U.S. distributors Olive Films have officially announced that they will add four titles to their Blu-ray catalog in August: Frank Borzage's
Magnificent Doll (1946),
That's My Man (1947) and
I've Always Loved You (1946), and Jack Arnold's
High School Confidential (1958).
Magnificent Doll
Synopsis: One woman's romantic entanglements have historic repercussions in Frank Borzage's Magnificent Doll. Dorothea "Dolly" Payne (Ginger Rogers) is torn between her affection for Aaron Burr (David Niven), Vice President under Thomas Jefferson and something of a scoundrel, and James Madison (Burgess Meredith), a political idealist soon to be known as the "Father of the Constitution."
Penned by Irving Stone (The Agony and the Ecstasy), who often wrote about the personal lives of the founding fathers (and their love interests), Magnificent Doll chose to downplay political discourse for the sake of emotion, which sparked some criticism upon the film's initial release. "Heaven help the poor school children whose minds are supposedly informed about the American Federalist period by the film Magnificent Doll," quipped Bosley Crowther in The New York Times. But the film has since earned a more relaxed appreciation for its breathless, almost campy approach to American history, and the romantic impulses that shaped its progression. STREET DATE: AUGUST 19TH.
That's My Man
Synopsis: Virtually unseen by the public for more than 60 years, That's My Man is "a quiet little tone poem of love" (Film Comment) from two-time Oscar-winning director Frank Borzage (7th Heaven). Don Ameche stars as a bookkeeper who yearns to own a racehorse, and whose dreams materialize when he comes into possession of a promising stallion named Gallant Man. But his passion for racing threatens to spoil his relationship with his wife (Catherine McLeod), who shares Joe's idealism but not his willingness to wager their future on such a high-stakes dream. Occasionally circulated in a heavily-edited 60-minute version, this edition restores That's My Man to its original 99-minute length, and is mastered from archival film elements. STREET DATE: AUGUST 19TH.
I've Always Loved You
Synopsis: In this a stirring romance set in the world of classical music, a domineering maestro Leopold (Philip Dorn) exerts a Svengali-like control over Myra, a talented young pianist (Catherine McLeod). Frustrated by Leopold's domineering nature, the girl abandons her professional career and marries a humble farmer (William Carter). Years later, haunted by regret, Myra returns to face her former mentor, to prove that she was, and continues to be, a better musician than he ever credited her with being. Legendary pianist Artur Rubinstein performed the pieces heard in the film (by Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Wagner, and others), and provides a particularly memorable rendition of Rachmaninoff's sublime Second Piano Concerto. STREET DATE: AUGUST 26TH.
High School Confidential
Synopsis: Fanning the flames of Eisenhower America's growing paranoia, Jack Arnold's High School Confidential! is the quintessential juvenile delinquency film -- celebrating the very sex-drugs-and-rock'n'roll culture it pretends to condemn.
Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story) stars as Tony Baker, the new kid at Santa Bellow High, whose cocky attitude and ambitious weed-dealing enable him to infiltrate the gang of a local narcotics boss (Jackie Coogan). But High School Confidential! is much more than a hardboiled crime picture. It's is a pop-culture touchstone, a Rebel Without a Cause without the angst, embellished by the insanely shapely Mamie Van Doren, beat poetry for the hep set, and, of course, the throbbing theme music of Jerry Lee Lewis. STREET DATE: AUGUST 26TH.
Note: Also arriving on DVD in August are Henk Pretorius's
Fanie Fourie's Lobola (2013) and Emmanuel Shirinian's
It Was You Charlie (2013).