The Good
Cary Grant is a great actor who always managed to elevate the material he was a part of.
The Bad
No real extras.
The Cary Grant Collection features one of America's finest actors in 4 films that showcase his natural range as a ladies man in this 4 disc movie set. The titles that come with this collection are:
- Indiscreet
- Operation Petticoat
- The Grass is Greener
- That Touch of Mink
In Indiscreet, Grant teams up with Ingrid Bergman in this rom com that shows men around the world that they should never lie to their women. Operation Petticoat sees Grant and Tony Curtis hit the high seas with a bunch of nurses. The Grass is Greener gives us Grant with Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum in this light tale focusing on a love triangle. Lastly, That Touch of Mink has Cary Grant and Doris Day in a light-hearted, love film which examines men and women's views of marriage.
I would think that devotees of Cary Grant would be positively ecstatic to have this collection. However, I don't know that the casual fan will feel the need to give up the shelf space in their home for this release.
Features
No extras came with this release except for some text notes on That Touch of Mink.
Video
Widescreen. All the films come in that format yet this release doesn't give any idea of the aspect ratio. I checked the packaging and the DVDs themselves and I couldn't find anything. These movies looked okay but I couldn't help think somehow this DVD set's distributor, Artisan, had acquired them somehow and was mainly doing it to increase their library of titles. This didn't bother me but nothing about this 4 disc offering seemed too special.
Audio
Dolby Digital. Close Captioned. The sound across these discs seemed to vary. It wasn't ever bad or hard to hear, I just thought that it might be the same level across the board. Cary Grant movies all have a touch of class. There is a cadence to how the characters talk and conduct themselves that is the same for all characters. This gives the movies a perfection and stodginess that they may not have had their production environment not been so rigid.
Package
A random image of Cary Grant is presented on this front cover. It also lists out all 4 movies in this collection. The back cover serves up 4 shots from the film (that are of the promotional variety) and it also lists gives us a credit list and technical specs for each film. All 4 discs are stored in an oversize amaray case.
Final Word
Alright, I started mentioning it above but I think it bares repeating here, the Cary Grant Collection is good but I don't think it features any of his greatest work. In fact, these films seem like they were merely things to keep his jacuzzi heated as he waited for his next project. This isn't to say that he gives any half-hearted performances, rather, I just don't think that we got the best Cary Grant that we could with this release. This said, it is undeniable just how great of an actor he is. With that ability to seemingly handle any role (and even make the well worn character seem new), it is no surprise that he has forever found a place in the American pantheon of outstanding performers.
As I mentioned above, if you absolutely have to have this release then you should get it. Otherwise, a rental of the Cary Grant Collection should suffice.
Indiscreet was released July 16, 1958.