Review of Born To Be Bad

Introduction

Born to be Bad is a 1930`s studio movie starring two stars of the golden Hollywood era in a young Cary Grant and Loretta Young.

Letty (Young), after ending up pregnant and abandoned at the tender age of fifteen, vows to teach her son Mickey life`s harsh lessons to ensure the same fate will not happen to him. When Mal (Grant) injures Mickey in a road accident, Letty is determined to take advantage of his kind heart and abundant riches by manipulating and blackmailing Mal all she can.

Video

A difficult one to judge, this: the film is seventy years old and thus should be judged on this merit. However, the print is very obviously worn with age, with the trademark flicker that many Hollywood films from this era have. There are examples of fantastic restorations being made when the studio makes an effort - Citizen Kane is what I`m thinking of here - but this DVD has not had much money nor time spent on it.

Audio

The stereo track has few signs of actually being in stereo, with no discernable separation of sounds. The dialogue comes through clear, but the music is flat and lifeless.

Features

No extra features included.

Conclusion

With Hollywood movies of this era, every film follows a tight formula dictating plot, shots, editing and acting. Despite the completely different style of filmmaking to modern movies, there have been some superb films from this age - but Born to Be Bad is not one of them. The script is predictable, and Cary Grant, in a very early role, shows none of the sparkle that made him one of film`s greatest leading men (and one of my favourites).

The DVD is likewise very dull, with picture, sound and extras all being disappointing.