Reviewed by Jason LockardHumphrey Bogart was an icon in Hollywood. He is also a1 Pop Culture icon. He's tough guy persona with just a splash of ultra cool is why he is one of my favorites. If your reading this article you probably already know, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, but maybe a few never heard about his role in 1937's Stand-In.
ClassicFlix.com have been rescuing some of the classic films and restoring them, making them available to classic film fans. Stand-In was originally planned for a release a few years ago. After testing the project was permanently shelved due to severely deteriorated film elements.
It seemed as though we would never see a restored version of Stand-In. That is until late 2018 when Classic Flix located materials at the British Film Institute that, while not optimal, were in good enough condition to warrant a major restoration of this rare comedy classic.
Fowler Pettypacker, a Wall Street banker, owns Colossal Pictures, a film studio. the studio has not been making a profit so he is debating whether or not to accept an offer to buy the studio. His financial analyst Atterbury Dodd (Leslie Howard) advises against selling, believing that show Colossal should turn a profit. The bank sends Dodd to Hollywood as the new head of the studio.
Colossal Pictures stars are trying to sabotage the company so it can be sold. By deliberately running up costs on producer Douglas Quintain's (Humphrey Bogart) jungle feature, Sex and Satan so that the film flops and the studio goes bankrupt.
When Dodd arrives in Hollywood he meets Lester Plum (Joan Blondell), a bubbly former child star who works as a stand-in for the female lead in Sex and Satan. She teaches Dodd about the film business and becomes his secretary and in turn falls for him. Under Lester's tutelage, Dodd comes to see that the workers are more than just numbers.
Dodd is disappointed at the viewing of Sex and Satan. An at a preview the audience confirms this that the film is awful. Dodd than fire Quintain, But Quintain has a plan to save the film. Will it work?! Will the studio go under? Will Dodd realize that Plum loves him? You'll have to see the film to find out!
The Stand-In is not a perfect film, there is some problems, but it is a very funny little film. And sometime we just need an escape from the care of life and Stand-In does that!
While Humphrey Bogart is not the leading star in this film, his role is vital. He has a unique sense of humor in this film. He is always accompanied by a Scottish terrier, most of the time under his arm. Leslie Howard does a tremendous job as the bookish, only by the numbers Dodd. Joan Blondell is so sugary sweet as Plum.
Now for the Blu-ray release itself. The film has been encoded in 1080p and presented in it's original 1.33:1 full screen format. The sound is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track. I am very impressed with the restoration of this classic.
As for bonus features we get a trailer and a 5 minute restoration of the which is an amazing comparison to show you how much ClassicFlix did to clean up this print. I believe Classic Flix should be commended for making this film look better that it ever had.
So if you love Humphrey Bogart, Joan Blondell, Leslie Howard or screwball comedies, this is an absolute must add to your collection. Head over to ClassicFlix.com and pick up your copy today.
Moral Rating: Nothing offensive
Audience: Families
Genre: Comedy
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Blu-ray Released: 2019
Blu-ray Rating: A
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