Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Those Redheads from Seattle 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 18, 2018

Aside from its place in history as "the first 3-D musical" and Paramount's first non-anamorphic widescreen release as well as the studio's first film with three-channel magnetic sound, Those Redheads from Seattle offers little in the way of dramatic novelty but does deliver a proper, relaxing good time at the (3D) movies. Song and dance, romance, the Alaskan frontier, murder, and mystery shape the movie's structure and narrative materials. It's a movie with playful, mischievous overtones and simple aspirations. Much more of the film's historical context, both in isolation and across the greater cinema 3-D landscape as it was at the time of the film's release, can be read here in another detailed article from the 3-D Film Archive, which also oversaw the 3D restoration.

The Edmonds family is separated by distance, with father and newspaper man Vance Edmonds (Frank Wilcox) in Alaska and Mrs. Edmonds (Agnes Moorehead) and her four daughters -- Katherine (Rhonda Fleming), Patricia (Teresa Brewer), Connie (Cynthia Strother), and not-a-redhead Nellie (Kay Strother) -- home in Seattle. When the girls receive word that Mr. Edmonds has fallen on difficult financial times, they take the northward trip to Alaska, starting in Skagway and heading to Dawson by dog sled. When word reaches them that the unthinkable has happened -- Mr. Edmonds has died, murdered, they learn, for trying to expose Dawson's seedy underbelly -- the women respond in various ways to make ends meet. Mrs. Edmonds take up dressmaking while two of the girls choose to re-ignite their father's dreams of building a successful newspaper in an effort to honor his memory and continue his crusading work. Another finds work as a nurse and yet another falls for a local club owner named Johnny Kisco (Gene Barry), whose establishment is a main target for the newspaper.

The film may be a little over-acted at times, but its performances are also infectiously enthusiastic and capable of carrying the film's surprising character depth and dramatic resonance. The characters are largely simple vessels but through whom the film explores family dynamics through a number of evolving perspectives, as the girls (and their mother) deal with the logistics of the journey from Seattle to Alaska, the trauma of Mr. Edmonds' death, the decisions they must make in his absence, and financial struggles that see them do anything to stay afloat from take dictation to sell kittens, the latter a business venture born of an orange Tabby the younger sister, Nellie, has brought with her. The story evolves as the details of Mr. Edmonds' death are revealed, as the girls learn that foul play was involved, relating to his work with his newspaper to reveal the truths hiding in Dawson's darkest shadows. Some of the girls pick up the good fight, but one dances for (against her mother's wishes) and becomes involved with the proprietor of his main target, the Klondike Club. Even as the film ends with an Alaskan wilderness (or staged reasonable facsimile thereof) action scene that involves guns and an avalanche, the film maintains an air of lightness, remains agreeably approachable, and finds an evenly defined balance between cheerful song and dance and dramatic character and story depth.

Those Redheads from Seattle 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Those Redheads from Seattle arrives on Blu-ray 3D from Kino and 3-D Film Archive with a very pleasing and robust 1080p 3D transfer. First, a review of the 2D-only presentation. The source is in fairly good shape at its very best but appears a bit worn and run down at worst. There are unmissable pops and speckles with more significant deterioration evident in places, but one must consider, with a film like this, the limited resources available to restoring it as well as all of the TLC that went it crafting a superior 3D presentation (more on that in a moment). Granular texturing is heavy but nicely complimentary. The image is more than capably handled under the enhanced clarity and stability of the 1080p resolution that brings out the best in any number of pleasantly complex and intricate examples of texturing, including complex wardrobes and highly detailed furnishings which offer impressive core definition. Extremely fine nuanced detail is lacking at more of a micro level and the image is a touch soft in places, but again the disc nicely balances that fine line between its inherent limitations both at the source and with the materials, time, and money allotted to the restoration artists. But whether the ladies' home or the roughhewn wooden accents and snowy landscapes in Alaska, the image generally finds a very satisfying level of clarity and essential definition. Colors please too, appearing a little washed out in a few spots but this is generally a well rounded and pleasant palette that smartly conveys essential colors while boasting robust color nuance in some of the less monochromatic surfaces.

The 3D presentation is wonderful. The title sequence offers a unique twist in that some of the title cards see the top half pop further than the bottom (though some with more clustered lists all remain at the same depth of field). They are set against an equally impressive snowy Alaskan backdrop that is home to an enjoyable front-to-back stretch. While there are some scattered pop-put effects -- such as a sled dog's snout around the 30-minute mark -- this image is largely about creating a tangible and shapely sense of depth. Nearly every shot, save for very static and essentially flat, anyway, close-ups, there's a distinct sense of space from front to back. Densely populated locations offer the most interesting and enjoyable 3D depth. A stairway cuts across a living area in the girls' house seen in the first act. As they descend, it's easy to see how the staircase demarcates two distinct portions of the room, and audiences will gain an appreciation for the room's scale and the distance between objects. Distance from characters to backgrounds, the smaller spaces between individuals in crowds, and essential room and street-level depth are always made readily clear. It's a very enjoyable 3D presentation. The movie works well in the format, allowing the richly decorated sets to breathe. The 3D review display unit, a Sony XBR65Z9D, revealed very little in the way of crosstalk effects, though some sporadic ghosting was obvious. Some of the shortcomings readily evident in the 2D presentation -- clumpy grain, print deterioration -- are nowhere near as obvious in 3D. Details are very firm and colors are rich and healthy. This is another top-end 3D presentation from the 3-D Film Archive. Format fans will certainly want to pick this up, and not only for the great 3D; it's a fun little movie as well.

Those Redheads from Seattle 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Those Redheads from Seattle features a pair of DTS tracks, one 2.0 and one 3.0. The Stereophonic 3.0 track, fully restored by the 3-D Film Archive, delivers the better listen, with improved fidelity, superior center vocal positioning in both dialogue and song, and it provides more detail to every component. Neither track qualifies as remarkable, but the 3.0 track at least delivers the film's rudimentary support sounds with serviceable definition though without much attention to fine-point sonic detail. Music and lyrics deliver with somewhat more impressive fidelity and detail. General dialogue lacks lifelike crispness but is always suitably defined and prioritized.

Those Redheads from Seattle 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Those Redheads from Seattle contains several quality extras, including a very good commentary track.

• Restoration Demo (1080p, 5:27): An all-too-brief but nevertheless fascinating overview of the various problems the restoration artists faced when confronting the original film scan. The piece includes before-and-after examples of 3D misalignment. This piece also explores the 3-D Film Archive's work in restoring the long-lost original sound elements.
• 3-Channel Stereo Demo (1080p, 3:00): The song "Chicka Boom" presented with visual sound measurements across all three channels.
• Interview with Rhonda Fleming (1080i, 8:16): The actress who portrays Kathie Edmonds discusses her transition from black-and-white to Technicolor film and Seattle's 3D presentation, amongst other topics.
• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:10).
• Audio Commentary: Hillary Hess is joined by 3-D Film Archive Founder Bob Furmanek and 3-D Film Archive Associate Producer Jack Theakston. They cover not only the film's history and structure but, more interestingly, the 3D process with tremendous insight into both the 3D presentation as it was constructed at the time of production and also the restoration work at the Archive. "We're especially proud of the commentary track on Redheads. It's the first commentary on a vintage 3-D film that actually focuses on the 3-D aspect of the production," Bob Furmanek told Blu-ray.com. The track goes in-depth but is very accessible; the technical insight is easily digestible and is supported by a welcoming delivery. This is a treasure of a track that audiences looking for a more detailed, meaningful commentary beyond the usual blasé filmmaking anecdotes will love.

Those Redheads from Seattle 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those Redheads from Seattle should find new life on the Blu-ray 3D format as a timeless guilty pleasure. The film is agreeably balanced, delivering dramatic content within its lighter moments of frivolity and catchy and well performed song-and-dance routines. Kino's Blu-ray 3D release, the beneficiary of another first-rate restoration from Bob Furmanek and 3-D Film Archive, is well worth watching. Audio is fine and the supplements are impressive. Highly recommended; this is a hidden classic gem and a welcome escape from the bland 3D conversions and poor quality blockbusters that otherwise dominate the format.