Minggu, 06 Oktober 2013

Knock on Wood [Blu-ray]



Danny Kaye at His Very Best!
Danny Kaye is at his zaniest and best in the 1954 comedy Knock on Wood. Knock on Wood stars Danny Kaye and Mai Zetterling. Other actors in the film include Torin Thatcher, David Burns, and Leon Askin. The film was written and directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, with wonderful songs by Danny Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine.

Jerry Morgan (Kaye) is a ventriloquist who is having trouble with his love life: just when his relationship with his girlfriend gets around to marriage, his dummy turns jealous and spoils everything. Jerry's manager is so distraught; that he threatens to quit unless Jerry sees a psychiatrist, Enter Ilse Nordstrom, played by Zetterling, who tries to help Kaye find the source of his problem. The chemistry between Kaye and Zetterling throughout the movie is wonderful. The two of them eventually fall in love.

At the same time, Jerry becomes unwittingly mixed up with international spies, danger and intrigue, while he runs from the police. In his...

Love the movie, DVD is bare bones version
Danny Kaye has always been a family favorite, and this movie is a gem. Storyline has been well covered, so I won't go there. We have had it in VHS recorded from AMC years ago (back when they were American Movie Classics) and it has seen plenty of use. We are thrilled to have it in DVD format, but wish it had been a studio release with better treatment. As mentioned in another review, it is in 1.85:1 aspect ratio and there are no extras here, not even closed captioning.
In spite of all that, I am glad that it was released at all as a regular DVD (not DVD-R, as so many classics are these days). Some have mentioned their concern that it may be a bad transfer, as they saw in "Inspector General". I had a bad copy of that once (remember that it was in the public domain and people could get away with releasing it in any form of garbage) and this is a much better quality than that was, though not as sharp and crisp as if it had been digitally remastered.
If Paramount wasn't prepared...

A Kaye gem makes its way to DVD!
Released before "The Court Jester", "Knock on Wood" ranks along with that aforementioned film as one of Danny Kaye's best movies. A classic which hasn't seen the light of day in ages, it is happily coming to DVD. As a ventriloquist caught up in intrigue with stunning Mai Zetterling (what a name!), fans can watch wide-eyed Danny try out funny dialects, double-talking dialogue and weasel in & out of danger as only Kaye could do it.
Those who've already seen all the classic comedy bits but have had to wait to see them again, rejoice; those who are being introduced to the film for the first time, you're in for a real treat!

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