MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Marilyn Monroe stars in Home Town Story, Ginger Rogers stars in Heartbeat, Ava Gardner stars in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Barbara Stanwyck stars in Lady of Burlesque, Greta Garbo stars in The Joyless Street and more. 4 DVDs. Color-b&w/27 hrs/NR.

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 6
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Color Art Direction - 1952 (Thomas K. Little, Paul S. Fox, John De Cuir, Lyle Wheeler)
•     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1952 (Leon Shamroy)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1947 (Susan Hayward)
•     Nominated Best Original Story - 1947 (Frank Cavett, Dorothy Parker)
•     Nominated Best Score - Drama or Comedy - 1943 (Art Lange)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1939 (Irene Dunne)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1939 (Van Nest Polglase, Albert Herman)
•     Nominated Best Original Story - 1939 (Leo McCarey, Mildred Cram)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1939
•     Nominated Best Song - 1939 (Buddy G. DeSylva)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1939 (Maria Ouspenskaya)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1952 (Henry King)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1952

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Arthur Pierson, Victor Saville, William Wellman, Leo McCarey, Joseph Cates, Ida Lupino, Howard Higgin, Ken Hughes, Robert Stevenson, G.W. Pabst, Stuart Heisler, James Cruze, Michael Raeburn, Kurt Neumann, Byron Haskin, Sam Wood, Howard R. Hughes, Maurice Elvey, Henry King

• Producer:

  Arthur Pierson, Ivan Foxwell, Hunt Stromberg, Leo McCarey, Lew Brown, Buddy G. DeSylva, Ray Henderson, Joseph M. Schenck, Everett Rosenthal, Collier Young, B.F. Zeidman, Dugald Rankin, Jack Chertok, Walter Wanger, Edward Small, Mark Forstater, Frank King, Maurice King, Raymond Hakim, Robert Hakim, Howard R. Hughes, Michael Balcon, Darryl F. Zanuck

• Screenwriter:

  Arthur Pierson, Warren Chetham Strode, James Gunn, Delmer Daves, Leo McCarey, Donald Ogden Stewart, Lew Brown

• Screen Story:

  Buddy G. DeSylva

• Screenwriter:

  Buddy G. DeSylva, Ray Henderson, Mathew Andrews

• Screen Story:

  Lawrence B. Marcus

• Screenwriter:

  Collier Young, Paul Gangelin, Harrison Orkow, Ken Hughes

• Book Author:

  Bill Naughton

• Screenwriter:

  Edmund H. North

• Play Author:

  Edward Sheldon, Margaret Ayer Barnes

• Screenwriter:

  Willy Haas

• Book Author:

  Hugo Bettauer

• Screenwriter:

  John Howard Lawson, Dorothy Parker, Frank Cavett, Lionel Wiggam, Jack Jevne

• Screen Story:

  Wells Root

• Screenwriter:

  Wells Root

• Book Author:

  Max Miller

• Screenwriter:

  Michael Raeburn

• Book Author:

  Doris Lessing

• Screenwriter:

  Kurt Neumann, Hans Jacoby

• Screen Story:

  Marcy Klauber, C.B. Williams

• Screenwriter:

  Roy Huggins, Morris Ryskind, Hans Wilhelm

• Play Author:

  Hans Wilhelm

• Screenwriter:

  Rowland Leigh

• Play Author:

  Michel Duran, Max Kolpe

• Screenwriter:

  Jules Furthman, Bryan Edgar Wallace, Charles Bennett

• Book Author:

  Ernst Lothar

• Screenwriter:

  Casey Robinson

• Cinematographer:

  Lucien Andriot, Christopher G. Challis, Robert de Grasse, Rudolph Maté, Ray June, Gregg Toland, Joseph Brun, George E. Diskant, Allen G. Siegler, Ousama Rawi, Guido Seeber, Robert Lach, Stanley Cortez, Bille August, Fritz Schröder, Ernest Haller, William C. Mellor, Joseph A. Valentine, Glen MacWilliams, Errol Hinds, Leon Shamroy

• Composer (Music Score):

  Louis Forbes, Art Lange, Harold Arlen, Buddy G. DeSylva, Ted Koehler, Roy Webb, Alfred Newman

• Songwriter:

  Jordan Christopher

• Composer (Music Score):

  Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha, Hans Hunter

• Songwriter:

  Chuck Alden, Matt Dennis, David Gillam

• Composer (Music Score):

  Leith Stevens, Alan Price

• Musical Arrangement:

  Derek Wadsworth

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Derek Wadsworth

• Composer (Music Score):

  Carmen Dragon

• Songwriter:

  Lee Bowman, Hal Derwin, Susan Hayward, Harold Adamson

• Composer (Music Score):

  Daniele Amfitheatrof

• Songwriter:

  Jack Brooks, Jimmy McHugh

• Composer (Music Score):

  Frank Skinner

• Songwriter:

  Edgar "Cookie" Fairchild

• Composer (Music Score):

  Johnny Green

• Songwriter:

  Johnny Green, Edward Heyman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Björn Isfält, Lasse Dahlberg, Temb Tanna, Willy Schmidt-Gentner, R. Dale Butts

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Morton Scott, Constantin Bakaleinikoff

• Composer (Music Score):

  Paul Misraki, Victor Young

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Victor Young

• Composer (Music Score):

  Arthur Benjamin

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Louis Levy

• Composer (Music Score):

  Bernard Herrmann

• Editor:

  William F. Claxton, James Newcom, Edward Dmytryk, George Hively, Hal Kern, Barry Malkin, Stanford Tischler, Edward Schroeder, John Trumper, John M. Foley, Miton Carruth, Grant Whytock, Thomas Schalm, Merrill White, Harry Keller, J.R. Whittredge, Roland Gross, Wallace A. Grissell, Otho Lovering, Paul Capon, Barbara McLean

• Production Designer:

  Joseph B. Platt, Alfred Herman, Van Nest Polglase, Harry Pottle, Otto Erdmann, Hans Sohnle, Disley Jones, Edward S. Haworth, Hanns Kuhnert, Theo Zwierski, Lionel Banks, Alfred Junge, Paul S. Fox, Thomas K. Little, John De Cuir

• Art Director:

  Hilyard M. Brown, Bernard Herzbrun, Alfred Herman, Richard Day, Nicolai Remisoff, Alexander Golitzen, James Sullivan, Perry Ferguson, Lyle Wheeler

• Associate Producer:

  Martin Gabel, Hans Jacoby

• Set Designer:

  Darrell Silvera, Denise Exshaw, Russell A. Gausman, Ruby Levitt, John McCarthy, Charles Thompson, George Sawley, Paul S. Fox, Thomas K. Little

• Costume Designer:

  Edith Head, Natalie Visart, Howard Greer, Edward Stevenson, Rene Hubert, Lilli Pearlman, Elois Jenssen, Travis Banton, Adele Palmer, Joe Strassner, Marianne, Charles LeMaire

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  John W. Mitchell, Darek Hodor, Howard Wilson, Earl Crain, Sr.

• Makeup:

  Robert Stephanoff, Jack Pierce, Bob Mark, Mel Burns, Ben Nye, Sr.

• Special Effects:

  Vernon Walker, David S. Horsley, Howard Lydecker, Theodore Lydecker, Roy Davidson, Ray Kellogg

• First Assistant Director:

  Sam Nelson, James H. Anderson, Harry Scott, Fred Frank, Dick Moder, John Sherwood

• Choreography:

  Daniel Dare, Antonio Triana

• Short Story Author:

  Stefan Zweig, Gypsy Rose Lee, Mildred Cram, Lou Schor

• Technical Director:

  David D. Martin

• Production Director:

  Jane Huzienga

• Graphic Design:

  Marsha Navarro

• Short Story Author:

  Ernest Hemingway

REVIEWS:

• As blatant a piece of propaganda as has ever been produced, Home Town Story would be unwatchable were it not for its cast. Story was made under the supervision of General Motors, and its simplistic, hit-you-over-the-head screenplay is completely devoid of subtlety and nuance. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a movie that wishes to make a case for the advantages of Big Business; but to make one with as amateurish a screenplay as this and with as little regard for real character development and accuracy is simply insulting. It doesn't help that the lead is played by Jeffrey Lynn. Granted, his part is horrible, the kind of claptrap that can sink all but the most determined actors. Yet even considering that, Lynn's work here is substandard. Much better is Alan Hale, Jr., who doesn't have as much to do and whose part, while marginally better written, is still not a world beater. But Hale does a fine job, overcoming his material to make a real impression. Likewise, even though he has one of the most groan-inducing speeches in the whole film, Donald Crisp finds a way above his material. And a young Marilyn Monroe makes the most of her scant few minutes of screen time as well. These actors don't make Story worth watching, but if you gotta watch it, they make it easier to take. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Love Affair is among the most influential romance films of its era, a smooth tale of a shipboard romance and the obstacles that love must overcome. At the core of the film are the performances of Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne as the lovers. They make the audience want their love to succeed and overcome the obstacles in its way. Leo McCarey was among Hollywood's top commercial directors of the 1930s and 1940s, and Love Affair, with its 87-minute running time and brisk pace, is a good example of his skills. In the 1950s, McCarey attempted to become a more serious director, but the public rejected his propagandist anti-Communist films. The one success he found in the 1950s was a direct remake of Love Affair -- An Affair to Remember, which was the inspiration for the later hit Sleepless In Seattle. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi
• Featuring an unusual subject matter for a 1950s film, The Bigamist could easily have been turned into either a quickie exploitation flick or a heavy-handed moralizing trope on the sanctity of marriage. Instead, under director Ida Lupino's careful and sensitive guidance, the film manages the difficult trick of being sympathetic to the title character while at the same time condemning his actions. Although no classic -- it's a trifle too schematic and can't help but mix in a few too many clichés into the story -- The Bigamist is notable for its examination of a socially taboo subject and for the honesty with which it treats its characters and their milieus. As a director, Lupino also has an eye for telling detail, as in the manner in which the Chinese restaurant where Phyllis Martin (played by Lupino) works describes so much about the character and her world. Lupino the director gets a very fine performance from Lupino the actress and an even more impressive one from Edmond O'Brien, who handles the difficult role with seeming ease. As the first wife, Joan Fontaine is excellent, her familiar mannerisms well suited to the role. George Diskant's low-key photography also adds to the atmospheric proceedings. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• An old-fashioned, thoroughly hissable performance by that grand old trouper Ernest Torrence -- his last, incidentally -- buoys this equally old-fashioned melodrama, which, for the prurient, also includes a near-nude swim by Claudette Colbert. James Cruze had directed such silent-era classics as The Covered Wagon, but his talkie career proved disappointing, the relative success of I Cover the Waterfront notwithstanding. And even here Cruze seems reluctant to let Ray June's camera move much and the picture seems more dated than most 1933 productions. Filmed at the harbor in San Pedro, CA, and in Monterey, I Cover the Waterfront was the first release of independent company Reliance Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
• There's a nifty little romance-cum-farce hiding in Heartbeat, but it unfortunately only manages to peak its little head out every so often. This coyness is most unfortunate, and one only wishes that director Sam Wood and the various writers credited with the screenplay had been able to coax the film's better qualities out into the open more often. It's not all their fault, of course. One of the major impediments the film faces is in its central casting. Leading actress Ginger Rogers looks like quite a lovely woman in Heartbeat, but she most definitely does look a woman, not the almost-out-of-her-teens youth that the part calls for. Rogers overcompensates for the age discrepancy by flouncing about, and the effect is not credible. Although a very fine actress and often an expert comedienne, Rogers doesn't appear comfortable in the part, her age aside. For his part, Wood works with a much-too-obvious touch; a feathery Ernst Lubitsch touch is needed here, and Wood's lacks the delicacy and precision required. And while the screenwriters have supplied many amusing moments and touches, the film loses its footing in the second half, changing from a fairly original little comedy to a much-too-predictable romance. However, Jean-Pierre Aumont provides welcome charm and dash as the eventual man in Rogers' life, and Basil Rathbone is a sheer delight as the pickpocket teacher. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Susan Hayward's career was made with Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, the film that catapulted her to stardom and earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination. Something of a distaff answer to The Lost Weekend, Smash-Up would be welcome if it were nothing other than a vehicle for Hayward's no-holds-barred, bravura performance. That it also features an intelligent screenplay and assured direction is an unexpected bonus. While never hiding the fact that it is essentially a melodrama, the film's manipulations are carried off lightly; the viewer knows that he's being set up to have his emotions pulled one way or another, but it works so well that he really doesn't mind too much. Somehow, the writers have made the plot twists and turns seem inevitable rather than expected. There's also some very fine work from Eddie Albert and Marsha Hunt, and good (if less than dazzling) work from Lee Bowman. But it's Hayward's film all the way, and she delivers everything that's asked of her. One of the pleasant surprises is how touching, warm, and vulnerable the actress is. Her tough-broad persona, which came to border on camp in some of her later work, is present in this film, but it's only a part of her complex personality. Although Hayward would turn in performances that equaled her work here, none surpassed it. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Although The Joyless Street is remembered chiefly as the film that made an international star out of the legendary Greta Garbo, it's actually much more than a star showcase. Indeed, though Garbo dominates much of the film through her sheer star power, hers is actually a secondary role in what is essentially an ensemble drama. Even the part played by top-billed Asta Nielsen, at the time a much bigger established star than Garbo, is simply part of the larger cast. That's as it should be, for Street is not about any one person but about a time, a place and, above all, a society that was perilously divided into two very unequal parts. Director G.W. Pabst and scenarist Willy Haas have created a social conscience melodrama that is enormously powerful; it's manipulative at times, but there's such commitment behind it that most viewers won't mind. Pabst is excellent at exploring the bleakness and despair of the residents of the Street and contrasting it with the amorality and immorality of the upper classes, who think nothing of spreading false rumors that will destroy many but will increase their own already considerable wealth. Money exerts a powerful grip on almost all the characters, whether through greed or necessity, and Pabst demonstrates how it can become a dangerously controlling force. The director is helped immensely by the atmospheric lensing of Robert Lach and Guido Seeber, and even more so by his cast. Garbo is wonderful, more vibrant and alive than she was often allowed to be in her Hollywood outings, yet still having that world-weary air; the battle between the two conditions exemplifies the battle her character also undergoes. Nielsen is also striking, giving a performance that is imbued with tremendous nuance; even in her bizarre "mad" costume, she is mesmerizing. Werner Krauss is appropriately villainous, and the rest of the cast is quite good. Street was heavily censored and mercilessly mutilated in many countries, including the U.S., when it was originally released; viewers should be wary of any version that is considerably shorter than 96 minutes. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Gypsy Rose Lee, who brought a veneer of erudition to the image of the striptease artist, published a best-selling mystery novel (ghostwritten by Craig Rice) in the early '40s called The G-String Murders. Former MGM producer Hunt Stromberg purchased the rights, and, with a tight screen adaptation by author James Gunn and with director William Wellman at the helm, used this film adaptation to make his debut as an independent producer. Wellman does a superb job of melding the story's mix of backstage theater ambience, mystery, musical, comedy, and romance, some of which is reminiscent in certain ways of the Thin Man movies that Stromberg oversaw at MGM, although Lady of Burlesque is grittier than those class-conscious comedy-mysteries in just about every way possible. Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea are the focal point of the story, a seemingly mismatched romantic couple who spend as much time bickering as they do solving the three crimes at hand, which start to come up surprisingly late, more than 40 minutes into the story. Released in April of 1943, but very deliberately set in the late '30s, before Mayor LaGuardia closed the burlesque houses in New York, the film treads a fine and delicate line, weaving a fascinating tale of overlapping jealousies and lusts leading to murder amid the surprisingly earthy and realistically detailed background of burlesque as it was (though this could, with fewer scantilly clad young actresses decorating most of its scenes, have been just as realistic a depiction of any low-rent theatrical setting). The characters feel as real as their environment, with Stanwyck convincingly portraying a flawed but plucky heroine (with an articulation clearly modeled on author Lee's image). O'Shea, her egocentric yet self-mocking would-be lover, and the supporting players -- from Iris Adrian's brassy portrayal of Stanwyck's gal pal and Pinky Lee's eccentric comic antics down to the actors portraying the stage hands and hangers-on -- are perfect in their parts. Viewers should also pay special attention to J. Edward Bromberg, as the kindly owner of the burlesque house, in a quiet portrayal that adds some depth to the breezy proceedings. Not all of it hangs together perfectly, as the film slows down a bit from the frantic, Howard Hawks-like pacing of its first 50 minutes, once the first murder is discovered. The mix of humor and police procedural elements gets pushed about as far as the script and the actors could carry it, with Charles Dingle's gruff, crafty police inspector playing straight man to O'Shea and Pinky Lee. But those bits of theatrical business aside, which almost break the spell, there are also all kinds of fascinating details to take in, sandwiched in the overlapping dialogue and the breakneck pacing, such as the sympathy that Stanwyck's character expresses for the Chinese kitchen workers next door (with a wartime reference that should have been anachronism but wasn't -- China was fighting Japan in 1938) and the references to Prohibition and the bootleg liquor racket as fairly recently ended activities. As much as any movie ever made as pure entertainment, which this is, Lady of Burlesque is also a tour through time and a look at a past that was already disappearing as it was being made -- and it's also got a great score and a hot number ("Take It Off the E-String") at the center of its music. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
• Too Late for Tears is a low-budget film noir that, if not quite a real gem, is a mighty good cubic zirconia. Coincidence is a noir staple, a not surprising fact when you consider that so many of these films deal on one level or another with the inexorability of fate; but some may find the level of coincidence in Tears a little off-putting. The screenplay also gets a little talky in places; this in itself is not bad, but the dialogue just misses having that little extra punch and crackle that the best noirs pride themselves on. Still, these little deficiencies don't seriously damage the film; and the plot, basic set-up and characters more than make up for these flaws. Also of considerable help are the performances of crime film staples Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea. Deep-voiced and throaty, Scott can always be counted on to give a femme fatale her all, but she goes all out in the role of Jane Palmer, using her many considerable wiles to great effect and creating a character that the viewer can't help but root for, even as he waits for her to get her comeuppance. Duryea matches her as Danny Fuller, the tough guy who finds he's out of his depth with Jane. Arthur Kennedy is fine as husband Alan Palmer, but Don DeFore is a bit weak as Don Blake, the mysterious stranger claiming to be a friend; a stronger personality is needed to hold the screen against Scott. Byron Haskin directs with skill and creates fine tension and atmosphere, also making good use of location shots. Too Late for Tears is no Double Indemnity, but fans of such films will be delighted to come across it. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• The Fat Spy is a dreadful comedy that is almost entirely devoid of intentional laughs, but which may very well provide camp-lovers with some unintended howlers. Those expecting from the title a spoof of James Bond should be warned that Spy is really a spoof of Frankie and Annette "beach movies," if it can really be said to be a spoof of anything. The comedy is extremely obvious, the jokes rarely land except with a thud, and the pacing and timing are almost always off. The story is total nonsense, an attempt to capture some of the looseness associated with the better "Road" pictures but without an ounce of inspiration or originality. The few attempts at originality -- discovering that one of the character's real names is "Rapunzel Fingernail" (?) -- are simply embarrassing. Joseph Cates directs ineptly, unable to establish a consistent style or tone and seemingly unconcerned about pacing. Phyllis Diller and Jack E. Leonard try to do what they can, but she pushes much too hard and he pulls in such a different direction that neither achieves much to speak of. Jayne Mansfield is around for some snickers. Some of the music, while not great, is pleasant in a conservative-sixties-pop kind of way. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• A tremendous hit when first released, The Snows of Kilimanjaro has not aged well over the years. Almost any screen adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway tale is faced with a difficulty: Hemingway's strong suit is his style, which is heightened and artificial. It works beautifully on the page, but translated into actual dialogue, it comes across as both flighty and stiff, and quite unnatural. Casey Robinson's screenplay does a decent job of bringing things halfway back to earth, but it ends up in a bit of a no-man's land, not really Hemingway, but not quite the real world either. Visually, however, Kilimanjaro is a feast, with Leon Shamroy's camera capturing the full beauty of its often-stunning locations and also finding emotion -- warmth, joy, and tension -- in the "character" scenes. The art direction is lovely, and the trio of stars is very, very easy on the eyes, especially the delectable Ava Gardner. Gardner and Gregory Peck create the appropriate romantic chemistry, and audiences will be drawn in by their performances, but Susan Hayward is unfortunately wasted in a role that gives her too little to do. Despite the flaws in its screenplay (and in Henry King's direction, which is uneven), there's still enough here to engage most fans of romance movies. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• Carnival Story is a fairly ho-hum melodrama that has a colorful background and a game cast going for it, but not much else. Nothing in Carnival's screenplay really feels right; everything has been rigged simply for the sake of creating effect. As a result, viewers must watch Anne Baxter suffer abuse at the hands of Steve Cochran time and again and come back for more without ever having a reason to believe that she would actually behave in this way. There's a great deal of drama that can be mined out of such a situation, but the bite of reality has to be there in order to make it worth while. There's also something just not right about Baxter in this carnival setting; she doesn't seem to belong there. Had the filmmakers used this "otherness" creatively, it might have made for some interesting depth. Instead, it just makes things awkward. For her part, Baxter tries hard and does well. She's not ideally cast, but when she finds the parts of the character that suit her, she drives them home. Steve Cochran, Lyle Bettger and George Nader are fine as the various love interests. They, too, are hampered by the writing but make the most of things. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi