Cheap Beat the Devil/That Uncertain Feeling (DVD) (Merle Oberon, Melvyn Douglas) (Ernst Lubitsch) Price

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Customer Reviews of Beat the Devil/That Uncertain Feeling

Merle Oberon portrays Jill Baker, a beautiful socialite who is bored to distraction by her dull, insurance-peddling husband(Melvyn Douglas) and develops a case of nervous hiccups. Her psychiatrist (Alan Mowbray) tries to get at the root of Jill's problem by exploring every avenue - "especially Park Avenue." During one of Jill's visits she encounters an eccentric pianist (played to wonderful excess by Burgess Meredith) and that's when the fun begins. The film is not without the famed "Lubitsch Touches" including one delightful scene in which pianist Sebastian seduces Jill by tickling the ivories on her piano.

That Uncertain Feeling is often run on television, but the copies I have seen had such awful image and sound quality they were virtually unviewable! At last, thanks to the Roan Group's excellent restoration and transfer of the film to DVD, we can see the film as it should be seen. We can finally appreciate George Barnes' rich black and white photography with its dramatic interplays of light and shadow, creating a mood reminiscent of the film noir style of the period.

And the image quality of this DVD is so stunning you can almost feel the textures of the silk and lace in Merle Oberon's magnificent gowns by designer Irene. This DVD is also nicely packaged with original advertising art, and comes with extras including background information on the film and its stars, and chapter stops that allow you to jump to specific scenes.

WELL WORTH THE MONEY
The studio that puts this out is a little confusing. This double feature is from Triton/E-Realbiz.com. Also Slingshot is mentioned on the cover. I've been gobbling up these releases where I find them. For some reason Amazon is not stocking this.
Most of the reviews are a little old, but I'm still confused about their issues of quality. For the money it's pretty good. On "That Uncertain Feeling," I'd give the image a B- and the sound a B-. On Beat the Devil I'd give the image a B+ and the sound a B. Overall you get two intriuging, rewatchable and entertaining movies for a budget price.

A lesser Lubitsch comedy -- still quite nice!!
A blithe screwball comedy from director Ernst Lubitsch about an "ideal" modern couple (known to their friends as "the Happy Bakers") whose marriage is on the rocks... Merle Oberon has a six-year itch; her husband (Melvyn Douglas) is a bit of a boob, an all right guy, but a bit obsessed with his work and at times inattentive. When Merle bumps into a free-thinking, artsy malcontent (a young Burgess Meredith, in a choice, juicy role), she falls in his arms and throws her marriage away. The story was originally filmed by Lubitsch in the silent era, but whether it's 1925 or 1941, the plot is still startlingly frank and modern: Douglas takes the affair and divorce in his stride, and even does a bit of fooling around on his own in a bid to get his wife back... The film features brisk, witty dialogue and a zippy start, and though it kind of loses a little steam midway through, it's still pretty fun. Several great character actors are in the cast, including Eve Arden and Sig Rumann... Maybe not the greatest Lubitsch film ever, but it's still a gas. Recommended!