Strange Bedfellows

Melvin Frank's Strange Bedfellows (1965) -- probably the most ironically titled of all Rock Hudson's star vehicles -- has arrived on DVD in a gorgeous film-to-video transfer with deep, rich contrasts and stunning detail all around from the opening frame to the film's finale. The movie can't be viewed today without a sense of ludicrous irony, given what is now known of Hudson's sexual preferences -- when the narrator talks of the characters played by Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida liking the same things sexually, one has to laugh out loud. The non-anamorphic letterboxed image (1.85:1) is one of the most beautiful ever seen in a '60s movie, Leo Tover's beautiful photography fairly leaping out at the viewer in stunningly vivid detail. The day shots have a remarkable richness, and the night shots aren't lacking in detail either -- the costumes for Lollobrigida by Jean Louis, and the entire set decor by Alexander Golitzen and Joseph Wright are all shown to beautiful advantage in what is basically a demonstration quality disc. The movie has been given a generous 18 chapters and is supported by the rather faded and poorer condition original trailer (which looks like the movie used to on television in the late '60s). There are also optional English captions and Spanish and French subtitles. The disc opens automatically onto a simple two-layer menu that offers easy access to all options with the "play" command in the default position.