Murder at the Vanities Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Mitchell Leisen
USA 1934

Kitty Carlisle (A Night at the Opera), Jack Oakie (The Eagle and the Hawk), Victor McLaglen (Klondike Annie) and Carl Brisson (Hitchcock’s The Ring) star in Murder at the Vanities, an artfully audacious Pre-Code musical comedy and murder mystery. An opening night of a new musical leads to real behind-the-scenes drama when the play’s leading lady (Carlisle) is the target of a brutal murder plot. Producer Jack Ellery (Oakie) hires detective Bill Murdock (McLaglen) to solve the crime and chase down a killer while staying out of the spotlight. Directed by Hollywood ace Mitchell Leisen (Death Takes a Holiday, Hands Across the Table) and featuring Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, this delightfully entertaining film has it all: music, melody, mirth—then murder!

***

Shortly before the curtain goes up the first time at the latest performance of Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure the leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. Bill thinks Jack is offering to let him see the show from an unusual viewpoint after he forgot to get him tickets for the performance, but then they find the corpse of a murdered woman and Bill immediately suspects Eric of the crime.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 18th 1934

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:29:18.250
Video	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,299,950,465 bytes Feature: 21,336,883,200 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.33 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1606 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1606 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,299,950,465 bytes Feature: 21,336,883,200 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.33 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Anthony Slide • Trailers Blu-ray Release Date: October 11th, 2022 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (October 2022): Kino have transferred Mitchell Leisen's Murder at the Vanities to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". Murder at the Vanities is on DVD as part of Universal's 6-film Pre-Code Hollywood Collection reviewed HERE. This 1080P not only has the higher resolution but shows much more information in the frame on all four edges. It remains subject to the source and there are inconsistencies with plenty of surface scratches and some warped frames. Overall, I was pleased with the HD presentation aware that the film is approaching its 90th birthday.

NOTE: We have added 64 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 track (24-bit) in the original English language. Murder at the Vanities is notable for its music. The uncredited score was by William E. Lynch, Milan Roder (The Sign of the Cross, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, The Song of Songs, Supernatural, Murnau's Tabu) and Howard Jackson who composed for almost 400 titles in his career finding his calling in documentary shorts but did do features like Tobor the Great, It Happened One Night, Cry Terror! and Sam Fuller's Merrill's Marauders. The film has quite a few musical numbers; Ebony Rhapsody, Franz Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody performed by Duke Ellington's orchestra, and other pieces with singing by Gertrude Michael, Kitty Carlisle, Carl Brisson etc. The sound suffers from the limitations of the production era and can be a shade weak in the higher end but is still clear enough to enjoy the film. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Anthony Slide (author of Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States.) He discusses the large cast and their backgrounds. He admits Murder at the Vanities may not be a great film but it sure is entertaining. I agree. It's a pleasure listening to him share his knowledge adding some humor in the commentary. There are also trailers but none for Murder at the Vanities.

Mitchell Leisen's Murder at the Vanities is a true Pre-Code rife with very scantily clad women ("the most beautiful girls in the world") and suggestive circumstances. It's primarily a musical, based on Earl Carroll's long-running Broadway revue Earl Carroll's Vanities augmented by a murder mystery. So, while the musical revue “The Vanities” captivates audience with lavish numbers and extensive sets, a murder and its subsequent investigation secretly take place backstage. It's very fun, with gorgeous Art Deco sets, incredibly intricate, large scale, musical numbers and I still am shocked by how far the pre-code 'adult' expression goes. "Audacious" indeed. See if you can find Charles "Ming the Merciless" Middleton and the uncredited Lucille Ball! The Kino Blu-ray upgrades the a/v and adds a new commentary. Pre-Code fans should definitely indulge.