I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie Review

Sponsored by Look magazine.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 31, 2025

I'm all for brevity in musicals, but Don Weis' I Love Melvin is pushing it: at just 77 minutes, it tests the boundaries of "feature length". But it's still plenty of fun and led by two stars from the previous year's landmark Singin' In the Rain, and one of them is the seriously underrated Donald "Make 'Em Laugh" O'Connor. He's flanked by the equally ebullient Debbie Reynolds, and here they play two unlikely lovebirds who don't get their father's blessing to marry.

On her way to dance rehearsal for the bizarre Broadway play Quarterback Kelly where she plays a human football, lovely Judy LeRoy (Reynolds) literally bumps into enthusiastic Look magazine photographer Melvin Hoover (O'Connor) in Central Park. Their first meeting isn't a friendly one... but he later recognizes her pretty face on a show poster and weasels into rehearsal with his press pass. She eventually leaves the venue with her handsome boyfriend Harry Flack (Richard Anderson), but Melvin once again steps in; this time to promise a photo spread for her in Look. Judy happily accepts his generous offer... so now Melvin's got to figure out how to actually make it happen, since he's really just a lowly assistant to seasoned photographer Mergo (Jim Backus). The kid's got guts, though.

Naturally, what follows is a breezy series of escapades where Judy and Melvin develop feelings for each other -- much to the partial dismay of her parents (Una Merkel and Allyn Joslyn), especially her dad, who wants her to marry wealthy Harry -- and she feels that Melvin's connections at Look will further her career as Quarterback Kelly draws to a close. We all know how I Love Melvin will play out, more or less, since it's a crowd-pleaser at heart and doesn't have ample time for excessive twists and turns, despite the fact that its plot does feature a few bizarre detours along the way. But it's got such an infectious amount of joy -- as well as solid songs, more than a few memorable dance sequences, and even a surprise appearance by none other than Robert Taylor in a dream sequence -- that I Love Melvin still stands decently tall as a minor but truly entertaining highlight in the careers of most everyone involved.

It'll forever remain in the shadow of Singin' in the Rain, at least as far as O'Connor and Reynolds are concerned, and I Love Melvin reportedly ended up registering a small loss for MGM back in 1953. But the great thing about home video hindsight is that such box-office disappointments can finally start to cement their own identity decades later... and as such, Warner Archive's terrific new Blu-ray restoration is yet another step in its path to redemption. Sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives, this new 1080p transfer offers a truly stunning presentation that plays to the film's colorful strengths. While I Love Melvin's whisper-thin plot keeps it from true four-star territory, it remains a lively and entertaining production that should be seen and enjoyed by a whole new generation.

I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives" is basically the express lane to a five-star rating for Warner Archive, whose sterling track record with purist-friendly presentations translates to a picture-perfect image that likely exceeds first-run theatrical showings. Fine detail, color, density, black levels, shadow detail, and more are all well above even heightened expectations, rivaling even what most boutique labels are able to achieve on UHD. As such, this exclusive 1080p transfer consistently pushes the visual boundaries of Blu-ray with a tight and extremely accurate presentation that's been treated with extreme care, displaying pronounced film grain that's nicely encoded on a dual-layered disc and runs at a supportive bit rate from start to finish. If you've followed my reviews of Warner Archive titles over the years, you'd know that this kind of outcome was expected... but even within those boundaries, the boutique label still manages to surprise and excite with their continually great treatment of Golden Age films on Blu-ray.

I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not all that far behind is Warner Archive's robust DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, which offers a consistently striking presence since the film's original monaural track is spread evenly across the left and right channels for wider playback. Obviously the songs and performances are a sonic highlight, and all sound full and rich for every measure. The dialogue and traditional effects sound excellent too without a whiff of age-related wear and tear aside from mild amounts of hiss on occasion. Overall, this is a strong and faithful audio restoration that impresses just as much as the visuals.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed artwork and a few era-specific extras.

• "A Lady Loves" Outtake (1:55) - Far from the swanky version seen in the main feature, this short and unrestored SD clip features an alternate production of the song set on a farm.

• The Impossible Possum (6:44) - This decently restored 1954 Barney Bear short, directed by Dick Lundy, features the hapless hero trying to catch a wily possum for dinner with very little success. If this sounds familiar, it was already included on Warner Archive's Blu-ray edition of Lili back in April.

• TV of Tomorrow (7:08) - Released a year earlier, this enjoyably dated but semi-accurate satirical short from Tex Avery was last seen on Warner Archive's Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2 Blu-ray set.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:40) - This lively vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Song Selection - Instant access to the film's eight main song cues: the main and end titles, "A Lady Loves", "We Have Never Met As Yet", "Saturday Afternoon Before the Game", "Where Did You Learn to Dance?", "Life Has Its Funny Ups and Downs", and "I Wanna Wander".

I Love Melvin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Don Weis' lightweight I Love Melvin is a frivolous but fun little mini-musical that packs a lot of memorable songs and performances into just 77 brief minutes. The plot isn't exactly airtight despite the lack of fat, but what's still here still impresses more than seven decades after its original theatrical release. Warner Archive's Blu-ray will absolutely delight fans and first-timers alike, as its sparkling new 4K-sourced restoration offers plenty of support for the lovely Technicolor visuals and lively sonic delights. Several great bonus features round out this "sleeper keeper" of a release, and as such it comes Recommended to the right crowd.