The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend Blu-ray Review

The Blu Ray edition of "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" presents the film in a 1080p transfer with an AVC encoded image, maintaining the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The choice to manage brightness and contrast to avoid overly dark images inadvertently results in heightened brightness levels, visible in the milky black bars on the sides of the screen. Consequently, delineation in darker scenes suffers; details in costumes and night sequences lack depth, generating a flat visual experience. Additionally, posturization is noticed periodically.

Despite these issues, the transfer does commendably preserve the natural vibrancy typical of Technicolor films. The Eastmancolor elements that remain intact deliver vivid hues, particularly in costumes, which dazzle with bright golds, sharp purples, and rich reds. Sharpness levels are excellent, offering clear face and location detail. Moreover, meticulous work has been done to remove age-related specks and scratches, ensuring a clean presentation. However, the combination of brightness management strategies unfortunately leads to contouring and crushing in darker scenes, detracting from the overall viewing experience.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 sound mix for "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" offers a balanced and professional listening experience. Its equilibrium ensures that dialogue, Cyril Mockridge’s background score, and atmospheric effects such as gunshots are seamlessly integrated, with no element overpowering another. This creates an immersive auditory environment that remains faithful to the original mono track. Minor age-related issues, such as hiss and crackle, have been effectively managed, maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the period soundscape.

Musical numbers and key soundtrack selections retain a sense of fullness, preserving both vocal eccentricity and the richness of heavier instrumentation. The dialogue is consistently clear, securing the comedic rhythm essential to the film's narrative. Additionally, sound effects are notably sharp, delivering crisp gunshots and crackly glass, which enhance the overall audio ambiance without detracting from the film's vintage charm. The audio presentation ensures that group activities and individual audio cues are precise and well-articulated, delivering a dynamic yet era-appropriate listening experience.

The Blu-ray of "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" provides a modest yet valuable selection of extras, though it notably lacks in behind-the-scenes features, commentary tracks, or interviews that could deepen viewers' appreciation of the film's context and production. The trailers compilation offers an intriguing glimpse into other classic films of varying genres, although it's more of a promotional bonus than an insightful supplement. The presentation quality adheres to a professional standard, ensuring these extras are visually and technically satisfactory for enthusiasts and collectors alike. However, the absence of more comprehensive making-of materials or interactive features might disappoint those seeking a richer understanding and historical background of the film. Overall, the supplementary content is minimal but presented with expected quality.

Extras included in this disc:

Promo Trailers (SD, HD): I Wake Up Screaming, Daddy Long Legs, The Devil’s Disciple, Support Your Local Gunfighter.

"The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend," directed by Preston Sturges, stands as an intriguing anomaly in the filmmaker's storied career. Known for his sophisticated comedies like "Sullivan's Travels" and "The Lady Eve," Sturges' penultimate film attempts to blend Western tropes with farcical elements. Betty Grable stars as Freddie, a savvy sharpshooter and saloon singer who inadvertently shoots a local judge, forcing her to assume a new identity as a schoolteacher in Snake City. Her journey is riddled with complications, from romantic entanglements to humorous escapades with local dim-wits.

The production's ambition often hampers its effectiveness. Sturges' juggling of broad slapstick and more intimate, character-driven moments creates an uneven tone that diminishes the comedic impact. The script employs repetitive gags which fail to land consistently, leading to a final shootout sequence that overstays its welcome without delivering substantial humor. Despite this, the film remains digestible due to its concise 76-minute runtime.

Betty Grable's performance as Freddie lacks the cohesion and spark expected from the material, with her explosive temper feeling particularly contrived. Supporting actors like Cesar Romero and Rudy Vallee play their parts to type but rarely rise above mediocrity. Notably, the costume design by Rene Hubert injects a vibrant Technicolor zest into the film, serving as a visual high point. However, even with the occasional flashes of originality and flair, "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" falls short of Sturges' hallmark wit and ingenuity, cementing its status as a commercial and critical misfire in his illustrious career.

"The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" Blu-ray release offers an engaging yet uneven viewing experience. The film captures the signature Sturges charm with quick-witted banter and a notable performance from its accomplished cast. Despite its strengths, the comedy veers into exaggerated antics, particularly with some humor that turns towards the overly cartoonish. This tonal imbalance prevents the film from reaching the consistent depth characteristic of Sturges' finest works.

From a technical perspective, the Blu-ray's visual presentation is a mixed bag. While it boasts excellent sharpness and vibrant colors, these come at a cost. The contrast is occasionally soft and milky, and black levels lack the depth that could have elevated the visual experience further. Despite these shortcomings, the high-definition transfer retains enough fidelity to make it a worthy upgrade from previous releases. Fans of Sturges and classic cinema will find enough visual improvements to justify adding this edition to their collections, although it may not fully meet the standards set by modern restorations.

In conclusion, "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" offers a largely entertaining journey with the expected Sturges flair, albeit marred by some over-the-top comedic elements and technical imperfections in the Blu-ray release. While not his most consistent work, the film retains enough charm and energy to please many fans of classic comedies.