The Ex-Mrs Bradford on DVD

The Warner Brothers Archive has come through once again, as on August 10th, they released a DVD on demand of Columbia Pictures' 1936 mystery-comedy, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford. The film, a Thin Man take off starring William Powell and Jean Arthur, was reviewed here in these very pages last August. I didn't exactly love the movie but most any film in what I call the Husband and Wife Detective genre is well worth seeing.

Robert Ryan Day at TCM

Friday August 13 is Robert Ryan's turn in TCM's Summer Under the Stars. I'm thrilled at some of the films they've scheduled, especially those 1940s Westerns and 1973's The Outfit, which will find me up at 4am to watch--no fancy recording technology at this residence, folks! Ryan's day also reminds me that I should be horrified that he didn't make my top ten actors list earlier this year. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that Ryan didn't make the cut...same with William Holden, his Wild Bunch co-star, especially since I've been a fan of both for decades! I guess I need to re-do that list again. As for Ryan and Holden, writer Eddie Muller had a great line about the two veterans' roles in the 1969 film, saying that "Holden and Ryan are engaged in a Mexican standoff over who can project a more bone-weary tiredness." Great stuff! Ryan and Holden are alike in that their acting is timeless and that they adjusted and seamlessly fit in with whatever type of movie they were in.

Ryan often played roles which found his characaters to be friendlessly psychotic and perpetually on edge, ready to lash out at anything. The man himself was quite different but he's remembered for his earlier, sinister roles. When it came to Noir, Robert Ryan personified hostile malevolence just as Robert Mitchum was the face of existential indifference. For anyone unfamiliar with Robert Ryan's work, check out TCM this Saturday. Here's Turner Classic's Robert Ryan schedule, lovingly copied and pasted for your perusal, with the bold titles being my personal recommendations--and please, someone record The Outfit!!!

6:00 AM Trail Street (1947)
Bat Masterson fights to make Kansas safe for wheat farmers. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Dir: Ray Enright. BW-84 mins, TV-G

7:30 AM Return of the Badmen (1948)
A farmer falls for the female leader of a band of notorious outlaws. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Dir: Ray Enright. BW-90 mins, TV-PG, CC

9:15 AM Flying Leathernecks (1951)
A World War II Marine officer drives his men mercilessly during the battle for Guadalcanal. Cast: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Jay C. Flippen. Dir: Nicholas Ray. C-102 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS

11:00 AM Men In War (1957)
Two enemies join forces to save their men during a retreat from the North Koreans. Cast: Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith. Dir: Anthony Mann. BW-98 mins, TV-PG


1:00 PM Crossfire (1947)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man. Cast: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan. Dir: Edward Dmytryk. BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC

2:30 PM Act Of Violence (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer. Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh. Dir: Fred Zinnemann. BW-82 mins, TV-PG, CC

4:00 PM God's Little Acre (1958)
A dirt-farmer lets his family fall apart while he hunts for his grandfather's buried gold. Cast: Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Tina Louise. Dir: Anthony Mann. BW-118 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

6:00 PM Captain Nemo And The Underwater City (1969)
The infamous submarine captain rescues six shipwreck survivors. Cast: Robert Ryan, Chuck Connors, Nanette Newman. Dir: James Hill. C-106 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format


8:00 PM Boy With Green Hair, The (1948)
An orphaned boy mystically acquires green hair and a mission to end war. Cast: Dean Stockwell, Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan. Dir: Joseph Losey. C-82 mins, TV-G, CC

9:30 PM Set-Up, The (1949)
An aging boxer defies the gangsters who've ordered him to throw his last fight. Cast: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias. Dir: Robert Wise. BW-73 mins, TV-PG, CC

11:00 PM Billy Budd (1962)
Adaptation of Herman Melville's classic tale of a ship's captain caught between an innocent young sailor and an evil officer. Cast: Peter Ustinov, Robert Ryan, Terence Stamp. Dir: Peter Ustinov. BW-123 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

1:15 AM Wild Bunch, The (1969)
A group of aging cowboys look for one last score in a corrupt border town. Cast: William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine. Dir: Sam Peckinpah. C-144 mins, TV-MA,

4:00 AM Outfit, The (1973) Record this, it's rare!!!
An ex-con takes on the mob to avenge his brother's death. Cast: Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker. Dir: John Flynn. C-103 mins, TV-14

Back from London!

Had a swellegant, elegant time in London even if I wasn't able to stay as long as I wanted and see as much as I'd have liked. Still, I had a tremendous time there--great weather, too--and was actually sad about coming home! I'm exhausted from jet lag but wanted to touch base again, as it's been awhile.

As for Golden Age of Hollywood-related things, the Victoria & Albert Museum--do go if you get the chance--had a Grace Kelly exhibition entitled Grace Kelly: Style Icon, which runs until September 26. My wife loved this and I know many HD readers will, too.

Dragon Seed (1944) Score Available--in Stereo!

In a previous post, we reviewed Katharine Hepburn's performance in the WWII drama/propaganda film, Dragon Seed. Today Film Score Monthly (FSM) has announced the release of Herbert Stothart's magnificent score to this film, in a 1000 copies-only limited edition. And it's in stereo which is a rarity indeed for a film of this age. Stothart's music is the best thing about Dragon Seed with its Far East, Exotica feel and lush and sensitive arrangements of folk songs and original material.

Sound samples available at FSM's homepage or at Screen Archives Entertainment, who distributes Film Score Monthly's releases. Price is $24.95 + shipping. They have numerous other film scores for sale and are all legitimate and are absolutely NOT bootleg releases. I cannot recommend them enough!

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Dragon Seed (1944)

Limited Edition of 1,000 Copies.

Composed by: Herbert Stothart


Dragon Seed (1944) was based on the 1942 novel of the same name by Pearl S. Buck. Like her Pulitzer Prize-winning The Good Earth (filmed by M-G-M in 1937), it is set in the turbulent world of China just before and during World War II and—like its predecessor—tells a story of family and personal tragedy set against an epic background of political struggle and armed conflict. M-G-M lavished an impressive and expensive physical production on the film, budgeted at an unprecedented three million dollars. Katherine Hepburn headed the A-list cast.

The studio similarly drew on top-drawer talent by assigning its finest musical dramatist, Herbert Stothart, to score the film. Stothart had already scored The Good Earth, and for Dragon Seed he created another strong, effective score rife with Asian color and lavish themes—including authentic folk tunes and national anthems. Stothart made extensive use of pentatonic scales and what were then considered “orientalisms,” but stamped the music with his own blend of lyricism and dramatic pulse that is sometimes tender, sometimes explosive, and always apt.

Due to the existence of dual microphone perspectives, FSM has been able to mix nearly all of Dragon Seed in genuine stereo. The sound quality utterly belies its age (over 65 years old). This 2CD set contains not only Stothart’s complete score, but numerous bonus tracks, including the trailer music and an alternate English-language version of the main title. The edition, limited to 1,000 copies, includes notes by Frank K. DeWald and Alexander Kaplan, numerous film stills and publicity materials in a 20-page booklet designed by FSM’s Joe Sikoryak.

Dragon Seed joins Random Harvest/The Yearling (FSMCD Vol. 9 No. 13) and Northwest Passage(FSMCD Vol. 12 No. 18) in FSM’s growing catalog of scores by this under-appreciated film music titan. Golden Age fans will rejoice and listeners unfamiliar with Stothart’s legacy are ripe for a major discovery.