Legally Blonde

Amazon.com

If you've ever doubted how much a star can carry a movie, look no further than Legally Blonde, Robert Luketic's pop fluff about a sorority girl who becomes the reigning brain at Harvard Law School. The film tries way too hard to be pop fluff, but thankfully it also understands the comic glories of Reese Witherspoon. As Elle Woods, the supposedly dimwitted heroine, Witherspoon gives a high-wattage performance that somehow comes across as both lusciously cartoonish and warmly human. It's a radiant comic turn worthy of Marilyn Monroe, and Luketic throws the whole movie at her, even though its intentional kitsch and sledgehammer contrivances don't trust you enough to figure out on your own what might be guilty fun about it. It's a lame movie, essentially, that redeems itself by knowing just enough to keep things sunny and moving right along. The film is content to follow several steps behind the regal Witherspoon, carrying her train. You probably will be, too. --Steve Wiecking

Description

She's a California sorority girl who'll do anything to keep her man. Even if it means going all theway'to law school! Reese Witherspoon (Election) stars with Luke Wilson (Charlie's Angels), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Matthew Davis (Pearl Harbor) and Victor Garber (Titanic) in a knock-out comedy with a heart of goldand hair to match! Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a California blonde with couture clothes, fabulous friends and the hottest boyfriend on campus. So when Warner Huntington III (Davis) suddenly dumps her and heads for Harvard Law School, Elletakes matters into her own perfectly manicured hands. She enrolls too! Now getting Warner back should be a snap, right? Wrong! Elle's about to begin the toughest fight of her lifefor love, honor, justice and respect for blondes everywhere!

Customer Reviews:

A funny piece of pink fluff.......2007-09-12

This funny and fastpaced movie is the best remedy for a rainy day or finding out, like Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon), that your handsome boyfriend Warner Huntington III(Matthew Davis) has just dumped you. The plot is cute and doesn't claim to be "cerebral." There's nothing really to the story beyond the adventures/misadventures of a California Blonde at Harvard Law School. Her snooty, uppercrusty classmates look down their noses at her because of how she dresses, speaks, and acts...to their way of thinking, Elle is laughably unsophisticated and lacking in taste, with neither a history of social progressivism with which to pad her resume nor a sense of genetic superiority. They are certain she doesn't belong at such a distinguished Ivy covered institution as Harvard. Elle, however, is determined to show them that a girl who doesn't wear argyle and loves to get her nails painted when she's under stress can be anything she wants to be. Every bit a funny piece of pink fluff. Enjoy!

Don't Judge a Girl on How She Looks.......2007-09-11

Elle Woods may look really dumb, but you should never be fooled by the appreance of a person. This LA babe would do anything to get her man back, even that means she needs to get into Harvard .Although the story is fictional, but I find it very inspiring. Elle Woods comes to Harvard Law School for the wrong reasons, however she discovered what her heart truely desires through hard work, trust and supports from other good-hearted people. It is a beautiful and funny tale of courage, confidence and miracle. I believe that Legally Blonde is one of the best in its genre, entertaining yet philosophical.

Warning: the sequel is quite unsuccessful in comparison to this masterpiece.

Unconventional Road to Self Discovery.......2007-07-02

Based on the novel of the same name by Amanda Brown, this 2001 comedy is about the losses and gains experienced by a priviledged young woman from California, and her ultimate self-empowerment.
Elle Woods(as played by a multi-dimensional Reese Witherspoon) is the President of her Sorority, Delta Nu. A neighbor of TV producer Aaron Spelling during her formative years, her world revolves around fashion and frivolity, although we see signs of underlying intelligence when a sales clerk who views her as "a dumb blonde with Daddy's plastic" is taught a lesson.
We meet the beloved Sorority Queen on the day she expects a proposal from her long-time boy friend, Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis). Instead of a marriage proposal, Warner breaks up with Elle during their evening out, explaining that his family back East expect a lot from him, and that marrying a "Jackie" instead of a "Marilyn" will be more conducive to his family's desires, if he wants to be a Senator.
The spurned young woman spends the next few days behind the closed doors of her dorm room, with only her chiahuahua/favorite accessory Bruiser (Moonie) for companionship. Her stereotypically ditzy sorority sisters, Margot and Serena (Jessica Caufiell, Alanna Ubach) finally draw her out of her pink cocoon, and take her for a manicure. There is a comical moment where Serena converses in Chinese with a manicurist, which gives her a little more depth. While reading a "Fox and Hound" magazine in the waiting room, Elle sees a photo of Warner's brother with his fiancee, breifly discusses the fiancee's credentials with the customer sitting next to her(Natalie Barish), and decides to attend Harvard Law School to win Warner back.
Elle's parents (James Read, and Tane McClure) are not very encouraging in this endeavor, nor is her advisor (Allyce Beasley) as Elle does not have the academic background for it. Still, she passes her LSAT test, and sends and admissions video, for which it requires some suspension of disbelief to think that the pop-eyed, bow-tied Admissions Committee would deem acceptable.
Elle creates quite a stir upon her arrival at Harvard, but remains fairly oblivious to comments and stares about her eccentricities in manner and dress.
She finally locates Warner, who is stunned that she got into Harvard, and during a class for which she is ill-prepared, is shown up by a small, pallid, mahogony-tressed Vivian Kensington(Selma Blair), whom, to her great distress, she learns is Warner's fiancee.
Along the way, she receives help and advice from Emmett Richmond (a well-cast, kind, and encouraging Luke Wilson, whose performance hits all the right notes), and a cathartic chat with manicurist Paulette Bonafonte (Jennifer Coolidge), which will be bright spots along her journey.
Gradually, she overcomes rejection and humiliation by her classmates through perseverance, and attention to details others neglect, winning friends and influencing people.
She helps Paulette with a legal matter, and in getting a date with a handsome UPS guy (Bruce Thomas), and the mutual friendship between the law student and manicurist is a delightful cornerstone of this film.
Gradually, Vivian warms to her, and the two share a laugh about Warner's idiosyncracies.
One of Elle's more intriguing classmates--the character as well as the actor himself-- is the sweet, awkward David Kidney, portrayed by Oz Perkins, with the eyes of his father, Anthony, who does great justice to his acting pedigree. Sadly, he would only have a little more than a month to enjoy the success of this film before enduring the shattering loss of his mother, Berry Berenson, in the 9-11 Disaster.
Elle's opinionatedness in Professor Callahan's(Victor Garber's)class appears to earn her an internship with Callahan's law firm, and she, Warner, Vivian, David, and Enid Wexler(Meredith Scott Lynn) work on a murder case under Callahan's supervison. The task also reunites Elle with Emmett.
The case is a high profile one involving the slaying of a wealthy 60-year-old man, allegedly by his young second wife, Brooke Taylor Windham (Ali Larter), a member of Elle's sorority, and a wealthy fitness instructor of whom Elle was once a student.
Raquel Welch appears as the ex-wife of the murdered man, with a perfect upper-crust accent, Linda Cardellini is her daughter, Chutney, and Greg Serano is the pool boy, Enrique Salvatore.
There are comical moments when Elle tries to coax an alibi from Brooke, bringing her a basket of beauty aids and " the Bible" (a copy of "Cosmopolitan" magazine), and later discovers evidence to discredit a witness in a way that only a Cosmo Girl can, with Emmett sneaking up on his blind side in the process.
Elle suffers a major setback when she discovers the real reason Callahan wanted her as an intern, but Professor Stromwell(Holland Taylor) goads Elle into having a bit more backbone and stick-to-itiveness.
Brooke fires Callahan, and hires Elle, who under Emmett's supervision, solves the case, much to her own amazement and everyone else's.
Warner, whose true character has been revealed throughout the film in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, finally views Elle as a worthy marriage partner, but Elle has her own ideas about their future relationship.
A glittering musical score accompanies our heroine as she walks out of the courtroom and into a very bright future, with a meaningful career and a wonderful life partner just on the horizon.

Excellent light entertainment.......2007-06-22

So much is great about this film. Ok, it's not flawless - there are a couple of really silly bits - like the courtroom scene with the pool cleaner's guilty admission and his boyfriend's response. But it's great, feel-good fun. Very well directed, tight script for the most-part and the performances are all great.

Fun--but not strictly a no brainer.......2007-05-30

Cases can hinge on haircare--and not everyone is as they seem. The film was mindless fun on one level, but teaches you really do need to look a little bit deeper sometimes.

Clearly it's fantasy, but a lot of fun.

Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection (Seven Year Itch / Gentlement Prefer Blondes / Niagara / River of No Return / Let's Make Love / Marilyn: The Final Days)

Average customer rating:

A Great Compilation!
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection
Marilyn Monroe at her best
I love this lady!

Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection (Seven Year Itch / Gentlement Prefer Blondes / Niagara / River of No Return / Let's Make Love / Marilyn: The Final Days)
Starring: Marilyn Monroe , Joseph Cotten , Jean Peters , Max Showalter , and Denis O'Dea
Director: Henry Hathaway , Billy Wilder , and Patty Ivins Specht
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EMGJAY
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Description

Collection Includes the following Titles:

**SEVEN YEAR ITCH **GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES **NIAGARA **RIVER OF NO RETURN **LET'S MAKE LOVE **MARILYN: THE FINAL DAYS

Customer Reviews:

A Great Compilation!.......2007-07-17

I love this set! It is a really nice display item as well, as it sits nicely on a shelf and has a wonderful picture of Marilyn on there.

Marilyn Monroe.......2007-01-10

While this set doesn't have all the Marilyn Monroe movies, it is a good set to have. Marilyn is beautiful in all of the enclosed movies. She acted various parts and did so in different ways. This set is a good start for anyone beginning a Monroe collection!

Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection.......2007-01-10

I bought this DVD set for my father for his birthday. He just turned 83 years old and he absolutely have always adored Marilyn Monroe and he was so thrilled when he got the set and he said the color on the DVD cover was absolutely beautiful and he (my parents and I are deaf) was happy that the movies was subtitled and he was able to fully understand everything which in back of old days, the movies were not captioned and he would just guess what the stories were about but now he does not have to play guess anymore.

Marilyn Monroe at her best.......2007-01-09

I bought this as a gift for my 15 year old neice! Marilyn is at her best in these classics! She never goes out of style! I would recommend this set to any one that either wanted to start collecting all of her movies or just the best ones.

I love this lady!.......2007-01-03

great movies!. I think she made a great suductress, also she has an awesome body, not a twig like the ladies of today.

Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White & Blonde (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Reese & Sally: What were you thinking?!?!
Even Bob Newhart Couldn't Save This Sequel
Red, White & Bland
disappointed
Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White & Blonde (Special Edition)

Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White & Blonde (Special Edition)
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Sally Field , Regina King , Jennifer Coolidge , and Bruce McGill
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JM55
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Amazon.com

The winning comic finesse of Reese Witherspoon drives Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde. It's astonishing that the sequel could possibly be daffier than the first movie, but Legally Blonde 2 leaves reality behind like an unflattering outfit. Unemployed lawyer Elle Woods (Witherspoon) sets off to our nation's capitol to ban cosmetics testing on animals, after discovering that her beloved chihuahua's own mother is being used as a test subject. Washington, D.C., becomes a testing ground for Elle's mettle, as she grapples with callous committees, backstabbing representatives, and devious aides to get her bill considered by Congress, with some help from her sorority sisters and her hairdresser friend Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind). Witherspoon bursts with charisma and dazzles with sheer performing skill; she's the comic heir to screwball comedienne Carole Lombard--which is high praise. Also featuring Bob Newhart and Sally Field. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Reese & Sally: What were you thinking?!?!.......2007-08-10

Awful! How could you assemble the original cast and still come up with such a turd? Who wrote this thing? It is awful! Reese scored big in the original Legally Blonde, but this one is a rambling mess that attempts to recreate some of the magic and fails miserably. This isn't even worth watching on a rainy afternoon. AVOID!

Even Bob Newhart Couldn't Save This Sequel.......2007-07-31

I loved Legally Blonde, but the sequel was so bad as to approach parody of the first movie. The only bright spot was Bob Newhart in a minor role, but even his performance didn't make this movie worth two hours of my life.

Red, White & Bland.......2007-07-06

I'm a bit at odds with Legally Blonde 2. The tension between the real world and Elle's naivete which constituted the parameters in the first film's dialectic (and which gave it meaning) is here wanting. Her opposition are straw dogs set up to bring Elle's ingenuity into relief. Her artless, winning ways are ridden on the "means and ways committee" of Elle's too easily won-over circle of admirers. They must have all seen her come out on top in the first movie since her accomplishments are cited by Regina King's impressive lawyer early on.

The situations are entertaining, but silly (and in some instances tasteless). And that's okay too. Silliness can be entertaining, but not emotionally engaging, and that's where the film breaks ranks from the earlier effort.

Witherspoon is still fun to watch in her take-no-prisoners Pollyanna ways that proably sounds a ubiquitous chord. Regina King more than ably fills the shoes of Selma Blair's similarly agonistic role, as an intolerant, envious lawyer who finally lets her inherent decency get the better of her.

The movie? Too bad it all seems like a rehash of the first one, at best; at worst, a bit too silly and predictable.

Frank De Canio

disappointed.......2007-05-21

unfortunately I have been unable to watch this DVD.iT IS NOT PLAYABLE ON MY EQUIPMENT.iT IS THE FIRST TIME i HAVE BOUGHT A dvd OVER THE INTERNET AND MAYBE i DIDN'T ORDER PROPERLY.dON'T THINK i WILL TRY AGAIN----EXPENSIVE MISTAKE.

Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White & Blonde (Special Edition).......2007-04-11

Too funny...have to get it so you can watch it over and over!!!

Average customer rating:

Judi Is The Blonde Bombshell
Nostalgia
Great coming of Third Age tale
Good TV movie made with only modest aspirations
Fancy a bit of fun, Dearie?

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
Starring: Judi Dench , Ian Holm , Leslie Caron , Olympia Dukakis , and Cleo Laine
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
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ASIN: B000053VAO
Release Date: 2001-02-20

Amazon.com

Perennial Oscar(r) nominee Judi Dench shakes off the dust of period pieces to play a sassy widow looking to recapture a little of the excitement of her youth: she was the star saxophone player of a World War II-era all-girl dance band. Yanking her instrument from mothballs, she starts blowing the old standards as a street musician, much to the horror of her cultured children (they prefer symphonies to swing classics), and then hatches a plan to track down her band mates for a gala reunion at her granddaughter's school dance. The script carries little suspense and few surprises, but the cast is a delight. Ian Holm costars as the band's womanizing drummer (in a dress and a platinum blonde wig), a rascally old rogue who seduced almost every member during their brief wartime run and married half of them in the intervening years. Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck) is their trombonist, a hard-drinking American widow living it up in a Scottish castle; jazz great Cleo Laine is a trumpeter turned torch singer; and Leslie Caron cameos as their brassy bass player. Joan Sims (a fixture of the Carry On movies), Billie Whitelaw (Quills), and June Whitfield (the mother on Absolutely Fabulous) are among the great British character actors who join the fun. The old broads bring sass to the sentimentality in this fluffy, feel-good, made-for-cable comedy, insisting there is not only life after 60, but that it swings sweetly if only you let it. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Judi Is The Blonde Bombshell.......2007-08-27

What a delightful, fun, family movie. It spans the generations with a little something for everyone. There is some adult content that wouldn't be suitable for young children. It would be great fun for a grandmother and teenage grandaughter to see together, since grandchildren are often more in tune with their grandparents than are the offspring themselves. Suffice to say that Judi Dench uses her many talents to bring the bombshell to life!

Nostalgia.......2007-07-14

This is a fairly entertaining HBO film, worthy especially because of Judi Dench, who gives yet another first class performance. But the script is extraordinarily superficial, and its moral overtone is tedious: all that matters in life is to be young and have sex. The Christian in the film is considered a loony. While the Olympia Dukakis character, a many times married drunk, is just a heck of a lot of fun. And so on. The flashbacks to the 1940s are not at all persuasive, especially the makeup. And the sound that tiny band produces is made in fact by a much larger group. The actors do pretty well at pretending to be musicians, with the notable exception of Leslie Caron. Cleo Laine's presence in the film is gratuitous, and the camera should have avoided closeups. In short, here is a happy, silly, predictable, narcissistic flick worthy of HBO. Still, Judi Dench is something to behold.

Great coming of Third Age tale.......2007-05-29

What do you do after your husband of many years dies? Elizabeth (Dench) went to the library twice a week, babysat her granddaughter and that was life enough--til she heard a street busker and took her clandestine saxophone practice to the streets.

Her grand-daughter encourages Elizabeth to re-form her old swing band, "The Blonde Bombshells" for her school dance. That takes some effort--a couple are dead, one's crazy, one's joined the Salvation Army...

But nothing can stop Elizabeth when she's set her mind to something. The resulting story is witty, winning and well worth owning. This film would make a great gift for any woman or man who's entering the third age and looking for some inspiration.

Good TV movie made with only modest aspirations.......2007-04-17

This is a pleasant little movie about a bunch of septuagenarians having a graceful last fling--or perhaps beginning a series of graceful last flings. It is a sort of roll call for some great old girls, ballasted by the presence of Ian Holm, playing a transvestite part at second hand. (Don't ask.) It offers some good forties-style big band numbers and a couple of fine Cleo Laine songs. And if Laine's musical style happens to be incorrect for the intended period, who really cares?

This is a TV movie made without high goals.

It could and should have been better. The whole thing, rebuilding the band to the contrary, is conceived as a long dying fall. The Blonde Bombshells are a band destined to go gentle into that good night. No raging against the loss of light for them. Both the script and the direction avoid triumph. At the climax, where there might just as easily have been a YEAH! moment, there is only a wistful smile and a vision of things past.

This is true not only of the script but of the musical score. In the end, as was inevitable from the first frame of this picture, the reconstituted Blonde Bombshells get the joint jumping with a swinging tune. Having attained that high point, it is immediately squelched by the following wistfully downbeat number. Reverse those two and the audience would be dancing around the screen.

Solid, well-acted, some good music, certainly entertaining--but a movie that sets its sights a little too low.

Four stars.

DVD STUFF: There are no bells and whistles. You pay your penny and you get your movie. That's all.

A TRIFLING OBSERVATION: Leslie Caron must have one heck of a manager. I'd be surprised if she had as many as half a dozen lines, but she has third billing in the credits.

Fancy a bit of fun, Dearie?.......2007-03-31

Some moviies lie buried under the latest box office statistics and smothered by the youth-fixated executives that run the business - but the DVD and VCR make it possible for you to dig them up and appreciate them for the treasures they are. This is one of them - an enjoyable film about grownups who find pleasures in life - making music and finding old friends, and sharing their best with their children. Actually, their grandchildren, since the children are often stuffy about what their parents are really like. Certainly, Dame Judi's are scandalized when she whips out her old saxaphone and starts blowing on street corners with a street musician. Not all of her audience is unappreciative: she gets a note from Ian Holm that says "Fancy a bit of fun, dearie?"

Well, do you? There's more than a bit of fun to be had here, especially when Olympia Dukakis blows that trumpet. And wait till you see Leslie Caron on a bull fiddle!

Average customer rating:

One of the best
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Brash, sassy and fun!
The film crowned Monroe in her position as the nation's new 'Love Goddess.'
"Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it"

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Starring: Jane Russell , Marilyn Monroe , Charles Coburn , Elliott Reid , and Tommy Noonan
Director: Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: Fox Home Entertainment
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ASIN: B000FG65RQ
Release Date: 2006-05-22

Product Description

These glamorous showgirls have everything a girl could want - except engagement rings! In a quest for true love, Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and her gold digger pal Dorothy (Jane Russell) set sail on a luxury-liner bound for France. But the pair hits rocky waters when a manipulative detective, an over-aged, over sexed millionaire (Charles Coburn) and the entire men's Olympic team try to put an anchor in their marriage-minded mischief. It's a wild and joyously funny ride across the Atlantic as our bathing beauties plan and plot a way to land their men.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 97 minutes

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com essential video

Anita Loos's old story from the 1920s about a pair of single women in search of husbands gets a makeover in Howard Hawks's 1953 musical, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as friends who go to Paris looking for mates. The film is charged by Hawks's stylish snap, a famous set piece or two (Monroe descending that staircase while singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"), Russell's wit, and songs by Leo Robin and Jule Styne. The film may largely be a fluff project best remembered as a showcase for its leading actresses, but then Monroe and Russell rarely got such extended opportunities to prove that they were more than cinematic icons. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

One of the best.......2007-07-19

While Marilyn Monroe was, in my opinion, never a "great" actress she does a good job in this role which almost seems to have been written for her (it wasn't, it was a stage play first). Jane Russell is, as always, gorgeous and serves as the perfect companion for Marilyn. This film is funny, entertaining and well worth watching. It makes you miss the good old days when Hollywood knew how to make movies.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.......2007-05-07

First class service . Wonderful movie brings back lots of memories of happy times.

Brash, sassy and fun!.......2007-02-07

A kiss on the hand
May be quite continental,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.

A kiss may be grand
But it won't pay the rental
On your humble flat
Or help you at the automat.

Men grow cold
As girls grow old,
And we all lose our charms in the end.

But square-cut or pear-shaped,
These rocks don't loose their shape.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Tiffany's!
Cartier!
Black Starr!
Frost Gorham!
Talk to me Harry Winston.
Tell me all about it!

There may come a time
When a lass needs a lawyer,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.

There may come a time
When a hard-boiled employer
Thinks you're awful nice,
But get that ice or else no dice.

He's your guy
When stocks are high,
But beware when they start to descend.

It's then that those louses
Go back to their spouses.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gave Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell the perfect opportunity to showcase their numerous talents. They sing beautiful numbers including "(We're Just) Two Little Girls From Little Rock;" "Bye Bye Baby;" "Ain't There Anyone Here For Love" and "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend." When Marilyn and Jane dance to some of these numbers their beauty and talent strike the viewer as incredible. Tommy Noonan turns in a strong and convincing performance as Gus Esmond, the American man who wants to marry Lorelei, who is played by Marilyn Monroe. Charles Coburn and Norma Varden perform as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman and Lady Beekman, super rich people who got their wealth from diamond mining in South Africa. The crisp, clear color reflects the hard work to restore this movie and the sound is excellent, too! Jule Styne and Leo Robin provide wonderful music and lyrics for the classic songs in this picture.

The film starts as Lorelei and her girlfriend Dorothy Shaw embark on a ship for France. Although Dorothy plans to chaperone Lorelei, Lorelei has different plans and soon Dorothy's quest for a man distracts her from overseeing Lorelei anyway. The ship carries a male Olympic relay team and they certainly attract Dorothy's attention. A cast of characters are also on board, the most notable of which are Sir Beekman, who longs for an affair with a younger woman. His wife, Lady Beekman, travels with him. These characters all together on the same ship prove to be the ultimate formula for high jinks on both the high seas and overseas! Lorelei and Dorothy proceed to sink their claws into rich men for their money. However, unbeknownst to Lorelei, her fiancé's father, Mr. Esmond, Sr., employs a detective onboard. The detective, Ernie Malone, must follow Lorelei and find evidence that she will be unfaithful to her fiancé Gus Esmond. Mr. Esmond, Sr. can then destroy all plans for the wedding of Lorelei and Gus. Gus's father believes that such a marriage would be unsuitable for his son.

The scenes in Paris offer stunning backdrops and a wonderful idea of what Paris looked like in the early 1950s. After a few ups and downs Lorelei and Dorothy unexpectedly appear to be in a lot of financial trouble and they get jobs in a show to make money. Lorelei performs the unforgettable song and dance number "Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend" with male back up dancers. However, things become even more complicated when Lorelei stands accused of stealing a tiara that belonged to Lady Beekman. Actually, Sir Beekman gave the tiara to Lorelei in a weak moment because he found her to be beautiful--too bad he never told Lady Beekman! Lorelei and Dorothy sing the beautiful number "When Love Goes Wrong (Nothing Goes Right)." The cops begin to nip at their heels and Lorelei--or someone quite like her--appears in court because Lady Beekman wants her tiara returned to her. The ensuing court scene boasts a comedic, campy quality to it. Awesome!

Do things work themselves out at the end of this picture? Well, folks, there are no spoilers here--watch this movie and see for yourselves!

Marilyn Monroe fans will thrill to this great picture and Jane Russell fans will enjoy it just as much. People who enjoy musical comedies will also like this picture.

The film crowned Monroe in her position as the nation's new 'Love Goddess.'.......2006-12-31

Jane Russell's lack of ego and Monroe's sense of fun meshed perfectly when they co-starred in Anita Loos' light-hearted satire of the old adage that when a woman goes bad, men go right after her...

Monroe was a wonder in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." She comes into the film looking like a winner, and leaves as one... The picture has been set by the tone of her personality, set just so fully, let us say, as Ingmar Bergman leaves his mood on every scene...

Her personality infuses every corner of the film as if she has even picked the scenery to work for her... So the movie rises above its pretext, its story, its existence as a musical, even its music, and becomes at its best a magic work, yet it is a comic bubble without weight or solemnity, another piece of spun sugar come up out of everything banal in entertainment...

But Marilyn remains a great comedian, a sexual delight, especially when she sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." The film crowned Monroe in her position as the nation's new 'Love Goddess' with the promise of many sparkling hits to come, and Jane Russell's career continued, with less fanfare, but very successfully for several more years...

"Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it".......2006-09-10

I must confess I had forgotten just how good this movie actually is. The plot involves the adventures of one gold digger (Monroe) and one man hungry vamp (Russell). While I must confess that for Monroe this probably was her starmaking role, Russell really shines in the role of Dorothy, who inevitably must play Ethel to Marilyn Monroe's Lucy.

The tone is set for this movie by the opening number which involves Russell and Monroe singing about "The Man from Little Rock." I am not sure how much effort was put into shooting this particular number, but Russell and Monroe are so striking that even the dead probably would take notice and burst into applause.

This movie is famous for the "Diamonds are a girl's best Friend" number that Monroe did and Madonna copied in her "Material Girl" video. However, for my money, Russell certainly shows her considerable star quality when she parodies this number in the subsequent court room scene. No wonder Russell impressed Howard Hughes in her heyday. Hopefully she will be the subject of one of the box set tribute collections.

In short, this movie is a pure delight and well worth repeated watchings. It is worth the price of admission to see two great stars at the height of their powers.

Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Average customer rating:

Good prints, variable films, lousy packaging
Marlene Dietrich film collection
Excellent Marlene Deitrich Movies.
Slap in the face to a movie icon!!!
bad luck or bad service?

Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)
Starring: Marlene Dietrich , Lionel Atwill , Edward Everett Horton , Alison Skipworth , and Cesar Romero
Director: Josef von Sternberg , and Mitchell Leisen
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E6ESXK
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Amazon.com

Marlene Dietrich was one of the cinema's glorious creatures, an elegant arrangement of bone structure and silver light, blessed with a sly sense of humor. Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection assembles five titles featuring la Dietrich at her best, with a special emphasis on one of the great Hollywood director-star collaborations.

Dietrich and director Josef von Sternberg met in Germany when he plucked her from obscurity for the starring role of The Blue Angel, after which she came to America and instant stardom. A string of films with Sternberg created her image as an exotic source of fascination, both ethereal and sexually knowing. Three of those outings are included in this package. Morocco, their first Hollywood movie together, is a delirious look at a cabaret singer taken with a Foreign Legion soldier (the young Gary Cooper). Dressed in masculine clothes for her act, Dietrich already displays a sexual confidence that fairly burns off the screen. Blonde Venus has a soap opera-ish plot about a woman's fall and rise, but Dietrich's commitment to the part is complete; plus, there's an outrageous faux-African number that begins with Dietrich dressed in a gorilla costume. Cary Grant looks on in astonishment.

The Devil Is a Woman is an unmitigated Sternberg-Dietrich masterpiece, and their final movie together. Here Marlene is a Spanish vixen making life exciting and miserable for Lionel Atwill (a lookalike stand-in for Josef von Sternberg himself). The film is an eye-popping light-painting draped with feathers, mesh, and confetti, all of which are in service to a fundamentally serious inquiry into the knotty business of men and women.

Putting three of the Paramount Dietrich-Sternberg films in this collection and leaving out the other three is either carelessness or marketing strategy. In any case, the other two movies in this package are not at the same level, but certainly good fun. The Flame of New Orleans, director Rene Clair's first Hollywood picture, is a gorgeously photographed comedy with a delightful role for its star. Dietrich is stuck choosing between aristocrat Roland Young and rough sailor Bruce Cabot. The look on her face as she listens to helpful advice about wedding-night conjugal realities from a matron is a riot of erotic mischief. Golden Earrings is a crazy story about Ray Milland getting stuck behind German lines in the early days of WWII, and being taken in by gypsy girl Dietrich. Even here, nearly 20 years after her first stardom, she's still Dietrich. The hair may be dyed black, but the cheekbones are unmistakable. --Robert Horton

Description

Undeniably one of the most beautiful and dazzling actresses to ever grace the silver screen, Marlene Dietrich was renowned for her sultry voice and her alluring "bedroom eyes." This unprecedented 5-movie collection pays homage to the legendary Oscar®-nominated leading lady whose extraordinary talents revolutionized cinema and inspired passion in audiences around the globe. See Marlene in her American movie debut as a glamorous cabaret singer in Morocco; experience the heart-wrenching anguish of a woman torn between two men, her successful career on stage and her child in Blonde Venus; join in the mystery and mayhem of Spain's Carnevale in The Devil Is a Woman; hit the road to jewels and jeopardy in The Flame of New Orleans; and be seduced by a lusty gypsy on a secret mission during World War II in Golden Earrings. It's a stunning tribute to a screen siren who remains one of the most fascinating women of all time.

Customer Reviews:

Good prints, variable films, lousy packaging.......2007-06-21

This is a very cheap DVD set so you get what you pay for - 5 films of the legendary Marlene Dietrich in excellent condition with no extras except a couple of trailers and poor packaging with no labels and 2 disks, one of which has a blank side. I don't mind the lack of extras at the price but the confusion in locating each film is a pain and the DVDs are "sticky" due to the cramming.

As for the films themselves, the selection is fair with 3 from the Von Sternberg era in the early thirties and 2 from the forties. It is arguable whether Dietrich was ever much of an actress, certainly not in the same league as her contemporary Greta Garbo. She came to America with the same aura of mystique but during the war, she came down from the pedestal. She was best in comedy, with a great dry irony, and most often cast as a trollop.

Here is what the DVD provides:

- In 1930, Dietrich was brought to Hollywood from Berlin with her Svengali, Joseph Von Sternberg, and rushed into "Morocco". The film was released at the end of 1930 and watching it today, it probably would have been better as a silent. In fact, I would suggest that it can be viewed more enjoyably with the sound turned off because the ponderous dialogue is irrelevant and the film moves at a snail's pace. Von Sternberg's art was visual and there are numerous shots carefully lit and posed of the languorous Dietrich. Acting does not really come into it but her performance is convincing simply by how she is presented. Gary Cooper, cast as a French Foreign Legionnaire, looks the part but every time he opens his mouth, he is absurd. The best moment is the end of the film - no dialogue, an archway, Dietrich, buffeted by the wind and sand, walking into the desert with the camp followers. Note also the film is pre-code and there are some provocative suggestions concerning Dietrich's sexual preferences in her night club act.

- By 1932, Dietrich was established in Hollywood, having been re-groomed into a much sleeker creature than in "Morocco". Von Sternberg cobbled together an unbelievable yarn in the mother love/self sacrifice genre which was popular at the time. "Blonde Venus" stars Dietrich as a wife who sacrifices herself to playboy Cary Grant to pay for the operation needed to save chemist husband, Herbert Marshall, from death due to radium poisoning. When Marshall returns from recuperation, he rejects Dietrich who plummets the depths to keep her son. The film ends with a completely unconvincing reconciliation. Dietrich underplays well and establishes a very believable relationship with her son, Dickie Moore, a very natural child star. Grant too is excellent and credible as an extremely sophisticated playboy. Herbert Marshall is unable to rise above the clichés and offers a very dreary unconvincing performance. The photography and sets are spectacular and Dietrich sings 3 songs in her usual intriguing manner. "Hot Voodoo" is very famous because she steps out of a gorilla suit. The film was a box office failure at the time, not the least because it was an expensive production but it can be enjoyed today for the superb lighting, sets, costumes and staging.

- the last of the Dietrich/Von Sternberg collaboration is the 1935 "The Devil is a Woman". Dietrich plays a heartless Spanish woman who destroys all the men with whom she comes in contact. The plot and treatment are really like grand opera without the music. Visually, the film is a masterpiece and she looks superb. She is more animated than in the former films and a very young Cesar Romero is very romantic opposite her. This is a film you either love or loathe. It certainly leaves an impression and it does contain my favourite Dietrich number, the funny and cynical "Three Loves have I" which she delivers with a great sense of irony.

- in 1941, Dietrich was guided by the famous French director, Rene Clair, in a throwback role to the Von Sternberg days. She plays an adventuress in New Orleans in 1841 who plots to marry a banker but departs at the altar to marry a sailor. Dietrich is really too old for the part and the light touch Claire tries for fails whether it be due to the censorship of the time or the plodding pace. The costumes are spectacular but there are too many shots of Dietrich, prettily posed, acting coy (very unconvincing) and lit for maximum visual effect but minimum dramatic or even comedic and by 1941, this was dated and tiresome. The sets are often 2 dimensional and some of the process shots are poor. Bruce Cabot is her less than magnetic leading man and Roland Young is miscast as the banker. One unintentionally funny moment - Cabot and Dietrich on the railing of the ship in the early morning and ships sails moving past behind them; you can visualise the film crew pushing the cardboard cutouts!

- The last film in the collection is the bizarre "Golden Earrings", released in 1947. The film is a wartime thriller but plays best as a comedy. Dietrich is very entertaining as an earthy gypsy who helps British agent Ray Milland, hide from Nazis. The film is beautifully made by Mitchell Liesen but Milland looks very uncomfortable and apparently loathed the experience. The scenes with Germans are surprisingly convincing and the film is good fun even if it is absurd and overlong.

All the prints are in great condition and with the Von Sternberg films, this is particularly gratifying since the photography and art direction are so good.

Marlene Dietrich film collection.......2007-05-07

Just love watching the movies of the 1930's with their stories, elegance, and sense of drama. Marlene Dietrich shows many facets of her personality in this collection.

Excellent Marlene Deitrich Movies........2007-02-15

If you like Marlene Dietrich, you will so love this collection!!!

Slap in the face to a movie icon!!!.......2007-01-27

I give it five stars for the movies,but 0 stars for the extras. I loved every movie,but no extras other than trailers. It is also on two sided discs. To watch Dietrich is a great experience. Especially those eyes and face. She along with Garbo have a one in a kind look. Never again will two people steal the screen like those two ladies.They were awesome vamps. You would think such a great icon would deserve a better remembrance. This set is truly a slap in the face. But buy it for the films,which are great. Also buy the Scarlet Empress,which features her own daughter,playing her as a child. If you like Garbo,get her box set,which is a tribute to a legend.

bad luck or bad service?.......2007-01-10

I never received the purchased items. I've sent you an email regarding this "loss". You did not answer my email with complaint.

Legally Blonde / Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White and Blonde

Average customer rating:

I love Reese Witherspoon - she does great comedy!
DVD review
SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE...

Legally Blonde / Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White and Blonde
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Sally Field , Regina King , Jennifer Coolidge , and Bruce McGill
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld , and Robert Luketic
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6302077818
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Description

Disc 1: LEGALLY BLONDE Disc 2: LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE, & BLONDE

Customer Reviews:

I love Reese Witherspoon - she does great comedy!.......2007-05-07

What fun movies and packed together like this! It's a great escape with a wonderfully funny gal! Reese pulls off Elle wonderfully! And keeps Elle's innocence and positive attitude throughout both movies! The movies are so upbeat that at the end - nothing can ruin your day after viewing them!

DVD review.......2007-03-20

I really enjoy both these movies. I am very disappointed in MGM as they say the first movie has special features, yet none are available on ANY DVD that I have seen. The cover of the DVD shows special features are with the DVD, such as deleted scenes, etc., yet the original movie only has commentary with it as its "special feature". The second movie does have some of the features listed.
The two movies are very entertaining and just fun to watch.

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE..........2006-06-12

Legally Blonde ****

When I first saw this movie with my teenage son, I admit that my expectations were not particularly high. Was I ever pleasantly surprised by this delightfully funny comedy! Reese Witherspoon does a star turn as the not so dumb, California airhead blonde, Ellie Woods, who is dumped by her college sweetheart, Warner, before graduation, instead of getting the anticipated and expected marriage proposal. It appears that he has political aspirations and an ostensibly dumb and flamboyant blonde is not what he envisions having for a wife.

Seeking to prove herself worthy and knowing that he is planning on attending Harvard Law School, Ellie, a fashion major, also seeks admission with dogged determination and studies her charming buns off in order to do well on the LSAT, the Law School Admission Test. Her high LSAT scores, coupled with her hilarious admission video, and her perfect college grade point average, albeit in Fashion, get her through the portals of Harvard Law School, and the games begin in earnest.

What happens to her at Harvard is hilarious, as Ellie tries to get her former sweetheart back. She discovers, instead, something about herself that ultimately makes others sit up and take notice of her in a positive way. Reese Witherspoon is delightfully funny doing a comic turn and will have the viewer laughing almost immediately, while rooting for her. The supporting cast is likewise enjoyable. This is a funny, wacky comedy that is never mean spirited and is, instead, surprisingly uplifting.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde **

There ought to be be a law against bad sequels, and this one is bad, despite the comedic deftness of Reese Witherspoon. Not even she can save a screenplay that is this bad. It lacks the snappy dialogue and clever madcap situations that elevated the prequel into the ranks of successful screwball comedies. This sequel simply tanks, in spite of Ms. Witherspoon's ever present, personal winsomeness. Despite her, this film falls flatter than a pancake, which is a shame, since the original Legally Blonde movie had been so charmingly funny.

Unfortunately, this film is quite disappointing and simply not in the same league, despite the casting of the original star and some of the original supporting cast. Not even the addition of Sally Fields and Robert Newhart elevates this drivel to a film worth watching.

Average customer rating:

GGW comes through.
Good Good Highly Recommend

Girls Gone Wild: Best of Blondes
Girls Gone Wild
Manufacturer: Mantra Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000I5XD3S
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Customer Reviews:

GGW comes through........2007-08-27

Girls Gone Wild provides a wish fulfillment for (most) men, who go
their whole lives (or most of their lives) with frustrated desires. This
disc is provides exactly what men (and even some women) want to see.
The images are great. The only drawback, sometimes, is the comments of
the photographer, which in some cases are so inappropriate as to be
annoying.

Good Good Highly Recommend.......2006-12-25

If You Like Blondes Than this is for you not mention th ehot ending highly recommend for any Girls Gone Wild Fan please Read

Girls Gone Wild: Best of Blondes, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

more great GGW stuff

Girls Gone Wild: Best of Blondes, Vol. 2
Starring: Girls Gone Wild
Manufacturer: Mantra Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NOKFJE
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Customer Reviews:

more great GGW stuff.......2007-05-27

I like this dvd. I rented it, and now I will buy it...a good addition to my Girls Gone Wild collection of dvd's. Its mostly the same as many other Girls Gone Wild dvd's...but I like the formula: they find great looking girls, and they talk them into getting naked in front of their camera...so they can film them. Topless...some get bottomless...some fully naked...its great. The girls pose naked just to get a cheap Girls Gone Wild t-shirt...real great looking blonde amateur girls...naked. Since this is a "Best Of", I already had some of the clips on previous dvds, but there was lots of stuff that I didn't have yet. At least one of these girls said she was a cheerleader (its common to find cheerleaders on Girls Gone Wild dvds...since they are always looking to film the best looking girls).

Hammer Film Noir Collector's Set (Bad Blonde / Blackout / The Gambler and the Lady / Heat Wave / Man Bait / Stolen Face)

Average customer rating:

Just ok.
Great fun for the lover of UK 50's films
Noir, British style
Bad Blondes of Film Noir.
"Hammer & VCI Film Noir Collection of Six Classic British Noir (1950's) "

Hammer Film Noir Collector's Set (Bad Blonde / Blackout / The Gambler and the Lady / Heat Wave / Man Bait / Stolen Face)
Starring: George Brent , Marguerite Chapman , Raymond Huntley , Peter Reynolds , and Eleanor Summerfield
Director: Terence Fisher , and Reginald Le Borg
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FMGTQC
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Description

In 1950, Hammer Films set up a deal with American Producer Robert L. Lippert to produce low-budget crime dramas to be made in the UK. Lippert would send over a shop-worn Hollywood star or promising American newcomer to give the films box-office appeal in the states, supported by the usual fine casts of British character actors that make most British movies worth watching. This five-year arrangement produced over a dozen well-made little B-noirs that seemed to have fallen through the film history cracks…..until now. VCI AND Kit Parker Films are happy to offer another look at these dark, moody pictures made by the company that became one of Britain's most prolific film producers of the 1960's, many directed by Hammer's top director, Terence Fisher, cutting his teeth on mystery and suspense. The Collector's Set contains the Hammer Film Noir Volumes 1 thru 3. Bonus Features: Scene Selection| Bios| Promo Trailer| Photo Gallery| Bonus Comments: The World Of Hammer Noir by Richard M Roberts. Specs: 3-DVD9s; Dolby Digital; 457 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - R; Year - 1953, 1952, 1954; SRP - $29.99.

Customer Reviews:

Just ok........2007-02-12

A good introduction to "B" films. These are late 1940's (actually from the 50s) dramas with some noir elements. The films look great--as if they haven't been seen in 50 years--which is probably the case, since they're not too exiting.

I won't give a running commentary like some reviewers but I thought Heat Wave was pretty fair. The story is essentially the same as The Postman Always Rings Twice but its well done and not as slow as the other films. Hillary Brook, who went on to superstardom with Abbott & Costello, was quite a dish and gives a great performance.

Dane Clark, a prominent figure in many Hammer/VCI movies is perfectly adequate but like the movies themselves, a bit lightweight. Robert Mitchum he ain't.

All in all, good transfers and a lot of content for the money. Or course there is better noir available (even from VCI, for example Blond Ice) and I know of at least one Hammer non-horror film that's quite good, The Four Sided Triangle.

Great fun for the lover of UK 50's films.......2007-01-10

Great English character actors with a lone American star (usually up and coming or on the way down)...but all still full of great talent, Barbara Payton was excellent. There are literate film noir style scripts with interesting twists that keep you guessing, and low budget sets but with creative shooting. And it is fun to see the exterior shots of London from the 50's.
Getting to see films like these were not feasible until DVD, thank you to the inventors of DVD!

Noir, British style.......2006-11-25

Back in the `30s and `40s, many movie studios had their specialties. Warner Bros. was known for its gangster and "social problem" films; MGM did the musicals, and Universal did the monster movies. Later, in the `50s and `60s, Britain's Hammer Films got a reputation for being a good horror house, starting with The Curse of Frankenstein and continuing for a couple of decades of Frankenstein, Dracula and other movies. Before Curse of Frankenstein, however, Hammer didn't yet have the horror identity and during this time, it made other types of films, including crime movies. The Hammer Film Noir collection brings together six such movies from the early 1950s; while not really awful, they do demonstrate that Hammer Films's strengths were elsewhere.

Bad Blonde features Barbara Payton as the title character, married to a wealthy but slovenly middle-aged boxing manager. In a story that more than slightly resembles The Postman Always Rings Twice, she seduces a boxer and convinces him to murder her spouse. As with many of these of this films, the English actors come off a bit stiff; certainly John Garfield and Lana Turner did this same plot better. The second film on the first disc is Man Bait in which George Brent gets entangled in a blackmail attempt and is later framed for murder; in the hands of a Hitchcock, this innocent-man-wrongly-accused plot is a classic; in lesser hands, however, it is merely passable.

The second disc has Stolen Face, a strange mix of Pygmalion and a crime story. A plastic surgeon, unable to be with the woman he loves, alters the face of a female convict to look like his love and then marries her. Unfortunately, cosmetic surgery doesn't take the crook out of the girl. This film features the most familiar faces for American viewers: Paul Henreid of Casablanca fame (and who also was involved with a different sort of double identity movie with The Scar) and Lizabeth Scott from Too Late For Tears and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Unfortunately, their skills don't completely save this movie which has a rather flaky ending which relies on an accident.

The other movie on this disc is the best in the set, Blackout, which features Dane Clark as a down-on-his-luck American in London who wakes up after a drunken bender to find he is married to a beautiful and wealthy woman. Of course, she has something up her sleeve, and when her father turns up dead, he winds up on the run. Clark's wise-cracking character helps elevate this film above the others in this set.

Clark is also in The Gambler and the Lady on disc three as one of the title characters (hint, he's not the lady). He's a minor gangster trying to go legit and gain acceptance from who he considers his social betters. His pretensions alienate his dancer girlfriend even as he starts going out with a member of the nobility (the Lady of the title). He also gets entangled with more serious mobsters who are trying to muscle into his territory. Though not as good as Blackout, this movie is also improved by Clark. The final film, Heat Wave, is basically the same story as Bad Blonde, except the lead character is a writer instead of a boxer.

With the exception of the four-star Blackout, all these others rate from a low three stars to a high three stars. The extras in the set are relatively minor: a few trailers, some minor commentaries (typically less than five minutes a movie) and some brief biographies/filmographies. Overall, this set rates three stars. It's not bad stuff, but for good film noir, you need to go elsewhere. This set is really only for die-hard fans of the genre who want to see some movies that are relatively obscure.

Bad Blondes of Film Noir........2006-09-25

This is a must have set for any noir fan and beautiful femme fatales. The quality is excellent since these films were transferred from original studio prints. Immediately after watching this set I looked up some of the beautiful ladies featured in these films. I was familiar with drop dead gorgeous Barbara Payton who sadly died in 1967 due to alcolism. Barbara stars in "Bad Blonde," one of the better femme fatale story noirs in this set. Another beauty is Hillary Brooke in "HeatWave,") aka "Lady Across the Lake". Hillary is so damm tempting as a bad tall blonde married to a rich guy she would sooner see dead, playing the field with other men and torturing her poor husband's heart. These women are still fataly desirable to any man. I expect Hammer will release the other six noirs that were made by Lippert Studios in the early 50's. I look forward to that.

"Hammer & VCI Film Noir Collection of Six Classic British Noir (1950's) ".......2006-08-28

VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films present "Hammer Film Noir Collector's Set, Vol. 1-3" (1952) --- (Dolby digitally remastered)...Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe Hollywood crime dramas that set their protagonists in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic...Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression...the term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most of the American filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs..the canon of film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of those involved in the making of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film.

First up we have "BAD BLONDE" (1953) (81 min. B/W)...under director Reginald Le Borg , producer Anthony Hinds, book author Max Catto, screenplay by Guy Elmes and Richard H. Landau , music score by Ivor Slaney ...the cast includes Barbara Payton (Lorna Vecchi), Frederick Valk (Giuseppe Vecchi), John Slater (Charlie Sullivan), Sid James (Sharkey), Tony Wright (Johnny Flanagan), Marie Burke (Mother Vecchi), Selma Vaz Dias (Mrs. Corelli, Vecchi's sister), Enzo Coticchia (Mr. Corelli), George Woodbridge (Police Inspector), Bettina Dickson (Barmaid), John Brooking (Barnes) . . . . . our story based on a novel by Max Catto is very close to "The Postman Always Rings Twice", but this time the male lead is a boxer...Barbara Payton is blackmailing Tony Wright into killing her husband Frederick Valk, will he go through with it...only the final scene will tell, Valk is a scene stealer and gives it all he's worth.

Second on the collection is a Lippert Picture release "MAN BAIT (1952) (84 min. B/W)....under director Terence Fisher, producer Anthony Hinds, screenplay by James Hadley Chase and Frederick Knott, musical score by Frank Spencer ....the cast includes George Brent (John Harman), Marguerite Chapman (Stella Tracy), Raymond Huntley Clive Oliver), Peter Reynolds (Jeffrey Hart), Diana Dors (Ruby Bruce), Eleanor Summerfield (Vi), Meredith Edwards (Inspector Dale), Harry Fowler (Joe, clerk), Conrad Phillips (Detective Todd), Nelly Arno (Miss Rosetti, clerk), David Keir (Mr. Quince, clerk), Eleanor Bryan (Mary Lewis, clerk), Isabel Dean .(May Harmon), Jack Faint (Club Manager), Harold Goodwin (Frank, the waiter) . . . . . our story involves blackmail and murder with George Brent who runs a bookstore where employee Marguerite Chapman is in love with him...but wait there is more, a sexy untrusting good-looking Diana Dors who also works in the bookstore who has eyes for her boss...Brent has an invalid wife who needs an operation abroad and so cashing an insurance policy to pay for the operation everything seems like it will pan out, hold on it gets better, as Dors sees a good for nothing Peter Reynolds shoplifting, but doesn't tell boss...Dors and Reynolds become close, Reynolds has Dors blackmail Brent when he kissed her in a moment of letting his guard down...what will he do, can he keep this away from his wife Isabel Dean, can Chapman help him clear himself as Dors is found murdered and Brent is the prime suspect...all in all the best performance in this film noir is Diana Dors, completely natural and believable . . . . .there's a great deal of entertainment here for all the film noir fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

Third feature on the bill we have "BLACKOUT" (1954) (87 min. B/W)...under director Terence Fisher, producer Michael Carreras, screenplay by Richard H. Landau, novel by Helen Nielson, Cinematographer Jimmy W. Harvey, music score by Ivor Slaney ...the cast includes Dane Clark (Casey Morrow). Belinda Lee (Phyllis Brunner), Betty Ann Davies (Alicia Brunner), Eleanor Summerfield (Maggie Doone), Andrew Osborn (Lance Gorden), Harold Lang (Travis), Jill Melford (Miss Nardis), Michael Golden (Inspector Johnson), Alfie Bass (Ernie) . . . . . our story has an exceptional cast, with one of my favorite film noir actors Dane Clark, who can get into more trouble in only a few reels of this flick...in this better than average "Brit Noir" our drifter Clark is up to his neck with a frame up, murder suspect, mind games, plus he needs to clear his name in this psychological thriller "Murder by Proxy" was the British title..the beautiful blonde Belinda Lee is throwing 500 pounds around and Clark is the pigeon...where did the blood on his coat come from, and who has been murdered, will he be left holding the bag...don't leave the theatre you're about to find out who's who in this classic film noir plot.

Fourth film is a Lippert Picture release "STOLEN FACE" (1952) (72 min. B/W)....under director Terence Fisher, producer Anthony Hinds, screenplay by Martin Berkeley and Richard Landau, Walter Harvey (Cinematographer), musical score by Malcolm Arnold ....the cast includesPaul Henreid (Dr. Philip Ritter), Lizabeth Scott (Alice Brent/Lilly), Andre Morell (David), Mary Mackenzie (Lilly), John Wood (Dr. Jack Wilson), Susan Stephen (Betty), Arnold Ridley (Dr. Russell), Everley Gregg (Lady Harringay), Cyril Smith (Alf), Ja