Search - Sports Pack - 10 Movies on DVD

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Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 07/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ST. CLAIR's SPORTS PACK features movies with a baseball, auto racing, basketball, boxing or horse racing theme. Also here are sports stars like Jackie Robinson, Barney Oldfield and Joe Louis. Extras on these three single side recorded DVDs include some fine radio show excerpts and one TV series episode.


NOTABLES:

KID MONK BARONI-- 'Kid' Baroni escapes the streets of NYC's Little Italy by becoming a prizefighter. With Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy in his film debut, as Baroni. Also in cast is Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen on "The Adventures of Superman" TV show). Ex-pro boxers Joe Gray and Benny Goldberg also appear. Superb transfer.

BLONDE COMET-- Story of lady auto racer has in its cast the real McCoy: pro driver Barney Oldfield. Released less than three weeks after the Dec. '41 attack on Pearl Harbor.

COUNTY FAIR-- Remake of the 1937 tale of a jockey who's framed by a rival and accused of doping his horse. Co-star Jane Nigh was discovered by FOX while she was working in a WWII defense plant.

THE BASKETBALL FIX-- Plot-explantory title. College ballplayer gets involved with mobsters and point shaving. Also with Marshall Thompson, best known as lead on TV's "Daktari."

RACING BLOOD-- Stable boy (Jimmy Boyd) buys and nurses a sick colt back to health. Two years later it's one of the fastest horses in the USA. Boyd sang the novelty hit, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Dimunitive Frankie Darro, who appears in a minor role as a jockey, starred in the original 1937 version of this film.


The HBO special, WHEN IT WAS A GAME showcases superb color footage of dozens of baseball stars from the 1930s - '50s.


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

DISC ONE--
(5.8) The Big Wheel - (1949) Mickey Rooney/Thomas Mitchell/Spring Byington/Hattie McDaniel/Steve Brodie
(6.2) The Great Dan Patch (1949) - Dennis O'Keefe/Gail Russell/Ruth Warrick/Charlotte Greenwood/Clarence Muse
(7.6) Kid Monk Baroni - Leonard Nimoy/Bruce Cabot/Jack Larson/Allene Roberts/Mona Knox/Richard Rober
BONUS: Fight for the Title ("Telephone Time") (TV-1957) - Michael Landon/Don Haggerty

DISC TWO--
(6.1) The Joe Louis Story (1953) - Coley Wallace/Hilda Simms/Paul Stewart/James Edwards
(6.3) Racing Blood (1954) - Jimmy Boyd/Bill Williams/Jean Porter/George Cleveland/Frankie Darro
(5.8) The Basketball Fix (1951) - John Ireland/Marshall Thompson/Vanessa Brown/William Bishop
BONUS: Excerpt from The Fred Allen Show, with Joe Louis
Command Performance: Joe Louis vs. Buddy Baer

DISC THREE--
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) - Jackie Robinson/Ruby Dee/Minor Watson/Louise Beavers/Bill Spaulding
(6.8) Spirit of Youth (1938) - Joe Louis/Clarence Muse/Edna Mae Harris/Mae Turner/Cleo Desmond/Mantan Moreland
(4.8) Blonde Comet (1941) - Virginia Vale/Robert Kent/Barney Oldfield/Vince Barnett/William Halligan
(4.8) County Fair (1950) - Rory Calhoun/Jane Nigh/Florence Bates/Warren Douglas/Raymond Hatton
BONUS: 1949 World Series radio excerpts"