The Paul Newman Collection (Harper / The Drowning Pool / The Left-Handed Gun / The Mackintosh Man / Pocket Money / Somebody Up There Likes Me / The Young Philadelphians)

Warners has been doing stand-up service; this is reasonably priced the extras are fine, the transfers are excellent, and even the weakest movie in this set (MACKINTOSH MAN) is an efficient genre picture with some offbeat locations, so I'll return to it even if it isn't a masterpiece. While the set may be short on Newman classics (a la THE HUSTLER, THE VERDICT, etc.), all the film are highly watchable; THE LEFT-HANDED GUN, an Arthur Penn film, is quite underrated, and POCKET MONEY is a funny change-of-pace. HARPER and DROWNING POOL are well-made old-school detective flicks; I actually like DROWNING POOL a bit better than HARPER, due to its New Orleans locations and Walter Hill's script, but HARPER is a classic of sorts. If you think you'll like it, you will.

Directed by Arthur Penn, 1958, THE LEFT HANDED GUN, is the story of Billy the Kid, alias William Bonney, the kids real name Henry McCarty, as Paul Newman portrays the outlaw true to realistic, yet in the Newman way which makes Paul Newman an exceptional actor, at some points in the movie, you get the feeling Newman's a New York thug or reminiscent of his great role as Rocky Graciano in, "Somebody Up There Likes Me", adding the rebellious ingredient for the part of Bonney as a young desperado trying to grasp the meaning of life and death, while searching for the revenge of his mentor's murderers, at the same time running and hiding from the law. This film is partly truth and partly fiction and also making his directional debut, Arthur Penn, director of "Bonnie and Clyde", showcases a young Paul Newman on the top of his game and an adequate supporting cast, this is a Warner Bros. DVD, black and white, full screen or 16x9 anamorphic widescreen, at a cheap reasonable price, a forgotten western classic.

Arthur Penn's commentary on this movie is one of the best and most informative I have ever heard on a DVD or Blu-Ray. Lots of good information. I had seen parts of this movie on Encore Westerns Channel. When I saw James Best in the movie and saw that it was filmed on the old Warner Brothers Western Street that they used in "Maverick" and all those other Warner Brothers TV westerns, I decided to purchase this movie. The other interesting thing is all of the actors from TV (John Dehner for one) who are in this movie.

I've waited years for the DVD release of my favorite Newman movie, The Young Philadelphians. That opus is a wonderful example of 1950s melodrama with wonderful characters and acting, a joy to watch. Nevertheless, Hollywood for years busied itself with releasing DVDs of every middling new movie and TV series, ignoring quality works like TYP and the Heston/Hayward masterpiece, The President's Lady, which still is not available. For the first time The Young Philadelphians is here on DVD.

Enjoy!

It's time now to release The President's Lady and others of its type!

One my all time favorite movies as a kid. Now, as an adult, I show it to my fifth grade students and they love it!

Has to be one of my top five movies of all time. A regular yearly event for my sixth graders!

Paul Newman may be the quintessential film star of the past half century; his career mirrors both the highs and lows of the industry, from the end of the 'studio' system to the 'artist'-driven era that continues, to some extent, to this day, and "The Paul Newman Collection", while lacking legendary titles like "Cool Hand Luke" or "Hud", does include some VERY credible performances!

"Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956), the earliest of the collection, is also one of the best. After the fiasco of Newman's film debut, "The Silver Chalice", he left Hollywood for Broadway, but when James Dean died prior to production of this film, Newman was tapped to play Rocky Graziano, and with first-class talent on both sides of the camera (Robert Wise directed), a warm, funny, and ultimately inspiring boxing classic was created. Note Pier Angeli's excellent portrayal as Rocky's wife (certainly an inspiration for 'Adrian' in Stallone's "Rocky"), watch for Steve McQueen's unbilled appearance as a young hood, and try to ignore the sappy theme song, and you'll love this film! (5 stars out of 5)

"The Left-Handed Gun" (1958), Arthur Penn's film directorial debut, is a retelling of the 'Billy the Kid' legend, with the 33-year old Newman a bit 'long in the tooth' as the teen-aged gunfighter. The approach is original, suggesting Billy was more a confused, isolated kid searching for meaning and older authority figures he could believe in, and ultimately becoming a victim of circumstance and his own reputation. Low-budget, but effective, Penn lingers on brooding shots of Newman, and you may see why so many early critics compared him, physically, to Marlon Brando. (3 1/2 stars)

"The Young Philadelphians" (1959), Newman's last film under his initial Warner Brothers contract, offers one of his best early performances. A slickly entertaining drama of a rising young lawyer with a society 'name' and a family secret, director Vincent Sherman plays up the 'white collar/blue collar' conflict in his life, while introducing a top-notch supporting cast, including Brian Keith, Barbara Rush, Alexis Smith, and Oscar-nominated Robert Vaughn. Long, but NEVER dull! (4 1/2 stars)

"Harper" (1966), offers Newman at the top of his form, in this entertaining update of the 'Film Noir' detective film. Down on his luck, but still a man of ethics, Newman tackles a simple case that turns complex, with an A-list group of suspects, including Lauren Bacall, Shelley Winters, Julie Harris, Robert Wagner, and Arthur Hill. Watch for a wonderful turn by Janet Leigh as his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and savor director Jack Smight's colorful homage to classics like "The Big Sleep". (5 stars)

"Pocket Money" (1972), is more a testament to the confusion both Newman and the studios felt over the era's changing public tastes, than a great piece of filmmaking. An off-beat comedy about dim-bulb cowboy Newman and seedy promoter Lee Marvin buying cattle in Mexico, the pace is so laid-back that the story seems to drift, unsure of which direction to take. There are some funny moments, but you may end up scratching your head by the end. (2 stars)

"The MacKintosh Man" (1973), directed by John Huston, is certainly a lesser effort by both director and star, but still quite watchable. A gritty spy drama of agent Newman investigating a 'leak' in British Intelligence, Huston plays up locales in Monte Carlo and his adopted home of Ireland, offers warmly engaging James Mason and Ian Bannen as suspects, and gives audiences a chance to hear Newman attempt an Australian accent! Forget Dominique Sanda's inept performance as spy chief Harry Andrews' daughter, and you might enjoy it! (3 stars)

"The Drowning Pool" (1975), Newman's reprise of his "Harper" character, is a far less successful film than the original; New Orleans doesn't 'suit' Newman's detective persona as well as L.A., and the characters, while off-beat, lack charm. There are 'pluses', however; Joanne Woodward is always watchable, especially playing with her real-life husband, and Melanie Griffith, in the 'nymphet' stage of her career, has some sexy moments. The finale is tense and claustrophobic, and makes up for some of the earlier lack of suspense, but, all in all, the film is routine, at best. (2 1/2 stars)

A mixed bag, to be sure, but Paul Newman is always worth watching!

I was charged by Amazon for a rental and purchase of the same item. To top it off, I was not able to watch the movie because the streaming was very poor. I wish I could see the movie to give it a proper review,