I always cheer when I see Josh Westmoreland's name in a movie's credits. What a pleasure it is not to have to strain my ears to catch what people are saying, or even, if the worst comes to the worst, being forced to turn on the English sub-titles! True, sometimes the DVD or 16mm transfer itself can be blamed for an inaudible or fuzzy sound track. But five times out of ten, you can point an accusing finger at the incompetence of the original sound engineers. So the first thing you notice on the superb Grapevine DVD is that the sound is loud and clear and every word -- no matter how fast it's delivered -- is distinct, audible and unmistakable. The second thing you notice are the superb visuals supplied by Pliny Goodfriend -- one of Hollywood's best cinematographers. Everything in such beautiful, sharp focus, it's like watching a brand new 35mm print in a distributor's preview cinema.
By the humble standards of director/producer Bernard B. Ray, the movie itself -- aside from its ridiculous epilogue -- isn't too bad. Denny plays with far more flair here than in the accompanying movie, "The Lady in Scarlet" (also released in 1935) on Grapevine's Denny DVD, although the real star of the film is actually Jim Farley, who has by far the largest role. Lloyd Hughes also impresses and is far less wooden here than usual. It's also great to see (and hear) Barbara Bedford. Admittedly, it's a small role, but an important one. John Elliott is in the movie too.
So, all told, despite the rubbish tacked on to the end of the movie and other script deficiencies -- plus the fact that there is no phantom with either a small or a capital "P" -- the Denny DVD is a good buy.
By the humble standards of director/producer Bernard B. Ray, the movie itself -- aside from its ridiculous epilogue -- isn't too bad. Denny plays with far more flair here than in the accompanying movie, "The Lady in Scarlet" (also released in 1935) on Grapevine's Denny DVD, although the real star of the film is actually Jim Farley, who has by far the largest role. Lloyd Hughes also impresses and is far less wooden here than usual. It's also great to see (and hear) Barbara Bedford. Admittedly, it's a small role, but an important one. John Elliott is in the movie too.
So, all told, despite the rubbish tacked on to the end of the movie and other script deficiencies -- plus the fact that there is no phantom with either a small or a capital "P" -- the Denny DVD is a good buy.