Warner Archive Collection New Releases: War and Other Familial Obligations

NEVER SO FEW (1959) New 2018 1080p HD Master  

John Sturges directs a soul-patch sporting Frank Sinatra in this war drama that bridges the gap between patriotic paeans of the past and the anguished ambiguities of the coming conflict in Vietnam. Focusing on the still seldom told tale of the valiant native Kachin struggles against the Japanese in the remote jungles of Burma during World War II. Sinatra plays OSS liaison Capt. Tom Reynolds, who attempts to aid the Kachin along with fellow OSS operatives Captain Grey Travis (Peter Lawford) and Corporal Bill Ringa (a show-stealing Steve McQueen) despite the indifference of Army command. Fielding an all-star ensemble that includes Gina Lollobrigida, Paul Henreid, Brian Donlevy and Charles Bronson, this CinemaScope Metrocolor action epic sparkles as if brand-new on this spectacular Blu-ray Disc. 16×9 Letterbox

 

HOME FROM THE HILL (1960) New 2018 1080p HD Master 

Robert Mitchum demonstrates his true screen acting genius in this heart-searing melodrama from movie maestro Vincente Minnelli. Mitchum plays little Texas town big man Wade Hunnicutt whose appetites for lust, destruction and contradiction threaten to subsume all who live in his wake. It’s a testament to Mitchum’s sublime skill that so loathsome a man can so thoroughly command our attention, while Eleanor Parker’s bonafides shine throughout. George Peppard and George Hamilton, both cinema newcomers, rise to the occasion as Minnelli aptly frames the family saga as a modern Greek tragedy playing Wade’s scions, one bereft of legacy while the other is cursed by it. Minnelli’s trademark use of hue and composition is revealed in a whole new light thanks to this startling high definition presentation. 16×9 Letterbox

 

CLASSICS NEW TO DVD

CAPTAIN APPLEJACK (1931) New to DVD

‘Twas a dark and stormy night when mousey Ambrose Applejohn’s (John Holliday) Aunt Agatha (Louise Closser Hale) discovers he’s put the estate up for sale in a local magazine. Much to the dismay of his doting ward Poppy Faire (Mary Brian), Ambrose is determined to go globetrotting to seek high adventure and thwart low villainy. A series of sudden knocks at the door prove Ambrose’s travel plans premature when heroic, pulpy thrills rush inside including the alluring Russian noblewoman Anna Valeska (Kay Strozzi), villainous spy Ivan Borolsky (Arthur Edmund Carew), circus psychic Horace Pengard (Otto Hoffman), his wife Kate (Julia Swayne Gordon), Ambrose’s attorney John Jason (Claude Allister), and the police! It appears the Applejohn estate harbors a deep secret –  the hidden treasure of Ambrose’s ancestor, the pirate Captain Applejack!

 

WAY BACK HOME (1931) New to DVD

Native New Englander Phillips Lord (Gang Busters) was a true Golden Age of Radio renaissance man – writer, producer, actor and all-around creative force. Lord first came to national acclaim with his creation the backwoods Maine senior citizen sage of Sunday Evening at Seth Parker’s, a revue combining songs, sketches and slices of small town life. A natural fit for RKO’s Radio Pictures, Seth Parker and friends made the leap to the big screen alongside a pair of up-and-comers, Frank Albertson and, more significantly, a recent transplant from the east named Bette Davis. The pair play star-crossed lovers David Clark, bastard son of shunned fallen woman Rose (Dorothy Peterson), and Mary Lucy Duffy, daughter of local landed bully Wobbling (Oscar Apfel) who seek shelter and aid from Seth. But Seth has problems of his own, as his son Robbie (Frankie Darro) has been snatched by his birth father, the dangerous Rufe (Stanley Fields).

 

AS THE EARTH TURNS (1934) New to DVD

Three families of a hardscrabble farming community in Maine see their lives intertwine over the course of a year in this heartfelt drama adapted from Gladys Hasty Carroll’s best-selling debut novel. Newcomers of the Janowski clan arrive in early spring to a reception both suspicious and welcoming from the families of thrifty, industrious Mark Shaw and his shiftless, lazy brother George. Farming is the dream of eldest Janowski son Stan (Donald Woods), a talented violinist, who has persuaded his tailor father to sell his shop and leave the comforts of Boston for the unforgiving terrain and temperatures of Maine. Stan and Mark’s daughter Jen (Jean Muir) discover their souls share a bond, but sensible Jen knows that real love takes time to set down roots and Stan’s initial ardor is gently rebuffed. This initial setback is followed quickly by two more – a lightning strike and a flirtatious stepsister, putting Stan’s character to the test.

 

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