From Deseret News archives:

Horrors! Scary Hammer films on DVD

Published: Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 12:28 a.m. MDT
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These films feature wonderful supporting performances by Buster Keaton, the Wiere Brothers, Al Jolson, Martha Raye, the Ink Spots, the Nicholas Brothers, Phil Silvers and many others — as well as such stars in their prime as Don Ameche, Tyrone Power, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Carole Landis, Cesar Romero, Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda.

"Hollywood Cavalcade" (1939, color and b/w). Faye and Ameche play, more or less, Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett in this tribute to the silent-movie era, complete with pies in the face and a bevy of former silent stars, led by Keaton. Faye seems to be having a great time — but it's not a musical. Great fun for movie buffs until it sinks into bathos toward the end. (This is a color film that reverts to black and white for the silent-film sequences.) (Home-video debut)

"Rose of Washington Square" (1939, b/w) is a show-biz biography, a fictionalized version of Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein (Faye, Power), with Jolson essentially playing himself. Lots of great songs, including several Jolson hits ("April Showers" is in a deleted scene) — and Faye actually sings Brice's signature song "My Man." (Look for Utah character actor Moroni Olsen as a rich patron whom Power betrays.) (DVD debut)

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"The Great American Broadcast" (1941, b/w) is a fictional look at the history of radio with Payne and Oakie at the forefront, Faye providing romance (and songs), along with a bevy of music and comedy from a variety of stars, highlighted by the amazing Nicholas Brothers. (Home-video debut)

"Hello, Frisco, Hello" (1943, color) is a nice vehicle for Faye, a colorful look at romance and music on the Barbary Coast, with Payne and Oakie in tow, and many memorable songs. (DVD debut)

"Four Jills in a Jeep" (1944, b/w) is based on the World War II USO tours of Carole Landis, Kay Francis, Martha Raye and Mizi Mayfair, who appear in this film as themselves. Faye, Grable, Miranda, George Jessel and others show up as guests. (Landis also parlayed the experiences into a book that was a best-seller around the time the film came out.) (DVD debut)

Extras: full frame, deleted scenes, featurettes, newsreels, ad/photo galleries, trailers, bloopers; 12-page booklet

"Quark: The Complete Series" (Sony, 1978, $19.94). Buck Henry, who created "Get Smart" with Mel Brooks, used a similar sensibility for this sitcom, a short-lived sci-fi spoof starring Richard Benjamin as the title character, commander of an intergalactic garbage scow.

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