Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Money from Home Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 29, 2017

George Marshall's "Money From Home" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Unexpected delights

This film probably would have been even better without the random music performances. It is not that they are awfully disappointing, but it definitely feels like they are trying to change its identity for no good reason. George Marshall should have simply ramped up the comedy and let Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis do their thing.

On a beautiful day in the Big Apple some tough mafia boys summon Herman 'Honey Talk' Nelson (Martin) and warn him that unless he starts paying off his gambling debts he is going to get hurt. Concerned about his safety, the schmuck then decides to fix a popular horse race with the help of his dim-witted cousin, Virgil (Lewis), who may very well be the worst apprentice veterinarian the city has even seen. After Honey Talk plays brilliantly the ‘I-am-really-in-a-serious-trouble-and-desperately-need-your-help’ card Virgil reluctantly agrees to do his part and they head to the countryside. Soon after, the two bump into Bertie Searles (Richard Haydn), a clueless British jockey with a serious drinking problem, who is on his way to meet Phyllis Leigh (Marjie Millar), the owner of a popular stallion that is expected to win the race. Honey Talk then gives Bertie plenty of his favorite alcohol and introduces Virgil as the brilliant foreign winner that Phyllis has hired to make her richer. However, Honey Talk’s brilliant plan to pay off his debt suffers a serious blow when he quickly falls madly in love with Phyllis.

Money From Home is based on a good story by Damon Runyon and screenplay by Hal Kanter whose work was also used by Frank Capra for the Oscar nominated charmer Pocketful of Miracles. Marshall shot the film in 3D Technicolor together with cinematographer Daniel Fapp, who would eventually go on to lense such iconic films as West Side Story and The Great Escape.

The manner in which the narrative evolves is entirely predictable, but this is something that has virtually zero impact on the quality of the film. Indeed, the changing of the scenery and the secondary characters that emerge only expand Martin and Lewis’ playing field and offer new opportunities for the duo to impress. So essentially the entire film is structured as a collage of multiple uneven episodes with clear climactic points whose main goal is to function as a show-off piece for the two stars.

The bulk of the material is very good and the good chemistry between Martin and Lewis will probably be enough for most viewers to declare that the film successfully delivers what it should, which would be plenty of laughs, but it is difficult not to agree that more than a few times the two stars basically completely overshadow everyone else and undermine the legitimacy of supposedly meaningful relationships. And when it happens, it is a bit like watching an early episode of the Benny Hill show with the same type of needed but instantly forgettable characters that make it possible for great comedians to shine as best as they can.

*This recent release of Money From Home from Olive Films contains only a standard 2D presentation of the film. Ideally, the film should have been fully restored and a 3D version included as well. This being said, it is really difficult to imagine how a 3D presentation can improve the actual viewing experience as the visual information is not of the kind that typically benefits from the 3D technology.

Money from Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, George Marshall's Money From Home arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The ideal presentation of this film on Blu-ray should have included a 3D version as well. It was just the right thing to do as this is how it was conceived by its creators. This being said, I personally am not convinced that a 3D presentation would drastically change your appreciation of the film as the visual information is simply not of the kind that typically benefits from the 3D technology.

The bulk of the film actually has very nice density levels and clarity and detail are quite pleasing. However, it is easy to tell that there is room for improvement because there are sporadic minor color pulsations that actually impact the perception of depth. The effect can be particularly obvious during larger shots where color registration is clearly not optimal (screencapture #10 is a good example). A lot of the close-ups look very good (see screencaptures #3 and 4), though again folks that pay attention to fine details will easily see that they can look even more convincing. There are no traces of recent problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is very good. A few tiny flecks can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, or torn frames to report. (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).

Money from Home 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 for the main feature.

The audio can be fully remastered and almost certainly there will be noticeable improvements in terms of overall balance. However, I am not convinced that there will be substantial improvements in the areas of depth, clarity, and overall dynamic stability. Indeed, all of the important basic characteristics that we address in our reviews are solid. There are no audio dropouts, distracting background hiss, or distortions to report.

Money from Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

Money from Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis play two wacky cousins who get in a whole lot of trouble after they go to the countryside to fix a horse race so that one of them can pay off some outstanding gambling debts in this very funny film from director George Marshall. Olive Films' technical presentation of the film is decent, but ideally the film should have been restored and also presented in 3D, as it was originally conceived by its creators. On the other hand, I personally am not at all convinced that a 3D presentation would drastically change your appreciation of the film as the visual information is simply not of the kind that typically benefits from the 3D technology. If you find the Blu-ray release on sale, consider adding it to your collections. RECOMMENDED.