I
am sure that Cary Grant’s numerous fans were disappointed when the
legendary actor decided to quietly retire from the screen in 1966. Perhaps
they were even more disappointed that Grant’s final starring role was in
an inoffensive little comedy entitled WALK, DON’T RUN ($25),
which proved pleasant enough, but did not showcase the actors full
talents. In the years that followed his retirement, Grant’s mystique as
a screen legend grew and there were those in the movie business that tried
on numerous occasions to cajole him back in front of the cameras.
Unfortunately, Grant’s resolve was unflappable and WALK, DON’T RUN
remained his silver screen swan song.
WALK,
DON’T RUN is a rather loose remake of THE MORE THE MERRIER,
but this version just happens to be set in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics.
Dealing with a housing shortage during the Olympic games is Sir William
Rutland (Grant), who manages to bulldoze his way into an apartment
occupied by fellow Brit Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), despite the
fact she had been seeking a female roommate. Also finding his way into the
cramped quarters is American architect Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), who will
be competing in the games. Of course, the walls seem to close in on this
unlikely threesome and sensing a bit of sexual tension between Christine
and Steve, Sir William decides to play matchmaker. As I stated before, WALK,
DON’T RUN is all very pleasant, but not particularly inspired screen
comedy, and were it not for the presence of the always fun to watch Cary
Grant and Tokyo locations, there wouldn’t be anything to make this film
stand out from a TV movie. The cast of WALK, DON’T RUN also
includes John Standing, Miiko Taka, Ted Hartley, Ben Astar, George Takei,
Teru Shimada and Lois Kiuchi.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made WALK, DON’T RUN available on
DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays (a full screen version is also provided on a
separate layer of the disc, but not reviewed here). This is actually a
terrific looking transfer of an older movie, thanks to the good condition
of the film elements and the quality of Harry Stradling's fine Technicolor
cinematography. The image is reasonably fairly and nicely defined, however
some of the close-ups do take advantage of diffusion lenses to enhance the
appearance of the older leading man. Colors are fairly vibrant, owing to
the fact that the movie was released in IB Technicolor, the reds do tend
to standout. Flesh tones are respectable, although they can appear a bit
homogenized. All of the hues appear solid and are rendered without noise
or smearing. Blacks appear accurate, although they can be lacking in fine
detail. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout.
WALK,
DON’T RUN comes with a perfectly serviceable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The track sounds as though it has been cleaned up to remove
the most glaring signs of background hiss and surface noise, leaving a
rather pleasant aural experience. Fidelity is good for the films age and
Quincy Jones' music sounds rather nice. Dialogue is always completely
intelligible, although postproduction looping is very obvious. No other
language tracks have been encoded onto the DVD, although English, French
and Japanese subtitles are included. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
trailers for WALK, DON’T RUN, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and HIS
GIRL FRIDAY.
WALK,
DON’T RUN provided Cary Grant with a pleasant farewell from the
cinema, even though the film didn't showcase the silver screen legend's
full comedic talents. Columbia's DVD looks and sounds quite nice, which
should more than please movie buffs and the Cary grant fans that will be
adding this disc to their collections.
I
am sure that Cary Grant’s numerous fans were disappointed when the
legendary actor decided to quietly retire from the screen in 1966. Perhaps
they were even more disappointed that Grant’s final starring role was in
an inoffensive little comedy entitled WALK, DON’T RUN ($25),
which proved pleasant enough, but did not showcase the actors full
talents. In the years that followed his retirement, Grant’s mystique as
a screen legend grew and there were those in the movie business that tried
on numerous occasions to cajole him back in front of the cameras.
Unfortunately, Grant’s resolve was unflappable and WALK, DON’T RUN
remained his silver screen swan song.
WALK,
DON’T RUN is a rather loose remake of THE MORE THE MERRIER,
but this version just happens to be set in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics.
Dealing with a housing shortage during the Olympic games is Sir William
Rutland (Grant), who manages to bulldoze his way into an apartment
occupied by fellow Brit Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), despite the
fact she had been seeking a female roommate. Also finding his way into the
cramped quarters is American architect Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), who will
be competing in the games. Of course, the walls seem to close in on this
unlikely threesome and sensing a bit of sexual tension between Christine
and Steve, Sir William decides to play matchmaker. As I stated before, WALK,
DON’T RUN is all very pleasant, but not particularly inspired screen
comedy, and were it not for the presence of the always fun to watch Cary
Grant and Tokyo locations, there wouldn’t be anything to make this film
stand out from a TV movie. The cast of WALK, DON’T RUN also
includes John Standing, Miiko Taka, Ted Hartley, Ben Astar, George Takei,
Teru Shimada and Lois Kiuchi.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made WALK, DON’T RUN available on
DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays (a full screen version is also provided on a
separate layer of the disc, but not reviewed here). This is actually a
terrific looking transfer of an older movie, thanks to the good condition
of the film elements and the quality of Harry Stradling's fine Technicolor
cinematography. The image is reasonably fairly and nicely defined, however
some of the close-ups do take advantage of diffusion lenses to enhance the
appearance of the older leading man. Colors are fairly vibrant, owing to
the fact that the movie was released in IB Technicolor, the reds do tend
to standout. Flesh tones are respectable, although they can appear a bit
homogenized. All of the hues appear solid and are rendered without noise
or smearing. Blacks appear accurate, although they can be lacking in fine
detail. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout.
WALK,
DON’T RUN comes with a perfectly serviceable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The track sounds as though it has been cleaned up to remove
the most glaring signs of background hiss and surface noise, leaving a
rather pleasant aural experience. Fidelity is good for the films age and
Quincy Jones' music sounds rather nice. Dialogue is always completely
intelligible, although postproduction looping is very obvious. No other
language tracks have been encoded onto the DVD, although English, French
and Japanese subtitles are included. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
trailers for WALK, DON’T RUN, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and HIS
GIRL FRIDAY.
WALK,
DON’T RUN provided Cary Grant with a pleasant farewell from the
cinema, even though the film didn't showcase the silver screen legend's
full comedic talents. Columbia's DVD looks and sounds quite nice, which
should more than please movie buffs and the Cary grant fans that will be
adding this disc to their collections.
