7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A good-hearted gangster turns an old apple seller into a society matron so she can impress her daughter.
Starring: Glenn Ford, Bette Davis, Hope Lange, Arthur O'Connell, Peter FalkDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The final film directed by Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life) was a long-planned remake of his previous black-and-white 1933 classic, Lady for a Day, based on the Damon Runyon story "Madame La Gimp". The production was not a happy experience for Capra. By the time he had finished negotiating with Columbia Studios over the rights (which he eventually had to buy back with his own money), the director had lost his first choice for the film's two leads, Frank Sinatra and Shirley Booth. The role of bootlegger Dave the Dude eventually went to Glenn Ford, even though Capra thought Ford wasn't right for the part. But Ford, who took an associate producer credit, was willing to help fund the picture. With no studio interested in backing the project fully and Capra's own reputation at its nadir, Ford's offer was one the director couldn't refuse. He also had to cast Ford's then-girlfriend, Hope Lange, in the supporting role of club owner Queenie Martin, although Capra had originally signed Shirley Jones. For the other lead role, that of Apple Annie, Capra ended up with Bette Davis, who needed a paycheck but almost immediately began feuding with Ford over a variety of sleights, both big and small. Their poor relations made for a tense set, and Capra suffered from blinding headaches throughout the shoot. It didn't help when the film was released to poor reviews and weak box office, because Capra's financial deal was based on the "back end". When Pocketful of Miracles failed to earn back its production cost, Capra lost money. Over the years, however, Pocketful of Miracles has retained a loyal following, especially as Capra's reputation has revived. The film is too long and the comedy too broad, but its story remains grounded by the tartly comic performance (nominated for an Oscar) by Peter Falk as Ford's right-hand man, the only gangster in New York who seems to be serious about doing the kind of "business" that gangsters are supposed to do.
Pocketful of Miracles was shot in anamorphic widescreen by Robert Bronner (7 Faces of Dr. Lao), who often filled the entire width of the frame with people and activity. Kino Video's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is an acceptable but underwhelming presentation of this 1961 classic that appears to have been taken from a source one or two generations away from the original camera negative. Detail is plentiful, as can readily be seen in the many long shots containing dozens of people, but the detail isn't fine, which becomes evident in both closeups and in medium and long shots as one draws closer to the screen. Instead of fine detail, one observes a softening of the image and coarsening of the grain structure that some viewers may attribute to digital manipulation; to my eye it simply indicates the limitations of the source. Colors are decently rich and well-saturated, and the blacks are strong, all of which helps show off the spectacular wardrobe designed by the legendary Edith Head for Hope Lange and also for Ann-Margret and for Bette Davis after Annie's transformation into Mrs. Manville. The bright lights and glittery costumes of Queenie's club also flash and pop appropriately. The quality of the image is good enough to make it very obvious that the city landscape has been recreated on a backlot, but that isn't surprising for films of this era. Despite the 137-minute running time, Kino has placed Pocketful of Miracles on a BD-25. The result is a disappointing average bitrate of 18.96 Mbps, which is simply too low for a production originated on film with many complicated scenes containing numerous figures. Minor compression noise can be observed from time to time, and it is entirely possible that the soft and grainy texture would be improved with less compression and higher bandwidth. To know for certain, however, one would need access to the uncompressed original scan.
Kino has encoded the film's original mono track as lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 with identical left and right front channels. It's a solid but unremarkable track with clearly rendered dialogue, decent dynamic range and good fidelity for the musical score credited to Walter Scharf (The Nutty Professor), although Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite is the most memorable of the instrumentals on the soundtrack. The title song by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen plays over the credits, and Ann-Margret does her first onscreen singing in an a capella rendition of "The Riddle Song".
The only extra is a trailer (480i; 1.85:1; 3:00) narrated by legendary variety show host Ed Sullivan.
Pocketful of Miracles isn't explicitly a Christmas movie, but a few heavily decorated Christmas trees appear in the background of the climactic scenes at the penthouse of Mrs. E. Worthington Manville, and the film's spirit of generosity prompted MGM to hurry it into theaters for the 1961 holiday season, with "Jingle Bells" playing during the trailer. Ever since then, the film hasn't been able to shake the Christmas linkage, but there are worse fates. Kino has released a serviceable version in time for the holidays, and although the film has its flaws, as does the Blu-ray, it is recommended as the best version we're likely to see.
Warner Archive Collection
1938
1937
1939
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1932
1985
Special Edition
1967
Warner Archive Collection
1933
1994
Frank Capra's State of the Union
1948
1932
Warner Archive Collection
1958
1948
1971
1973
1935
1968
1968
4K Restoration
1948
1994