Champagne for Caesar DVD with Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price (NR) +Movie Reviews

Picture is fun and smart. The sound, just awful.

Larry A. Verdugo | Pasadena, CA USA | 01/21/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

""Champagne for Caesar" was a film I saw in my early days of film going. I've always remembered it as a smart and funny film, especially notable for Celeste Holmes sophisticated turn as Ronald Coleman's charming nemesis and Vincent Price's off-the-wall performance as the eccentric manufacturor of "Milady Soap, The Soap That Sanctifies." I looked forward to this DVD but must report that technically it falls too far short to recommend. About a quarter of the way into it, the sound turns extremely harsh and is almost unlistenable. Later still, intrusive scratches and smudges-- that surely could have been eliminated--suddenly intrude, spoiling the moment. "Champagne for Caesar" remains a charming romp but not in this presentation."

Bad transfer

Larry A. Verdugo | 07/15/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I won't go into the story line as others before me have covered that. Let me instead deal with the quality of this DVD. It stinks! Mainly because of the sound. At points it sounds like the actors are talking under water. At first I thought I had a bad disc, so I returned it for replacement, but got the same problem. So I wrote to the company that put this out on DVD and this was their response: Thank you for your inquiry. We are sorry to hear that you are disappointed with your latest Image Entertainment purchase. Unfortunately the problem that you are describing concerning the soundtrack of this film is the result of damaged film stock. Image Entertainment made three attempts to find the best available master for this film and the finished product was made using the best remaining film stock available. Bottom line is, buy this ONLY if you can't do without this film. Otherwise there are lots of other wonderful films on better DVDs."

Great Satire with a Great Cast

Janet | Los Angeles, CA | 08/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Several years ago, I saw Vincent Price on a talk show, and he was asked what his favorite was of all the movies he had made. He replied that it was a movie he considered "way ahead of it's time", titled "Champagne For Caesar". I was very excited to hear him say that, because it has been one of my favorite movies since I discovered it late one night on a local tv station back in the 60's. This is a very funny satire of quiz shows and of tv advertisers, backed by a stunning cast which includes Ronald Colman as Beauregard Bottomly, a genius who knows everything except how to keep a job. He embarks on a quest to destroy a sponsor of a tv quiz show, by answering enough questions to bankrupt them. Celeste Holme co-stars as the beautiful, intelligent femme fatale sent to find his weakness. Vincent Price is the owner of the soap company who sponsors the quiz show, and his performance as the wickedly funny "Dirty Waters" is one of the many bright spots of this film. Art Linkletter has a supporting role as "Happy Hogan", the host of the quiz show, with some very funny moments between him and Vincent Price. Mel Blanc is the voice of "Caesar", an alcoholic parrot. Everybody in this film is excellent, and this is a movie that shouldn't be missed."

Zany cult film from 1950.

M. Emery | MO, United States | 05/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film has Oscar winner Ronald Colman's last starring performance. (He only had small roles in two later films.) After its failure at the box office, Colman did a radio show ("The Halls of Ivy"), and in 1954 starred in a TV adaptation of that radio show for a year. Meanwhile, "Caesar" developed a cult following when it was shown on TV (appropriately, since it is all about the way TV saturates a nation's consciousness). Now that the film's available on DVD, perhaps it can find a new audience. Colman is matched by two strong character actors in this film: Vincent Price, even more flamboyant than he was in "His Kind of Woman" (1951), and Celeste Holm, another Oscar winner (for supporting actress in "Gentleman's Agreement"), who doesn't appear until halfway through but dominates the second half as a wide-eyed femme fatale. The surreal offices at the Milady soap company show superior art directors at work. The dialogue is crackling and quotable, but the plotting has problems (several times, we are told what's about to happen before it does). Moreover, the two love relationships aren't convincing (Colman's character looks happier living his sister, played by the lovely and charming Barbara Britton). The continuing gimmick with the drunken parrot (voiced by Mel Blanc) is hysterical. All in all, a film well worth seeing."

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