Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

St. Martin's Lane Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 16, 2013

Note: This film is currently available only in The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection.

Vivien Leigh will never escape the looming Technicolor shadow of her portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. For many, both those who have read Margaret Mitchell’s source novel and those who haven’t, Leigh simply is and will always be Scarlett. That kind of association with one iconic role can be as much of an obstacle as it is a boon to an actor’s career, but the fact is of course Leigh essayed many memorable parts over the course of several decades. Even diehard Gone With the Wind fans are aware of Leigh’s stunning turn as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , which might almost be thought of as Scarlett O’Hara: The Next Generation. Other, more devoted, fans of the actress can point to any number of other notable performances, including everything from Caesar and Cleopatra and Ship of Fools. But rather remarkably for an actress who is so lionized and so well remembered today (even if it is largely for one legendary role), Leigh actually only made a relatively paltry 19 films over the course of her career. Part of this was due to Leigh’s love of the theater (real fans will know she brought home a perhaps undeserved Tony for her brief run in the musical Tovarich!), but part of it was due to her emotional problems, which became more and more debilitating from the late forties onward (and which according to some accounts led to her early departure from Tovarich!). Leigh’s pre-Gone With the Wind British work seems to have most seriously fallen by the wayside in the actress’ oeuvre, and several of those films have in fact fallen into the public domain, with a resultant release of various pretty shoddy looking home video versions through the years. Now Cohen Film Collection (working in tandem with the British Film Institute at least some of the time) is releasing four early Leigh ventures that may help to reclaim this underappreciated era in the actress’ burgeoning career.

St. Martin’s Lane exists under the alternate title Sidewalks of London, and rather curiously this 1938 film about so-called “buskers” (English slang for street performers) inspired a musical that itself has come and gone under several alternate titles. None other but the legendary Sherman Brothers (of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fame, among credits too numerous to mention) optioned the rights to this now curiously little remembered film and attempted to make it into a stage musical first called Piccadilly, then Blow Us a Kiss, then Busker Alley (the name it had when it was covered in Ken Mandelbaum’s excellent book about musical flops Not Since Carrie), then Stage Door Charley then Buskers. If a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, one has to wonder if any name change could really alter the fact that St. Martin’s Lane (or whatever else you want to call it) is a fairly syrupy tale that melds elements from several well worn show business set films that have since become hoary clichés, films that, like A Star is Born detail the varying fortunes of two showbiz partners, or like 42nd Street, where an ambitious youngster “[goes] out there a chorus girl and [comes] back a star”.

Charles Laughton portrays Charlie, an aging busker who recites verse to people waiting in line for legitimate theatrical enterprises, or who are otherwise simply gathered on the teeming sidewalks of London. One evening, star struck young girl Liberty (Vivien Leigh), who has lucked out attempting to get an autograph of a glittering stage star, wanders by Charlie’s act. She is entranced—by the hatful of money donated by Charlie’s “public”. She makes a grab for it, and while Charlie is briefly able to restrain her, she breaks free and makes off with a little cash in hand.

She stops at a roadside food cart where she attracts the attention of Harley Prentiss (Rex Harrison), a tony theatrical entrepreneur. Liberty actually begins reciting the very poem Charlie had been performing a few minutes earlier, much to the delight of Harley. However, Charlie has caught up to the girl and begins manhandling her, inviting approbation not just from Harley but from a passing policeman. Only Charlie catches sight of Liberty making off with Harley’s very expensive looking cigarette case, and he chases after her yet again. She holes up in an abandoned mansion, and when Charlie accosts her, he discovers she’s a dancer of no inconsiderable skill.

Charlie gets the bright idea to include Liberty in his routine, and that might have set the film up as the rather unlikely romance between an aging street performer and his impetuous, ambitious protégé. Instead, St. Martin’s Lane drifts into more familiar territory when a chance decision by Liberty actually gives her a shot at “real” fame and fortune, courtesy of course of that much more likely romantic type, Rex Harrison. The film then strangely switches focus to this couple, with a brief reprise by Charlie for a heartstring tugging finale.

St. Martin’s Lane is a good—maybe even a great—showcase for Laughton, who was certainly one of the most unlikely major stars of his era. His Charlie is sad, downtrodden but strangely resilient, and even defiant. In fact the full blooded nature of Laughton’s characterization only serves to point out how petulant and shallow Leigh’s Liberty is, and how vapid and one dimensional Harrison’s Harley is. This is largely a problem with an ineffective screenplay rather than any inherent flaw in the performances themselves.

The film is still marginally enjoyable as a semi-musical that offers a unique look at a street culture that was then quite prevalent in London, but which had not yet spread (at least to such a vast extent) to American cities like New York. Even today, as one traffics through London, especially in “tube” stations, street performers are everywhere to be found, and some of them are quite remarkable. Unfortunately, Charlie wasn’t one of them, and Liberty was too busy chasing the footlights of the stage to ever help him up his game.

St. Martin's Lane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

St. Martin's Lane is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. This is one of the more inconsistent transfers in this set, one which appears to have been sourced either from intrinsically problematic elements or perhaps even from more than one source with varying degrees of quality. A lot of this transfer looks really rather good, with deep, convincing contrast and a nicely stable and clear image. Other parts are quite noticeably softer and grainier looking with more problematic contrast (the scene in the abandoned mansion with Liberty dancing is a great example). These more problematic elements come and go throughout the presentation and at times the transition can be somewhat jarring. The good news is that the nice looking sections are much more numerous and offer good depth and a generally pleasing grain structure. I'd probably bump this up to a 3.75 if I could to indicate that a lot of this transfer looks very good.

St. Martin's Lane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unfortunately, St. Martin's Lane uncompressed LPCM Mono track is probably the most problematic of the four in this set, not due to any outright damage (for there really is none), but due to a curiously muffled ambience which severely restricts virtually all ranges of the soundtrack. This is especially sad news in that there is so much music running through the film. This muffling is so pronounced at times that it's actually a bit difficult to make out what's being said. If one were to come into this film "cold", without experiencing the much brighter and clearer tracks on the other films, one might think this was at least "okay" sounding, if not stellar, but when it's compared to the other three in this set (despite some occasional damage in those three), the difference is quite striking.

St. Martin's Lane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no actual supplements tied to St. Martin's Lane. This film is on the second disc of this two disc set, and the disc itself has a supplement which is detailed in The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection Blu-ray review.

St. Martin's Lane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

St. Martin's Lane probably should have been an out and out musical, as the Sherman Brothers no doubt realized decades later (even if they couldn't quite get their version completely off the ground). The film has a strange structure where it initially seems like Charlie and Liberty are going to be the focus, which then shifts to Liberty and Harley. And the film tries a bit too hard to tug at the heartstrings, which will probably drive modern day cynics a little batty. But Laughton is superb in a rather unusual role, and Leigh and Harrison—despite playing characters who aren't completely likable—do quite well in their roles as well.