Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 13, 2021

1979’s “The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan” is a television film that’s hoping to appeal to a singular demographic, offering romantic conflict, domestic despair, and secret desires. It’s also a time travel movie, with writer/director Frank De Felitta adapting a novel by David Williams, trying to do something sincere with the concept of a magical dress that offers a broken woman a chance at a happy life. It’s all very silly, but De Felitta manages to make the premise work to a certain degree, replicating the romance novel experience for the screen, providing a satisfactory understanding of character and motivation while trying to whip the material into a sufficient network television lather.

Jennie Logan (Lindsay Wagner) is happy to move into a large New England house, but she remains unsure of her husband, Michael (Alan Feinstein), who was caught cheating on his wife, fighting a long battle to regain her trust. A fresh start in a new place provides excitement for the couple, with Jennie exploring the unfinished attic space, discovering a Victorian-era dress in near-perfect condition. When she puts the dress on, Jennie is transported to 1899, making a connection to David (Marc Singer), a painter who lives alone in the house after the loss of his wife. Jennie is attracted to David, learning of his upcoming death on New Year’s Eve, inspiring her to figure out how to prevent the future incident, caught between realities as Michael worries about his wife’s mental health.

Wagner deserves credit for making “The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan” work as well as it does. It’s up to her to sell the strangeness of the time travel idea, with Jennie going wobbly as she moves from 1979 to 1899, using the dress to make contact with David. It’s a melodramatic feature, but Wagner gives it some degree of emotional authenticity, portraying a character burned by her husband, unable to forget his mistake, electing to pursue the impossible with David, a hunky painter embroiled in family issues involving his former in-laws (including Linda Gray). “The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan” uses time travel to establish a ticking clock of sorts in David’s eventual death, with the dress-wearer trying to figure out how to get in the way of fate, falling in love with the painter in one life, while dealing with Michael’s concern in the other. It’s an interesting duality De Felitta works to the best of his ability, establishing a detective story of sorts while setting a lusty mood, keeping male cast members in various stages of shirtlessness.

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.34:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a softer viewing experience for "The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan," befitting the romantic mood of the feature. Detail is acceptable, surveying facial and hair particulars, and costuming retains texture, dealing with period outfits, including the time traveling lace dress. Locations are appreciable, with decent dimension, and room expanse is acceptable. Colors are not emphasized, offering browns and whites from the 1970s, while turn of the century hues favor greenery and brighter dress designs. Delineation is acceptable. Source is in good condition. Mild banding is periodicaly detected.

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 LPCM mix does what it can with the limited soundscape of "The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan," offering decent dialogue exchanges. Crispness isn't happening, but intelligibility remains, supporting heavier dramatic efforts and quieter conversations. Scoring cues support comfortably, offering warmer strings and piano. Hiss is present throughout the listening experience.

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Kevin Lyons.

• And a Television Trailer (1:02, SD) is included.

The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Obviously, "The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan" would make a terrific double feature with 1980's "Somewhere in Time," with both pictures understanding the needs of screen tenderness and idealized longing while fiddling with the harshness of time travel. The two movies also stick their landings in slightly different ways, with "The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan" adding a "Twilight Zone"-esque conclusion that sells the fantasy superbly, adding a nice little punch to a softer film, giving it a slap of empowerment to revive material that occasionally gets lost trying to become event television for a female audience.