89th Anniversary of the Premiere of "King Kong"

Above, a display of Kong atop the Empire State Building at
 the 2017 Art of King Kong event. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Earlier this evening, I was reading at Twitter that today marks the 89th anniversary of the premiere of King Kong (1933) in New York City.

King Kong was something nobody even expected to see and it remains a classic motion picture today.

Above, a striking painting of Fay Wray at the Art of King Kong event. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It reminds me that my mom would also be 89 years old this month (on March 11). When the 50th anniversary of King Kong was celebrated in 1983, my mom groused that it reminded her of her age.

Above, yours truly with Don Glut at the Art of King Kong event in 2017.

I guess it would be appropriate to raise a glass in salute to King Kong on his 89th anniversary.

Cheers, big guy!

"A Lady Takes A Chance" (1943) On Blu-ray

This week, my ordered Blu-ray of A Lady Takes A Chance (1943) arrived in the mail.

The movie, a romantic comedy, stars Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Charles Winninger and a young (with hair, probably a toupee) Phil Silvers.

From Blu-ray.com:

A city girl on a bus tour of the West encounters a handsome rodeo cowboy who helps her forget her simpy city suitors.

It had been a long while (likely since the 1970s) since I've seen this movie. I decided to order it and it was as I remembered it.

The Blu-ray is quite good as the transfer is from a 4k scan of a black & white nitrate negative from the Paramount Pictures film archives (even though the movie was produced by RKO Radio Pictures). The distributor of the Blu-ray is Kino Lorber.

According to a review in Home Theater Forum:

According to the package’s liner notes, this scan was taken from a combination of elements including the original negative as well as nitrate fine grains. Perhaps as a result of being sourced from multiple elements, the presentation here is inconsistent. At its best, the film can appear incredibly sharp, with excellent detail, great contrast, and a nearly pristine image showing almost no evidence of age or wear. At its worst, sections can appear indistinct, lacking sharpness and clarity, and showing some speckling and other age-related wear and tear.

Although the movie was made four years after Stagecoach, Wayne carried off well his comedic end of the movie.