‘Zander The Great’ Blu-Ray Review – Marion Davies Outshines An Inconsistent Narrative

In Zander the Great, Davies plays Mamie Smith, a young woman in an orphanage run by an evil matron. A benefactor of the orphanage intervenes and facilitates her adoption. When her new mother passes away, Mamie finds herself in the charge of her adoptive little brother, Zander. Determined to find the boy’s father, who had left years earlier, Mamie and the boy head west to Arizona. The last-known address for the father leads them to the hideout of outlaw Dan Murchison (Harrison Ford) and comedy-relief sidekicks Harry Myers (City Lights) and Harry Watson Jr. (The Mishaps of Musty Suffer) Murchison and his pals are glad for the company, and he and Mamie start to fall for each other.

For thoughts on Zander The Great, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/NtnntbeGwqs?si=LAmPaxTIwaM36h__&t=1952]

Video Quality

Zander The Great makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Undercrank Productions with a very pleasing restoration effort. The film is presented courtesy of a new 2K digital scan of a 35mm safety duplicate made from an Original Tinted Nitrate Print in the Marion Davies Collection at the Library of Congress. The original tinting scheme has been reintroduced based on the colors in the nitrate print. With such a brief runtime, there is no hint of compression artifacts or anything of that nature. While you have to allow for some room for age to get the best of the source, by and large, this is a truly pleasant viewing experience that holds up as well as can be expected.

The film maintains its natural grain well with minor fluctuations in quality. You have to appreciate the detail present with nice textures on the outfits and within the setting thanks to the enhanced resolution. The contrast is admirably defined with nothing unnatural in the way of flicker or egregious damage to the print. There are obvious stretches where the source was in terrible shape, but Undercrank Productions has preserved this one as well as one would hope. Black levels are not the deepest we have ever seen, but they at least avoid black crush and compression artifacts. Undercrank Productions is a bastion of hope in the realm of silent cinema.  

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with a Dolby Digital 2.0 lossy audio track that comes together nicely. Zander The Great is graced with original scores composed by Ben Model which complements the material well. The music is the only element to contend with in this track, and it comes through with perfect fidelity and no signs of damage or age-related downturns. Silent film fans should appreciate the sound quality of the tracks. A lossless audio track may have been able to buoy things a bit further, but you can’t find much fault otherwise. 

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc. 

Final Thoughts

Zander The Great is a fine effort from the terrific Marion Davies, who tackles the role gamely but never seems particularly challenged. The main problem lies with the core of the narrative, but it offers moments of entertainment. Even if she has had better roles, this one is still worth seeking out just for her. Undercrank Productions has released a Blu-Ray with a fine A/V presentation but no supplemental features this time around. If you are a fan of the lead actress, don’t miss this one. 

Zander The Great 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: Undercrank Productions 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.