Monsieur Beaucaire (1946) { KL Studio Classics Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed by Jason Lockard

In 1924 the silent movie icon Rudolph Valentino first starred as Monsieur Beaucaire based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington. Than 22 years later another icon would take the role, that time it would be comedy icon Bob Hope.

Now over 75 years after this films initial release, the good folks at Kino Lorber, under the division of KL Studio Classics is releasing this film on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K scan.

Monsieur Beaucaire (Bob Hope) is the barber to France's King Louis XV -- that is, until the royal hairstylist takes up with chambermaid Mimi (Joan Caulfield) and is subsequently banished from the kingdom. Forced to assume someone else's identity, Beaucaire quickly gets wrapped up in an outrageous web of political intrigue, involving an impending war between France and Spain, an assassination plot and his own potential marriage to the Princess of Spain.

During Bob Hope's film career he went on the Road with buddy Bing Crosby. He would be chased by spies, joined the armed forces and even joined the queen of comedy Lucille Ball for adventures. But I always loves Hope in period pieces and Monsieur Beaucaire is truly one of my favorite films.

Bob Hope is hilarious as always, but Joan Caulfield really is a great compliment to this film. And I must say that it is amazing to see Reginald Owen as King Louis XV. He is my favorite that played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. So anytime I get to see him that is a huge plus. 

Now for this KL Studio Classics Blu-ray release. Kino Lorber have transferred this Hope classic on Blu-ray in 1080p from a brand new 2K Scan. It is presented in it's original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with the soundtrack being a DTS Mono. This brand new 2K scan is something special. It looks really impressive. There are some small specks of dirt in the film, but not enough to take away from the enjoyment.

A crisp looking 2K scan of this Hope classic is enough to want to add this to my collection. But there is English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and but I love trailers and here we see a good amount of Bob Hope trailers including, The Cat and the Canary, Road to Singapore, The Ghost Breakers, Road to Zanzibar, Caught in the Draft, Nothing but the Truth, My Favorite Blonde, Road to Morocco, Road to Utopia, Where There's Life, The Paleface and Alias Jesse James. There is also a bonus trailer of Fred MacMurray comedy film Murder He Says.

This is the second of the two brand new KL Studio Classics Blu-rays featuring Bob Hope then first we reviewed being Where There's Life. I have truly enjoyed seeing Bob Hope in HD. My hope is there will be more great Bob Hope classics coming to Blu-ray soon from Kino Lorber.

So if you love the comedy of Bob Hope as much as me, you need to get this classic in your collection ASAP. Head over to Amazon.com and get your copy of Where there's Life today.

 Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) KL Studio Classics Blu-ray of Monsieur Beaucaire receives...