Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Paramount / Hal Wallis Productions

Video: Olive Films

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:43:55.229

Disc Size: 22,542,209,908 bytes

Feature Size: 22,271,643,648 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.21 Mbps

Chapters: 8

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: February 14th, 2012

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 941 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 941 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• None

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: A Movie star has triplets, but does not want her beloved public to find out. Has she made a mistake in hiring Jerry Lewis as the babysitter ?

 

 

The Film:

One thing's for sure: Jerry Lewis doesn't stand amid alien corn in his and Paramount's "Rock-a-Bye Baby," which came to Loew's State yesterday. He is banging around like crazy in a thoroughly familiar sort of farcical maze, and anybody who is not prepared to go along with him had better stay away.

What he is doing, briefly, is pretending to play foster parent to triplet infants who have been left on his doorstep, in a small town in Indiana, by an old girl friend. It seems this old friend, now a Hollywood actress (Marilyn Maxwell plays the role), was the wife for a night (all very legal) of a bullfighter in Mexico. It was also all very secret, so when the triplets inconveniently arrive, it is necessary to hide them out with someone. Jerry is picked for the job.

Excerpt from Bosley Crowther at the NY Times located HERE

An often forgotten Lewis/Tashlin production (loosely based on Preston Sturges' script for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek) that contains some very good stuff indeed - all in the first half, unfortunately. Lewis is the lifelong fan of a movie star (Maxwell) who gives him her triplets to look after while she's in Africa making a film. The supporting cast is particularly good (Gardner, Conried, Connie Stevens), but the gear-change from manic slapstick (watch out for the berserk hosepipe) to cringing sentimentality about babies and nappies is hard to take.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

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

Of the three Olive Film Blu-ray releases (Boeing, Boeing - The Geisha Boy, and Rock-a-Bye Baby) I probably enjoyed this one the best. The image appears to be the best of the group as well. This single-layered Blu-ray is clean and gave me a decent HD presentation. Colors, notably reds, are very bright and detail and contrast levels are in the upper digital range. Rock-a-Bye Baby is no 'demo' disc but the quality of the visuals can be very pleasantly surprising. the 1080P rendering provided a solid presentation.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

No real dynamic substance but a authentic DTS-HD Master 1.0 mono at 941 kbps. Another original score by Walter Scharf that supports the film and the comedy elements. I don't expect it sounded much better theatrically and there are no subtitles offered. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

Typical of Olive Films - especially with their Paramount titles - there are no extras at all. It's another totally bare-bones package.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
There is more of Lewis' physical comedy in Rock-a-Bye Baby. I thought it was very entertaining and I am usually not into this style of humor. It's a very cute movie with some nice Tashlin subtleties. The Blu-ray transfer looks decent-to-strong and the colorful image adds some visual flavor to the presentation. I can see myself indulging in a viewing again - when I am in the mood. I enjoyed it much more than I was anticipating. The musical numbers are super. 

Gary Tooze

February 11th, 2012