Blu-ray Review: Sorrowful Jones (1949)

Lucille Ball and Bob Hope are probably best known for their times on television. Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy and Bob Hope for his TV special including the holiday specials. But they both were in the movies and even starred together a few of times. 

The first time they were on the silver screen together was in 1949 for the comedy drama Sorrowful Jones. Now the good folks at Kino Lorber under the division KL Studio Classics are releasing this classic on Blu-ray. And to say I am excited about it would be an understatement.

The film is based in Damon Runyon;s famous fable about a cheapskate Broadway bookie called Sorrowful Jones (Bob Hope). When a young girl (Mary Jane Saunders) if left by her father as a collateral. Sorrowful Jones has to learn about being a parent, while trying to keep gangster ig Steve (Bruce Cabot) away from his girl nightclub singer Gladys O’Neil (Lucille Ball).

Sorrowful Jones is a remake of the Shirley Temple classic Little Miss Marker and in my opinion a much more entertaining film. Lucille Ball and Bob Hope have such amazing chemistry together I am shocked that they only did four films together. Of all of Bob Hope's films this one is severely underrated. Hope shows his wit but also his heart in this film and is truly one of his best performances on film.

Kino Lorber has transferred this film to Blu-ray from a brand new 2k scan. The film is presented in 1080p and is in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and there is English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. 

Now I must say this transfer is a thing of beauty. When I compare this release to my DVD copy, no comparison. The picture quality in this transfer is so much more crisp and clean. The audio is clear as a bell. It truly is glorious black and white. 

As for bonus features there is a KL Studio Classics Bob Hope Promo reel. Trailers for Bob Hope films including, Sorrowful Jones, Fancy Pants, Never Say Die, The Cat an 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. These trailers are a nice addition. I would like to have seen a little more features on this Blu-ray, but the quality of this transfer still is a major upgrade from the Blu-ray. So I still consider this a must own for Bob Hope fans.

SO if you love Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as much as I do. You need Sorrowful Jones in your collection. And this new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is the perfect way to have it. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.

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