Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		1.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie Review

Ha'penny serenade.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 24, 2017

The Warner Archive Collection has been one of the perhaps unexpected pleasures of the mature Blu-ray era. This “manufactured on demand” line debuted without an overabundance of press and with a kind of unlikely assortment of films which included such disparate titles as Deathtrap, Gypsy, The Hudsucker Proxy, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes , Billy Rose's Jumbo and Fearless (along with perhaps even more unlikely efforts like Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Complete First Season and Green Lantern: The Animated Series), but it has become increasingly popular in the intervening years, providing a wealth of at times underappreciated but (at least in some cases) important films that otherwise would have probably never seen the high definition light of day, at least in disc form. The Warner Archive efforts have had generally very high technical merits, something else that has commended them to home theater enthusiasts. In the “better late than never” category, 20th Century Fox is now aping Warner’s MOD strategy by offering a new Fox Cinema Archives line. Somewhat similarly to Warner’s kind of quiet roll out of their line, Fox hasn’t really marketed these in any hyperbolic way, and in fact their PR firm wasn’t even able to provide Blu-ray screeners (hence the somewhat delayed reviews of the first films in the series). So, how is this first selection of Fox Cinema Archives titles? Read on.

The film version of Carousel may have downplayed some of the more provocative elements of the boorish behavior of (anti) hero Billy Bigelow, but it maintained the central premise of a ghostly Billy being allowed to visit his still living wife and young girl in an attempt to right long ago wrongs. Billy’s wife was named Julie (Julie Jordan, a "queer one", as any lover of memorable Rodgers and Hammerstein songs will of course already know), and in a kind of interesting reversal of sorts, Sentimental Journey has something along the same lines of ghostly intervention as is depicted in Carousel, though in this case it’s the character named Julie (Maureen O’Hara) who is a spectral presence attempting to smooth some family dysfunction. Sentimental Journey probably inarguably culled its somewhat ineffective title from the song made famous by Les Brown and His Band of Renown (along with a little help from a then up and coming singer by the name of Doris Day), though the song’s lyric has very little to do with the plot on display. However, “Sentimental Journey” was such a massive hit in 1945 (charting for close to a somewhat astounding six months) that a 1946 film probably would have been foolish not to have tried using it to bring in the ticket buying bodies. The tune is used rather ubiquitously throughout the film, and it at least evokes a certain kind of schmaltzy nostalgia that is Sentimental Journey’s (the film) stock in trade.

The ghostly intervention angle isn’t the only element in Sentimental Journey requiring a pretty substantial suspension of disbelief. Julie is a famous actress and her husband Bill (John Payne) is an equally accomplished producer, and while their marriage is seemingly idyllic (a show business marriage idyllic?), it turns out they can’t have children, which is causing them grief. It’s seemingly a gift from some Divinity (or at least a desperate screenwriter) when the two more or less stumble upon the “perfect orphan”, a sweet little girl named Hitty (Connie Marshall). Hitty is adopted by the pair, which would normally be the “happily ever after”, except that there’s still the bulk of the film to get through.

Without spoiling some of the smaller details which actually do help Sentimental Journey to deliver at least a bit of (perhaps overly manipulative feeling) emotion, suffice it to say that the family unit is beset by tragedy, leading to Julie’s aforementioned spectral state. Rather interestingly, at least for a 1946 film, Sentimental Journey traffics in some of the sorrow Bill experiences which in turn keeps him from effectively parenting Hitty. There’s very little question as to where all of this is heading, especially with little “nudges from beyond” that Julie provides.

Probably too calculated to really deliver the “three hankie” goods, the film also has some kind of "ew" material when Julie shuffles off this mortal coil, but not before insisting that Hitty stay with Bill as almost a quasi-wife. That results in some kind of smarmy feeling scenes where Hitty, in a bathrobe that's a miniature version of Julie's, walks into the bedroom and cheerily presents Bill with a tray of food. It's meant to be cute, but it's somehow off putting. Add to this that Bill's "devastation" is telegraphed by him not shaving and wearing dark glasses all the time, and some with black senses of humor may start to think this is an unintended comedy. Sentimental Journey nonetheless provides Payne and (especially) O’Hara with good performance opportunities, and the supporting cast is full of those great types (William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, Mischa Auer) who were part and parcel of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but who seem sadly absent in today’s film world. Maybe a ghost somewhere could offer a contemporary casting agent a little help.

Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sentimental Journey is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's new Fox Cinema Archives imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. While this is perfectly watchable, this has probably the least effective technical presentation of this first wave of Fox Cinema Archives titles. There's pretty bad wobble throughout the credits, which is okay, but the major scratches that are on display throughout the credits continue unabated through the first sequence of the film and scratches and other damage are a recurrent problem throughout the presentation, often unfortunately right down the middle of the frame (see screenshot 19, which is a good example, though toward the end of the film, another clue as to how long lasting this problem is). As with Sitting Pretty, there are variable clarity levels which go hand in hand with a variable grain field. When the transfer isn't hobbled by damage and the grain field isn't overly "dupey" looking, things look very nice, with generally good detail levels and solid contrast. However, some of the damage and the variability of the presentation make this a less than optimal presentation.

Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the other releases in the first wave of Fox Cinema Archives releases, Sentimental Journey offers only a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 mono mix. This is one of the more boxy mixes in the first wave (the Fox fanfare sounds like its emanating from a film cannister--that's down a rather sizable well). There are also recurrent synch issues that at times are very noticeable (the very first sequence in particular), sometimes more subtle, but which are as prevalent as the damage described in the video section. All of this said, dialogue is presented clearly enough, even if it often doesn't precisely match lip movements.

Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Photo Gallery (1080i; 2:35)

Sentimental Journey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My hunch is jaded contemporary audiences are as apt to laugh at Sentimental Journey as they are to be emotionally affected by it. The film is obviously going for a kind of Penny Serenade feeling, including a leading lady named Julie and an emphasis on recorded music, but the ghost aspect is too far fetched to be really effective, and the whole idea of a little girl forced to "replace" her adoptive mother may strike some as positively squirm inducing. Technical issues also plague this presentation which may keep even ardent fans of the film at arm's length.