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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Good News" is one of those uproarious MGM musicals fueled by exuberance, great talent and a good solid score. It stars June Allyson as Connie Lane -- a girl in love with a boy, Tommy Marlowe (Peter Lawford)
(stop me if you've heard this one before).
The two are students at Tate College and, for a while, their romance seems to run the course of true love. But a wrench is thrown into the grand amour when a new pledge and the sorority house, Patricia McClellan (Patricia Marshall) decides to claim Tommy for her own on the basis that he's the riches sport at Tate College. Mel Torme costars and croons a few bars of "Lucky in Love." Joan McCracken, in a subplot involving a jealous boyfriend, does a mean dance to "Pass That Peace Pipe." But the outstanding song and dance routines belong to Lawford and Allyson; the poignant and melodic "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and the ecstatic "Varsity Drag."
This is an outstanding example of DVD mastering. The Technicolor image simply glows off the screen. Colors are rich, bold, vibrant and sharp. Age related artifacts are not an issue. Neither is film grain. There are no digital anomalies and the picture is smooth. The audio is mono but very nicely balanced.
Excerpts from the original "Good News," an early talkie, comprise the one extra feature.
MGM's college experience is like no other. The DVD is a reference quality example of early Technicolor photography. |
