Kino Lorber has once again decided to do what is called an ‘actor themed box set’. The sets have included Deanna Durbin, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard. This go-around features the one and only Rock Hudson!
The Rock Hudson Blu-ray collection is a box set showcasing three technicolor films early in the career of the legendary actor. The trio of films in this set are The Golden Blade, Bengal Brigade and Seminole. Each film shows the versatility that the actor had in cinema, except for him always being in some form of a romantic lead.
Seminole is a film directed by Budd Boetticher, mainly noted for directing a plethora of great B-Westerns, often starring Randolph Scott. Seminole revolves around Lt. Lance Caldwell (Hudson) who is in court accused of murdering Seminole chief Osceola (legendary actor Anthony Quinn, Portrait in Black). Told in flashback, the story unfolds the events leading up to the death of Osceola. Lt. Caldwell is sent to Florida where he is to serve under corrupt Major Harlan Degan (Richard Carlson, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers) who is trying to rid the area of the Seminole tribe for the settlers in the region. Forced to do this mission, Caldwell is not happy as Osceola is an old friend of his. Caldwell along with his childhood sweetheart Revere Muldoon (Barbara Hale, The Giant Spider Invasion) meet with Osceola to work on a truce which fails as Osceola is captured and imprisoned by Degan and later dies. After the flashback Lt. Caldwell is still found guilty with no chance of being saved.
Seminole is a solid movie, even though I was not particularly overwhelmed by it. The acting by the veteran cast is fine, but I felt the pacing moved somewhat sluggish. The best scenes, at least to me was when the military struggled through the Florida Everglades on route toward the Seminole tribe’s land, sinking into quicksand and other obstacles. The battle between the military and the tribe is also well-executed. The cast, outside of Quinn, Hudson, Carlson and Hale includes several big-name actors. Lee Marvin (The Big Heat, Attack), Russell Johnson from Gilligan’s Island, and James Best of The Dukes of Hazzard Fame all had small supporting roles.
Bengal Brigade is an adventure war film from 1954 directed by Laslo Benedek. The film is set during British India 1857. This time Rock Hudson is Captain Jeffery Claybourne, who is faced with having to restore his reputation after being unfairly court martialed. He removes himself from the military for disobeying orders and is deeply ashamed. He also sees himself as unworthy to wed his fiancée Vivian Morrow (Arlene Dahl, Sangaree, Slightly Scarlet), who is Colonel Morrow’s (veteran actor Torin Thatcher, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jack the Giant Killer) daughter. While in insolation he learns that his colleagues are under attack by a group of renegades called the Sepoys. Wanting to redeem himself, Claybourne, now a civilian, returns from isolation into battle and fights alongside his comrades.
Bengal Brigade is decent war film, nothing out of the ordinary, more of a run of the mill film. The cast all hand in fine performances, with the highlight being the action scenes and also shots of Arlene Dahl as she is a sight to behold in this picture.
The Golden Blade is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Nathan Juran, who was no stranger to fantasy films, having helmed Jack the Giant Killer, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, among others. This film stars Rock Hudson as Harun Al-Rashid and Piper Laurie as Princess Khairuzan. After vowing to his dying father to help establish peace in his homeland, Harun travels to Baghdad where he meets gorgeous Princess Khairuzan (Laurie) and uncovers a gold sword, that only he can wield. Vizier Jafar (George Macready, Gilda) has a scheme that would have Khairuzan marry his son, Hadi (Gene Evans, The Giant Behemoth) in a joust. Jafar learns that Harun has a magic sword and aims to prevent it from being used when Hadi battles Harun. Hadi does defeat Harun without his golden sword and will wed the reluctant and frightened Khairuzan. This is all part of a vicious agenda against the princess as Hadi has the eyes for another woman Bakhamra (Kathleen Hughes, Cult of the Cobra). Jafar’s plan is to blame Huran for a potential murder and is to be executed, thus no one will stand in his way. Harun ultimately must save his love Khairuzan from preventing a marriage between her and Hadi and prevent Jafar from carrying out his scheme.
Out of the three films in this set, I enjoyed The Golden Sword the most with its lavish sets and fantasy-themed story and atmosphere. The direction was solid and the acting was professional.
Kino Lorber presents all three films on Blu-ray in one lavish box set. The image quality for all three are top-notch, each boasting similar qualities. The Golden Blade and Seminole are shown in their original aspect ratios of 1:37: 1 while Bengal Brigade is presented in 1:85:1. All three films are impressive on Blu-ray. The colors for each film are vibrant with blues, greens and reds looking by far the strongest in each presentation. The colors overall are rich with breathtaking blue skies immaculate details to the scenery in each film, with great depth and deep textures.
The audio for all three films is English DTS-HD master audio 2.0. The tracks to each film are perfectly fine with dialog, music and other sounds during the film coming in clear. No drop-offs are hissing was detected. English subtitles are available for all three films.
While there are not many extras for any of the films in this package, what there is of them are substantial,
The Golden Blade has a commentary track by film historian Phillipa Berry who discusses the film in detail. The other ‘extra’ are trailers for The Golden Blade, Jack the Giant Killer, and Son of Ali Baba
Seminole has an audio commentary by Nick Pinkerton who covers the film with his usual enthusiasm and a trailer
Bengal Brigade has trailers for Taza, Son of Cochise, A Farewell to Arms and The Tarnished Angels.
The Rock Hudson Collection, while not containing his all-time great or key films is still a great collection to own if you are a fan of the actor. The image quality for all three are superb, with a pair of commentaries included make this is recommended release.
Bengal Brigade
Director- Laslo Benedek
Cast- Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
The Golden Blade
Director- Nathan Juran
Cast- Rock Hudson, Piper Laurie
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Seminole
Director- Budd Boetticher
Cast- Rock Hudson, Barbara Hale, Anthony Quinn
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date- 1/27/2021