Search - Anna Lucasta on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1958 DVD Release: 01/25/2005 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama

Playwright Philip Yordan stirred up controversy with his 1944 Broadway production Anna Lucasta, the sexy saga of a family of avaricious African-Americans. Such was the notoriety of the play that Columbia Pictures couldn't resist optioning it for a film version. Since this was 1949, Columbia took into consideration both censors and intolerant filmgoers by toning down the play's eroticism and transforming the characters into Polish-Americans. The 1958 Anna Lucasta was filmed in more temperate times, thus the leading characters were once again non-Caucasians. Eartha Kitt stars as waterfront prostitute Anna Lucasta, called back home by her greedy brother-in-law (Frederick O'Neal) to be married off to a moderately wealthy young man (Henry Scott). Anna spoils the brother-in-law's plans by falling in love with the young fellow and seeing to it that no one gets their mitts on his money. A visitor from Anna's past (Sammy Davis Jr.) nearly wrecks the marriage, but Anna is forgiven by her husband and allowed a chance for a new life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eartha Kitt - Anna Lucasta
Sammy Davis, Jr. - Danny Johnson
Frederick O'Neal - Frank
Henry Scott - Rudolph Slocum
Rex Ingram - Joe Lucasta

The second filming of Philip Yordan's play Anna Lucasta has arrived on DVD in a nicely produced if unambitious edition. The movie, directed by Arnold Laven (The Monster That Challenged the World) to a screenplay by Yordan, with Sidney Harmon producing, is about as exciting and bracing a piece of filmed drama as you could find in 1958, and that's before Sammy Davis Jr. -- in one of the best performances of his career -- shows up onscreen. The entire film has the bracing vérité quality that one also finds in pictures of the era such as Alexander MacKendrick's Sweet Smell of Success, Stanley Kubrick's Killer's Kiss, and John Cassavetes' Shadows. Possibly as a result of its edgy subject matter and its all-black cast, the movie never got as much exposure on television as almost any other part of the UA catalog, so this DVD is the best opportunity most viewers will have had to actually see the movie. The film-to-video transfer on the black-and-white movie is excellent, with a clean, sharp image (letterboxed to 1.66:1), and deep, rich contrasts and lots of detail, and no blemishes or defects visible -- Lucien Ballard's cinematography is a delight in this presentation. The 97-minute movie has been given a reasonably generous 16 chapters, and the only extra is the original trailer, presented full-screen (1.33:1), which is mostly hooked around some of Davis' better moments. There are also optional French, Spanish, and English-language subtitles available, on a simple and very easy-to-use two-layer menu. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide