Tonight’s Movie: San Antonio (1945) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

The Errol Flynn Western SAN ANTONIO (1945) was recently released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

I remember the original DVD print as looking quite good, but even so it’s hard to imagine it looking any better than this spectacular new Blu-ray.

Combine an outstanding print and sound with a very entertaining movie, and the Warner Archive has itself a real winner with this release.

Flynn plays Clay Hardin, a Texas cattleman whose herd has been stolen. With the help of his lifelong friend Charlie Bell (John Litel) Clay plans to deal with the bad guys and reclaim his herd.

Clay also has a blossoming romance with entertainer Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith), whom he first meets on a stagecoach as she travels to an engagement in San Antonio.

As I described in 2009, this 110-minute movie has just about everything, from a gorgeous, sumptuously gowned (by Milo Anderson) leading lady to spectacular Technicolor to a climactic barroom brawl that, above everything, seems to be a stuntmen’s demonstration. It features one amazing drop after another!

Best of all, the movie has Flynn, confidently battling and romancing with good humor. He’s perfect, and he’s well teamed with Smith, who I think is my favorite of his leading ladies after Olivia de Havilland.

Paul Kelly and Victor Francen are the baddies, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Florence Bates are comic relief as Jeanne’s conductor and manager, and also on hand are Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin Martin, Robert Shayne, Robert Barrat, Pedro de Cordoba, Doodles Weaver, and Monte Blue.

Tyler has a downright creepy shootout with Flynn early in the film. Viewers aren’t likely to soon forget Tyler’s exit.

The movie, written by Alan LeMay and W.R. Burnett, was directed by David Butler and the uncredited Robert Florey and Raoul Walsh. It was filmed by Bert Glennon and the uncredited William V. Skall, including location work in Calabasas.

The movie was filmed in late 1944, then sat on the shelf for about a year after production. This was fairly common with Warner Bros. films in that time frame; there was too much product available for the market to handle.

Max Steiner’s main theme recycles Flynn’s DODGE CITY (1939); indeed, my husband heard the music from the next room and asked if I was watching DODGE CITY. According to IMDb there was also uncredited work on the film by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

In addition to the trailer, the Blu-ray contains the 18-minute short FRONTIER DAYS (1945) with Robert Shayne and Dorothy Malone, directed by Jack Scholl, and the cartoon TRAP HAPPY PORKY (1945).

For an idea of what SAN ANTONIO looked look in the days when many of us were only able to watch it on commercial television, check out the unrestored trailer on this disc. Memories of watching movies looking like that are why Blu-rays and DVDs still seem like a miracle to me many years after they were each first introduced.

Both this film and the Blu-ray are happily recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

Tonight’s Movie: Manpower (1941) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

MANPOWER (1941), starring the powerhouse trio of Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, and Marlene Dietrich, was just released on Blu-ray last week by the Warner Archive Collection.

MANPOWER was previously released on DVD by the Warner Archive almost exactly 16 years ago, in early 2010. The new Blu-ray is a very good-looking print from a 1080p HD master of a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative.

Johnny Marshall (Raft) and Hank McHenry (Robinson) work together as part of a rowdy crew at a Los Angeles power company.

The men’s close friendship is threatened when Hank falls for Fay (Dietrich), the daughter of a fellow crew member (Egon Brecher).

Fay has just been released from a year in prison and soon goes to work at a clip joint managed by Smiley (Barton MacLane).

The awkward Hank, who lacks Johnny’s success with the ladies, falls for Fay and marries her despite knowing she doesn’t love him.

Fay initially makes a good attempt to make Hank happy in return for him providing her with security, including a nice home, but when Johnny comes to stay with them while recovering from an injury, Fay realizes she loves Johnny, not Hank. Whoops...

This is a fairly entertaining 104-minute film thanks to a deep, deep cast and energetic direction by Raoul Walsh, but it could have been quite a bit better.

Raft is excellent, giving a nuanced, charismatic performance as a nice guy, but both Dietrich and Robinson are saddled playing unlikeable characters.

We know Robinson can do a good, believable job as a loving – and loved – husband thanks to a film like BLACKMAIL (1939), but here he’s simply an oblivious, socially inept dope. I guess we can credit Robinson with good acting for being believable as a rather crass and unintelligent man. He’s almost hard to watch at times, which is not how I typically think of Robinson.

Dietrich is similarly unpleasant. She’s virtually always seen with a cigarette, even cooking and washing the dishes, and more importantly has a chip on her shoulder from the moment she shows up. Even when she falls for Raft’s character, she doesn’t really soften; instead, her treatment of Hank, who’s provided for her generously, seems cruel.

Yes, Hank is kind of a dweeb and he knew she didn’t love him when they married, but...

Beyond Robinson and Dietrich, Warner Bros. stalwarts Alan Hale (Sr.) and Frank McHugh are way over the top as immature, childlike crew members.

That said, the many other great faces in the cast make it a lot of fun, starting with Ward Bond, Eve Arden, Joseph Crehan, Walter Catlett, Joyce Compton, Barbara Pepper, and Nella Walker.

There are also bit roles played by Faye Emerson (as a nurse), William Hopper (as a power company phone operator), and Jane Randolph (as a hat check girl). It’s great fun glimpsing them here early in their careers.

MANPOWER was written by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay. It was photographed in black and white by Ernie Haller.

The lone extras on this Blu-ray are two cartoons from the year MANPOWER was released, SNOWTIME FOR COMEDY (1941) and JOE GLOW, THE FIREFLY (1941).

In the end, despite my disappointments MANPOWER is entertaining enough to be worth seeing, especially given the cast and the beautiful presentation on this new Blu-ray.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

TCM in February: Highlights

Happy February on Turner Classic Movies!

February will be a bit unusual this year, in that the first 12 days of the month will be a "normal" schedule, followed by the annual 31 Days of Oscar festival starting on February 13, 2026.

31 Days of Oscar runs through March 15th, which is also the date of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

I’ll have a look at the 31 Days of Oscar highlights posted here around the 13th, while this February preview covers February 1st through 12th. Then look for additional March highlights here around March 16th.

The February Star of the Month, from February 2nd through 6th, is Bugs Bunny. Blocks of Bugs Bunny cartoons, 45 in all, will be screened in between feature films each evening.

For those who may not have heard, TCM will be the new "home" of Looney Tunes cartoons thanks to a new six-year deal.

The Noir Alley films shown on the first two weekends of February will be TALK ABOUT A STRANGER (1952), shown January 31st and February 1st, followed by VICE SQUAD (1953) on February 7th and 8th.

VICE SQUAD, starring Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard, is a movie which may not be great – but is great fun!

Here are more details on some of the fun films being shown on TCM during the first half of February. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read an extended review.

...Overnight, in the wee hours of February 2nd, TCM is showing the masterpiece THE RED SHOES (1948). When I revisited it at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival I Tweeted "Few things on earth are more lovely than Moira Shearer in THE RED SHOES."

...After a day of films featuring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba the Jungle Boy, the first evening of Bugs Bunny films begins on February 2nd. Nine cartoons will be shown in between films such as A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) and WALK DON’T RUN (1966). The cartoons continue every evening this week.

...There’s a lineup of films about pilots on February 3rd, including Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan in DESPERATE JOURNEY (1942).

...TCM celebrates Westerns during the day on February 4th, including Randolph Scott in RIDING SHOTGUN (1954) and TALL MAN RIDING (1955). Jeremy Arnold covers the eight-film lineup for the TCM site.

...February 5th features a birthday tribute to John Carradine, including STAGECOACH (1939). That screening could also be considered a belated birthday celebration for John Ford, born February 1st.

...February 6th there’s a showing of MGM’s little-known telling of the Cinderella tale, THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955). Although I wish Leslie Caron’s Ella had been less petulant, overall I love the movie, including Estelle Winwood as the Fairy Godmother, Elsa Lanchester the Stepmother, and Michael Wilding is Prince Charming. Charles Walters directed.

...The Saturday movies on February 7th include Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks’ TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), one of the movie which captured my imagination and helped me fall in love with classic movies as a child. As I wrote in my review nearly a decade ago, "In my mind’s eye I can still see myself watching the film for hte first time at my grandmother’s house, completely entranced by Bogart and Bacall’s sizzling chemistry."

...February 8th features comedies, including TWICE BLESSED (1945), a precursor to THE PARENT TRAP (1962) starring identical twins Lyn and Lee Wilde, and, later in the day, Lubitsch’s NINOTCHKA (1939).

...February 9th is my favorite day on the early February schedule. It begins with a birthday tribute to Kathryn Grayson, including a very little-known yet very special piece of MGM Americana, THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN (1942). The evening is spent celebrating director Ernst Lubitsch, including a screening of his classic TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), which remains fresh and funny no matter how many times one has seen it.

...February 10th features a favorite lesser-known Western, FORT DOBBS (1958), starring Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, and Brian Keith.

...A day of stories about schools and students on February 11th includes Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, and Bob Fosse in THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953), along with a favorite pre-Code melodrama, FINISHING SCHOOL (1934), featuring Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers.

...February 12th features the excellent WWII thriller YELLOW CANARY (1943), which is also being shown February 10th. Anna Neagle and Richard Greene star.

Those wishing to peek ahead at the 31 Days of Oscar schedule, which begins February 13th, will find information here.

For more on TCM in February 2026, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in February, along with TCM’s online schedule.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...Turner Classic Movies has just announced a six-year licensing deal to be the new "home" of Looney Tunes cartoons. In conjunction with that, Bugs Bunny will be TCM’s February Star of the Month. More on the TCM February schedule will be posted here soon.

...The latest additions to the National Film Registry came out last week. As usual, a couple titles caused me to roll my eyes, but I was thrilled by the inclusion of one of my all-time favorite movies, WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), which also happens to be the first feature film shot in VistaVision. PIxar’s THE INCREDIBLES (2004) was also deserving.

...Leonard Maltin reports that Olivia de Havilland’s papers and memorabilia are now in the archives of the University of Texas at Austin. Here’s more info from a university press release.

...The Academy Foundation has ended an oral history project, established in 1989, and laid off staff. With layoffs over the past couple of years the Academy certain seems to be taking the preservation of film prints and history far less seriously than it should.

...What’s anticipated to be the final film in the Fast and Furious series, FAST FOREVER (2028), has announced a release date of March 17, 2028.

...Coming to Blu-ray in April from ClassicFlix and Cartoon Logic: The Famous Studios Champion Collection, containing 18 cartoons released from 1943 to 1950. They’ve been restored from 4K scans of original materials.

...Kino Lorber has announced an April 28, 2026 Blu-ray release date for THE MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD (1934) starring Claude Rains.

...Michael Barrett of Pop Matters presents a good overview of Kino Lorber’s two volumes of French noirs. I have certainly been enjoying them! And as I mentioned in my new review of THE BEAST IS LOOSE (1959), be on the lookout for the Criterion Collection release of Lino Ventura in THE BIG RISK (1960) on March 17th.

...Over at 50 Westerns From the 50s, Toby Roan has reviewed Errol Flynn in SILVER RIVER (1948) and Audie Murphy in SIX BLACK HORSES (1962). SILVER RIVER is now out on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, while SIX BLACK HORSES is a region-free Blu-ray from ViaVision, sharing a disc with THE WILD AND THE INNOCENT (1959). I recently bought SILVER RIVER on sale and will be ordering the ViaVision disc soon!

...Speaking of Audie Murphy, I loved John McElwee’s assessment of NO NAME ON THE BULLET (1956) and Audie Murphy’s acting at his site Greenbriar Picture Shows. In the review he refers to NIGHT PASSAGE (1957) and watching "James Stewart do his acting thing while Audie just stands, quietly observes, says little if nothing because the scene is already his." I love James Stewart but he’s completely right; NIGHT PASSAGE belongs to Audie Murphy.

...Also check out Glenn Erickson’s review of the Warner Archive Collection’s new Blu-ray release of THE NARROW MARGIN (1952). I’ll be reviewing this film, an all-time favorite, in the near future.

...Please note that Around the Blogosphere This Week will not appear next weekend, on February 7th, when I’ll be attending a special event celebrating the silver anniversary of Disney California Adventure.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my January 24th column.

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New at Classic Movie Hub: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

This month’s Western RoundUp column at Classic Movie Hub is a review of John Ford’s THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962).

Tonight’s Movie: The Beast is Loose (1959) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

I’ve very much been enjoying getting to know French film noir thanks to Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Last year I liked HI-JACK HIGHWAY (1955), aka GAS-OIL, and thanks to Kino Lorber’s French Noir sets I’ve also enjoyed RHINE VIRGIN (1953) and SPEAKING OF MURDER (1957).

I’ve now watched my favorite from these sets to date, THE BEAST IS LOOSE (1959), also known as THE TIGER ATTACKS or, in its native France, LE FAUVE EST LACHE. The movie is available in the French Noir Collection II from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Lino Ventura plays Paul Lamiani, a former gangster who redeemed himself during the war with his work spying for the French Resistance.

Paul is now happily married to Pierrette (Nadine Alari), with whom he runs a successful restaurant, and he’s the doting father of a young son and daughter.

Everything is perfect...until the French Secret Service wants Paul to do "just one more job" and blackmail him into doing so.

Paul reluctantly sets out to do the required job – the "MacGuffin" is some papers about an invention which cannot fall into the wrong hands – and all too soon the bodies are falling. There’s also a terrifying cliffside chase as Paul tries to elude men intent on killing him.

Still, Paul manages things in as businesslike a way as one can imagine in such a situation...but when Paul learns that one of his children is threatened, "all bets are off." The dangerous beast inside Paul, is indeed, loose, and he will chase down criminal contacts and tear up the city until his child is safe.

This was a simply excellent 98 minutes which I enjoyed tremendously. It deftly melds action with emotion and holds the attention throughout. My husband jokingly said it was like the plot of a Jason Statham action movie, and he’s not necessarily wrong, though it’s important to note that this came first!

I previously saw Lino Ventura in a supporting role in the previously mentioned SPEAKING OF MURDER, but this film left me quite interested to see more of the boxer-turned-actor.

His performance here really covers the spectrum, as we see him playfully interacting with his children, at work as the respected neighborhood restaurateur, and then forced back into his prior life where he must fight his way out of near-death situations and shoot to kill.

The movie made me curious about those parts of the story we don’t see, such as how he met his wife; they’re on screen together only briefly, but his love for her is evident. Witness the way he kisses her when he’s arrested , and his reaction when he returns to their apartment to find her crying. These emotional moments hinted at a deeper story I would have liked to explore, one of the marks of a good movie.

Ventura also also stars in WITNESS IN THE CITY (1959), part of Kino Lorber’s first French noir set. I want to make interested viewers aware that Ventura’s well-regarded film THE BIG RISK (1960) will be out from the Criterion Collection in just a few weeks. He also had a role in another film available from Criterion, ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958).

THE BEAST IS LOOSE, written by several collaborators, was directed by Maurice Labro and uncredited Claude Sautet. It was filmed in black and white by Pierre Petit.

The Blu-ray print, from a 4K restoration, looks sharp throughout.

This movie is part of a two-disc, four-film set presented in a cardboard slipcase. The film has a commentary by Simon Abrams, along with the trailer and five additional trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day Five

And so we very quickly arrived at April 27th, the final day of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival.

I started the day with a 35mm screening of ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO (1940) in House 4, introduced by Mario Cantone.

I hadn’t seen the movie since watching it on commercial television as a teen, and I found it a wonderful melodrama – though I was left worrying about Charles Boyer and Barbara O’Neil’s orphaned children!

Later in the day we learned that former child actress Cora Sue Collins, who has a small role in the film as a student, had passed away that very day. Cora Sue, who was 98, has been a regular at classic film events over the last many years, and I was saddened to hear the news. It seemed fitting to watch one of her films on the day she left us.

Then it was back into House 4 for the second of three films seen there on Sunday!

This screening was a restored 35mm print of DIAMOND JIM (1935).

I was glad to see a Leonard Maltin introduction at the festival! The movie was interesting, if ultimately rather sad, with an odd ending, but I was glad to see another Jean Arthur film.

I was very happy that TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942) was one of the "repeat" films on Sunday, as I’d missed it earlier in the festival in favor of a new-to-me film. I was first in line for the 35mm Sunday showing in House 4!

Unfortunately during his introduction Ken Jennings, all too predictably given the film, subjected his captive audience to a diatribe based on his personal political views. This was followed by the annoyed man seated next to me loudly cursing Jennings out as he exited up the stairs next to our seats. None of that needed to happen, and it was the only sour note of the fest.

The movie was fabulous, as always. I’ve seen it countless times, and it never fails to make me laugh out loud. What a loss to cinema when Carole Lombard died too young.

My final movie of the festival was a DCP print of TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949) shown in Theater 1 of the Multiplex.

It was a nice touch that all five TCM hosts introduced the movie!

It may not be the greatest MGM musical – and indeed, Gene Kelly’s arrogant character has not worn well with time – but it has a marvelous cast and was shown in a great print. Whenever I watch it, it conjures fond memories of seeing it when I was young.

Then it was off to the Closing Night Party in Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt, where I said goodbye to friends and we shared our mutual wishes to meet again at the festival in 2026!

The 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival is coming back to Hollywood from April 30th through May 3rd. As always, I’ll have complete coverage here. Please visit this post for complete details; updates are linked at the bottom as news develops. I hope to see many of you in April!

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The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day Four

Saturday, April 26th, was another five-film day for me at the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival.

I started off in Theater 4 at the Chinese Multiplex with CAREFREE (1939), screened in 35mm.

CAREFREE is one of my very favorite films starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which I love as much for its screwball comedy elements as the music and dancing.

Dave Karger introduced the film with Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, daughter of the film’s director, Mark Sandrich. Cathy, whose work as a casting director currently includes the popular TV series THE PITT, is the daughter of Mark Sandrich Jr. and actress Vanessa Brown.

THE PREVIEW MURDER MYSTERY has been championed by film historian Jeremy Arnold, who showed the film in a "B" movie series on Turner Classic Movies in 2023. He introduced the film again at the festival. I had just seen it in 35mm at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre in January but enjoyed it all over again at the festival!

GUNMAN’S WALK (1958) was shown in a world premiere digital restoration in House 6.

It was my first time to see this Western, which I found interesting, if rather dark. It reminded me considerably of BROKEN LANCE (1954).

GUNMAN’S WALK was preceded by a discussion between Eddie Muller and Keith Carradine. Keith Carradine typically has incisive comments on Westerns, and they shared admiring comments on Van Heflin.

It was fun that later in the year, at the same time Keith was a guest on the TCM Cruise, I saw his brother Bobby introduce John Wayne in TYCOON (1947) at the Lone Pine Film Festival.

I’d seen THE FRESHMAN (1925) previously at the American Legion Post 43’s parking lot drive-in, but I was very glad to see a digital centennial screening of this Harold Lloyd classic in House 6.

Jacqueline Stewart interviewed Lloyd’s granddaughter, Suzanne, who has been dedicated to preserving her grandfather’s work and is always an interesting interview. I later happened to share an elevator with Jaqueline Stewart and briefly told her how much I’d enjoyed their discussion.

Ben Model provided live music.

My final film of the day was MGM’s A GUY NAMED JOE (1943), shown in 35mm in House 4.

I was able to cut corners a little bit and make the tight time frame between THE FRESHMAN and A GUY NAMED JOE thanks to Lisa Royere, who kindly provided me with one of her guest passes, guaranteeing me a seat at A GUY NAMED JOE.

As I mentioned in an earlier festival post, Lisa is currently working on a biography of Irene Dunne and thus was invited to help introduce the movie. I hadn’t seen the film in many years, and it was a real treat to watch it on a big screen for the first time. There are so many great "faces" in the cast!

Here’s Alicia Malone introducing Lisa:

And here’s a shot of their interview, which was enjoyable and informative.

For more festival photo posts, please visit Days One, Two, and Three, along with my post-festival recap.

Coming soon: Day Five, the final day of the festival.

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