Screen great Rock Hudson (Man’s Favorite Sport?) and Italian bombshell Gina Lollobrigida (Come September) are an estranged couple on the verge of a riotous reconciliation in this delightful comic confection. Carter Harrison (Hudson) is a high-powered company exec who needs to polish up his public image. When a P.R. expert (Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?) tells him the answer lies in patching up his shaky marriage, Carter jets off to London to rekindle the affections of his fiery Italian wife Toni (Lollobrigida)—who is already planning her second marriage. But even as she begins to repeat the outrageously eccentric behaviors that split them up in the first place, Carter finds himself falling in love with the irresistible Toni all over again. Wonderfully directed by Melvin Frank (Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, A Touch of Class), Strange Bedfellows is a rollicking cinematic treat filled with slapstick antics and hilarious sight gags!
For thoughts on Strange Bedfellows, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Kino Classics presents Strange Bedfellows with a striking Blu-Ray in 1.85:1 that is not advertised as being a new scan, but looks really great nonetheless. If we were to take a guess, this is likely from the same transfer used for the 2018 release from Universal that we do not have access to. Universal usually puts out quality transfers, and the master they prepared for this seems up to their standards. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines occasionally pop up, but overall clarity and detail is strong. The presentation is enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being handled well. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of it seeming a bit thick. The picture has a few moments of noticeable softness, but colors are well saturated with the bright hues coming through. Skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush. Kino Classics has done a nice job with this presentation.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a vibrant DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this film really well. This track shows no discernible age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. A major thing you will notice is the vibrancy of the Leigh Harline score and the clarity of the songs. Despite the strength of these elements, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of Frank. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. You could not ask for better from Kino Classics.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller provides a sturdy commentary track in which he discusses the time period in which this film was made, the history of all the creative figures involved, the themes of the film and how they are realized, how relationships had to be depicted during the Hays Code and more.
- Trailers: The minute-long trailer for Strange Bedfellows is provided here. There are also trailers provided for A Farewell To Arms, The Tarnished Angels, Come September and Man’s Favorite Sport?.
Final Thoughts
Strange Bedfellows is a light comedic affair, but it proves to be an enjoyable viewing experience for lovers of the frothy rom-com genre. It helps immensely if you are a fan of the performers, as Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida continue to be a dynamic pairing, and supporting turns from icons like Terry-Thomas provide some of the biggest laughs of the movie. The situations are a tad on the outrageous side, but this is a hallmark of the genre, especially during this time period. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a great commentary track. If you are a fan of the talent involved, you should not be disappointed with this purchase. Recommended
Strange Bedfellows 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
