Blu-ray debut for Mitchell Leisen's memorable romantic melodrama, HOLD BACK THE DAWN

Mitchell Leisen (1898-1972) remains one of Hollywood's more under-appreciated directors, even though he worked consistently and very well in a number of popular genres, particularly during the 20-year period between 1934 and 1953, when he was responsible for helming such semi-classics as Easy Living, Lady in the Dark,  Midnight, and To Each His Own -- among a number of others. Up there with his finest efforts is the excellent romantic melodrama, HOLD BACK THE DAWN, a film with such an unusual framework that it must have surprised and delighted movie-goers no end, when it was released in 1941.

Mr. Leisen, shown at left, not only directed this one, but he acts in it, too -- playing, yes, a movie director at Paramount Studios (the company that released Hold Back the Dawn), whom the lead character, played by Charles Boyer, seeks out for help during the section that begins and finally frames the movie.

Mr. Boyer (below, left) plays a European immigrant of somewhat shady background who is trying to get into the United States legally -- but via any means necessary.  Gosh: Trade European for Latin American, and how very timely the movie becomes!

After re-connecting with an old dance partner/good-time girl (played by Paulette Goddard, below, right) and hearing from her about how easy the whole thing could be if he simply married an American woman, Boyer realizes that he has just met one -- though under not the best of circumstances.

That would, of course, be co-star Olivia de Havilland (below), whom Boyer then quickly re-meets, while making certain he is using all that fine French charm for which the actor was duly famous. Was there ever a French-born-and-raised actor so popular with the American public in Hollywood films? I don't think so. Maurice Chevalier managed a degree of it (never more so than in his later years) and Alain Delon certainly tried. But Boyer nailed it. TrustMovies suspects this was as much due to his excellent command of English, without too heavy an accent, as to his being very good looking.

Ms de Havilland -- playing one of her many variations on the prim and proper (while romantic and passionate underneath) heroine -- and M. Boyer are terrific together, quickly pulling the audience in to their initially charming affection and finally into something much deeper. The very good screenplay, from a story by Ketti Frings, balances smart repartee with genuine feeling and is credited to multi-Oscar winners Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.

Ms Goddard is her usual wise and sexy self, while the entire supporting cast (including a lovely turn by Rosemary DeCamp) does the movie proud. Leisen, ever the professional, does an expert job as both director and supporting actor. He calibrates every scene in exactly the manner needed, and helps bring superlative performances from both his leading players and those in even the smallest roles.

The filmmaker is as good with sly (and more obvious) humor as he is with the large romantic gesture, and the result is one of the most satisfying Hollywood romances on record. You end up, rightly so, rooting for everyone here. And they absolutely deserve it.

The new Blu-ray transfer, via Arrow Academy and distributed in the USA by MVD Entertainment Group, is a treat, as are the several bonus features, including a newly filmed video appreciation by film critic Geoff Andrew. The Blu-ray will hit the street this coming Tuesday, July 16 -- for purchase and (I would hope somewhere) rental, too.

Jeffrey Schwarz's funny, sad, and very full-bodied doc, THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR

So far as the market for gay-themed documentaries goes -- along with plenty of other themes, too -- a fellow by the name of Jeffrey Schwarz has it pretty much cornered. With 315 producing credits under his belt, 122 as director and another 36 as editor, this guy won't even hit 50 years old until next year. Having been thoroughly entertained, not to mention enlightened by his documentaries, I Am Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential, Vito, and now his latest work, TrustMovies is not merely surprised by all that Mr. Schwarz has done, but how well he has accomplished this, and how relatively low a profile he's managed to keep while doing it, especially since he has been nominated for a bunch of awards over the years, winning maybe half of these. Impressive!

THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR, Schwarz's most recent work (the filmmaker is pictured at left), gives us the life and times of yet another gay icon, one who -- thanks to the culture and mores in and around which he lived -- was what you might call "closeted in plain sight."

Allan Carr (born Allan Solomon), shown below in his heyday, was a Jewish kid from Chicago who, though he didn't excel at much of anything -- from studies to sports -- had a love for theater and movies that was to serve him (pretty) well throughout his life.

Carr's career began with productions of high-class theater (that ultimately flopped), and then on to work in agenting and management, producing for both television and film, and finally -- with the Broadway production of the musical, La Cage aux Folles, back to theater again -- this time much more successfully.

Schwarz shows us all of this via archival footage and photos, interviews with longtime friends and co-workers (some of whom, Lorna Luft in particular, come off as more like frenemies) that, together, build a nicely varied, warts-and-all look at this bizarre gay icon of entertainment.

Interestingly, similar amounts of time are given to Carr's bombs -- Can't Stop the Music and his embarrassing 1989 Academy Awards show opening number (click and watch for a excruciating walk down memory lane) -- as to his hits like La Cage and his movie adaptation the Broadway musical, Grease. All this just adds to the doc's fair-minded quality, allowing us to see how this bastion of exquisite taste (above and below) managed to move his finger from the pulse of what America wanted in entertainment to something more like an autopsy.

The documentary goes into Carr's closeted-yet-pretty-obvious gay lifestyle (below) without ever getting too personal. (If Allan had any long-lived emotional relationship, we get no hint of it here.) But that's all right, since this guy seemed most interested in marketing entertainment and tossing lavish parties. Schwarz lets see how well (or not) he succeeded at these.

Over the years and down the decades, he appears to have been true to his oldest friends, and when times got toughest there were Hollywood stars who indeed stood by him (that's Angie Dickinson, below, right). Carr was certainly one-of-a-kind, and so were both his hits and his misses. Schwarz has given us a documentary that lays all this out in as big, broad and entertaining a fashion as the man himself. Affectionate but level-headed, the movie's a winner in all respects.

From The Film Collaborative and running 91 minutes, the documentary makes its VOD debut this Tuesday, June 5 via Vimeo-on-Demand, iTunes and elsewhere. It will also screen, festival-wise, on Saturday, June 9, at FilmOut San Diego.