Cary Grant had the uncanny knack for making even the most hollow tripe seem like cinematic high art. Consider the irrefutably light-hearted "Once Upon A Time" in which Grant is Jerry Flynn - a has-been Broadway producer who discovers an orphan with a dancing caterpillar. Flynn's savvy for creating a media event, turns the caterpillar into an off Broadway sensation. But when Jerry decides to sell his investment to the highest bidder, he must choose between fame and fortune and the respect and genuine love that the orphan has developed for him. The genuine surprise in this film is not how irrepressibly charming Grant is, but how willingly he steps into the unbecoming role of the villain who eventually chooses goodness over celebrity a subtle bit of advice that most stars of today would do well to heed. "Once Upon A Time" is not high art, but it remains an enjoyable movie hemmed in by a finely wrought performance.
THE TRANSFER: Relatively clean for Columbia Tri-Star. The gray scale has been nicely balanced with solid blacks and nicely rendered contrast levels. There's a lot of age related artifacts for a picture that is inconsistent and not very smooth. However, once you've accepted these shortcomings, the film becomes reasonably enjoyable to view. Fine details are nicely rendered. There are no digital anomalies. The audio is mono but very well represented.
EXTRAS: Nothing of merit.
BOTTOM LINE: "Once Upon A Time" offers the chance to appreciate Cary Grant at his most subtly challenging and engagingly.
THE TRANSFER: Relatively clean for Columbia Tri-Star. The gray scale has been nicely balanced with solid blacks and nicely rendered contrast levels. There's a lot of age related artifacts for a picture that is inconsistent and not very smooth. However, once you've accepted these shortcomings, the film becomes reasonably enjoyable to view. Fine details are nicely rendered. There are no digital anomalies. The audio is mono but very well represented.
EXTRAS: Nothing of merit.
BOTTOM LINE: "Once Upon A Time" offers the chance to appreciate Cary Grant at his most subtly challenging and engagingly.