The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 15, 2019

Cinema has long made the hallowed halls of education one of its most oft utilized settings, whether real (Eastside High School) or fictional (Rydell High School), of this world (Greendale Community College) or existing in another realm (Hogwarts). But where most are set in public schools or universities, it is the boarding school that often makes for a more interesting subset of school-based films for the opportunity to create a more instant feel for community and togetherness, whether in countless Anime fare, dramatic tales set in the past, or more action-oriented movies like Toy Soldiers, one of this reviewer's favorite guilty pleasures. Director Ida Lupino's 1966 film The Trouble with Angels, set in an all-girls Catholic boarding school, is a classic family-friendly Comedy that might show its age in 2019 but that remains true to the essential characters and the realities of life in one of cinema's more endearing and possibility-filled essential locations.

Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and Rachel Devery (June Harding) meet on the train on their way to St. Francis Academy, an all girls boarding school run by Catholic nuns. The girls become fast friends and spend the next few years trying to outwit the nuns and pull off various stunts. Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) serves as both an authoritative foil for the girls’ rebellion and the guiding hand that nurtures them through their troubled years at the school, although the girls', and Mother Superior's, fate remains in doubt: will the girls ever make it to graduation, and can Mother Superior survive years of torment?

At first glance, the story of a couple of rebellious students fighting against authority feels tired and trite, but it's not so much the essential plot ebbs and flows or the specifics of any of the antics that make it work but rather the actors' commitment to making it happen with a genuine air of freshness and audience involvement. Rosalind Russell shines as Mother Superior, bringing personality to a role that is often typecast and artificial. Her character often wrestles with the desire to both strangle and save the girls, and perhaps what is most remarkable in the performance is her ability to find real emotional depth -- from anger to levity -- even from a position of supposedly unflappable, immutable authority. Russell does a great job providing both the impetus for Mills' character to change and playing the prototypical authority figure any rebellious teen would seek to circumvent. June Harding plays the perfect sidekick to Mills' mastermind and beautifully channels teenage moodiness and angst.

The character of Mary is a departure for Hayley Mills, best known for her sweet disposition in her more iconic Disney roles, including Pollyanna and The Parent Trap. Mills nevertheless commands the role and the screen and performs equally well on both sides of the character's ledger, working both Mary's smoking, rule-breaking troubled teen demeanor and, later, the more mature adult. Her ability to create and convey a thoughtful and caring personality immediately followed by a mischievous prank keeps the film’s humorous approach moving along and prevents the film from succumbing to the overpowering clutches of a full-on teen rebellion drama.

Contemporary audiences may find the movie more than a little dated. Smoking is the girls' preferred rebellion of choice, while their punishment of choice is the dirty duty of washing pots and pans (which, coincidentally, is also a punishment, and a plot point, in Toy Soldiers). The wardrobe isn't at all risqué even when it's meant to be (though the film does succeed in presenting the dichotomy between the girl's school uniforms and casual attire) and one scene involves the girls literally ironing their hair -- with an iron and an ironing board -- in an effort to straighten it. The film is a charming relic that doesn't rely on its physical characteristics so much as its personable characters and the story they shape. Like any classic, it transcends its look, even if it's well beyond its cultural expiration date.

The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is another highly satisfying pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) Blu-ray release from Sony. The image is exemplary in its filmic qualities. The grain is evenly distributed, consistent in a pleasing density, and very complimentary to the textural qualities. The image is crisp and consistently sharp. Skin textures are a delight and clothes -- habits, sweatsuits, school uniforms, and street attire -- appear naturally sharp and well defined, showcasing intimate qualities like freckles and stitches with impeccable ease. Details abound around the school; whether richly defined interior textures or various outdoor locations and elements, the picture shows an agreeably sharp and commendably clear series of specifics that bring the movie to life. Colors are healthy and vibrant. The picture is perhaps a slight bit light, lacking more intense contrast, but clothes, natural greens, furnishings, and flesh tones hold steady and pleasantly so throughout. The image shows only extremely minor and occasional speckles. No other source blemishes or encode faults are visible. This is an A-grade release from Sony.

The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Trouble with Angels features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. There is not much to the track. A modest feel for reverb can be heard at an indoor swimming pool in chapter three. School band instrumentals are appropriately voluminous and clarity is decent, even as the band is not particularly good, especially more towards the middle of the movie. Wailing fire engines race to a fire halfway through the film with solid foundational clarity but not much feel for stage traversal, even if the on-screen imagery would otherwise suggest a need for sound movement. Music enjoys modest width and fair clarity. Most of the film is dialogue driven, and the spoken word is clear and well prioritized. It images to a natural front-center location.

The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included is the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 1:02). No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

The Trouble with Angels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Trouble with Angels holds its appeal all these decades later because it speaks to the humanity that defines it rather than the texture that sets it back firmly in the 1960s. It's an agreeable film that is made much better because of a trio of wonderful lead performances. The movie's aesthetics don't get in the way today, and audiences who give it a try will be rewarded with a well acted and well versed film that finds a voice for its time, and for today. Sony's Blu-ray may be severely lacking supplemental content but video is terrific and audio is more than serviceable. Recommended.