Blu-Ray News #359: Tales Of Adventure, Collection Two (1948-1956).

Imprint’s done it again. With their Tales Of Adventure, Collection Two, you get three Republic jungle pictures, along with two major-studio things featuring the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Victor Mature and Dana Andrews.

Angel On The Amazon (1948, AKA Drums Along The Amazon)
Directed by John H. Auer
Starring George Brent, Vera Ralston, Brian Aherne, Constance Bennett

Herbert J. Yates, the boss at Republic, was Czech figure-skater girlfriend a movie star. (It didn’t really work.) Here, she’s a mysterious woman who rescues the survivors of a plane crash deep in the jungle.

Daughter Of The Jungle (1949)
Directed by George Blair
Starring Lois Hall, James Cardwell, William Wright, Sheldon Leonard

This time, a plane crashes in Africa, not the Amazon, and Lois Hall and her dad come to the rescue. The lovely Lois Hall is shamefully overlooked and under-represented on DVD and Blu-Ray. She was in some really cool stuff, ranging from Johnny Mack Brown Westerns at Monogram to Sam Katzman serials at Columbia to The Lone Ranger.

Fair Wind To Java (1953)
Directed by Joseph Kane
Starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Ralston, Victor McLaglen, Paul Fix

Herbert Yates paired Vera Ralston with all sorts of stars in his efforts to make her a star — this time it was Fred MacMurray’s turn. This was a pretty big protduction by Republic standards, and he Lydecker Brothers have a field day (in Trucolor!), with model pirate ships and a fake volcano (built at Mono Lake). 

Elephant Walk (1954)
Directed by William Dieterle
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch, Abraham Sofaer

This story of stampeding elephants and a tea plantation was to have starred Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh. She had to pull out and Olivier went with her. They say you can see her in some long shots — and if this looks as good as Imprint’s stuff usually does, you’ll be able to see for yourself!

Safari (1956)
Directed by Terence Young
Starring Victor Mature, Janet Leigh, Roland Culver, John Justin, Earl Cameron

Here, a pre-Bond Terence Young takes Victor Mature and Janet Leigh (and a CinemaScope lens) to Kenya, where they take on everything from the Mau Mau to alligators.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, this set is gonna be terrific. The Lydeckers alone make it must! Stacked with extras and highly recommended.

DVD/Blu-Ray News #97: The Man Who Died Twice (1958).

Directed by Joe Kane
Starring Rod Cameron, Vera Ralston, Mike Mazurki, Don Hagggerty, Paul Picerni, Luana Anders

This is an update to a post from way back in January.

Naturama was Republic’s widescreen process, and Vera Ralston was the figure-skater girlfriend/wife of Republic’s president, Herbert J. Yates. Guys like Rod Cameron, Sterling Hayden and even John Wayne appeared with her, grudgingly. And when Republic shut down, do did Ralston’s career.

That said, she made some pretty cool movies, and The Man Who Died Twice (1958) is one of them. In fact, it was her last — the studio tanked that year (it’s also the last Republic Joe Kane directed). It’s a low-budget crime/noir thing. Rod Cameron’s cool in it (as always), Luana Anders plays a heroin addict, and Jack Marta shot it in black & white widescreen. Sounds terrific, don’t it?

Kino Lorber will bring The Man Who Died Twice to both DVD and Blu-Ray in November. For decades, seeing Republic Naturama movies in their original 2.35 aspect ratio has been damn near impossible, so this release is a real treat (and hopefully the first of many). The transfer’s excellent — got a good look at it while working on a commentary for it. Recommended.