This collection includes three films co-starring Maria Montez and Jon Hall.

WHITE SAVAGE (1943) In this lavish fantasy-adventure from director Arthur Lubin (Francis the Talking Mule), the beautiful “Queen of Technicolor” Maria Montez (Arabian Nights) lights up the screen as Princess Tahia, ruler of Temple Island, with co-stars Jon Hall (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) and Sabu (Cobra Woman) as the shark-hunter Kaloe and his rascally pal Orano. Forbidden love blossoms when Orano plays Cupid for Kaloe and the princess. But trouble comes to tropical paradise when scoundrels seek the hidden treasure in Tahia’s palace pool. Turhan Bey (Sudan), Sidney Toler (King of Chinatown) and Thomas Gomez (Singapore) round out the top-notch cast of this eye-popping, breathtaking romance on the South Seas.

GYPSY WILDCAT (1944) The dazzling duo of Maria Montez (Cobra Woman) and Jon Hall (Arabian Nights) star in this Technicolor caravan of action and romance. When Count Orso is found dead, a wicked baron blames a local settlement of gypsies and imprisons them in his castle. The only witness to the killing is a traveler named Carla (Montez), who wears a beautiful necklace and captures the hearts of men who encounter her. Co-starring Peter Coe (Road to Bali), Nigel Bruce (Becky Sharp), Leo Carrillo (Four Frightened People) and Gale Sondergaard (The Spider Woman Strikes Back) with direction by Roy William Neill (Black Angel), this enchanting epic features lush locations, colorful costumes and the marvelous Ms. Montez at her most smoldering.

SUDAN (1945) In this sixth and final Montez/Hall starrer, Maria Montez (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) is simply spectacular as the vengeful Naila, ruler of the Egyptian city of Khemis. Disguised as a peasant girl, she scours the desert for those responsible for her father’s death during a slave revolt. After a series of treacherous captures and escapes, the beautiful Naila finds herself aided by the amorous pickpocket Merab and his partner-in-crime Nebka, played by Jon Hall (Cobra Woman) and Andy Devine (Canyon Passage). Directed by John Rawlins (Arabian Nights) and co-starring Turhan Bey (White Savage), George Zucco (The Cat and the Canary) and Robert Warwick (Against All Flags), this action-packed romance shines like a Technicolor jewel of the Nile.

For thoughts on the Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVaq6-P164Y&t=0s]

Video Quality

The Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection comes to Blu-Ray with three films included on one disc. While this might seem like a red flag, given the relatively brief runtimes of these three features, the disc is not pushed to the limits of its capacity. These films share many of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them as a group while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. All three films have been given new 2K scans which overall look quite nice despite retaining some visual inconsistency that keeps this from being a 5-star effort. Nevertheless, all three films look really good or even great. There is a good amount of subtle print damage and other source anomalies, but the severity varies from film to film.

The gorgeous Technicolor photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field is resolved pretty well with only a handful of moments spiking or seeming overly coarse. There are not very many moments where anything appears clumpy or unnatural. There is a fine amount of detail present with nice texture on the unique costumes and in the sumptuous production design. Black levels could be a bit stronger, but there are no major moments of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, but the track does experience moments of density fluctuation in the print. All three features have never been treated with the utmost respect, but fans should find these presentations to be a favorable time. Kino Classics has really provided some good work.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a perfectly decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track for each of these three films that serves them well for this time period. Admittedly, these tracks do present with a small amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing, humming and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. Yet, dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements as they both come through clearly. The buoyant scores never overpower the dialogue or other important information, but it does sound a little delicate at its highest peaks. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to provide the most stable track possible for these.

Special Features

Audio Commentary for White Savage: Film Historian Phillipa Berry provides an informative commentary track in which he discusses how this film fits into the careers of Montez and Hall, behind-the-scenes production details, the backgrounds and personalities of the performers, the Technicolor filmmaking, old school Hollywood drama and more that is worth a listen.

Audio Commentary for Gypsy Wildcat: Film Historian David Del Valle provide a terrific commentary track which brings a lot of insight into the career and legacy of Maria Montez, the shooting style of the time, the production values, the backgrounds of various performers and creative figures and more. Of the three commentary tracks, this one holds you attention the most in terms of delivery and uniqueness to the stories told.

Audio Commentary for Sudan: Film Historian Phillipa Berry returns to discuss the final pairing of the star duo, the score of the picture, how the film depicts the locations, the reputation of the films and more. Berry covers the same type of material as his first track, but if you enjoyed that one you should also dig this one.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for Gypsy Wildcat (2:03) and Sudan (2:09). There are also trailers provided for Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves, Cobra Woman, Tangier, The Spider Woman Strikes Back and Francis In The Navy.

Final Thoughts

The Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection is a rollicking blast from the past which shines a spotlight on three films from a pair that may not be so familiar with casual film fans. While none of them are stone cold classics, all of them have thrilling and joyful moments that rival more famous adventure tales, only with a more beguiling central presence. These Technicolor spectacles also deliver a feast for the eyes with the lavish costumes and impressive sets. It is so easy to get stuck on more famous names, but collections like these really show some of the forgotten talent of classic cinema. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a nice assortment of commentary tracks. If you are of old school adventure romances, you should mark this down on your list. Recommended

Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics 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.