6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
A runaway truck containing the corpse of a slain gang leader rolls into a California nightclub owned by Johnny Cain, a hard bitten former free-lance adventurer. The gang threatens to kill ...
Starring: Adam West, Nancy Kwan, Robert Alda, Nehemiah Persoff, David BrianCrime | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Many actors drift through years of unemployment or low employment, praying for just one important role that will help them to establish their careers. And if by chance their prayers are answered—they may wish they had kept their figurative mouths shut. Case in point: Adam West. West had trundled through a number of bit parts and guest shots on various television series throughout the late fifties and early sixties, finally landing a recurring role on the final season of The Detectives, a move that nonetheless failed to really pan out for the actor, as he soon found himself consigned to more supporting roles and guest shots when the series was canceled. While true West fans can point to a number of these parts (including his brief but important role in Robinson Crusoe on Mars), it was of course the 1966-68 television version of Batman the indelibly imprinted the actor’s chiseled (if slightly beefy) good looks and resonant speaking voice on a generation of Baby Boomers. It’s hard to really realize what a phenomenon Batman was in its prime, albeit a relatively short-lived one. Imagine combining the fan frenzy of Twilight with that of Star Wars: The Complete Saga and you might have at least some idea of the cultural imprint Batman left for a couple of years. In a word, the show was everywhere. “Holy” this or “holy” that became instant catchphrases, as did “Bat-“ this or “Bat-“ that. Suddenly ABC, the little network that never quite could found itself broadcasting arguably the hottest show on the airwaves. And West was there in the eye of the storm, probably wondering at least momentarily what the hell had just happened. (It's instructive to note that when Robinson Crusoe on Mars debuted on television during the Batman era, it was trumpeted as "starring Adam West", even though his role is relatively minor.) The Batman craze was so pronounced that once the series ended, West was virtually unemployable, certainly a bitterly ironic pill for a journeyman actor who had worked for so long in largely thankless roles and who had finally—finally—briefly grabbed hold of a brass ring. And so, what was an erstwhile Caped Crusader to do? Though I have no corroborating information to support this thesis, my hunch is that Westco, the co-credited production firm of The Girl Who Knew Too Much, must certainly have been an Adam West Company, one designed to help the actor navigate his roiling post-Batman waters. According to the usually reliable IMDb, The Girl Who Knew Too Much was Westco’s only production, and it’s frankly not hard to understand why. While the film might be a valiant effort to allow West to break free of Batman’s spandex constraints, as a film it’s an often laughable affair, with some of the most risible dialogue in memory and a plot that doesn’t just defy credulity, it taunts it like, well, the Joker menacing Batman.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This release falls very much in line with the recent 1960s and 1970s releases we've been seeing from Olive, though in this case the elements, while in decent shape, seem to have faded a bit more than usual. Colors are kind of drab throughout this offering, and flesh tones are quite brown most of the time. The film has quite a few nighttime or dimly lit scenes, some which suffer from minor crush. There's very little egregious damage to report, and while the image is never stunningly crisp, it's generally precise and sharp looking, with close-ups revealing adequate fine detail.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that suffices quite well for this film's fairly unambitious sound design. Dialogue comes through loud and clear (for better or worse), and the pretty lamentable score (by Joe Greene, who actually wrote the incredibly lovely "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" early in his career) also sounds "fine", if by fine you mean there's no distortion. (This is one of the most inept film scores of all time, in my not so humble opinion.) There are some occasional sync problems which may be the result of bad post-looping.
No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much is one of the funniest films of its era. Unfortunately, it's not a comedy.
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