1936's Girls' Dormitory is only a "Power film" by the thinnest of threads, by virtue of the fact it was his cinema acting debut. The film was actually better known in its day as the first U.S. feature for Simone Simon (with whom Power supposedly had a romantic fling, something Power evidently enjoyed with a great many of his leading ladies). The film is a pretty turgid little melodrama about Simon, a student at a girls' school, falling for the headmaster (Herbert Marshall), who is many years her senior, while Marshall's contemporary distaff professor (Ruth Chatterton) pines for him silently. It's a peculiar little film, without the expected denouement (where typically Marshall would realize Simon was wrong for him and end up with the more age-appropriate Chatterton). Power appears here in basically a glorified walk-on, as Simon's cousin, toward the end of the film, without even rating an opening credits listing. He's fine, if a little stiff, as far as it goes, but that's not very far, with only a couple of minutes of screen time. Simon, with her strangely smug little puss and petulant manner, is simply too uppity to be as likable as she's supposed to be in this role, and that affects the rest of the film to its major detriment. When Chatterton confides in Marshall that Simon's character "is the sweetest girl I've ever known," I wanted to say, "Hey, this is the Fox lot--can Shirley Temple really be that far away?" When Marshall, in a romantic clutch with Simon, who's supposed to be 19, says, "I'm 18 years older than you," I wanted to say, "Is that the new math?" It's not a good thing when punch lines occur to you as you watch a film.

Extras: "Tyrone Power: Prince of Fox" is a pretty standard quickie biography. There are behind-the-scenes and production galleries from the film as well.

Ty's first full-fledged co-starring role with Loretta Young (he made a total of five Fox films with her), 1937's Love is News, is a madcap frothy escapade par excellence, with the sort of fast-clip dialogue and throwaway double entendres that would highlight Hawks' His Girl Friday a few years later. In fact, this film also centers around a newspaper reporter, in this case Ty, who tricks heiress Loretta, who is loathe to make news, into a private interview. Loretta quickly turns the tables on him by announcing that they're engaged, so that he can get a taste of what it's like to be constantly hounded by paparazzi. Power brings a certain ne'er-do-well element to this role, and the sparring repartee between the stars is a true delight, with Loretta always (in true screwball fashion) having the upper hand. The supporting cast is populated with a number of mini-star turns, chief among them Don Ameche as Power's managing editor, a lovably eccentric Dudley Digges as Loretta's dotty uncle, Jane Darwell as Power's landlady, and a hilariously foppish George Sanders as the Count with whom Loretta has cancelled her engagement, setting off the whole chain of events (one of the biggest laughs of the film is Loretta flipping through still photos of the Count, making a "mini-movie" which perfectly captures his foolishness). It's also fun to see usual bad guy Elisha Cook, Jr. essay a comedy role, and he does very well in this setting. This is one of the breeziest entries in this set, and while never quite rising to classic level, it is head and shoulders above most screwball fare of this period.

Extras: A brief featurette with interviews with Young's daughter (by Clark Gable) highlights her film collaborations with Power. There are also several photo galleries included.

Café Metropole, released just one month later in 1937, pairs now up and coming Ty with Loretta Young (who gets first billing, somewhat interestingly--she's second billed in Love is News). While the plot, in which bankrupt restaurateur Adolphe Menjou blackmails Ty into impersonating Russian nobility in order to woo wealthy American heiress Young, is more than a little convoluted (unnecessarily so) and forced, there's some great interplay between Young and Power that makes it all worthwhile, and the supporting cast is superb every step of the way. The scene in which Young has a slip of the tongue and lets her true feelings about Power show, if only for a moment, contains one of the most beautifully understated wide-eyed "who, me?" moments ever caught on film. The film offers a neat little showcase for scenarist Gregory Ratoff, who appears on-screen as a real member of Russian nobility who does not like Power parading around pretending to be something he's not. The screwball scene between Ratoff, who has been working as a waiter (shades of Tovarich) in Menjou's restaurant, and Menjou, after Ratoff's real identity is revealed, is a minor classic in class distinctions, as the two ping-pong their roles as manager/worker and nobleman/proletariat to hilarious effect. Menjou proves himself a surprisingly spry light comedian, with some wonderful facial toss-offs as scenes change. While this never quite rises to the screwball heights of Bringing Up Baby, there are enough great one-liners to keep it mostly afloat, and the allure of the two stars is undeniable.

Extras:: The most interesting extra is a couple of deleted scenes from a subplot featuring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, including two fairly lengthy dance sequences. Behind-the-scenes and production galleries are also included.

The sheen is decidedly dulled by the time of the third 1937 pairing of Ty and Loretta, Second Honeymoon. While the film is perfectly enjoyable, it's simply not up to the level of their previous two comedies that year, and it's notable that Fox decided that their next vehicle would be a historical dramatic romance (Suez, co-starring Ty's soon to be wife, Annabella). This outing is a fairly predictable romp as recent divorcees Ty and Loretta meet up in Miami, where Loretta has gone on a vacation with her new husband, Lyle Talbot. There's absolutely no doubting what's ultimately going to happen here, but unfortunately the going is not bubbly enough to make the journey really worthwhile. In fact most of the laughs in this film are courtesy of Ty's sad sack valet, winningly played by Stuart Erwin. Talbot, not exactly filling Ralph Bellamy's shoes (if you catch my drift), is forced to create a character who devolves from a pretty likable straight-arrow to a drunken heel with little or no provocation. This is certainly an enjoyable time-killer, but it's the least effective 1937 Power-Loretta comedy by a longshot.

Extras: Only the theatrical trailer and a photo gallery are offered.

Day-time Wife, a 1939 feather weight comedy, is one of the slighter entries in this set, playing like a sort of extended "I Love Lucy" episode. Linda Darnell portrays Ty's wife, who, upon their second anniversary which he forgets, becomes convinced (more or less accurately, as it turns out) that he's philandering with his secretary. She decides to do some "on the job" research, pretends to be single, and gets herself hired at architect Warren William's office. Need it be stated that William and Power turn out to be business associates, leading to supposed hilarity as Darnell attempts to keep her identities separate. There's more than a faint whiff of smarminess to Power's character in this one, which keeps the film from being the soufflé director Gregory Ratoff evidently intended. Joan Davis as a wisecracking secretary and Binnie Barnes as Christian's oft-divorced best friends are the best of the supporting players.

Extras: One of the best extras in this set is "My Dad, Tyrone Power," narrated by three Power children. As usual, behind-the-scenes and production galleries round out the bonuses.

1940's Johnny Apollo is well-regarded among Power fans as one of the few times Power got to show he could play a putative bad guy (though with honorable motives). There had always been a dark undercurrent to Power's performances, even in the lighter comedy vehicles, which often manifested itself in character traits like drunkenness or an ability to "bend the truth." Whether or not that proclivity led Daryl F. Zanuck to craft more shaded roles for his chief male star is anyone's guess, but Apollo is unique in that Power plays a kid who had to turn to crime to raise money to get his embezzler father (Edward Arnold), with whom he is estranged, out of jail. While the film is patently absurd at times (Power hooks up with crime boss Lloyd Nolan's "family" with barely a sweat breaking out), it is anchored by a mostly solid performance by Power nicely detailing the conflicted emotions of a wealthy kid who has to eschew his upper class upbringing. If he's not particularly believable as a gangster, the supporting cast more than makes up for it, with great turns by Arnold, Nolan and an especially impressive Charley Grapewin. Dorothy Lamour does passable work as Nolan's moll and eventual love interest for Ty. While the film may be faulted for failing to ultimately reach its mark, Power at least deserves some credit for trying something this unusual at this point in his career.

Extras: A gallery of advertising materials is the only extra for this feature.

The high-minded propaganda film became a staple of every major studio during the World War Two years, and Fox certainly did its fair share in this regard. 1942's This Above All, based on a then-current best seller by Eric Knight, features Ty in an unusual darker role, somewhat reminiscent of his character work in The Razor's Edge, portraying a lower class Brit soldier (sans accent, of course) with a secret who falls for upper crust Joan Fontaine, who has defied the class structure of the day by enlisting as a Private in the WAAFs. Director Anatole Litvak stages some very effective scenes here, though occasionally a bit on the too obvious side, as when Ty's character is introduced with his face completely shrouded in darkness--could it be we're to glean he's a man with some mystery about him? While Ty gets to brood and ride various roller coasters of emotion (all quite effectively), most of the rabble rousing monologue material is handed to Fontaine, who gets to espouse various English aspirations in some decidedly flowery moments which were probably a lot more stirring in the depths of wartime hysteria than they are today. Power and Fontaine make an appealing, if somewhat too chaste for the passion being portrayed, couple, with Fontaine simply radiant throughout. The film is absolutely elegant to look at and listen to, with Oscar winning art direction, sumptious black and white cinematography and a martial (if occasionally overbearing) score by Alfred Newman. The supporting cast is aces all the way, with a nicely glamorous and haughty Gladys Cooper and the always slightly rumpled but lovable Thomas Mitchell leading the way.

After nearly a decade of swashbuckling and meatier dramatic roles, Power returned to lighter comedy fare for the first time since Day-time Wife in 1948's charming The Luck of the Irish. The film, which features a sort of Brigadoon meets Finian's Rainbow plot, has Ty, a struggling writer, getting lost in the wilds of Ireland, where he stumbles first upon a leprechaun (the inimitable Cecil Kellaway) and then an out of the way remote Irish village. The village's innkeeper turns out to be a very fetching Anne Baxter, who urges him to follow his heart and not accept a big money job that is calling him back to New York. Ty manages to catch the leprechaun and get him to reveal where his pot of gold is hidden, but, thinking better of it, gives the pot back to the grateful sprite, who guarantees he will prove his gratitude by wishing Ty luck. The film then shifts to New York, where Ty is hired by publishing magnate Lee J. Cobb, whose daughter, Jayne Meadows, comes along with the job. Within mere moments Kellaway shows up as Ty's gentleman's gentleman, and an appealing struggle of values is underway that builds to a predictable denouement. While there's nothing particularly groundbreaking or innovative in this film, all the performances are pitch-perfect. Kellaway is simply incredibly adorable as Horace, the magical manservant (he received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his work here), and Meadows does a splendid job in not making her character Frances into a shrewish bitch. Baxter, who actually has less screen time than Meadows, despite being second billed, is a bit miscast as the Irish lass who eventually captures Power's heart, but does a respectable job portraying the heart side of the mind/heart conflict which is at the center of this film. Power is as elegant and suave as ever, bringing some great comic timing to bits with Kellaway and a nice understated presence to the center of the film that might otherwise have floated away on flights of fancy.

Extras: This black and white film was originally released with its Ireland sequences tinted in green and you can see the film in either the tinted or straight black and white versions (I personally couldn't stand the green for too long and eventually opted for the black and white version). A brief interview features Jayne Meadows reminiscing about Ty, and an equally brief (either edited or incomplete) trailer is included. There are also the standard galleries featuring lobby cards, publicity photos and the like.

Have you ever had champagne that's been left out for just a bit too long? It still has plenty of flavor, but some of the fizz is missing. The same can be said of the still enjoyable 1948 romp That Wonderful Urge, a more-or-less remake of Love is News, only this time with Gene Tierney as the heiress duped by newsman Ty. This film ups the ante by having Tierney announce that she and Ty have actually wed, leading to a comedy of errors with some occasionally very sharp writing (when Ty attempts to actually marry someone to thwart Tierney's plot, and is followed by a gaggle of reporters, a policeman comes in and sees Ty's comely miss surrounded by men and states, "Whatever kind of license you're looking for, you can't get it here"). Power is noticeably older in this film but still retains his waggish charm, somewhat remarkable in that his character in this film is even more duplicitous than in Love is News. Tierney does surprisingly well in a light comedy role, not exactly her forte, but the banter between these two is more slapstick than the finely wrought dialogue-centered work in Love is News. There are some great supporting turns in this film, including Reginald Gardiner as the Count after Tierney's hand (George Sanders in the original). While it's frequently funny, and always enjoyable, it's just missing that extra sparkle that made Love is News so delicious.

Extras: The theatrical trailer (badly damaged) and photo galleries are offered.

If you can get past some unintentional giggles in the early scenes of 1951's I'll Never Forget You, wherein Ty is hilariously clad in an anti-radiation suit, complete with bathing cap and oversize goggles, you'll be in for one of his more rarely seen and distinctively unique motion pictures. The film, which will probably remind more modern audiences of Somewhere in Time, concerns a time traveling scientist (Power) who falls in love with his beautiful cousin (Ann Blyth) when he journeys back to the 18th century. The film makes a not so subtle point about the vagaries of thinking the grass is always greener on the other side (of the time continuum), but Power is nicely affecting as an emotionally shut down man, and Blyth, though histrionic in the climactic scenes, is good and lovely to look at. The film is interesting in that its contemporary bookending segments are in black and white, while the main historical section is in Technicolor.

Extras: Several photo galleries, including lobby cards (all with the British title, "The House on the Square"), Ann Blyth touring London, and other publicity shots are offered.

The DVD

Video:
Though several of these films start with a disclaimer that they have been transferred from the best source elements available (never an encouraging sign), the fact is, despite perhaps just a tad more softness in those features, there's little quality difference between these 10 offerings. All of these 1.33:1 films (and all in black and white, save for the tinted segments in Irish and Technicolor middle section of Forget You) show occasional damage, with scratches, dirt, and even the occasional hair. Overall contrast is good, with decent black levels and generally excellent sharpness. The Technicolor section of Forget You doesn't really pop the way it should, but is certainly acceptable. Having these films on DVD should more than compensate for any occasional video blemishes.

Sound:
All of these features sport remastered DD mono soundtracks, and several have the option of stereo. My preference is always to go with the original sound mix, and I found the original soundtracks, even on the older films, to be remarkably free of hiss, pops and cracks. Some of the late 30s material has the tinniness associated with recording technologies of the day, but it's nothing too distracting. All of the features offer English, Spanish and French subtitles.

Final Thoughts:
Tyrone Power was such a unique actor that even his less than stellar films are watchable, if only for his (sorry) star power. The best of this lot--which would mean Love is News, Luck of the Irish, and Cafe Metropole at least--show why he stood at the apex of Fox's star system for close to two decades. Even the lesser films in this set demonstrate Power's unique ability to meld matinee idol good looks with a surprising depth of characterization. Power fans are going to have to have this set, no doubt. For any golden age film buff, though, this set is highly recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet