Blog Archives
From The Warner Archive: Born To Be Bad, 1950 (dir. Nicholas Ray)
Recently remastered and released by the Warner Archive, Born to Be Bad is an early, but important effort from landmark director Nicholas Ray. The film was released three months after Ray’s breakthrough masterpiece In A Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame. While this film seems a lesser effort in comparison, I think much of the fault lies with the studio; Born To Be Bad had five writers and it feels like it. That said, this remaster is beautifully done and the disc comes with the original theatrical trailer, as well as a newly found and restored alternate ending. More on that after the cut.
From The Warner Archive: Fred Astaire vs. Gene Kelly
I’ve always been partial to Gene Kelly, myself. The Warner Archive asks you to choose between the two icons of dance on film with two new releases from the collection: Fred Astaire in the 1943 wartime dark comedy The Sky’s The Limit and Gene Kelly in the 1947 post-war musical comedy Living In A Big Way. Both films are little seen and essential for fans of the dancers, though I will admit as these reviews go on, my preference for Kelly will start to show.
From The Warner Archive: Rhapsody In Blue, 1945 (dir. Irving Rapper)
Although fictionalized (including adding two romances), Irving Rapper’s sweeping biopic of George Gershwin – whose contribution to the Great American Songbook is perhaps rivaled only by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter – is highly entertaining and this newly remastered edition, available at the Warner Archive, is a must for classic film and music lovers alike.
the diary of a film history fanatic 