An array of major movie stars from the past is in these vintage films that have found their way to DVD this week. (The Warner Archive titles can be found at warnerarchive.com)<\/p>\n
\u201cDear Heart\u201d (Warner Archive, 1964, b\/w, $18.95, trailer). Womanizer Glenn Ford, who works in New York for a greeting-card company, is finally settling down to marry a wealthy small-town widow (Angela Lansbury) when he becomes entangled with a blonde floozy (Barbara Nichols) who works in his hotel, and with an outgoing, blunt, middle-aged spinster (Geraldine Page) in town for a postmasters convention.<\/p>\n
Ford also gets mixed up with Lansbury\u2019s adult son (Michael Anderson Jr.). And the ever-acerbic Mary Wickes is one of Page\u2019s plain postmaster pals.<\/p>\n
Offbeat, gentle romantic comedy about normal middle-aged adults is one that probably couldn\u2019t be made today, but with these great stars and a witty script, it\u2019s a pleasure.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoadblock\u201d (Warner Archive, 1951, b\/w, $18.95). Formulaic but tough-as-nails film noir with Charles McGraw as a straight-arrow insurance investigator who falls hard for a prototypical femme fatale (Joan Dixon). She soon drags him down to her level, culminating in a train robbery that leads to murder. Sharp, gritty tale moves fast and never loses its grip, the way only a low-budget, independent programmer can. And tells its story in a scant 73 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBroadway Melody of 1940\u201d (Warner Archive, 1940, b\/w, $18.95, featurette, \u201cOur Gang\u201d short, trailer). Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell are exceptional dancing partners in their only screen pairing. The story has Astaire and George Murphy as a down-and-out dance team that splits up when Murphy is offered a part in Powell\u2019s Broadway show, unaware that it\u2019s mistaken identity; they really wanted Astaire. Funny, sprightly and laced with terrific Cole Porter songs. (Previously exclusive to the \u201cCole Porter Collection\u201d box set.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll See You in My Dreams\u201d (Warner Archive, 1951, b\/w, $14.95, short film, \u201cFoghorn Leghorn\u201d cartoon, trailer). Danny Thomas plays real-life songwriter Gus Kahn (composer of 800 tunes, including \u201cMakin\u2019 Whoopee,\u201d \u201cIt Had to Be You,\u201d \u201cLove Me or Leave Me\u201d), told from the viewpoint of his wife (Doris Day). Fairly typical sanitized Hollywood biography, but the stars put it over, and those great songs help. (Previously exclusive to \u201cThe Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2.\u201d)<\/p>\n
\u201cFree and Easy\u201d\/\u201cEstrellados\u201d (Warner Archive, 1930, b\/w, $18.95, English and Spanish-language version with English subtitles). Primarily a curiosity for film buffs, this set has two versions of Buster Keaton\u2019s first sound picture from when \u201ctalkies\u201d were still getting their footing. And despite some amusing bits as he crashes various Hollywood movie sets, it\u2019s primitive and awkwardly directed. Young Robert Montgomery co-stars, and watch for Lionel Barrymore in one scene as a movie director. (Previously released in TCM\u2019s \u201cBuster Keaton Collection.\u201d) \u201cEstrellados\u201d is a shot-for-shot Spanish-language version of the same film, with a Spanish-speaking cast surrounding Keaton, who is obviously reading phonetic cue cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cBad Dreams\u201d\/\u201cVisiting Hours\u201d (Scream\/Blu-ray, 1988\/1982; R for violence, language, drugs; audio commentary, featurettes, trailer, radio\/TV spots). Two sick slasher flicks that rip off other, more popular pictures receive Blu-ray upgrades here. \u201cBad Dreams\u201d owes much to the third \u201cNightmare on Elm Street,\u201d with a young woman (Jennifer Rubin) in a sanitarium and whose dreams invite a burn-victim killer into the facility. And \u201cVisiting Hours\u201d is a rehash of \u201cHalloween II,\u201d with hospitalized Lee Grant stalked by a killer (Michael Ironside), with Linda Purl and William Shatner in supporting roles.
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