Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Saratoga Blu-ray Movie Review

From Harlow to eternity.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 3, 2023

Jack Conway's star-studded romantic comedy Saratoga, though a decently entertaining film in its own right, is likely best known as the final appearance of Jean Harlow, who tragically died during production at the age of 26 -- nearly two full months before its theatrical release. Completed with the help of clever studio trickery, Saratoga ended up becoming the highest-grossing picture in Harlow's short but storied career and features dependably good work by much of its cast including Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon, and the marvelous Hattie McDaniel.

As its original one-sheet poster (which is replicated on Warner Archive's new Blu-ray) implies, the subject matter of Saratoga is not nearly as important as its featured cast -- if you squint really hard, you can barely make out a horse. Equestrian fans will be tipped off by the title, of course: Saratoga Springs in eastern New York is home to one of the country's oldest thoroughbred race tracks and recently celebrated its 160th birthday earlier this year.

But enough about racing, because gambling debts and a crooked love triangle are what drive most of Saratoga's plot. Our unofficial main character is bookie Duke Bradley (Clark Gable), who accepts a horse farm formerly owned by Frank Clayton (Jonathan Hale) and his dad "Grandpa" (Lionel Barrymore) in lieu of said bets, and later even offers to forgive them after a tragedy. Meanwhile, Frank's daughter Carol (Jean Harlow) arrives in town with her wealthy fiancée Hartley Madison (Walter Pidgeon) and is unavoidably made part of the money drama: she'd rather buy the farm outright from Duke, and soon insists that her father's debts will be repaid in full before she marries. Soon enough, Duke's taken in by Carol's charms and his past encounters with Hartley -- lost bets, mostly -- only stoke his fire even more.

To its credit, Saratoga remains fairly sweet and entertaining, despite what's ultimately kind of a convoluted plot for this brand of romantic comedy. Luckily, the cast plays well off of one another, from those already mentioned to supporting players like Una Merkel and Frank Morgan, who play a husband and wife that are old friends of Duke's. Hattie McDaniel also shines as servant Rosetta; she'd already appeared in dozens of films earlier in the decade but mostly in uncredited roles, and her scenes alongside real-life pal Clark Gable (whom she first met on the set of 1935's China Seas) are easy standouts and would be continued later that decade in Gone With the Wind. Likewise, the on-screen chemistry Gable shares with Jean Harlow can't be understated; it's no wonder they'd already appeared in five films together, including the previously-mentioned China Seas and 1936's Wife Versus Secretary. This would mark their last pairing, obviously; Harlow even looks noticeably ill in a handful of scenes, as the actress was dealing with several medical issues including oral surgery complications and the uremic syndrome that would take her life before filming wrapped.

This factors into Saratoga's infamous final lap, one in which the studio briefly considered re-shooting Harlow's material entirely before reported fan backlash forced them to find a different solution: finish the remaining scenes with stand-ins and other doubles, as well as a bit of sound-alike vocal dubbing to fill in the blanks. The illusion works well enough to mostly sustain Saratoga's flow and, bolstered by the opposing performances of her capable co-stars, Harlow's last film appearance feels more or less fully intact -- this is nothing like what what happened to Bruce Lee in Game of Death. Fittingly, the new A/V facelift provided by Warner Archive's welcome Blu-ray gives Saratoga yet another reason to be reevaluated; this is not only an important cinematic "last", but a decent little comedy in its own right.

Saratoga Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Saratoga's 1080p transfer stems from a new 4K scan of the best-available preservation elements (not specified, but possibly a mixture of the original negative with interpositive inserts), which unsurprisingly yields superior results that far outpace previous home video editions. The image is tack-sharp and extremely clean while preserving an authentic grain structure, one that clearly has the look and feel of nitrate without all of the pesky noise and compression issues that sometimes come with the tricky format. Disc encoding is first-rate; the show runs at a supportively high bit rate from start to finish and suffers from no obvious compression artifacts such as banding, macro blocking, or black crush. Though a few extremely small seams show due to variances in the source materials, it's certainly not enough to keep Saratoga from earning yet another perfect five-star rating for the reliable Warner Archive.

Saratoga Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Trace amounts of persistent hiss date Saratoga's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix a little more than its transfer, though this still-capable track has likewise been resurrected from presumably clean elements and, under the circumstances, sounds as good or better than most in its class. Dialogue remains perfectly intelligible throughout, with good balance between it and background effects, as well as Edward Ward's original score. Despite the occasional hiss as mentioned above, other limitations -- age-related or otherwise -- are overwhelmingly kept at bay including pops and drop-outs, resulting in an overall solid split mono mix that gets the job done and will certainly please audio purists.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only -- not the bonus features below.

Saratoga Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive vintage poster artwork and no inserts. On-board extras are limited to mostly pre-show entertainment but it's certainly better than nothing.

• The Romance of Celluloid (10:45) - This short 1937 documentary, narrated by Frank Whitbeck, runs through several varied elements of MGM moviemaking magic including how Kodak film is made, the make-up artistry of Jack Dawn, costume designer Adrian at work, a musical demo by composer Herbert Stothart, a screen test with Virginia Grey and Clark Gable, and more. It's all prefaced by a "product of its time" text warning that earns its stripes with the very first line of narration. This is invaluable stuff and well worth a look for fans... and as a welcome little bonus, it's been decently restored from recently-discovered film elements.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:36) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Saratoga Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jack Conway's star-studded romantic comedy Saratoga is mostly remembered as leading lady Jean Harlow's final film before her tragic death at the age of 26, but it's a decently entertaining romantic comedy in its own right and features a terrific cast including Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon, and Hattie McDaniel. (Margaret Hamilton even appears in a small uncredited role that's far from her first, but pre-dates her career-changing turn in The Wizard of Oz.) It's ripe for rediscovery on Warner Archive's excellent new Blu-ray, which as usual pairs an outstanding A/V restoration with a few period-specific bonus features. Recommended for fans and first-timers alike.