Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

Tyrone Power is best remembered as an action superstar. He was dashing in The Mark of Zorro and dastardly as Jesse James. He knew how to move popcorn by projecting a sense of adventure. But he could also act without a mask. Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection gives us ten examples of the emotional range he could strike on the silver screen.

Girls’ Dormitory (1936 – 66 minutes) is considered his break-through performance even though he’s barely in the film. This film is unintentionally comic when viewed through modern eyes. A women’s college is nearly destroyed in a major scandal. A female student (Simone Simon) has the hots for the headmaster (Herbert Marshall). Will their forbidden passion burn down this institute of higher learning? The most hilarious thing is all the female students sleep in a single room like Marines at bootcamp. Did they slept this way at Radcliffe? Power shows up at the end. His small role is essential to the brewing scandal.

Love Is News (1937 – 72 minutes) unites Power and Young as conflicted lovers. He’s a newspaper reporter. She’s a rich heiress who is sick of him writing about her. She gets her revenge by announcing that she and Power are engaged. The reporter gets a taste of the press hounding his every move. This is a film that deserves to be remade since it speaks to the TMZ culture that runs rampant in Los Angeles. George Clooney and Lindsay Lohan would be the perfect cast. Who would play Stepin Fetchit? Cafe Metropole (1937 – 83 minutes) lets Power appear as a depleted trust fund kid. He owes a hefty bill to the owner of the Cafe (Adolphe Menjou). Instead of cleaning dishes, Menjou puts Power to work by having him pose as a Russian Prince. Power must entertain a rich American gal (Loretta Young) in his disguise. Things go bad when the real Prince arrives in town. He’s not happy to see his identity attached to this scheme.

Second Honeymoon (1937 – 84 minutes) reunites Power and Young as a divorced couple. They bump into each other in Miami. She’s remarried and he’s still a drunk playboy. He can’t replace her no matter how hard he tries. He knows her industrialist husband doesn’t deserve her. He plots to win her back. He takes them frog gigging off Key West to show how stuffy her new man is. Even though he’s playing a cad, Power completely charms everyone. The film takes place in Florida, but it’s all shot on Hollywood soundstages with tons of rear projection. Day-Time Wife (1939 – 72 minutes) also has Power in a role that could have easily turned him into a complete cad. He’s a businessman who spends way too much time at work. His wife (Linda Darnell) drops by the office and discovers he’s gone off with the secretary to a nightclub. Instead of throwing a fit, she goes undercover as a secretary to see why bosses can’t resist cheating with the lady who takes dictation. Her new boss turns out to be in business with her husband. How long can she juggle her two lives? Will she find out the true relationship between her husband and his secretary? Powers could have easily been a hated man, but he gives off an attitude that lets us see him as stuck in a trap instead of being the trapper.

Johnny Apollo (1940 – 94 minutes) brings crime to the collection. Power is the son of a stockbroker busted on embezzlement charges. He disowns his father, but can’t escape the family name. Nobody wants to hire him. His only chance for a normal life is to clear his father on an appeal. A disreputable lawyer can do it, but it will cost money to grease the legal rails. The only job offer he gets is working for a mobster (Lloyd Nolan). To prove his dad is innocent, Power embraces the life of a felon. One of Nolan’s gals (Dorothy Lamour) wants Power to go straight. Is it too late for his soul? This Above All (1942 – 110 minutes) brings love to the battlefield. Joan Fontaine disobeys her rich family by enlisting in the British Air Force during World War II. She falls for a private (Power), but can their romance survive their different social standings? It’s a rare military romance that involves two enlisted soldiers.

That Wonderful Urge (1948 – 82 minutes) is a remake of Love Is News. The big difference is they cast Gene Tierney as the heiress. She doesn’t quite have the same chemistry with Power as Loretta Young. The Luck of the Irish (1948 – 99 minutes) brings a Leprechaun (Cecil Kellaway) into Power’s life. Power and a pal are lost in Ireland. They get directions from the Leprechaun who decides to follow them back to America. He works his Irish magic in Manhattan. It’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day viewing. As a bonus you can watch the film with a green tint. I’ll Never Forget You (1951 – 90 minutes) sweeps us back to the 18th century. It’s a time traveling epic with Power slipping back to meet his ancestors. Things get weird when his fiancé’s grandmother’s sister falls for him. It’s like Back to the Future without the creepy mom going for her time traveling son plotline. Director Roy Ward Baker would go on to helm Scars of Dracula and The Vampire Lovers for Hammer.

Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection makes a case that he was not merely a popcorn actor. He had the skills to perform in a variety of roles in different genres. He was a romantic lead, a deceitful husband, a time traveller and newspaper reporter. He never looked out of his environment in any of these films. Maybe he couldn’t play a hardcore heavy because his natural charm couldn’t make an audience sneer when he entered the room. After watching all ten films in Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection, it’s easy to see that he was the total package as a movie star.

The video for all ten films are in 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are good for their age. Even the ones with warnings that they were restored from the best surviving elements are rather clean. The soundtracks are Dolby Digital mono. There are Dolby Digital stereo tracks for Johnny Apollo, Day-time Wife and That Wonderful Urge. The soundtracks are clean. The subtitles are in English, French and Spanish.

Tyrone Power Prince of Fox (18:22) is a short biography about his short life. There’s plenty of folks discussing his career at Fox. They also cover his time in the Marines.
Ty and Loretta: Sweethearts of the Silver Screen (14:51) covers how these two contract players became a duo in five films. They were a swell couple. Loretta joked that Ty was the more gorgeous of the two.

My Dad, Tyrone Power (12:01) has his children remembering him. Unfortunately they were very young when Power died of a heartattack at the age of 44. Most of their talk is about them discovering their dad through his movies and co-stars. Tyrone Power Jr. has a great story of meeting Cesar Romero when he was the Joker on Batman. Tyrone Power Jr was in Cocoon with Don Ameche.

Jayne Meadows Remembers (8:18) her time on Luck of the Irish. She describes Power as “a romantic star.” She confesses that she was only a movie smoker.

Cafe Metropole Deleted Scenes (6:28) is essential viewing. They had slashed out two dances numbers from Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. The first number has him tapping away in a tux. The second is an Apache number with Bill dancing partners being a woman and a straight razor. Why did these get cut?
Theatrical Trailers accompany Luck of the Irish, Second Honeymoon, This Above All and That Wonderful Urge.

See England with Ann Blyth is a series of travel photographs with the actress.

Advertising Gallery, Production Gallery, Behind the Scenes Gallery and Lobby Cards are featured with most of the movies.

This is the 50th anniversary of Tyrone Power’s passing at the early age of 44. Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection makes a great case that he was more than just Zorro and Jesse James. He was a major actor of his time. His cinematic charm is timeless.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………




Fox Home Entertainment presents Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection. Starring: Tyrone Power, Lloyd Nolan, Loretta Young, Gene Tierney. Boxset Contents: 10 Movies on 5 flipper discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: July 29, 2008. Available at Amazon.com

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.