James Neilson's Night Passage (1957) was never released on laserdisc, and hasn't been shown much on television since the 1970's (and never in its original Technirama aspect rati) -- so Universal's 2003 DVD release is the best chance that we've had to see this underrated western in more than 45 years. The studio's video division has made the most of it, unearthing a near-flawless source that has extraordinary sharpness and depth -- the 2.35-to-1 letterboxed image is essential to appreciating this movie, right down to a clever gimmick involving the lettering in the opening credits (which may make modern viewers laugh a bit). As to those with doubts about the movie, based on its relative unfamiliarity, Night Passage is of a piece with James Stewart's more celebrated westerns with director Anthony Mann. It has all of the dark implications of character, the lusty surrounding portrayals, and the kind of hard-as-nails story that Mann specialized in (and the presence of Dan Duryea in the cast doesn't hurt). Where it is lacking is in its visual flaccidness in spots -- the director and the script waste the opening 10 minutes of the movie in a scene at a railway camp that suffers from an excessive reliance on wide master shots, where Mann tended to bring his camera in a bit on his players, focusing on individual characters rather than large set pieces -- it's as though, having arranged for the use of Technirama, the makers were hell-bent on shooting the biggest set-pieces. Finally, 12 minutes in is where the "real" movie starts and Night Passage begins to resemble a Mann film in approach as well as casting and mood. The color cinematography is nicely captured on the disc the sound is also mastered at a reasonably high volume, making this a solid DVD release with lots of intrinsic interest for fans of Stewart or westerns. The 20 chapters are placed nicely and clearly (and cleverly) titled. The disc opens on a simple menu that includes access to an original trailer (that also emphasizes the "scope" aspect ratio) that's in nearly as good shape as the film itself.It makes the movie seem a little less measured in its pacing and more a pure action-oriented western. It gets there, but not before Stewart turns in a nicely dark performance as a hero with a mean edge to go with his good nature. There are no other special features, apart from captions and subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French.

Steve Allen makes his dramatic film debut in The Benny Goodman Story. Obviously made to cash in on the success of The Glenn Miller Story (1953), this slow-moving biopic isn't quite in the same league. Outside of Goodman's conflicts with his parents over his career choice, and his early frustration over not being able to play his kind of music, the film tends to be more a series of musical highlights than a biography. Something could have been made of Goodman's tireless efforts to racially integrate the Big Band scene of the 1930s and 1940s, but Universal chose to sidestep this. As for Steve Allen, his dour, low-key performance does little to enliven the proceedings; Allen is at his best when miming the prerecorded clarinet licks of the real Benny Goodman. Despite its faults, The Benny Goodman Story remains a treat for music fans, with guest appearances by Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Harry James, Martha Tilton, Ziggy Elman, and Sammy Davis Sr. (as Fletcher Henderson).

Anthony Mann's The Glenn Miller Story, starring James Stewart, was one of Universal's big "money" pictures of the 1950s, right up there with Joseph Pevney's Away All Boats and Tammy, and it has been well preserved in general and well presented on this DVD. The film has been transferred in the correct non-anamorphic aspect ratio of 1.85:1, in about as sharp an image and bright colors as any Universal title of the era. There's a little instability at 16 minutes into the movie, in the close-up shots of June Allyson, but otherwise the disc is quite beautiful, and the audio is excellent, the band sequences having a full, rich sound. The film has been given a reasonably generous 20 chapters, accessible through an easy-to-use menu and adequate for the nearly two-hour running time, but there are no extras or bonus features, which is a disappointment. One would have hoped, perhaps, that Universal and Fox could have come up with a cross-promotion, using this DVD to promote the two movies that Miller made at Fox (which aren't even out as of 2005), and vice versa, for Fox's promotion of this disc; and newsreel footage of and concerning Miller does exist. Due to all of that -- in addition to the fact that The Glenn Miller Story is another collaboration between Stewart and Mann, who made a brace of notable movies together in the Western genre -- a commentary track is not only called for, but practically begged for.