Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Lucky Jordan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 20, 2023

Frank Tuttle's "Lucky Jordan" (1942) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Here's the payment... Mom.

The opening ten to fifteen minutes of Frank Tuttle’s Lucky Jordan are on par with the very best material you would see in Preston Sturges’ films. Alan Ladd fires off lines that cut like a hot knife through butter and hit their targets with remarkable precision. His presence and attitude would have been perfect in a Sturges film, too. There is electricity in the air that forces you to stay glued to the screen. Sturges is one of my all-time favorite directors and writers and I know this feeling very, very well.

But then Lucky Jordan begins to cool off and gradually slows down. Ladd undergoes an interesting transformation that makes him more mellow, more casual in his interactions and adventures, and the electricity in the air becomes awfully difficult to detect. However, Ladd’s transformation is only partially responsible for the shift. The bigger reason Lucky Jordan cools off and slows down is that it is extremely difficult to maintain a high-quality output until the very end. Sturges could do it as a director and writer, and it is why he was truly special.

Ladd plays Lucky Jordan, an extremely confident, often intimidatingly cynical gangster who believes that the whole world revolves around him. While planning his next big job, Jordan gets a letter informing him to prepare to join the Army. Unwilling to even consider serving his country, Jordan immediately summons his lawyer (Lloyd Corrigan) and orders him to figure out a way to keep him as far away from the Army as possible. But during an interview with a supposedly flexible Army official, everything that could go wrong goes terribly wrong, so instead of heading back to his cozy office, Jordan is sent to a military camp. At first, Jordan refuses to follow orders and attempts to bribe everyone that annoys him, but after several failures that put a target on his back concludes that the only way to regain his freedom is to desert. At the right time, Jordan then kidnaps patriotic WAC Jill Evans (Helen Walker) and returns home but accidentally discovers that his righthand man, Slip (Sheldon Leonard), has secretly started dealing with several ambitious nazis hunting for a briefcase with very important documents.

You will easily guess where Lucky Jordan wants to go and how it will get there. You will also guess how Tuttle will neutralize the cynicism from the opening ten to fifteen minutes and a few other areas from different parts of the film. Indeed, once Ladd and Walker end up in the same car and the military camp disappears into the thick shadows of the night, the blueprint Tuttle works with becomes crystal clear.

But this does not mean that Lucky Jordan is an entirely predictable and disappointing film. Several subplots, for instance, change or introduce secondary characters that produce wonderful surprises. The best surprises feature a hilarious old lady with a serious drinking problem who must pretend to be the deserter’s poor mother. One of the nazis also turns out to be the owner of a large flower business that is used as a façade for various illegal activities. In other words, Ladd and Walker frequently share the spotlight with other terrific actors that are not contributing to instantly forgettable filler material.

Lucky Jordan is a fine film with a proper style. It works and without a shadow of a doubt exactly as intended. However, when its final credits roll, it feels like it should have been a much more ambitious film. Indeed, it has a lot of quality material but it feels safe, carefully polished to fit among the rest of the films that were produced in 1942. Tuttle was the right man to direct it, but perhaps the screenplay should have been prepared by a different writer with greater ambitions.

Tuttle used the services of cinematographer John Seitz, who just a year earlier had lensed one of Sturges’ greatest masterpieces, Sullivan's Travels.

Lucky Jordan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lucky Jordan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master that was struck from a 35mm fine grain. While ideally the film could and should look better, I liked the technical presentation a lot. Why? Even though density levels can be better and a few visuals are a bit rough, the entire film has a very, very attractive organic appearance. The grayscale is set very well, too. As a result, while limitations can be recognized, delineation, clarity, and depth are always pleasing. I did not see any big surface imperfections either. Yes, there is room for some cosmetic improvements but they would not make a dramatic difference. This film can look better only if it undergoes a proper restoration where superior elements are used. Again, I really liked how it looked on my system. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Lucky Jordan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

I did not encounter any issues to report in our review. In a few areas, the audio could be slightly uneven, but these fluctuations appear to be inherited. The upper register is healthy. The dialog is clear and easy to follow. Dynamic contrasts are modest, but this is to be expected from a film that was completed in 1942.

Lucky Jordan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Lucky Jordan. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Samm Deighan.

• Cover - a reversible cover art with vintage poster art for Lucky Jordan.

Lucky Jordan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The softening of Alan Ladd's cynical gangster should have been delayed for as long as possible so that the excellent material from the opening ten to fifteen minutes could have been dramatically extended. The middle section changes the film too much and pushes it down a familiar path, and while I still enjoyed it, I think that there are plenty of cliches that easily could have been avoided. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a lovely new 2K master. RECOMMENDED.