Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 14, 2024

Marking yet another high-definition debut in the Frank Capra at Columbia Collection, Ladies of Leisure tells the story of a young woman working to escape her past exploits to retain the love of her life. The Blu-ray features an excellent AV presentation for a film of its age, and includes a newly recorded film historian audio commentary.

In the first of her remarkable collaborations with Frank Capra, up-and-coming talkie star Barbara Stanwyck plays a self-proclaimed "party girl" named Kay who finds genuine love when she begins modeling for Jerry Strong (Ralph Graves), a charming wannabe-artist she meets one night under the stars. But as their relationship grows increasingly serious, her checkered past comes back to haunt her. Jerry's parents (George Fawcett and Nance O'Neil) strongly object to his pairing, declaring Jerry should instead marry his longtime fiancé Claire Collins (Juliette Compton). It turns out John's father knows too much about Kay's old persona and is unconvinced that she could possibly be the woman she now claims to be. Will the two be able to overcome all odds and live happily ever after? Or does a person's past condemn them to a life of sacrifice and penance?

Ladies of Leisure arguably launched Stanwyck's stardom, and for good reason. 1930 may have been pre-Code Hollywood, but general audiences would have still been shocked by Kay's past. (I believe the kids today call it "whoring around"... which, come to think of it, is the same thing we used to call it when we were teens.) Stanwyck, though, tackles the role with equal parts bravado, grace and pathos, offering us a portrait of a woman who defies the judgement of society, only to question her morals when life presents a prize worth winning. The moral complexity alone is actually more profoundly realized and captured than in Capra's other early '30s films, and Stanwyck is half the winning equation. It only helps that Graves' Jerry is so intensely likeable; an everyman starving artist who no doubt was an inspiration behind James Cameron's Jack in Titanic. (Compare the two films' painting scenes.) The rest of the cast turns in top notch work as well, pitting Jerry and Kay against what seems the entire world when it's really just a matter of a girl earning the respect and acceptance of a boy's parents. Jerry's a little old to be so worried about his parents but, hey, when you wanna keep that inheritance, I guess you find ways to play ball.

Capra's composition takes another step forward with the help of cinematographer Joseph Walker. It's easy to forget how much of the "standard shot list" was still being developed in 1930. Even capturing multiple characters engaged in a conversation was cutting edge, and without a widescreen lens to assist matters. Walker and Capra stage each scene as if it were its own painting. Two-dimensional, straight-on shots still rule the day, but consider the screenshot below and just how much thought early Hollywood artists had to put into its framing and all the elements that share the screen. But it's so simple. Not really, not at the beginning, not when talkie filmmakers and Tinseltown were still in their infancy. Or were at least toddling around. Capra proves again and again that he was more than a hired hand, or a good storyteller, or even a competent pitchman. He was an artist through ad through, and watching him hone his craft, grow as a director, and tinker with the toys of cinema is one of the best things I could've spent a week in December doing.

Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ladies of Leisure shares a disc with Flight but you wouldn't know it from its video quality. Boasting a strong 1080p/AVC-encoded beauty of a transfer, it defies its ninety-five years of age with a handsome restoration that leaves it free of almost every blemish you might worry about. Black levels drop deep and deliver well-delineated, sumptuous shadows. Graceful midtones and perfect contrast leveling lend dimension to the image. Detail is excellent, despite the expected softness of the era, and grain is unobtrusive and consistent. Moreover, print damage is almost entirely absent, although I did catch sight of the occasional speck. Banding, blocking and other encoding issues are nowhere to be found... unless you love to nitpick average bitrates, in which case, have at. For me, all that matters is the film in motion as viewed at a proper distance. And Ladies of Leisure is as attractive a picture as anyone could hope for.

Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix is a tad rough around the edges, with some intermittent shallowness, air hiss and other limitations of the era creeping into the soundscape. It never amounts to a disappointment, merely a slight distraction, and one that's easy to overlook. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, prioritization is more than adequate, and other elements are reproduced nicely.

Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ladies of Leisure includes an audio commentary with film historian Jeremy Arnold.

Ladies of Leisure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ladies of Leisure must have been a shocking film in its day, but I appreciated its moral complexity and larger questions. It unmistakably remains quainter than a modern movie, of course. Still, there's a longing and lovelorn yearning to the picture that comes through beautifully. Is it Capra's best? No, it's too slow and meandering, and far too chatty. But buried beneath all that is the musings of a filmmaker readying true classics that are a mere five years away from coming to fruition. Sony's Blu-ray release is an excellent one, thankfully. It boasts excellent video, decent audio and a great film historian commentary that will leave you appreciating the film more than you might otherwise.