The Man I Love (1947) Blu-ray Review

It is never to early to get into the holiday spirit! After all there is a Christmas in July! So since at the time of this writing we are in July, why not enjoy a Christmas movie? Warner Archive Collection has done just that. They have released the 1947 melodrama with the holiday spirit with The Man I Love on Blu-ray!

The Man I Love is directed by Raoul Walsh and stars the great Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King and Bruce Bennett. Now what makes this Blu-ray so awesome, beyond a 4K scan, is that Warner Archive restored 6 minutes cut from the film and unseen for nearly seven decades. Too Cool!

Synopsis: Torch singer Petey Brown is beautiful and smart. The beautiful gets her in trouble. She'll need all of the smarts to get out of it in this bluesy, boozy noir salute to tough dames in tough times. On a holiday visit to her family in the waning days of World War II, Petey expects a merry Christmas. Instead she gets a tangled web of mobsters, cheating wives, war-traumatized vets and the kind of love that grabs hold fast and goes wrong faster.

There is something mesmerizing about Ida Lupino. When she is one the screen it is hard to keep your eyes off of her. Sometimes melodramas can feel slow, well, The Man I Love is a fast paced melodrama that features great music and wonderful acting and spectacular dialog!

Now I wrote at the beginning of this review that this is a Christmas film, and yes it can be considered that. But to be totally honest the Christmas aspect of this film is a very small part of the film! This film has all the workings of a great soap opera.

The film has been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and is presented in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio soundtrack is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. There is also the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

'The Man I Love' is 77 years old! Think about that! Yet the crispness and clarity of this print on this Blu-ray is stunning! When watching this film, I could not find a speck of dirt or debris. The film grain is perfect. Warner Archive does it again bringing an classic into this generation in beautiful HD!

But Warner Archive didn't make a beautiful barebones Blu-ray here! No Way! They added some cool bonus features to this Blu-ray disc. Take a look at what is included.

* Classic WB cartoons:
- Rabbit Transit (1947) Another tortoise and hare race cartoon. This time Bugs faces Cecil who happens to be sporting a rocket powered shell!
- Crowing Pains (1947) Henery Hawk wants a chicken but he can't decide who it is between Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester the cat and the barnyard dog. So he decides to wait till dawn to see who crows.
* Original Theatrical Trailer

Looney Tunes hold such a special place in my heart, as I like many others grew up on them. I remember watching Bugs and Daffy bickering. Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam chasing the wascally wabbit. So with the addition of 2 classic WB cartoons that takes the cool factor of this release through the roof for me!

If you love the films of Ida Lupino and are a fan of As the World Turns, One life to Live or Days of our lives. You need to see 1947's The Man I Love. You can order a copy of this Blu-ray today at MovieZyng. You will defiantly be impressed with how great this film looks!