Search - The Lon Chaney Jr. Collection: Manfish/The Golden Junkman/Lock-Up/The Indestructible Man on DVD

A must have but

Robert Browning | Houston, Texas United States | 06/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is a must have for any Lon Chney Fan. He is 1950's Lon Chnaey, haggered, weathered, still enthusiastic with his unique personality shinng thru.Manfish- is a real treat with lovely location shots and a fine plot.One problem at the end you see color by DeLuxein the credits but the print is black and white.The scuba and location shots would look great in color and I wish I could get a color print.The 2 Tv shows are very interesting. The Golden Junkman is a rare film in which Lon attempts an accent, it sound more Mexican than Greek but this a is a nice piece of 1950's schmaltz. Lon plays a "dumb" washed out lawman as well as anyone and his performence is familar.It is great to see theIndustructible man in all it's glory.Wonderful film.The remembering Lon Chnay segement was very disappointing with a not very attractive rememberence of not only Lon Chaney working for Al Adamson on Dracula Versus Frankenstien but also unkind remberences of Boris Karloff working for Jack Hill and J. Carrol

Naish from a Al Adamson flunky."

An odd mix, but worth it if you're a fan

A. Gammill | West Point, MS United States | 07/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was disappointed to learn that 2 of the 4 films in this collection were, in fact, half-hour t.v. shows. But if you're a fan of Lon Jr. (and I certainly am), it's kind of nice to have them. "The Golden Junkman" is by far the better of the two, with Chaney evoking sympathy as Greek immigrant. "Lock Up" is a standard prison drama.



Chaney fairs somewhat beter in "Manfish," a low-budget but still fairly attractive production, with some great underwater photography. Again, he's a sympathetic character, as opposed to the hulking brutes he often played. And speaking of hulking brutes...



"The Indestructible Man"--curiously relegated to "bonus feature" status in this collection--is the real reason to get this disc. The story is familiar to fans of b-movies of the fifites: Chaney's a convict excuted for murder, but brought back to life to seek revenge against those who wronged him. It's one his signature roles, and Lon has a field day with the limited premise. And you can throw out all those bargain-bin copies of The Indestructible Man...this is as clear a version as we'll ever see.



If you're really a fan, you'll skip the "Remembering Lon Chaney" segment. Gary Graver, apparently a cinematographer on Al Adamson's "Dracula vs. Frankenstein," spends almost the entire time talking about his old boss (Adamson), and barely even mentions Chaney! No mention is made of any of the films contained in this DVD. The whole thing is complete waste of time, and an insult to Chaney and his fans.



Even if you have one of those cheap copies of Indestructible Man, you still need this disc. Beyond that, there's not much to recommend this release.

"

DVD Set Not What It Seems

Eric Huffstutler | Richmond, VA United States | 04/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is only one reason to purchase this DVD set and that is for the 'B' Horror movie cult classic "The Indestructible Man". This as well as the other "movie?" on this set "Man-Fish" have been in the public domain for years so there have been numerous tattered and horrible quality copies floating about. "Indestructible Man" is here for the first time in what they claim to be from a 35mm print but it is still very soft - like it may have been a 16mm print copied early on to 35mm stock (companies did this some times for theaters who didn't have 16mm projectors). Though it is the best this film has looked, it is still not in-your-face crystal clear or crisp so tells me it is not from the "original" 35mm negative source. The other titles are actually TV show plays and not feature movies.



The packaging is a bit misleading and isn't a "collection" of any true sorts showcasing Chaney Jr's work.



"

ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE LON!!!!!

larryj1 | AZ, USA | 06/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2 features and 2 TV programs featuring Lon Chaney Jr. The good part is that The Indestructable Man looks pretty good. The Telephone Time episode also is pretty decent with no problems. The bad part is that Manfish was filmed in color and this is a B/W print. The Lock Up episode is good except for some audio problems when they are in the sheriff's office. I can't quite tell if the problem is with the print used or is a problem with the DVD, but I'm inclined to think the problem is with the DVD transfer."