A terrific collection putting together some of the leading ladies of cinema from the 50’s through to the 60’s, “Leading Ladies” is a collection that should have been released long before now. The oldest film in the pack is “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” a two hankie picture with Susan Hayward that had such a strong performance she was nominated for an Oscar. ***

“Big Hand for the Little Lady” features one of my favorite actresses Joanne Woodward playing the wife of a farmer (Henry Fonda) who ends up taking her husband’s place in a poker game after he manages to lose their life savings. ***

“Up the Down Staircase” has a moving performance by the late Sandy Dennis as Sylvia Barrett a teacher working within the inner city school system of New York. ***

“Rich and Famous” takes us 20 years into the future. George Cukor’s last film isn’t his best but has strong performances shouldering the burden of a weak script. Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset play best friends from college who are jealous of each other; both are writers but the success of Mary (Bergen) at writing romance novels chafes Liz (Bisset) the more talented and serious of the two. ***

“Shoot the Moon” is a favorite of mine and documents the dissolution of a marriage. Featuring a stunning performance by Albert Finney as a successful writer who’s life falls apart, it also features a stunning performance by Diane Keaton as his wife.

Image & Sound:

The quality varies a bit depending upon the source and age of the films, but overall all the films look extremely good. Audio sounds solid throughout whether it be mono or stereo. ---

We get a mixed bag here. “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” has vintage MGM newsreels focusing on the film’s premiere and two vintage musical shorts as well as the theatrical trailer. ***

“Big Hand for the Little Lady” is a bare bones affair as is “Up” with the exception of its original theatrical trailer. ***

“Rich and Famous” has a vintage featurette on the production of the film which is primarily mush making a big deal out of the fact that this was one of Cukor’s last projects (although it wasn’t known at the time of release as such). The original theatrical trailer also shows up. ***

“Shoot the Moon” has the best extras with an intelligent commentary by director Alan Parker and the late screenwriter Bo Goldman as well as the original theatrical trailer for the film. ---

Final Words: