Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Golden Boy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 8, 2022

Rouben Mamoulian's "Golden Boy" (1939) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The dream

Australian label Via Vision Entertainment’s recent release of George Seaton’s film The Counterfeit Traitor features an outstanding archival documentary that examines the illustrious but tragic career of William Holden. I decided to mention the documentary because it has a small segment dedicated to Rouben Mamoulian’s Golden Boy in which it is casually confirmed that Barbara Stanwyck not only took Holden under her wing and effectively launched his career, but the two became very close while working on the film. Were they romantically involved, too? And why does it matter? It matters for two reasons. First, Stanwyck married her second husband, Robert Taylor, in 1939, which was the year Golden Boy was completed and released in U.S. theaters. Second, in Golden Boy, Stanwyck and Holden’s characters fall in love and this is the only film I have seen with the former where she looks genuinely smitten with a man who desires her and wants to grow older with her. Indeed, what Mamoulian’s camera captures is more than just perfect chemistry. There is something real that happens between the two and Stanwyck has a very difficult time hiding it. The documentary, titled William Holden: The Golden Boy, was produced by Gene Feldman for Janson Media in 1989.

The original material for Golden Boy came from Clifford Odets’ famous play of the same name, which is widely considered to be his best work. Holden is Joe Bonaparte, a feisty young dreamer who might be the best violinist in New York City but is dying to be the greatest boxer in America. Bonaparte rushes into the office of struggling boxing manager Tom Moody (Adolphe Menjou), convinces him to give him a chance, and then destroys a veteran boxer with a solid reputation. Bonaparte’s success impresses Moody so much that he decides on the spot to transform him into his ultimate golden goose.

But Bonaparte’s success on the ring interferes with his father’s (Lee J. Cobb) desire to see him become a successful concert violinist and the two clash. While being influenced by Moody’s assistant and soon-to-be wife, Lorna (Stanwyck), Bonaparte walks away from his father and begins training to become a boxing champion. However, shortly after Bonaparte attracts the attention of Eddie Fuseli (Joseph Calleia), a prominent but very shady businessman that can make things happen, who offers to buy him from Moody and make his dream of fighting and winning in Madison Square Garden come true.

Golden Boy is an old-fashioned post-war melodrama that has quite a few conventional weaknesses, but its great cast effectively invalidates them. For example, even though the progression of Stanwyck and Holden’s relationship is entirely predictable the quality of their acting is so good that it is still fascinating to behold. Menju and Calleia play very transparent businessmen as well but very successfully use their personalities to make them equally captivating. Cobb significantly overplays the overworked and well-wishing father but manages to make him appear genuinely kind and sincere.

It is also important to underscore that while predictably dated the melodrama is not of the kind that is incompatible with realism. Indeed, even though Holden spends time in two completely different environments his triumphs and failures remain entirely believable. All alpha males go through the same cycle and then reset their philosophy of life. For Holden, the crucial moment simply comes after an unforgettable boxing match in one of the world’s greatest arenas.

Odet’s play has a drastically different finale. Mamoulian ends Golden Boy with new material that is right for the melodrama that has flourished in it and Holden’s profound transformation. Should this be considered an unforgivable flaw? I don’t think so. Golden Boy delights because it frees its stars to be at their best, not because it demands that they are perfect replicas of the characters from Odet’s play.

Golden Boy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Golden Boy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. Even though there is room for improvement, I like this master a lot. It gives Golden Boy a very solid organic appearance of the type that the majority of the films in the Columbia Noir series have. What does this mean exactly? It means that at some point in the past Golden Boy was properly remastered by the folks at Sony Pictures and the current master is free of digital anomalies. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from good to very good, and there are no stability issues. The grayscale is convincing as well. Is there room for meaningful improvements? Yes. Grain exposure can be superior, but the visuals already look quite nice. Some highlights can be managed better as well. I would say that there is room for very minor surface improvements, but this would be the type of cosmetic work that will not make a notable difference because the entire film already looks very healthy. Fluidity is very good. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Golden Boy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any serious age-related anomalies to report in our review. The dialog was clear, stable, and easy to follow. Victor Young's dramatic score sounded very good on my system as well. Needless to say, I think that if the audio is newly remastered at best there will be some insignificant rebalancing improvements.

Golden Boy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

Golden Boy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

William Holden was forever grateful for the trust and support he received from Barbara Stanwyck during the shooting of Golden Boy. It is easy to understand why. Without Stanwyck, Holden's career in Hollywood almost certainly would have had a very different trajectory. I think that they genuinely liked each other and a lot of this attraction was captured by Rouben Mamoulian's camera. I detect it everywhere in Golden Boy and think that it is what makes the film special. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from an older but very strong organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.