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Burt Lancaster took on a lot of interesting roles during
a long and varied career. This Signature Collection takes
a look at some of these diverse film roles covering from
1950 to 1973. ***
“Flame and the Arrow” is the earliest in the set and
is a solid swashbuckling adventure that Hollywood did so
well in the 40’s and 50’s. The film helped revive Lancaster’s
career opening up other roles to him after a string of noir
thrillers. Directed by Jacques Tourneur (“The Cat People”,
“Curse of the Demon”) the film is a classic costume drama
with plenty of action. ***
“Jim Thorpe-All American” came out the following year
(1951) and is a solid biopic documenting Thorpe’s rise and
fall after he lost his Olympic gold medal when it is revealed
he played minor league baseball. Only amateur athletes were
allowed to compete for the gold at the time. The film benefits
from some sharp direction by Michael Curtiz (“Robin Hood”,
“Casablanca”) ***
“South Sea Woman” is a so-so film set in World War
II. It’s a potboiler through and through with Lancaster
playing the role of a Marine Sgt. who must face court martial
for being AWOL during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Arthur
Lubin (“Phantom of the Opera” with Claude Rains) directs
a solid cast. ***
“His Majesty O’Keefe” is also so-so. Lancaster plays
the stranded captain of a ship left behind after his ship
mutinies. He becomes the “King” of the islanders because
of a local legend. It has a solid performance by Lancaster
but little else to recommend it. Byron Haskins (“War of
the Worlds”) directs. ***
The paranoid thriller “Executive Action” was made in
1973 and is the last film in the collection. It focuses
on a conspiracy within the government to keep the truth
about the Kennedy assassination from the general public.
It’s a paranoid thriller that has its moments despite a
preposterous premise. David Miller’s direction land the
performances by a roster of Hollywood vets make the film
seem more substantial than it really is. ---
Image & Sound: These films look about as good as they
ever have with some nice transfers. “Executive Action” has
always looked a bit grainy and dodgy to me but the transfer
here is much cleaner than I recall seeing in some time.
***
Audio sounds solid throughout with dialogue front and
center. ---
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