2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Stanwyck double feature, August 18, 2011
This review is from: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers - Lady of Burlesque (DVD)
MARENGO FILMS is a Texas-based DVD company that was founded in 2001 by former airline pilot Craig H. Cosgray. Their small catalog is comprised of public domain double features and some movie serials. Video and sound quality of these is guaranteed by him to be the best currently available (see Cosgray's reviews).
MARENGO's Barbara Stanwyck double feature offers two of the finest PD classics currently available. Miss Stanwyck was discovered by and married to vaudeville pratfall comic Frank Fay until his drinking and her success destroyed their marriage. It's said that
A STAR IS BORN (1937) was based on their lives.
THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946)
Classic film noir. Cast includes Van Heflin, Lisabeth Scott, Judith Anderson and Kirk Douglas in his first movie. Douglas, who plays Stanwyck's weak-willed alcoholic D.A. husband, is almost unrecognzable behind that pointy pre-rhinoplasty nose. In this Lewis Milestone flick, teenaged Barbara murders a hated aunt by shoving her down a flight of stairs. As an adult, she's even more ruthless. Martha Ivers is easily one of the Top Ten villainesses of all time. Highest recommendation!
LADY OF BURLESQUE (1943)
Bill Wellman film based on Gypsy Rose Lee's novel "
The G-String Murders." Co-star Michael O'Shea had his screen debut here. O'Shea was brother to 5 police officers, but defied his cop dad and went into Show Biz. In 1943 he married Virginia Mayo. Here, O'Shea is a baggy-pants clown opposite Barbara's stripper. In this story of jealousy among burlesque girlies, some of them are murdered and Babs is prime suspect. Because of a strict production code you won't see any skin here, but there's plenty of razor-sharp dialogue in a finely-crafted murder mystery.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NEWLY REMASTERED, December 12, 2006
This review is from: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers - Lady of Burlesque (DVD)
Marengo Films is proud to announce the release of these two fine movies. We did a complete sound design and color correction for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers and believe it is now the finest print of this movie on the market. The Lady of Burlesque - an older film - was a little worn but the print was put through an extensive remastering process including color correction and sound design. We feel that this too is now the finest print of this movie on the market.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suspense, murder, and romance, April 21, 2010
This review is from: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers - Lady of Burlesque (DVD)
Barbara Stanwyck at her best. I LOVE seeing Kirk Douglas play a wimp. It shows his range as an actor.
I looked for this movie for years before I realized the two stories (Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas)(Van Heflin and Lizbeth Scott) were in the same movie.
Excellent story - great acting.
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