"Colonel" is Nothing Major
J. Michael Click | Fort Worth, Texas United States | 03/08/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Movie: *** _____ DVD Quality: *** _____ DVD Extras: N/A
A pleasant but inconsequential comedy about an ex-military officer battling civic corruption in a small town in Georgia. Charles Coburn turns in another of his blustery performances as the title character; lovely Joan Bennett co-stars in a small role as a sympathetic reporter; and William Eythe, an actor who played a few leads at Twentieth Century-Fox while Tyrone Power was serving in World War II, does a competent job as the noncommittal nephew finally spurred into activity by Coburn's example. The supporting cast is a delightful mix of Fox's best contract players headed by Elizabeth Patterson and Donald Meek. One curious thing about the film is that despite its Deep South setting, not one of the actors - not even star Coburn - ever bothers to attempt a Southern accent!
Despite its budget price, the Alpha DVD nonetheless offers above average audio and video quality. There are a few jumps and bad splices in the print, but the picture is uniformly sharp with great contrast. Worth a look for the attractive cast, "Colonel Effingham's Raid" is an agreeable way to fill a spare 70 minutes in your movie viewing schedule.
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