Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Oh! Doctor!
(1925)
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This Reginald Denny comedy feature, directed by Harry A. Pollard, also features Mary Astor, Otis Harlan and Martha Mattox.
Coddled since birth, hypochondriac Rufus Billop (Denny) is having a tough go in life as everything rattles his nerves and causes concern for his very life. Due to inherit $750,000 in three years, Rufus meanwhile must try to keep the debtor wolves from his door. Messers Clinch (Otis Harlan), McIntosh (William V. Mong) and Peck (Tom Ricketts) offer to advance Rufus $100,000 against a complete reassignment of his interest in the Billop estate over to them. Their concern will be to keep Rufus alive long enough to collect the estate.
His finances secure for the time being, Rufus believes that he is well down the road to death and arranges to have nursing care. Fatalistic “Death Watch” Mary (Mattox) is engaged to the horror of others but is soon replaced by a younger, no-nonsense Dolores Hicks (Astor). Smitten with his new distraction, Rufus attempts to impress her with his fearless and abrupt life changes.
Neo thrillseeker Rufus buys a new car and engages a speed demon (Mike Donlin) to show what it can do on the local racetrack. When Rufus insists on driving the car an accident soon occurs laying up Rufus in bed again.
His daredevil impulses out-of-control, Rufus alienates Dolores who has come to care for his well-being. Forced to admit his fears to Dolores, Rufus confesses his feelings for her. Dolores then plots to persuade the investors to restore Rufus’ estate.
It may just be the glasses but Denny’s role could have been undertaken by Harold Lloyd. Incidentally, the building on South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles where Rufus decides to paint the flagpole is still there with the ball-topped pole still visible from ground level.
— Carl Bennett
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 Kino Classics
2023 Blu-ray Disc edition
Oh! Doctor! (1925), black & white, 66 minutes, not rated, with Poker Faces (1926), color-tinted black & white, 83 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K26227, UPC 7-38329-26227-3.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at 34.2 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.6 Mbps audio bit rate (music), and Dolby Digital (AC3) 1.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate (commentary); English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 10 chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 18 April 2023.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered the 2K digital restoration by NBCUniversal from a very-good 16mm reduction print that is slightly dupey in quality. Most print flaws have been removed and the picture stabilized, however, film grain in the high-definition scan is a bit more pronounced throughout the film than we would prefer. The picture is otherwise unblemished.
The film is accompanied by a lively music score by Jake Monaco, performed by a small ensemble.
Supplementary material includes audio commentaries for both films in the set by film critic Adam Nayman. If you are bored, count the number of times Nayman says “You know . . .”
We recommend this home video edition of the film.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region A Blu-ray Disc edition is also available directly from . . .
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