Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Old Fashioned Way Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 8, 2022

William Beaudine's "The Old Fashioned Way" (1934) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian and author James L. Neibaur and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

What is this? A cattle car? Drat!

Even a short documentary on the making of William Beaudine’s The Old Fashioned Way would have been invaluable because it is pretty easy to tell that there were different creative forces roaming free in it. It would have been interesting to find out what compromises were made so that they could coexist, and how the final version of The Old Fashioned Way came to exist.

As The Great McGonigle W.C. Fields is undoubtedly the driving force in The Old Fashioned Way, and during his stage performance towards the end he actually does some absolutely incredible things that a conventional actor could not possibly do before the camera, but there is still quite a bit of material that does not come together particularly well. For example, compare the two sequences where Fields’ colorful character has to make some gigantic efforts to control himself. The first is with the naughty kid that repeatedly humiliates him before the members of his troupe as they have gathered around the table, while the second places him in a more intimate environment with the wealthiest woman in town, Cleopatra Pepperday (Jan Duggan), who attempts to convince him that she can be a singing star in his upcoming show. The former has a wonderful natural flow and the chemistry between the kid and Fields is so good that it really does remind of some of the work Charlie Chaplin did with Jackie Coogan and other child actors. The transition from it to the next sequence feels very natural as well. The latter is quite wonderful too, but it is a tad too long and there are a couple of moments in it where it definitely feels like someone was losing control of its flow. Was it Fields or Beaudine? It is hard to tell.

There is another quite obvious sign revealing that the aforementioned creative forces did not always work in unison as well. Indeed, The Old Fashioned Way is a little over seventy minutes long and yet occasionally feels like it drags. Pretty strange, isn’t it? Well, it is, but only if one assumes that The Old Fashioned Way turned out exactly as it should have. It would not feel strange if one concludes that the end product could have been better. Now, this is no way an attempt to politely suggest that The Old Fashioned Way is some sort of a disappointment, but even a very quick comparison with some of the other films Fields made later in his career instantly reveals that at the very least it is quite uneven.

The best material in The Old Fashioned Way always has Fields leading. Interestingly, with the exception of the stage performance, this material is usually very flexible and allows the supporting actors to shine in special ways as well. It is because the minor things Fields does while supposedly trusting his instincts somehow always end up helping the flow of the material and everyone that is part of it benefits. When Fields allows other actors to temporarily take the lead, suddenly the action begins to lose its color and flavor, its rhythm becomes awkward, too.

Fields and Duggan worked together in a couple of other films, but they are most entertaining in The Old Fashioned Way because their characters are so utterly incompatible that there are seemingly endless opportunities for them to create terrific comedy. This is why in its current form The Old Fashioned Way leaves the impression that it could have been a better polished and ultimately more complete film with unforgettable performances.

*The opening credits identify Benjamin Reynolds as the director of photography. A decade earlier, in 1924, Reynolds worked with Erich von Stroheim on his legendary film Greed, which was MGM’s first-ever feature-length film. Also, Greed was the first-ever film to be shot on location (and apparently under some notoriously challenging conditions in Death Valley).

The Old Fashioned Way Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Old Fashioned Way arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

It is quite clear that the master that was supplied to Kino Lorber was prepared a while ago. Indeed, the film looks a bit softer than it should and in different areas reveals some obvious signs of aging, such as traces of fading and minor blemishes, some small scratches, and even minor stability issues. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital work, so even though ideally the film should look better in high-deifnition, it still has a fairly decent organic appearance. The grayscale is convincing. In fact, it is the one area where there really isn't any room for meaningful improvements. So, the current technical presentation is acceptable, but if properly restored with modern digital tools the film will instanlty acquire a fresher and overall a lot more convincing appearance. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Old Fashioned Way Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release. English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is nicely cleaned up and does not reveal any obvious signs of ageing. However, occasionally it feels like the software that was used to clean it up might have suppressed a bit its dynamic range. It is nothing to worry about, but it is something that I easily noticed because I had the volume turned up a bit. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report.

The Old Fashioned Way Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original trailer for The Old Fashioned Way. (3 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by film historian and author James L. Neibaur (The W.C. Fileds Films).

The Old Fashioned Way Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a well-known fact that W.C. Fields' best work materialized when he essentially had all the freedom he needed to be creative before the camera. There is a lot of really good material in The Old Fashioned Way, and Fields' stage performance towards the end is actually quite incredible, but there are parts of the film where it feels like plenty was done to meet the expectations of someone else. Was it William Beaudine? To be honest, I am unsure, because it is actually impossible to tell precisely how the film was cut and then under what directions assembled. Even if there is an official story that summarizes its production history, I am very skeptical that it reveals the whole story. Why? Because it is very easy to recognize that certain parts of the film have a different rhythm that isn't quite right for Fields' work. This being said, I still think that this is a fine film, but definitely not one of Fields' best. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. RECOMMENDED.