Where There's Life Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Where There's Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 22, 2022

Sidney Lanfield's "Where There's Life" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only supplemental features on the release are promo reel and original trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Eliminated by The Mordia

The tiny European country of Borovia. While giving a powerful speech on the main square before his centuries-old palace, the King of Borovia is shot in the chest by a sniper hired by the terrorist group The Mordia. Surrounded by his trusted generals and ministers, and with presumably only hours left to live, the King of Borovia then reveals that years ago, while he was on an official visit in a distant land called America, he fell in love with a beautiful girl working in the local embassy who later on secretly gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Now, this boy, who must be a grown man, should replace him and so that Borovia isn’t consumed by a civil war. Shortly after the shocking revelation, General Katrina Grimovitch (Signe Hasso) and a couple of trusted assistants head to America to find the King’s son and convince him to come back with them and save Morovia.

It turns out that the King’s son is Michael Valentine (Bob Hope), a not so popular radio host in New York City, who is getting ready to marry Hazel O’Brien (Vera Marshe), a very bubbly girl he has dated for eight years. However, even though their wedding is just hours away, it is not a sure thing because Hazel’s brother, Victor (William Bendix), a feisty cop with a reputation, isn’t fully convinced that Michael is right for his sister. When The Mordia’s best assassins land in New York City, quicky track down Michael and force him to miss the wedding, Victor finally gets his definitive proof that his future brother-in-law was exactly as he had him figured out years ago -- a lousy cheater who was never serious about starting a family with Hazel. Meanwhile, as if to prove Victor right, Michael unexpectedly finds himself attracted to General Grimovitch, who is doing her best to help him stay alive.

Directed by Sidney Lanfield, Where There’s Life is a charming but hardly original comedy that is probably remembered only because of Hope’s presence in it. Indeed, it goes does down a very familiar path and virtually all of the quality material in it features Hope who is very clearly in top form. In other words, Where There’s Life is essentially a one-man show with a fairly big supporting cast.

There are plenty of good laughs, especially after Hope infiltrates The Mordia and attempts to trick its members that he is already dead, but between them there are many patches of filler material as well. This is the film’s biggest weakness -- it leaves the impression that Lanfield and screenwriters Melville Shavelson and Allen Boretz could not quite get the balance between the humor and romance right. Also, it definitely feels like the film could have been a bit longer. Indeed, even though its story is hardly original, it is of the type that could have produced many more opportunities for Hope to get in challenging situations where his struggles to evade the assassins would have produced more laughs. Instead, in the second half Lanfield shoots a couple of big sequences where Hope shines in predictable ways and then wraps up the film by rushing him on a plane bound for Borovia.

From the supporting actors only Bendix seems ready to match Hope’s enthusiasm to entertain, but the screenplay does not provide him with quality material to impress. He is usually placed in short sequences with plenty of people around him that are required to absorb his anger while he keeps rehashing the same accusations about his future brother-in-law. They fit into the story, but quickly become tiring. Hasso is likeable but sadly instantly forgettable. In the second half, she suddenly becomes a brittle romantic that has practically nothing in common with the ‘general’ who vows to save Borovia by locating the King’s heir and her chemistry with Hope just does not feel right. This part should have gone to stronger actress with a much bigger personality.

Where There is Life was lensed by the great Oscar-winning cinematographer Charles Lang, whose credits include such classics films as Some Like It Hot, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Sabrina, and One-Eyed Jacks.

Where There's Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Where There's Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This film must have been remastered fairly recently because it looks wonderful in high-definition. For example, delineation and clarity are always very good and occasionally even gravitating around excellent. Depth is very pleasing as well, though there are some areas with minor density fluctuations that introduce sporadic unevenness. As you can see from the screencaptures we have provided with our review, the grayscale is convincing, too. The blacks are strong but do not appear boosted, there are excellent ranges of grays, and the whites appear natural. So, the overall balance is very nice. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is good. Some specks and tiny blemishes can be spotted, but there are no cuts, big damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. So, this release offers a very convincing organic presentation of the film. (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).

Where There's Life 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.

Clarity and sharpness are very good. During a few scenes, I did notice some extremely light hiss trying to sneak in, but I think that the audio is still very healthy. Dynamic intensity is good for a film from the 1940s, but you should not expect to hear any memorable dynamic contrasts. The energetic score is usually responsible for all the excitement.

Where There's Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Where There's Life. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Bob Hope Promo - a nice promo video for films starring Bob Hope that are part of Kino Lorber's Blu-ray catalog. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

Where There's Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you plan to acquire Bob Hope's films on Blu-ray, Where There's Love should not be at the very top of your list. I am not suggesting that it is not worth owning. Given the very attractive price tag it has at the moment you should probably consider picking it up right now, but you need to get some of Hope's biggest films with it as well. On this release there is a nice promo reel and plenty of trailers for other Hope films that are out on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber, so they can help you make a bigger order. I enjoyed Where There's Love quite a bit, but when its final credits appeared on my screen I was left with the impression that some of the actors around Hope were underused. RECOMMENDED.