Long
before Mel Gibson was THE PATRIOT, another photogenic leading man
named Cary Grant donned revolution era garb to star in THE HOWARDS OF
VIRGINIA ($25). Those expecting THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA to be a
cut and dry tale of the American Revolution will be pleasantly surprised
to find that the first half of this movie has a very spirited sense of
fun. Cary Grant stars as Matt Howard, who hales from a dirt-poor family of
Virginia farmers. Despite his family’s financial situation, Matt grows
up educated thanks to family friendship with the well-to-do Jefferson
clan.
Boyhood
friend Thomas Jefferson (Richard Carlson) secures Matt a position as a
surveyor with wealthy landowner Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).
During the course of his duties as a surveyor, Matt meets, falls in love
with and marries Jane Peyton (Martha Scott), despite her family’s
reservations. As the years pass, Matt’s political views bring him into
conflict the British and he is among the first to volunteer for duty in
the Revolutionary war, despite the effect it has on his wife and two sons,
who are eventually old enough to join their father at the front. Hammer
fans please note that THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA features an early (blink
and you'll miss him) screen appearance by Peter Cushing.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA
available on DVD in a full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. For the most part, this is a good-looking
black and white transfer, although the film element does display more than
a bit of wear early on. The image is reasonably crisp and provides good
definition throughout. Some shots are a bit softer than others, but
nothing too bad. Blacks are deep, whites appear clean and stable, plus
there is a rather nice grayscale. Contrast is good and well-lit shots
convey a nice sense of depth. A grain structure is somewhat noticeable,
but doesn’t detract from the presentation, and instead creates a nice
film like appearance. Digital compression artifacts never make their
presence known.
THE
HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA comes with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack
that holds up well, despite being more than six decades old. Background
his and overt signs of distortion appear to have been cleaned up, leaving
a crisp, pleasing aural presentation. Dialogue is always fully
understandable and the actors’ voices still resonate nicely. Limitations
in fidelity leave the music sounding a bit reedy, but never particularly
harsh. No other language tracks are provided, but the DVD does feature
English, French Japanese subtitles. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
bonus trailers for HIS GIRL FRIDAY, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, and MR.
SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON.
THE
HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA is a very likable revolutionary era costume drama
that I am sure that movie buffs and Cary Grant fans will want to check
out. Columbia’s presentation is quite good for an un-restored film from
1940, giving DVD collectors little to complain about.
Long
before Mel Gibson was THE PATRIOT, another photogenic leading man
named Cary Grant donned revolution era garb to star in THE HOWARDS OF
VIRGINIA ($25). Those expecting THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA to be a
cut and dry tale of the American Revolution will be pleasantly surprised
to find that the first half of this movie has a very spirited sense of
fun. Cary Grant stars as Matt Howard, who hales from a dirt-poor family of
Virginia farmers. Despite his family’s financial situation, Matt grows
up educated thanks to family friendship with the well-to-do Jefferson
clan.
Boyhood
friend Thomas Jefferson (Richard Carlson) secures Matt a position as a
surveyor with wealthy landowner Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).
During the course of his duties as a surveyor, Matt meets, falls in love
with and marries Jane Peyton (Martha Scott), despite her family’s
reservations. As the years pass, Matt’s political views bring him into
conflict the British and he is among the first to volunteer for duty in
the Revolutionary war, despite the effect it has on his wife and two sons,
who are eventually old enough to join their father at the front. Hammer
fans please note that THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA features an early (blink
and you'll miss him) screen appearance by Peter Cushing.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA
available on DVD in a full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. For the most part, this is a good-looking
black and white transfer, although the film element does display more than
a bit of wear early on. The image is reasonably crisp and provides good
definition throughout. Some shots are a bit softer than others, but
nothing too bad. Blacks are deep, whites appear clean and stable, plus
there is a rather nice grayscale. Contrast is good and well-lit shots
convey a nice sense of depth. A grain structure is somewhat noticeable,
but doesn’t detract from the presentation, and instead creates a nice
film like appearance. Digital compression artifacts never make their
presence known.
THE
HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA comes with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack
that holds up well, despite being more than six decades old. Background
his and overt signs of distortion appear to have been cleaned up, leaving
a crisp, pleasing aural presentation. Dialogue is always fully
understandable and the actors’ voices still resonate nicely. Limitations
in fidelity leave the music sounding a bit reedy, but never particularly
harsh. No other language tracks are provided, but the DVD does feature
English, French Japanese subtitles. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
bonus trailers for HIS GIRL FRIDAY, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, and MR.
SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON.
THE
HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA is a very likable revolutionary era costume drama
that I am sure that movie buffs and Cary Grant fans will want to check
out. Columbia’s presentation is quite good for an un-restored film from
1940, giving DVD collectors little to complain about.