's best audio for an old film, not only limited in frequency range and dynamics but rather low in output, too. Cranking up the volume only increases the background noise, so you can't win. Moreover, there is a pinched, scratchy quality most prominent in vocals, dialogue and songs.
Extras:
Extras? What extras? None of these films comes with any extras. You get English as the only spoken language, with French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. That's it. There aren't even any chapter lists, although there are eight or ten chapter stops you can access with the "Skip ahead" button on your remote. For extras, I'm afraid you'll have to go to the next box set in the series, "The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection."
Parting Thoughts:
These early Sinatra pictures are mostly fluff, designed to show off the man's singing talents while not exactly taxing his acting ability. Little did Hollywood know at the time that Sinatra would prove as good a dramatic actor as he was a comedic or even a musical performer. Anyway, if I had to rank order the discs in this collection, I'd put "Step Lively" at the head of the list, with "Higher and Higher" and "It Happened in Brooklyn" in the middle, and "Double Dynamite" and "The Kissing Bandit" at the bottom. All the same, you'll find there is something of value in each of the movies, and Sinatra fans will want them all, in any case.
On a related note: Concurrent with this and other Sinatra movies, Warner Home Video are releasing (separately) their 1992, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning TV miniseries "Sinatra." It's in a two-disc set, 238 minutes, divided into two parts, with 41 and 26 chapters respectively. The film stars Philip Casnoff as Sinatra, with Olympia Dukakis, Joe Santos, Gina Gershon, Nina Siemaszko, and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles, and it covers Sinatra's life from his youth through his return from retirement in 1974. The best part: hearing Sinatra's voice again in original recordings. The two discs present the picture in its 1.33:1 television aspect ratio and in quite good color, with English 2.0 stereo sound and English captions for the hearing impaired.
By halfway through the show, things get pretty frantic, with characters dashing about in all directions, typical of a screwball comedy. Yet it's the songs and patter that keep it afloat, a zippy little affair.
Video:
Most of the movies in the box are in a black-and-white, standard-screen format, with the exception of "The Kissing Bandit," which is in Technicolor. With the exceptions of the two earliest films, "Higher and Higher" and the movie I highlighted here, "Step Lively," the prints are clean and free of age markings. The two early ones, though, have some noticeable grain in the opening credits and to one degree or another intermittently thereafter. The overall impression in these two films is slightly gritty. B&W contrasts are good in all cases, however, with deep black levels and glistening whites, and in color "The Kissing Bandit" looks terrific, probably as good as it ever looked.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural sound varies slightly from movie to movie, with, unfortunately, "Step Lively" among the worst. It is rather less than WB's best audio for an old film, not only limited in frequency range and dynamics but rather low in output, too. Cranking up the volume only increases the background noise, so you can't win. Moreover, there is a pinched, scratchy quality most prominent in vocals, dialogue and songs.
Extras:
Extras? What extras? None of these films comes with any extras. You get English as the only spoken language, with French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. That's it. There aren't even any chapter lists, although there are eight or ten chapter stops you can access with the "Skip ahead" button on your remote. For extras, I'm afraid you'll have to go to the next box set in the series, "The Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly Collection."
Parting Thoughts:
These early Sinatra pictures are mostly fluff, designed to show off the man's singing talents while not exactly taxing his acting ability. Little did Hollywood know at the time that Sinatra would prove as good a dramatic actor as he was a comedic or even a musical performer. Anyway, if I had to rank order the discs in this collection, I'd put "Step Lively" at the head of the list, with "Higher and Higher" and "It Happened in Brooklyn" in the middle, and "Double Dynamite" and "The Kissing Bandit" at the bottom. All the same, you'll find there is something of value in each of the movies, and Sinatra fans will want them all, in any case.
On a related note: Concurrent with this and other Sinatra movies, Warner Home Video are releasing (separately) their 1992, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning TV miniseries "Sinatra." It's in a two-disc set, 238 minutes, divided into two parts, with 41 and 26 chapters respectively. The film stars Philip Casnoff as Sinatra, with Olympia Dukakis, Joe Santos, Gina Gershon, Nina Siemaszko, and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles, and it covers Sinatra's life from his youth through his return from retirement in 1974. The best part: hearing Sinatra's voice again in original recordings. The two discs present the picture in its 1.33:1 television aspect ratio and in quite good color, with English 2.0 stereo sound and English captions for the hearing impaired.
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