6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
After her prostitute mother and her john are beaten to death while they are asleep in bed, teen-aged Ellie Masters is sent to an isolated orphanage run by Mrs. Deere and her handyman. Taking an avid interest in her welfare is detective Calvin Carruthers. Taking almost no interest at all, is social worker Harold Mullins who is completely under Mrs. Deere's thumb. Lots of unpleasant surprises are in store for Ellie, not the least of which is the fact that Mrs. Deere and her handyman are both brutal sadists, who run the orphanage like a concentration camp and the strong possibility that her mother's hammer-wielding killer is now stalking her.
Starring: Melody Patterson, Gloria Grahame, Milton Selzer, Len Lesser, Vic TaybackHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Years ago one of my uncles who dabbled in some fringes of show business arranged a Manhattan lunch meeting for me with a pretty well known Oscar winning producer. I was a kid and interested in pursuing an acting career, something this elder actively discouraged me from doing, imparting some advice I’ve never forgotten. “You don’t want to be one of those people who judges their whole life by how many column inches their obituary in Variety is.” It was funny, and kind of weirdly nonsensical, and yet it conveyed a kind of psychological truth of sadness underlying the supposedly glamorous life that some stars ostensibly enjoy. It came to mind when I read with some sadness about the recent passing of Melody Patterson, an actress who for whatever reason never really grasped the brass ring of stardom, but who made quite an impression for those of a certain age as the (very young) co-star of the relatively short lived ABC sitcom from the mid sixties, F Troop. Patterson was barely 16 when she debuted on the series (which was for all intents and purposes a 19th century McHale’s Navy or Sgt. Bilko), playing a kind of young version of Calamity Jane, in one of the few female roles on the series. The bumbling incompetence of Ken Berry’s Captain Parmenter or the Bilko-esque shenanigans of Forrest Tucker’s O’Rourke and Larry Storch’s Agarn may have provided most of the comedic impetus of the show, but Patterson offered more than mere eye candy, actually building a reasonably believable character in what was in essence a kind of over the top live action cartoon. Patterson’s Variety obituary may indeed not have been very long, concentrating mostly on her tenure in F Troop, perhaps because her film career never really took off. Blood and Lace is one of Patterson’s few big screen starring roles, in a film which intentionally or not dances around certain giallo tropes that were exploited in the very similarly named Blood and Black Lace, a Mario Bava effort from 1964. (This particular version actually sports the title The Blood Secret.)
Blood and Lace is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This has a slightly dated look, with somewhat faded elements that still can pop quite vividly when things like blood enter the fray. Still, there's a somewhat dowdy brown ambience to much of this transfer. Elements have typical signs of age related wear and tear, with average amounts of speckling, dirt and other small nicks and scratches. Detail is very good in close-ups, though overall clarity and sharpness are average at best. Grain resolves naturally and there are no major problems with any compression issues, perhaps due to the fact that much of the film plays out in relatively well lit environments.
Blood and Lace features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which capably supports the film's dialogue and use of stock music cues. There's a fair degree of dynamic range here, despite an overall boxy, narrow sound. Fidelity is fine if never breathtaking, and there's no damage of any kind to report.
There's a certain irony to the cover art included with this release. While no one on the cover bears even a slight resemblance to anyone actually in the film, the emphasis on a hammer wielding villain, as well as the person depicted doing the wielding, might be seen as at least a potential spoiler of sorts. The film itself is clunky, alternately formulaic and fairly outré, leading to a number of pretty smarmy developments. Technical merits are generally good to very good for those considering a purchase.
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