Uncovering The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957) + The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)
Summer may be the season for vacationing, but for others it’s reorganizing the office in a post-spring cleaning, spring cleaning thing, which includes trying to get a breakout box to recognize analogue RGB video. Apparently it’s not easy, hence more than a few days (more like 1.5 weeks of intermittent head-smacking) trying out all kinds of variations with zero success.
While I attempt to theorize the next phase of How to Make It All Work, I’ve posted a set of reviews tied to Jane Russell’s final two films prior to a 7 year feature film hiatus.
There’s much irony within her last picture, the indie-produced The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957), in which a big star’s live-in house assistant used to be a big star herself before taking too much time off from film, and failing to make a comeback. There’s also some sly bitter observations on stardom in the film, but Nightgown is interesting for its flaws and the portents of Russell’s own career that slowed down shortly thereafter.
Her modest late-career phase in the 1960s may be the result of Hollywood and producers focusing on the next & newest & youngest star, and the lack of quality roles for an actress built up as a sexpot in Howard Hughes very weird western The Outlaw (1943), then a musical comedienne in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and genre tryouts rather than finding custom roles to fit the strengths of a maturing actress.
Nightgown isn’t her best work – it’s a self-deprecating gamble – whereas The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) is slickly designed to emphasize Russell’s harder screen persona. It’s a film I’d rather revisit more than Blondes because there’s very little fluff, and Russell maintains strong chemistry with Richard Egan.
Whereas Stover is out on Blu (via Twilight Time), Nightgown is nowhere – another orphan film in need of a home, and better transfer. My source was a poor VHS tape with Spanish subs, so given it’s a MGM title, maybe KINO’s KL Studio Classics might attempt a HD transfer and special edition on Blu, using the film as a launching pad for commentators to assess Russell’s place in Hollywood and impact in film. I mean, they just announced her prior film Foxfire (1955) is due on Blu this fall, which is great news for fans of Russell, co-star Jeff Chandler, and Technicolor fans curious to see a fresh HD transfer of the last studio film to be shot in 3-strip Technicolor.
Coming shortly is a revised review of James Cameron’s directorial debut, Pirahna 2: The Spawning (1981), new on Blu from Scream Factory, after which I will attempt one more time to solve the RGB to digital headache. Hopefully I won’t need a bigger band-aid.
Cheers,
Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com
Category: EDITOR'S BLOG
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