NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2022): Kino have transferred three 40's Maria Montez / Jon Hall films to Blu-ray. The films - White Savage (1943), Gypsy Wildcat (1944) and Sudan (1945)  - are housed on one dual-layered Blu-ray. They are cited as being from "Brand New 2K Masters". Technicolor purists are rarely happy with digital transfers as they can often can't capture the depth and vibrancy of the colors theatrically. These aren't bad although they are a shade faded at times but for the most part they look eye-catching in 1080P Gypsy Wildcat notably. They all have color flecks and infrequent speckles with negligible inconsistencies. Overall, I suspect fans will be pleased and there are image examples below.  

NOTE: We have added 120 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language fir all three films. The aggression is usually infrequent and there always seems to be a dancing numbers rife with extravagant costumes - frequently sung by chorus and unseen male soloist. The score for White Savage was by Frank Skinner (Backstreet, The Sleeping City, The World in His Arms, Arabian Nights, The Lady Gambles, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City.) The score for Gypsy Wildcat was by Edward Ward (Mystery of Edwin Drood, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves The Vanishing Shadow,, Night Must Fall, The Women, Boys Town) and for Sudan by Milton Rosen (The Spider Woman Strikes Back, Jack Arnold's 3-D The Glass Web, serials like Junior G-Men of the Air or Jungle Queen.) The music is often suited to the perceived period (ex. Gypsy Song of Freedom.) It sounds solid enough in the lossless with no drops and sequences of buoyancy.  Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentaries by Phillipa Berry for White Savage and Sudan and by David Del Valle for Gypsy Wildcat. Phillipa does a good job identifying various actors and providing their filmographies with plenty of detail. I love listening to David talk about Maria Montez - her seriousness about her stardom - and how she was quite driven. He compares her a bit to Mae West ('personality' over 'actress'), the details spent on her costumes that would accentuate her breasts, her nickname of 'The Queen of Technicolor', the strength of her characters and her penchant for celebrity and narcissism. David can relate personal stories that tangentially relate to Montez and Hall (who eventually went into television, sadly taking his own life after a battle with Cancer.) He talks about the director Roy William Neill and some of his other work, Sabu and much more. There are also trailers for Gypsy Wildcat and Sudan.    

These three 40's Maria Montez / Jon Hall films are pure Technicolor fantasy. The US was in World War 2 when they were released and gave escapism to the audience. They took place in mythical locations, with extravagant costumes and sets. Montez was born in the Dominican Republic and she was a pinup with her persona carrying these fun and adventurous films. I probably liked Gypsy Wildcat and Sudan the most - although they are all formulaic. None are at the level of Cobra Woman but they have that same exotic appeal with the star often appearing bra-less as further appeal to her sexuality. Nice to have them on Kino's Blu-ray transfers for the always luxurious 'Caribbean Cyclone', Maria Montez in HD presentations of these lesser-discussed films. The commentaries provide excellent background and this is a keeper package for me. Fans should nab it as a rainy Sunday afternoon triple feature.

Gary Tooze