Thank You Jeeves!/Step Lively, Jeeves (1936/1937; Fox)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+/C
Whenever
you hear someone call someone else Jeeves, it may be a funny joke, but is also
the name of a famous literary butler by P.G. Wodehouse. For a recent generation, there was the
British TV series and a now-defunct/renamed website that promised to answer
questions in a Google-like fashion.
However, the character is a classic and 20th Century Fox has
issued two British feature film adaptations with Arthur Treacher in the title
role.
Thank You Jeeves! (1936, with Jeeves “helping” boss
Wooster land a lady) and Step Lively,
Jeeves (1937, with Jeeves going to the U.S.) were likely intended to be
part of an ongoing B-movie series like so many that came from Hollywood, but as
is the case with some of these series attempts, the second film is so
dead-ended that a potential series is killed.
The first film is based on one of the original books, while the second
is not. The first film has David Niven,
the second does not. Niven was under
contract elsewhere, one that Fox could not buy out. Also, racial stereotypes date the films a
bit, but they are worth a look since Treacher is so good, if not enough to
continue the series on his own.
The 1.33
X 1 image on both films are nicely upgraded in all their black and white glory
and nicely shot throughout. They can
show their age, but not as often as you might think. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is here in Mono
and Stereo mixes that are both not bad. Extras
include restoration comparisons for both films, Thank You, P.G.: The Life Of P.G. Wodehouse featurette for the
first film and The World Of Wodehouse
featurette on the second film. The case
also has duplicate lobby cards in a nice envelope, which will make fans happy.
- Nicholas Sheffo
