Boasting a stunning new restoration, the fantasy musical classic Jack and the Beanstalk starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello has never looked better and comes to Blu-ray in a special 70th Anniversary Limited Edition from ClassicFlix!
In their first color feature film, Abbott and Costello bring fanciful whimsy and musical delight to the traditional children’s fable where Lou plays the boyish Jack. Seeking to entertain “problem child” Donald (David Stollery) whom he is babysitting, Costello takes to reading “Jack and the Beanstalk”, but soon dreams himself into the fairy tale complete with Bud as the wily Dinklepuss, Shaye Cogan as the kidnapped princess and menacing Buddy Baer as the villainous giant.
Directed by Jean Yarborough from a script by Nat Curtis, Jack and the Beanstalk imitated another musical fantasy familiar to all movie fans (The Wizard of Oz, 1939) by presenting its opening and closing sequences in sepia tone with the middle fantasy portion in shimmering SuperCinecolor. There’s also a tuneful score with four songs composed by Lester Lee and Bob Russell.
For thoughts on Jack And The Beanstalk, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
ClassicFlix presents Jack And The Beanstalk on Blu-Ray after being released previously a handful of times by some small time outfits. This time the title gets the treatment it deserves as ClassicFlix collaborates with Abbott and Costello historian Bob Furmanek and the 3-D Film Archive to deliver a 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm SuperCinecolor elements. ClassicFlix never lets us down, but they have really done a service for classic film fans with this dazzling transfer which completely revitalizes the picture. If you take the time to watch the featurette on the Cinecolor process included on this disc, you will soon understand that this format had a lot of drawbacks which caused its early demise. This results in the odd deficiency here and there, but this restoration has made this one as stable as the source material will allow.
One of the first things you will notice is the lovely natural film grain throughout that brings out a great amount of detail in the image. There are elements of the costumes and whimsical production design that are likely being seen for the first time with such clarity. The film is bookended by sepia-toned footage in the “real world” to further differentiate from the super colorful storybook world. The sepia-toned footage is very stable while the SuperCinecolor footage looks more vibrant than ever. The process itself has a limited spectrum compared to something like Technicolor, but the hues we get are no slouch as they pop off the screen with a nice vibrancy. The colors look so faded when you look at the restoration demonstration also on this disc.
The presentation has a grand amount of depth to it including in the shadows of the castle where there is no evidence of any black crush. Print damage is virtually nonexistent to these eyes throughout the duration of the film outside of the smallest bits. There are a few fleeting moments where clarity falters ever so slightly, but this is likely tied to the condition of the original elements. It is always amazing to see how film preservation can bring new energy to a narrative, and ClassicFlix has delivered one of the most impressive discs of the year here.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track that mostly sounds very strong. As was fairly common with something more family friendly of this time, you get a fine assortment of new songs along with a playful score that render with a strong fidelity outside of some minor hollowness and borderline distortion during the most boisterous musical moments. Abbott and Costello often have a swift and complex delivery of dialogue that always comes through clearly. As a matter of fact, none of the sound effects or the music ever overpowers the dialogue on this release. The more kinetic sequences including tussling and throwing of objects across the room are appropriately lively in the speakers. There does not appear to be any major damage or age related wear to the track. Overall, this is a notable audio presentation that gives vivid life to the material. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided here.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Abbott and Costello expert Ron Palumbo provides a really breezy and deeply informative commentary track which delves into the background of this production, the history of the creatives involved with the film, differences between the script and the finished picture, filming locations and setup, background details that could easily be overlooked, the way they worked with animals and more. Throughout this track, Palumbo seamlessly weaves in recollections from Jack and the Beanstalk co-star David Stollery which helps give some personal insights. Overall, this is well worth a listen for Abbott and Costello fans.
- Introduction: A minute-long audio introduction from Lou’s youngest daughter, Chris Costello, in which she jokes about her supposed influence in making this film a reality and memories of father and his relationship to the film.
- Who’s On First? – December, 1940: A four-minute rare archival news piece which features the duo performing their classic comedy routine during a personal appearance in California.
- Imperfect Spectrum – A Brief History Of Cinecolor by Jack Theakston: A nearly 14-minute documentary which takes a look at the filming process used for this feature from its origins to its ultimate dissolution. Film nerds will especially appreciate this dive into the highly fascinating world of film stock and processing and the different benefits and drawbacks of different types.
- Climbing The Scales – The Music Of Jack and the Beanstalk by Ray Faiola: A nine-minute featurette which takes a closer look at the playful score for the film which provides a nice history of the creatives, the development of the music, the talent who actually did the singing and more. Once again, another highly fascinating piece.
- Beanstalk Ballyhoo by Ron Palumbo: A 14-minute featurette which takes you through the completion and release of the film including an extensive promotional tour which Palumbo guides you through stop by stop with fun anecdotes and some archival footage of some of the appearances. It is pretty incredible that this footage exists, and it is one of my favorite pieces on this disc.
- Cutting Down The Beanstalk by Ron Palumbo: A nearly 19-minute examination of some material that was omitted from the approved cut that was released theatrically but was originally included in a preview print. This includes a mixture of still photos and unused footage that fans will eat up, even if you understand why certain moments were cut.
- Abbott and Costello Meet The Creature – Live TV Appearance from February, 1954: A 15-minute piece that is reported to be the first public appearance after Lou had collapsed from exhaustion and been bedridden for months. The comedy sketch is amusing, but it is concerning to see Lou look a bit worse for wear.
- Rudy Vallee Radio Sketch (February, 1945) with Photo Gallery by Shane Fleming: A six-minute Jack and the Beanstalk radio sketch is provided here which takes on some meta-jokes about their performance that is quite funny.
- Restoration Demo: A three-minute look at the stunning upgrade we have received courtesy of Bob Furmanek and the 3D Film Archive. You really get to appreciate the huge jump in color vibrancy and the clean up of the print damage.
- Image Gallery: This disc provides a photo gallery for Publicity Materials and a Behind the Scenes piece with a 1952 children’s recording both by Chip Ordway.
- Trailers
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- Abbott and Costello Trailer Rarities: A 41-minute collection of 18 original “Coming Attraction” previews which includes Jack and the Beanstalk along with a host of other films that are a real fun find for film fans.
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- Fireman Save My Child: A two-minute trailer for this proposed 3-D film from the duo which ended up being 2-D. You can learn more about this with two optional audio commentaries, one from 3-D expert Mike Ballew and one from Ron Palumbo.
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- ClassicFlix Trailers: This disc includes trailers for A Night In Casablanca, Abbott and Costello TV Show – Mustard, The Little Rascals Vol. 4, Merrily We Live and Zenobia.
Final Thoughts
Jack And The Beanstalk is a terrific family film from one of the most consistent comedic duos of all time. The plot allows them to have a bit of fun and stretch themselves a bit physically while still delivering their brand of comedy. The care put into crafting the storybook qualities of the narrative is greatly appreciated as the practical effects do a pleasing job of transporting you to this world. The pacing is swift and the comedy is sharp, and this adaptation is one that is difficult to hate. ClassicFlix has delivered a Blu-Ray releases with a knockout A/V presentation and a ton of great special features that makes the package even sweeter. If you are a fan of the duo, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. Highly Recommended
Jack And The Beanstalk is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: ClassicFlix 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.