The Series:

The second full serial to feature Tom Baker in the lead, the four part storyline Doctor Who: The Ark In Space was originally aired in late January through mid-February in 1975. Directed by Rodney Bennett and written by Robert Holmes, the story begins when the TARDIS materializes inside a large space station. When the doors open, out walk the Doctor (Baker) and his companions, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Sullivan). They explore the facility and before you know it, against the Doctor’s orders Harry has pushed a button, a door closes locking Sarah in a room, and she’s soon without oxygen. This is fixed quickly enough but they soon realize that the auto-guard programmed to protect the place has a pretty itchy trigger finger.

Once the Doctor and Harry neutralize the defenses they’re able to further explore the place and soon realize that they’ve essentially wandered into an ‘ark’ chock full of people in suspended animation chambers. Before you know it, Sarah’s been put into one of the pods but soon a ‘med-tech’ named Vira (Wendy Williams) wakes up and explains things to Harry and the Doctor. Also revived early on is the stations leader, Noah (Kenton Moore), who is understandably suspicious as to the space stations newly arrived guests. Unfortunately for all involved, humans are not the only creatures onboard. At some point during its journey the station’s integrity was compromised by the presence of some wasp like aliens called the Wirrn. Having had ample time to use the humans’ onboard as hosts, there are larvae crawling around the ship causing trouble. When Noah heads into the thick of it to check things out, he becomes a host and soon starts mutating into one of the Wirrn – at which point his personality changes and he starts to use the space station’s technology to let the Wirrn take over and eliminate what is left of the human race.

Picking up where the last serial, Robot, left off, The Ark In Space wastes no time getting to the good stuff. There’s quite a bit of action here and some solid moments of suspense as well and we can’t help but notice how Baker is quickly beginning to make the role his own. Having really only had one proper story prior to flesh out the character to suit his style, it’s impressive that even this early on in the fourth Doctor’s run his take is distinct and unique and not at all like the three who came before him. There’s a slightly unhinged aspect to Baker’s work on the series that his predecessors lacked and it’s easy to see how and why he’d become, in the eyes of many fans who grew up on his incarnation, the definitive Doctor, or at the very least the actor most instantly recognized for his work on the series. Supporting efforts from the charming Elisabeth Sladen and the amusing Ian Sullivan make for some fun moments, particularly the back and forth that occurs between them and the Doctor which is often the source of this particular storyline’s only real humor. Wendy Williams is great as the slightly pretentious medical technician while Kenton Moore does a pretty solid job as the space station leader, Noah (subtle, right Let’s name the guy in charge of the ‘ark’ Noah!).

As far as the production values go, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The set design is great, with clever use of mirrors used to coyly make the interior of the space station look far bigger than it really is. There’s a very clean, sort of 2001 inspired look to the inside of the space station that works well in the serial’s favor and the few exterior shots that there are work fine given the age and technology used in the show. The monster effects are a different story, the main problem being that once Kenton Moore’s Noah starts turning into the Wirrn, they’ve obviously just wrapped parts of him in green bubble wrap. Now, the extras explain that bubble wrap was fairly new at the time and not as common as it is now, so maybe this was more effective back then, but by modern standards, yeah, that guy is obviously wrapped in green bubble wrap and that’s a little hard to look past. Fans of the series won’t likely take issue with this, however, as the show was, at the time at least, always made with a pretty modest effects budget. As to the fully formed Wirrn, they fare a little better, but are still obviously men wobbling around in costume, which explains why we never see them shot from the ankles down.

Overall, however, despite some questionable effects and production values, Ark In Space is a lot of fun. Baker has started to come into his own, the set design is impressive and the storyline is both exciting and enjoyable, even occasionally offering up some minor food for thought. Fans will eat this one up, and it’s easy to see all these years later why it remains a very popular entry in the Baker years run.

The DVD:

Video:

Doctor Who: The Ark In Space arrives on DVD in its original fullframe aspect ratio. There are moments where the picture is muddy looking and fairly murky and detail is generally below average throughout playback as the transfer is sourced from the master tape – but this is probably as good as it’s ever going to get and those accustomed to other releases of Who material from the same era will more or less know what to expect. It’s all watchable enough and scenes shot inside tend to look cleaner and clearer than those shot outdoors (probably due to better lighting and the fact that in this particular series a lot of the outdoor shots use miniatures and effects work), but this isn’t really a great transfer even if it’s obvious that the powers that be have done their best with the material that they had available. The disc is well authored in that there are no problems with compression artifacts and as soft as it all is, at least it’s clean in that there aren’t any nasty issues with print damage. Again, for what it is, this looks fine and those accustomed to earlier DVD releases from this era of the show will know what to expect and have no problems – but those expecting pristine quality will be disappointed.

Sound:

The sole audio option on this release is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track that comes with optional subtitles available in English only. The quality of the track is fine in that it’s always easy to understand and there are no problems to report in terms of hiss or distortion. There isn’t a whole lot of range – this is an older mono mix after all – but the levels are well balanced and the feature sounds just fine.

Extras:

Extras start off with a commentary track that comes courtesy of producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and actors Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. It’s a lively look back at the making of this storyline, an early one in Baker’s run and one in which the actor has much to discuss. This is an older track, recorded for the original release ten years ago, so Baker isn’t exactly at his warmest here, he’s a bit persnickety at times, but his memory is pretty sharp. They talk about the effects, the character development and the sets as well as some of the challenges that arose during the production and some of the changes that the story went through. It’s a fine talk that covers what you would expect are all the major bases here.

Up next is a thirty minute minute retrospective featurette entitled A New Frontier which lets Hincliffe discuss how when he came onboard as producer how he intended to take the show in more interesting directions than it had been in the past. They also discuss the bubble wrap monsters with input from director Rodney Bennett, designer Roger Murray-Leach and actor Kenton Moore, also noting what was done to make the sets look bigger than they were. Actress Wendy Williams also pops up here to talk about her character and how in retrospect she played it very holier than though style. A very interesting and well put together look back at the making of this particular four part series and quit an enjoyable watch.

Roger Murray-Leach flies solo for a ten minute look back at his work on this storyline and a few others. He starts off by stating outright that he does not want to talk about Blake’s 7 before going on to share some fun stories about what he did to create various bit and pieces of the Doctor Who universe. Much of the focus is on dealing with the budgetary restraints that were always an issue on the show but he also shares some interesting memories of befriending Tom Baker and a few other fun anecdotes. This is complimented nicely by a quick Model And CGI Effects Footage which is nine minutes or so.

Doctor Forever! Love & War is the first of five mini documentaries that examine the Doctor Who universe outside of the TV shows. Here we spend twenty-seven minutes or so strolling through the novelizations that Virgin Publishing was pumping out during the nineties, the time when the series was off the air. It’s an interesting piece that sheds some light on an aspect of the series that doesn’t really get talked about or discussed as much as the TV series does but which still manages to do some interesting things with the characters. Scene Around Six is some footage that was shot of Baker on a trip to Ireland where he’s basically mobbed by fans as he makes the rounds and does different media appearances. It’s fun to see him pop up at a school to see some obviously very amused kids and serves as a reminder of just how popular the series was in the UK when Baker was in the role. Also worth checking out is some 8mm Location Footage that Baker shot on the set of Robot. It’s short and shot without sound but presented in color and interesting enough to see even if it’s only a quick minute in length.

This set also includes the seventy minute TV Movie Version that was shown in 1975. It tights up the pacing a little bit here and there but mostly tells the same story – interesting for completists but you’ll probably want to opt for the full version when you watch the story. Rounding out the extras is another one of the really interesting text based Production Notes subtitle stream, a one minute clip of 3D Technical Schematics, a seven minute long still gallery of production and promotional photographs, a one minute trailer for The Ark In Space, an Alternate Title Sequence, a one minute Tardis Cam quickie, PDF materials made up of various radio listings and promotional materials, animated menus and chapter selection.

Final Thoughts:

Doctor Who: The Ark In Space is pretty great stuff. The story is interesting and well told and it moves at a fast pace, making it easy to overlook the fact that the effects budget was obviously on the low side. There’s a lot of creativity on display here and Baker does some great things with the character, always a plus. The BBC’s presentation looks about as good as it realistically can given the format that it was shot on and the two disc set is loaded with extra features. Highly recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.

THE MOVIE:

Hal Ashby was part of the great wave of American directors who redefined cinema in the 1970s. Like most of his contemporaries, his output was as erratic as his personal life, and both were a reflection of the times. Whenever you watch a Hal Ashby film–be it The Last Detail or Harold and Maude or Being There–you never get the sense that he ever did anything less than pursue the pictures he saw with everything he had. This could make for odd indulgences and a contemporaneous irreverence rivaled maybe only by Robert Altman.

This means that when Ashby flopped, as he did with his 1981 road-trip romance Second-Hand Hearts, boy, did he really flop. Written by Charles Eastman (The Shooting) and shot by the great Haskell Wexler (Medium Cool), Second-Hand Hearts displays an impressive dedication to style and tone, but otherwise, it seems everyone was maybe freeballing it a little too much for the movie’s own good.

Robert Blake (In Cold Blood) leads the cast as Loyal, an alcoholic car-wash attendant who, on his last bender, married a saloon singer named Dinette (Barbara Harris, Family Plot). Loyal’s new wife is a widow with three kids that are currently in another Texas town staying with her in-laws. Even though Loyal loses his job, Dinette won’t let him out of the marriage. Instead, she compels him to take her to get her youngsters, and then to drive them all from Texas to California. We never see them arrive at their destination; instead, Second-Hand Hearts spends its running time looking at the oddballs they meet on the way.

In Ashby’s universe, the American Southwest is a zoo full of human eccentrics: gangs of Mexican highwaymen, one-handed rattlesnake hunters, and in one of the movie’s queasiest stopovers, a child molester. It says something about Second-Hand Hearts‘s addled quirkiness that it features a scene where a pervert has his way with Dinette’s son, and that the kid is not only a mute (“don’t tell anyone” seems even more sinister when the child basically can’t), but his name is also Human. Is he meant to stand in for all of us Is the highway Loyal has taken them on really the road to Hell, everyone they meet is a metaphor, and Second-Hand Hearts is actually a tripped-out allegory

I’d firmly vote “no” on that one. There’s nothing else in the film to suggest that Ashby is pursuing any greater meaning. He is simply trying to do what he does best: show two misfits finding love. This time around, he blows it by overdosing on weird. How do you make two specific misfits stand out in a landscape where everyone is a misfit Push them harder and further over the top, whether it makes sense or not.

Barbara Harris is fairly good as Dinette. She is kooky and chatty, but the actress seems to get that there is more to her character than that. She is also a mother with a determination to see her family have a better life. Harris gives Dinette soul, and though the writing regularly fails her, the effort is there. On the other hand, no amount of good writing could have helped Robert Blake. He plays up Loyal’s nervous habits to such a degree, he comes off like all Three Stooges rolled into one ball of anxiety. I think the intention was to make him a nervous loser in over his head, but Blake ends up looking like an oafish mental patient.

The clumsy performance undercuts any impact Loyal’s making good might have otherwise had. Then again, most viewers won’t be invested in what is going on in Second-Hand Hearts by the time Ashby gets to the tender stuff anyway.

THE DVD

Video:
Warner Archive’s recent manufacture-on-demand release of Second-Hand Hearts offers a nice widescreen image, with well-rendered colors and mostly clean resolution, with only a minor jaggedness, that preserves the movie’s intended look. If anything, you can always enjoy looking at a Haskell Wexler photographed landscape.

Sound:
The mono mix is decent, with some metallic tones that make the overbearing country music soundtrack even more off-putting. Even so, the dialogue is clear and there are no dropouts or obvious extraneous noise.

Extras:
None.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Skip It. Even great directors have turkeys every once in a while. Second-Hand Hearts is Hal Ashby off his game. It works neither as a love story nor as a road trip. Too much forced weirdness, not enough genuine emotion. Better Hal Ashby movies achieve both naturally. (Though, if you want to see where his latter off-the-rails period worked for him, go with his next flick, Lookin’ to Get Out.) Second-Hand Hearts is a woeful misfire.

Jamie S. Rich is a novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jo�lle Jones, including the hardboiled crime comic book You Have Killed Me, the challenging romance 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, and the 2007 prose novel Have You Seen the Horizon Lately, for which Jones did the cover. All three were published by Oni Press. His most recent project is the comedy series Spell Checkers, again with Jones and artist Nicolas Hitori de. Follow Rich’s blog at Confessions123.com.

THE MOVIE:

The 1930 musical comedy Whoopee! is a film remake of what had been a successful Broadway revue for its star, Eddie Cantor, only two years earlier. It features one of the performer’s signature toons, “Makin’ Whoopee,” as well as several other recognizable songs. Its plot is fairly bare, with the story largely existing to connect comedic set pieces and dance numbers, but that doesn’t stop Whoopee! from being a lot of fun–somewhat dated fun, but fun nonetheless.

Old Banjo Eyes stars as Henry Williams, a hypochondriac convalescing in the American west. There he sticks out like a sore thumb, being more dandy than dude, though the ladies like him. In particular, his nurse, Mary Custer (Ethel Shutta), has designs to marry her needy patient. She just needs to convince him he’s healthy enough first.

There is another engagement in the offing at the ranch. The owner’s daughter, Sally (Eleanor Hunt), is set to marry the Sheriff (Jack Rutherford), though her heart really belongs to the unfortunately named Wanenis (Paul Gregory), who is part of the local Native American community, having been the child of a mixed marriage. This racial difference is the only thing standing in their way, and despite how the love triangle resolves, it seems fairly progressive for the era–particularly considering how the other Native Americans are portrayed and that there’s a blackface routine in the movie’s third act. (Though, to be fair, Cantor avoids playing it as racist caricature, and the make-up is actually the result of a Looney Tunes-style explosion rather than an attempt to play “black.” For whatever that’s worth)

The story takes off at the same time Sally does. She leaves with Henry, telling him he’s driving her to the chapel but leaving a note for everyone else saying she is eloping with the city slicker. Naturally, the Sheriff doesn’t take kindly to being jilted this way, and he leads a posse in pursuit.

Whoopee! was directed by Thornton Freeland, perhaps best known for the Paul Robeson vehicle Jericho and Fred Astaire’s Flying Down to Rio. This was only his third directorial effort, and the inexperience shows. Like a lot of early stage-to-screen adaptations, Whoopee! suffers from being too theatrical. Most of the film is shot straight ahead, with the camera set up in the middle distance and the actors moving in and out the frame as action dictates. This isn’t so great when, say, there is a musical number, and can also be a little dull during the long stretches of dialogue. The only person in whose favor Freeland’s static style works is Cantor, who remains the sole focus during several great skits that punctuate the film’s love-on-the-run narrative.

Most of my experience with Eddie Cantor comes from his appearance as a recurring character on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Much of my desire to see Whoopee! was to see what the actor was really like when doing his shtick (and to gauge the quality of Stephen DeRosa’s performance on the show; he’s pretty damn good). Cantor strikes me as an early Woody Allen prototype, with his Jewish neuroses and baffled reactions to everything and everyone around him. His patter is funny, as is his physical comedy, but it’s when he sings that his stardom starts to make particular sense. He just has a way about him when he’s performing. A lot of it has to do with his trademark eye rolls. The naughty innuendo of the Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson-penned tunes are given a little added kick by his knowing facial expressions.

Sure there are downsides to Whoopee!‘s old-fashioned design, but these can also work in the movie’s favor. There is a charm to classic Broadway and vaudeville that is undeniable. Cinephiles will also likely enjoy seeing this early two-strip Technicolor effort. The process gives the film an almost painterly, pastel look. Folks might also be curious to know that this is the first appearance of the Goldwyn Girls, MGM’s stock dance company, which at the time featured Betty Grable, Ann Sothern, and Paulette Goddard, pre-stardom.

THE DVD

Video:
Whoopee! comes to DVD via the Warner Archive’s manufacture-on-demand program, and though the movie could really stand to receive a massive restoration effort, the original materials used for this transfer are pretty good given the product’s age and the outdated way in which the film was processed. You will notice some marks on the print, particularly scratches in the background and also some shimmer around the edges of the frame. The most noticeable problem, though, is the color strips regularly go out of register. While some scenes have an astonishing clarity, others suffer from an aliasing effect.

Sound:
The original mono soundtrack is remixed nicely, with warm tones and an impressive lack of hiss, noise, or dropouts.

Extras:
None.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Highly Recommended. Yeah, sure, Whoopee! can drag a little, and some of its less-sensitive racial humor is out of date, but overall, the film is both fun and historically significant. Eddie Cantor is a wonderful comic performer, and he has quite a few funny bits here. The music is also excellent.

Jamie S. Rich is a novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jo�lle Jones, including the hardboiled crime comic book You Have Killed Me, the challenging romance 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, and the 2007 prose novel Have You Seen the Horizon Lately, for which Jones did the cover. All three were published by Oni Press. His most recent project is the comedy series Spell Checkers, again with Jones and artist Nicolas Hitori de. Follow Rich’s blog at Confessions123.com.

Review:

Movies like this make me sad about movies. While I thought the parody genre had realized that there’s only one Zucker Brothers (well, there’s two, but you get what I mean) after the failures of “Date Movie” and “Epic Movie” (and how could I forget, “Meet the Spartans”), not only are these movies still being made, but they’re made in increasingly cheap, knock-off fashion.

“30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is depressing not just because it’s bad (it is), but because it’s wholly and completely “product”, to the point where the same director has created a little industry in it – Craig Moss was also behind “The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It” and “Breaking Wind” (a parody, of course, of “Twilight: Breaking Dawn”.)

People know the parodied movies (well, less so with some of the ones here), the movie costs a few bucks to make and the studio may make a decent little profit on rentals (and maybe a sale or two.) It’s a mentality that unfortunately continued even as there’s less and less “direct-to-DVD” and more and more “direct-to-digital.”

“30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (“30 Nights” from here on out, because it’s not worth writing the whole thing again and again) focuses on Dana (Kathryn Fiore) and Aaron (Flip Schultz), a pair of parents (they met on “The Bachelor” – ha. ha. ha…) who move into the house that was once owned by Dana’s family. It was also the site where her father murdered the cast of “The Artist”.

The majority of the picture follows the “Paranormal Activity” route, but there’s also bits of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (the daughter has a lot of tattoos) and other references, including “Storage Wars”, Adele (an awful bit), “Black Swan” (not funny, just apparently needed to reference something) and a bizarre reference to Super Mario Brothers. The whole “Artist” aspect doesn’t make any sense, given the time frame, but it’s a comedy, right Yeah, that’s true – and maybe if I was laughing I wouldn’t be pondering such things.

It’s entirely a matter of throwing things at the wall in the hopes that something sticks and little of it does. It’s mainly fart gags, sex gags (the parents dress up in bondage gear and tell their daughter to order pizza when she walks in on them.) The worst efforts from the Wayans Brothers would be preferable to this – I’d rather watch “White Chicks” for 24 hours straight than have to sit through this again.

The performances aren’t very good, but to their credit, they’re working with material that feels like it was written by a 10-year-old. “30 Nights” is lousy, but it’s particularly depressing because it doesn’t feel like anyone involved really cares – it’s a paycheck for a product (apparently these lousy spoof movies still find an audience.)

VIDEO:
Fox presents “30 Nights” in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Sharpness and detail are unremarkable, but satisfactory and consistent. Some minor artifacting was seen on a couple of occasions, but the picture otherwise looked clean. Colors looked a tad on the subdued side, but that appears to be by intent.

AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation is dialogue-driven, with limited involvement from the rear speakers. Audio quality was fine, with well-recorded dialogue.

EXTRA: “Behind the Scenes” documentary where everyone congratulates themselves for being funny. I’d like to see the movie they’re talking about.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I hate this kind of thing – it’s total product. I suppose I was hoping in the back of my mind that there would be some small chance that this picture would be “so bad it’s good”, but it wasn’t even that. Skip it.

THE PROGRAM

Henry Fonda is a name that immediately evokes the term “film icon,” with a career spanning from the late 20s to the early 80s. Fonda, over the course of his long and distinguished career would garner three Oscar nominations, with his swansong performance in 1981’s “On Golden Pond” netting him the win a year after receiving the Lifetime Achievement award. “The Henry Fonda Collection” is another 10-film release of previous DVDs from Fox in a handsome looking, but completely unusable digipak (like with “The Robert Mitchum Collection” the tight cardboard slots scuff the discs with reckless abandon). The collection by and large is a rousing success save for a questionable technically inferior disc for one film and the notable exclusion of “12 Angry Men” (which granted, has a fine Criterion release, but would have made a nice addition here in lieu of one of the lesser films), showing some of Fonda’s best work (with two exceptions all the films are from the 30s or 40s).

The set starts with 1939’s “Jesse James,” one of numerous westerns in both this set and Fonda’s career; here Fonda is supporting player to Tyrone Power. The film is obviously a product of its time, filled with questionable facts and blatantly iffy morals. The James’ come off as wronged and oppressed, a narrative choice that will make anyone familiar with real history roll their eyes. To put it bluntly, the film is the polar opposite of the more accurate and tonally subdued “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” but on a pure thrills and melodrama level, “Jesse James” is a solid entry; Fonda shines as Frank James in the supporting role and its easy to see why he’d quickly become a lead player in years to come. Continuing with the Western theme but taking it back a century or more, Fonda gets the lead in “Drums Along the Mohawk”, an adaptation of Walter D. Edmonds novel. It’s notable mostly for being a John Ford helmed production. While not nearly as gratifying as “Stagecoach” or “Young Mr. Lincoln” (another Fonda starring role), which Ford also had released in 1939, it is Ford’s first foray into color and on a personal level, films set during the American Revolution are always a welcome change of scenery form the standard, dusty Western setting. The film has its share of melodrama chronicling Fonda and Claudette Colbert as the Martins, a pair of colonists making a new life in the Mohawk Valley amidst turbulent times. The film’s color cinematography is the real highlight. What more can be said about “The Grapes of Wrath”, a true landmark in both director John Ford and Henry Fonda’s illustrious careers. While the film is a questionable adaptation of Steinbeck’s original novel, Fonda’s performance as Tom Joad is electric and Ford’s masterful direction captures the anguish and tone of the Great Depression in stunning clarity. Jane Darwell’s portrayal of Ma Joad earned the actress as Best Supporting Actress award and it’s clear to see why, as she nearly upstages Fonda, if it weren’t for that final iconic speech. Ford’s direction earned him a Best Director Oscar, while Fonda would receive his first Best Actor nomination. The film is in no uncertain terms a masterpiece of the medium and its staying power of the decades should continue for decades to come.

While Fonda’s role as Tom Joad in 1940 was a career defining moment, the choice to return to the role of Frank James in the aptly named “The Return of Frank James” was far from a wise decision. The film is another historically inaccurate romp through the exploits of the James, specifically the years following Jesse James’ demise. The film is gratifying on a base level, but lacking any real redeeming value. Fonda is perfectly serviceable in the film, but thankfully his talents in the genre would be put to better use in the years to come.

“Immortal Sergeant” is your standard morality play, following Fonda’s Cpl. Spence, a meekish Canadian and his exploits on the North African front during World War II. Maureen O’Hara appears in flashbacks as Kelly’s love, Valentine, while Thomas Mitchell plays the titular Sergeant who has a pivotal stirring scene with Spence that acts as the catalyst for the remainder of the film and Spence’s growth as a character. Unlike many films of its time, it’s not as blindly patriotic as one might expect, while Fonda delivers an admirable, lower-key performance.

Fonda delves back into the Western in William Wellman’s “The Ox-Bow Incident”, which for my money is on par with “The Grapes of Wrath” in terms of narrative importance in the set. Running a very brisk, 75-minutes, Fonda is Gil Carter, who alongside Art Croft (Harry Morgan) are drawn into a vicious, vengeance stricken posse in order to keep alleviate suspicion that the duo, outsiders themselves, were not responsible for the murder of a local. The film is a solid adaptation of the 1940 novel of the same name and is a crushing morality piece that touches on numerous societal issues including race and the danger of groupthink. In addition to Fonda and Morgan, the supporting cast is incredibly solid and includes Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn, both of whom have pivotal and heart wrenching roles. “The Ox-Bow Incident” represents a shift in the standard for the Western to a certain extent and shows the consequences of cowboy justice that was (and still is to this day) a genre staple.

While “The Ox-Bow Incident” would mark Fonda’s last film before his real-life WWII career, “My Darling Clementine” would be his return to the silver screen in another historically inaccurate, but crowd pleasing Western directed by John Ford. Fonda portrays legendary lawman Wyatt Earp in a film that follows the trend of completely embellishing the bloody, brutal, and brief “Gunfight at the OK Corral” into another melodramatic set piece. The film is a technical and narrative success if one looks past shaky history featuring Victor Mature as Doc Holliday and Walter Brennan as the patriarch of the villainous Clanton clan. When it comes to “old school” Westerns, one can’t go wrong by “My Darling Clementine” and Fonda’s firm establishment as a leading man doesn’t hurt matters either.

“Daisy Kenyon” is a refreshing change of pace in the set in terms of genre, taking Fonda out of the world of horses and guns and into a post-WWII world of affairs and jealousy. Although Fox classifies the film under its “Film Nor” line, the film only resembles noir in its cinematography, with director Otto Preminger delivering a tightly crafted melodrama, held together by key performances from Fonda, Joan Crawford and Dana Andrews. The film is perfectly serviceable and entirely entertaining, but there’s not a lot that jumps off the screen as particularly magnificent, especially considering the power in front of the camera and behind.

“The Longest Day” makes an appearance in the collection likely for the same reason it appeared in the “Robert Mitchum Collection.” It’s arguably Fox’s biggest war film and sees Fonda cast as Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. I’ll reiterate what I had to briefly say about the film in the Mitchum set: “The Longest Day” is a true who’s-who of major actors of the time, “The Longest Day” holds up on its sheer spectacle, cast, and expansive storytelling. Frankly, I doubt we’ll ever see a film as “big” as “The Longest Day” ever again; while it’s surely been passed by other films in terms of realism and authenticity, it’s place in film history is not up for debate and its entertainment value wanes little if at all.

The final film in the set feels like the biggest curveball, with Fonda playing John Bottomly in Richaard Fleischer’s 1968 crime film, “The Boston Strangler”. Fonda plays it relatively safe, but it’s Tony Curtis as the titular murderer, Albert DeSalvo that makes the film a fascinating viewing experience. The film is a stark contrast to Fleischer’s other two most previous films, “Fantastic Voyage” and “Doctor Doolittle” respectively, but the director’s work here is only faulted by a wishy-washy script that apparently has some issues in the accuracy department. Overall, “The Boston Strangler” is the strangest inclusion in the set, if only for the veteran Fonda being generally unremarkable. Watch it for Curtis’ performance primarily and as a thriller, secondly.

THE DVD

The Video

“Jesse James” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer that is mixed bag. For a color film from 1939, it generally looks pleasing to the eye, but there is a fair amount of instances of issues with intense contrast and muddled colors, not to mention merely average levels of detail. Digital noise/grain are surprisingly low as is print damage.

“Drums Along the Mohawk” is presented with a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. Like “Jesse James” detail levels are a mixed bag and contrast feels overly intense at times. Fortunately, the colors feel a bit more vibrant and solid, while the transfer itself is very clean and clear.

“The Grapes of Wrath” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. The transfer is quite clean, a product of Fox’s respected Cinema Classics line. The black-and-white image boasts strong detail, generally natural, balanced contrast, and no indication of artificial digital tinkering.

“The Return of Frank James” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. Detail is adequate for the age of the film, while print damage is minor but still visible. Color levels are not quite as natural as expected, but generally consistent throughout, as are contrast levels.

“Immortal Sergeant” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. It’s a overall, solid transfer with minimal print damage, consistent, natural contrast, and above average detail.

“The Ox-Bow Incident” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. Contrast levels are natural and consistent, while detail is about average for the age, and a little less so in a few scenes. Print damage is kept to a minimum but can be quite noticeable at times.

“My Darling Clementine” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. It’s another very well-restored transfer that is very clean from print damage, sports noteworthy clarity and detail, and features incredibly solid contrast levels from start to finish.

“Daisy Kenyon” features a 1.33:1 OAR transfer. It’s a very slick presentation for a classic noir, despite some varying contrast levels. Digital noise/grain is kept to a moderate level and detail is more than acceptable.

Infuriatingly, “The Longest Day” is the decade-plus old 2.35:1 NON-ANAMORPHIC transfer. It’s incredibly insulting that MGM/Fox has repackaged this inferior disc when an anamorphically enhanced version was released back in 2006 that also sported two great commentary tracks. Not much more needs to be said about a transfer in 2012 that’s not even anamorphically enhanced, although it’s worth noting the film has very intense contrast levels and noticeable digital/noise grain.

“The Boston Strangler” features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Colors stay generally within the realm of the natural, while detail is decidedly in the average range (with a few scenes dropping even below that mark). There’s no signs of digital tinkering, but it’s far from a restored transfer.

The Audio

“Jesse James” features an original English mono track as well as an English stereo track. The mono track is generally clear and balanced with little aural defects. An English stereo track is included as well as Spanish mono, and English subtitles.

“Drums Along the Mohawk” features an English mono track. English stereo, French mono and Spanish mono tracks are included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“The Grapes of Wrath” features an English stereo track. It’s a solid track with little if any high-end distortion of hiss due to age. English and Spanish mono tracks are included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“The Return of Frank James” features an English stereo track that is nothing incredibly impressive, but generally clean and balanced throughout. English, French, and Spanish mono tracks are included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“Immortal Sergeant” features an English stereo audio track that sports a bit of high-end distortion, but is more than adequate on a whole. An English mono track is included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“The Ox-Bow Incident” features an English stereo audio track is respectable by-and-large, with a good mix, that keeps high-end distortion and hiss to a bare minimum. An English and Spanish mono track are included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“My Darling Clementine” features an English stereo track that is incredibly clean and well balanced. English, French, and Spanish mono tracks are included as well as English and Spanish subtitles.

“Daisy Kenyon” features an English mono track that is perfectly serviceable for the tone of the film. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

“The Longest Day” features a Dolby Digital English 5.0 track that is thankfully, well above the image in terms of technical merit. It’s still an ear-pleasing track and much better than the 4.0 tracks Fox has done for other films of the same era. English and Spanish subtitles are included.

“The Boston Stranger” features an English stereo audio track that is generally clear, but not as well mixed as one would expect for the newest film in this set. English, Spanish, and French mono tracks are included as well.

The Extras

The extras on “Jesse James” includes the film’s original trailer and two Movietone newsreels.

“Drums Along the Mohawk” features a commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman as well as a still gallery and the film’s original theatrical trailer.

“The Grapes of Wrath” features an audio commentary from a Joseph McBride and Susan Shillinglaw, two experts on Ford and Steinbeck respectively. An A&E episode of “Biography” featuring Darryl F. Zanuck” is included as well as a textual prologue that accompanied the UK release, a brief restoration segment, the original theatrical trailer, stills gallery and Movietone newsreels gallery.

“The Return of Frank James” features the film’s original theatrical trailer.

“Immortal Sergeant” features the film’s theatrical trailer.

“The Ox-Bow Incident” features a commentary with historian Dick Etulain and the director’s son William Wellman Jr. An A&E “Biography” episode focused on Hendry Fonda is included as well as a restoration segment, theatrical trailer and still gallery.

“My Darling Clementine” features a commentary by author/historian Scott Eyman and Wyatt Earp III on the theatrical release. The biggest extra is the flipside of the disc, which features the pre-release version of the film, a featurette on the pre-release version and a stills gallery. The film’s original theatrical trailer is included on the other side of the disc.

“Daisy Kenyon” features a commentary from historian Foster Hirsch, as well as a featurette on the film, a featurette on Otto Preminger’s work at Fox, interactive pressbook, original theatrical trailer, and stills gallery.

“The Longest Day” consists of the film’s original trailer.

“The Boston Strangler” consists of a Movietone newsreel and a short featurette on the Boston Strangler.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I’ll contest that despite Criterion having better versions available, “Young Mr. Lincoln” and “12 Angry Men” deserved a place in the set far more than “The Return of Frank James” or “The Boston Strangler.” As a whole, the set is a great encapsulation of Fonda’s career despite only containing his efforts with Fox. In terms of other notable omissions outside the Fox banner, only “Once Upon a Time in the West” or “On Golden Pond” feel glaringly obvious. The technically quality of these discs is still generally admirable as are the bonus features; it’s only Fox’s inexcusable use of the long antiquated non-anamorphic “The Longest Day” disc that forces me to knock my recommendation of this set down a whole notch. If you’re looking for a good place to start a Henry Fonda collection, you’d be hard pressed to do better than starting here. Recommended.