South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 29, 2014

A number of Swing Era artists like Kay Kyser, Glenn Miller and (perhaps not usually thought of as a swing performer) Gene Autry had big hits with a 1942 song by Frank Loesser and Joseph L. Lilley called “Jingle, Jangle, Jingle”, a memorable little ditty about the sound a certain accessory in mens’ footwear—namely, spurs—made. This admittedly silly little tune caught the nation’s fancy in a way that later novelty songs like “Mairzy Doats” would also do, and it may have subliminally inspired one recurring plot motif of the largely forgettable 1949 western South of St. Louis. This odd film, which veers back and forth between Union and Confederate sympathizers (or at least participants) during the Civil War, includes some rather noisy spurs that belong to three central characters whose adventures make up the bulk of the story.

Very loosely based on the real life exploits of a kind of guerilla warrior named Luke Cottrell (Victory Jory), a bad guy who ends up destroying the ranch of the three be-spurred heroes of the film, Kip Davis (Joel McCrea), Lee Price (Douglas Kennedy) and Charlie Burns (Zachary Scott). The three vow vengeance on Cottrell, taking off after the villain, something that leaves Kip’s erstwhile fiancée Deborah (Dorothy Malone) feeling neglected. In the big city, Kip soon takes up with saloon chanteuse Rouge (Alexis Smith), ultimately getting involved in a gun running scheme for the Confederates. Various alliances and allegiances between the three former ranch partners provide most of the drama here, with Smith getting to warble a tune or two (or at least lip sync) for good measure. Interestingly, the “good girl” doesn’t end up with the hero here, about the only thing unusual in this otherwise pedestrian western.

South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

South of St. Louis is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. While the elements here have the expected amount of age related wear and tear, perhaps surprisingly the color has come through the gauntlet of time rather well, with only moderate fading (toward brown) apparent. Blues, greens and purples are still quite impressive, with reds showing the biggest shift, toward kind of rusty orange levels. Detail is commendable, and per Olive's usual modus operandi, there are no signs of problematic digital intrusion on the image.

South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

South of St. Louis's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track is pretty narrow sounding most of the time, with a boxy midrange that doesn't fully allow Max Steiner's score to soar, but there's no real overt damage here, and those with reasonable expectations should be pleased with the results. Dialogue is cleanly presented, and foley effects like galloping horses and gunshots are presented with decent immediacy and vividness.

South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc.

South of St. Louis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

South of St. Louis sidles right up to some fairly provocative material, but then resolutely refuses to really explore it any meaningful way. Bolstered by the typical stolid mien of Joel McCrea, and a seductive turn by Alexis Smith as a dance hall floozy with more smarts than you might initially think, South of St. Louis is noisy and colorful, but not very memorable. Those with an interest in the title should be generally well pleased with the video and audio presentation.