Two laugh-filled romps from the last years of Silent Cinema make up this Double Feature disc. Directed with the usual splash of skill by the great William A. Wellman, THE BOOB is a lampoon of Hollywood gangsters and cowboys. George K. Arthur stars as Peter Good, whose girlfriend has run off with a bootlegger, sending the hapless boob running after both. The story becomes a culture-clash farce that pits his hick heroism against the wiles of slick-haired gangsters and gin-soaked jazz babies. The film gave Joan Crawford one of her first important roles, as a tough but glamorous revenue agent who helps Peter save the day.
WHY BE GOOD? stars the magnificent Colleen Moore who captures the rebellious flamboyance of the era portraying Pert Kelly, a shopgirl who wins the heart of the boss’ son (Neil Hamilton). The boss, however, doubts that Pert is virtuous. His love-struck son wonders if Dad could be right. So, he sets up a little test for his sweetie: He takes Pert to a raucous roadhouse, rents a private room and makes a most ungentlemanly suggestion. Will Pert be good? Or, with Prince Charming in her grasp, will she decide it’s better to be bad? M-G-M’s The Boob is presented with a joyous musical score written in 2003 by composer Arthur Barrow. First National’s Why Be Good? Is presented with its original synchronized Vitaphone soundtrack with synchronized music and sound effects.
For thoughts on The Boob and Why Be Good?, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Boob and Why Be Good? make their Blu-Ray debut with a brand new 1080p transfer sourced from a new 4K scan of the best surviving preservation elements available, which was a safety duplicate negative made in the 1960s. When you consider the state of the surviving elements, these restorations are somewhat of a miracle for fans of silent film. While advances in preservation impress us pretty consistently, what the Warner Archive team has been able to pull off with these features should be praised. You may spot some fleeting bits of softness, but this impresses even when you notice some of the limitations.
The sterling black-and-white photography looks magnificent in high definition with natural grain fully intact and resolved perfectly. There is a delightful amount of detail present in the production design and costumes. The contrast is handily defined, even during the brightly lit shots, and there is not much in the way of print damage to be found outside of a few stray moments. Black levels are deep with no trace of black crush or compression artifacts. The presentation displays lovely texture on the costumes and impressive facial detail in close-ups. Warner Archive rarely takes a trip back into the silent era, but these turned out so well that we look forward to whatever else they have in store.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track for each effort that is in good shape. While this may be a silent picture, it is not completely devoid of sound as Why Be Good? especially plays with both diegetic and non-diegetic music and sound effects. Whether this is the case or the more traditional score of The Boob, the sounds flow through with great clarity. From beginning to end, the tracks maintain a welcome fidelity with expert precision. There are a few fleeting moments when the high end of the track can feel a bit bright, but this rarely pops up as a problem. Warner Archive has provided a lovely audio track that does not exhibit any deal-breaking signs of age-related wear and tear. This disc does not provide subtitles as there is no dialogue spoken on screen.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
The Boob and Why Be Good? are two engaging features from the silent era that are likely to charm modern audiences who do not often consider exploring this era of film history. Why Be Good? is the standout of the two as it delivers laughs and a progressive notion towards feminist ideals, but The Boob is no clunker in its more broadly appealing lark. Some people are simply not built for silent films these days, but they are very much worthy of your time. Warner Archive has delivered a fantastic Blu-Ray release with an amazing A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. I cannot recommend this disc highly enough for fans of the era. Recommended
The Boob and Why Be Good? can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.