Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie Review

With friends like these, who needs friends?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 28, 2023

Not being overly familiar with Michael Curtiz's melodramatic Flamingo Road, a big-screen adaptation of Robert Wilder's tawdry 1942 novel, it nonetheless came as no surprise to learn the source material was later turned into a TV film and short-lived primetime soap opera in 1981. This juicy small-town tale of political corruption, forbidden love, and social warfare seems like a perfect fit for one of "Grandma's stories"... but even under tight Hays Code restrictions, Curtiz's adaptation -- starring none other than Joan Crawford just a few short years after her career revival in Mildred Pierce -- stands out from the crowd. Not because it's especially great, but because of pure entertainment value.

Our story takes place in fictional Boldon City, a small town with no shortage of colorful characters. Perhaps the beigest of the bunch is Fielding "Field" Carlisle (Zachary Scott), a limp deputy who's half-heatedly engaged to sweet Annabelle Weldon (Virginia Huston). Field is all but completely controlled by Sheriff Titus Semple (Sydney Greenstreet, at his absolute sweatiest), who rules the city with a fat iron fist. During his nighttime search of a hastily abandoned carnival road show, Field discovers Lane Bellamy (Crawford), a dancer who was left behind by choice and is now looking to start life over. Taking the attractive "young" woman (more on that later) under his wing, he sets Lane up with employment at a diner and even tries to find temporary lodging. Sheriff Titus, unable to keep his meat hooks off of anything positive, quickly intervenes: he's eyeing Field as his next "yes man" in the state Senate and wants his marriage to milquetoast Annabelle to go through. Further complicating matters is the arrival of businessman Dan Reynolds (David Brian), whose shady support of the Sheriff will eventually be called into question once Lane takes a liking to him.

It's a ludicrous setup, to be sure, one that gives us very few people to root for as Flamingo Road's characters flip-flop their way to social dominance, which is typically achieved in Boldon City by simply living on the titular upscale street. The screenplay (and its source material, to be fair) features several plot developments that don't make a lick of sense, and Hays Code restrictions mean that some of its most inappropriate content requires us to fill in the blanks. Perhaps its biggest head-scratcher, though, is when Flamingo Road demands its audience accept Joan Crawford -- a few years over 40, even by the most conservative estimates -- as a hot young dancer. Come on, guys.

No matter, because Crawford takes the ball and runs with it... which applies to Flamingo Road's committed supporting performances as well, with Sydney Greenstreet running a sweaty second. The quickly unfolding plot, ridiculous as it can be during several stretches, is efficiently spelled out and peppered with terrific dialogue. The cinematography infuses more than a few noir elements to give it an inviting backdrop. The music, by prolific composer Max Steiner, is just the icing on the cake. This is the kind of movie you watch with a grin on your face, because despite its rather dark turns and amoral characters, the sheer entertainment value generated by its corrupt characters and dramatic developments make Flamingo Road easy enough to just go along with, despite any and all better judgment.

Following its appearance on DVD as part of WB's Joan Crawford Collection Vol. 2 and a separate re-issue by Warner Archive, the boutique label resurrects Flamingo Road on Blu-ray as part of a packed March catalog slate. Featuring a solid A/V restoration and a handful of returning extras, it's a well-rounded disc of a film worth rediscovering.

Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's 1080p transfer stems from a 2K scan of a recently preservation fine grain made from Flamingo Road's original nitrate camera negative. While not as finely-tuned as a 4K scan of the OCN, the results are inarguably pleasing and approach the familiar heights achieved by WAC restorations. Fine detail is quite good during most sequences, from well-lit close-ups to medium and long shots that take place all around Boldon City: the moody, darkened remains of the travelling carnival (above), Lute Mae's rollicking road house, Pete Ladas' occasionally busy diner, the rear-projected construction site, and more, it runs the gamut of visual moods and only falters sporadically due to what may be baked-in source issues that flatten out a few of the nighttime scenes. As these screenshots reveal, however, Warner Archive has done a fine job with the material, treating it to their usual round of meticulous manual cleanup while preserving the original texture of film grain. Disc encoding is likewise strong, with only stray amounts of posterization detected in the deepest black levels. While Flamingo Road's second-gen roots leave a small amount of room for improvement, this Blu-ray's transfer is so overwhelmingly appealing -- not to mention a solid step up from all previous home video releases, dating back to Warner Bros.' 2008 Joan Crawford Collection Vol. 2 -- that it's tough to complain.

Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, which supports the film's vintage one-channel roots, is equally pleasing with a clean overall presence and a respectable dynamic range for this cinematic era. Even the strongest Southern drawls are easily understood, with excellent placement in busy environments and plenty of room left over for Max Steiner's solid original score. A fine presentation with almost zero room for improvement -- Warner Archive is typically very careful with sonic "polishing", favoring a more purist-friendly approach rather than adding any kind of artificial boosting.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, but not the extras. This is pretty annoying since the DVD edition that most of them were sourced from did in fact have optional subtitles available. It's perhaps my only ongoing hang-up regarding Warner Archive releases, and one that I hope is addressed at some point.

Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc set ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts of any kind. A nice little assortment of bonus features is carried over from previous home video editions.

• Looney Tunes Short: "Curtain Razor" (7:17) - Directed by Friz Freleng, this Porky Pig short -- featuring our hero as a talent agent looking for the next hot ticket -- goes pretty dark and thus fits in pretty well with the main feature. It also looks to be taken from a new restoration, which is a nice surprise.

• "Crawford at Warners" Featurette (12:09) - This short but enjoyable DVD-era piece offers a compact retrospective of Joan Crawford's ~10 year stint at Warner Bros., which initially began as a three-picture deal. It takes us from Hollywood Canteen and Mildred Pierce all the way down to This Woman Is Dangerous, which Crawford famously regarded as her worst film and led to a prompt departure from the studio.

• Radio Adaptation (23:38) - Produced for Screen Directors Playhouse, this broadcast reunites Joan Crawford and David Brian in their respective roles, and originally aired on May 26, 1950.

• Breakdowns of 1949 (10:25) - The studio's annual blooper reel featuring roughly a dozen unidentified WB pictures from the previous year, starring the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Errol Flynn.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:00) - This appropriately over-the-top promotional piece can also be seen here.

Flamingo Road Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michael Curtiz' soapy but scintillating Flamingo Road is an unavoidably watered-down version of the original novel by Robert Wilder. It's ultimately buoyed by snappy dialogue, memorable source characters, committed performances, an excellent original score, and Curtiz's efficient directing style, which keeps it feeling brooding but breezy at a brisk 94 minutes. Undoubtedly more "pleasure" than "guilty", Flamingo Road still plays very well more than 70 years after its theatrical release. Warner Archive's terrific Blu-ray offers ample support, including a solid A/V restoration and several short but enjoyable bonus features. Firmly Recommended for die-hard fans and newcomers, too.