My Favorite Brunette/Son Of Paleface (HD-DVD/BCI Eclipse)
Picture: B- Sound: C Extras: D Films: B-
The
second (and last) of two HD-DVD double features with hit films starring Bob
Hope has arrived and once again, you get two of his most popular films. My
Favorite Brunette (1947) remains the amusing comedy mystery where still
photographer Hope had better watch it before he takes his last snapshot, while Son Of Paleface (1952) is the comedy
sequel to his Western send-up The
Paleface where he plays the son of his character from the first film and is
out to find dad’s inheritance. Most
politically incorrect, it is not Blazing
Saddles, but holds up as one of the better Western spoofs before the Mel
Brooks classic.
As Hope
was at the peak of his film star power, he could get top rate co-stars, with
Dorothy Lamour, Lon Chaney and Peter Lorre in Brunette, plus Jane Russell and Roy Rogers in Son. For their time, they
were big hits and like Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, were the kinds of big
name stars that kept Paramount a major studio into the 1950s. I actually enjoyed this set a bit more in
content than the two Road films from
the previous HD-DVD, which you can read more about at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6572/Road+To+Rio/Road+To+Bali+(Bob
Like that
previous release, the 1080p 1.33 X 1 image on both films (once again, the first
is black and white, the second three-strip Technicolor) may not be perfect, but
after so many poor version on TV, DVD and lesser formats, are easily the best
versions to hit home video to date.
However, in both cases, the prints are a little more worn than the ones
on the previous HD-DVD. Video Black is
certainly stronger than copies in older formats and for the price, it is a good
deal. As for the Technicolor on Paleface, it may not always be as
consistent as that of Road To Bali’s
print, but has plenty of great color moments, some of which are demo material
for your HDTV. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono on both films follows the previous films as being weaker than expected and
more compressed than they should be.
There are
no extras, but it is a fun set and we expect we’ll see a Blu-ray of both soon.
- Nicholas Sheffo
