Joan Bennett

American film star Joan Bennett smokes a cigarette from a holder as she poses seductively for a promotional photo for her latest picture. Note the star hair slides!.

In 1985, 16 years before her memoir became the basis for the television film Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, Lorna Luft narrated this documentary focusing on her mother's "second career" following her years at MGM. The 59-minute retrospective (reduced from its original 90 minutes) collects comments from family and colleagues, shows clips from concerts at the London Palladium, Carnegie Hall, and the Palace Theater, a previously unseen 30-second scene cut from her famous comeback film, A Star Is Born, and scenes from her short-lived TV show. Not surprisingly, some of the footage spotlights Garland's affection for her kids: she shares the stage at the Palladium with Liza Minnelli and appears with Lorna and Joe Luft at the Palace and sings to them on her TV show. And while many of the songs are shown only in brief clips, there are a number of complete performances, including a duet with Barbra Streisand of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again," her dramatically charged rendition of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" following JFK's death, "Ol' Man River," and "The Man That Got Away." And of course "Over the Rainbow" is here, in a 1955 performance that is the only TV recording of how she performed the song in concert: sitting on the edge of the stage, face-to-face with the audience. And it's a credit to Garland that even in hobo makeup, she lets the raw emotion of the song pour through. --David Horiuchi

Lorna Luft hosts this special look at mother Judy's incredible career, which includes comments from such acquaintances as Edward Albee, Tony Bennett, Alan King, Mort Lindsey, Rex Reed and Nelson Riddle. Songs include "Liza," "Lorna," "Get Happy," "Ol' Man River," "Swanee," "Consider Yourself," "Chicago" and "Over the Rainbow." 85 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; featurette.

Taking its cue from the soundtrack's fluke Joan Osborne hit, "One of Us," this is the film that dares ask "What if one of us--or Jim Carrey--were God?" While the comedy here makes Ace Ventura sound like Noel Coward, its soundtrack is an energetic, if pedestrian, mix of modern rock (Osborne, Plumb's "God-Shaped Hole," "You're a God" by Vertical Horizon) and electronica (Snap!'s ubiquitous "The Power", the kitsch-hop of Elvis Vs. JXL's "A Little Less Conversation," Fatboy Slim) that's as fluffy as it is friendly. John Debney, a composer who's becoming to contemporary comedy what Bernard Herrmann was to murder mysteries, fills the album's second half with a sprightly collection of his trademark, breezily pastoral cues. --Jerry McCulley

13 tracks includes 6 tracks of Debney's score. Also Joan Osborne's ONE OF US + Elvis & Jagger. Jewelbox has small drill hole into the back and small crack on the lid.

LES HUGUENOTS/MEYERBEER - DVD Movie

The first of Alfred Hitchcock's World War II features, Foreign Correspondent was completed in 1940, as the European war was only beginning to erupt across national borders. Its titular hero, Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea), is an American crime reporter dispatched by his New York publisher to put a fresh spin on the drowsy dispatches emanating from overseas, his nose for a good story (and, of course, some fortuitous timing) promptly leading him to the "crime" of fascism and Nazi Germany's designs on European conquest. In attempting to learn more about a seemingly noble peace effort, Jones (who's been saddled with the dubious nom du plume Hadley Haverstock) walks into the middle of an assassination, uncovers a spy ring, and, not entirely coincidentally, falls in love--a pattern familiar to admirers of Hitchcock's espionage thrillers, of which this is a thoroughly entertaining example. McCrea's hardy Yankee charms are neatly contrasted with the droll, veddy English charm of colleague George Sanders; Herbert Marshall provides a plummy variation on the requisite, ambiguous "good-or-is-he-really-bad" guy; Laraine Day affords a lovely heroine; and Robert Benchley (who contributed to the script) pops up, albeit too briefly, for comic relief. As good as the cast is, however, it's Hitchcock's staging of key action sequences that makes Foreign Correspondent a textbook example of the director's visual energy: an assassin's escape through a rain-soaked crowd is registered by rippling umbrellas, a nest of spies is detected by the improbable direction of a windmill's spinning sails, and Jones's nocturnal flight across a pitched city rooftop produces its own contextual comment when broken neon tubes convert the Hotel Europe into "Hot Europe." --Sam Sutherland

For inexplicable reasons, Foreign Correspondent never achieved the fame of The 39 Steps or North by Northwest, but it is certainly good enough to join the ranks of these better-known Hitchcock thrillers. Set just before the beginning of World War II, the film focuses on murder, international intrigue, and an innocent Joel McCrea caught between spies and counterspies. Highlights include an assassination on a rainy day with the killer escaping into a sea of umbrellas, a group of spies who signal their Dutch contacts by turning windmills against the wind, and an extraordinary climax aboard a plane that crashes into the ocean. In McCrea's final speech, you can hear the British filmmaker uniting American patriotism with the anti-Nazi cause. --Raphael Shargel

Audiences have always loved the spectacle of tough guys going soft and gooey, and We're No Angels adds the extra sweetener of Yuletide to its mix. The action takes place on Devil's Island, the tropical backwater where the notorious French prison was located. Three convicts, played by Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov, have escaped, and wait only for a ship to leave the next day. In the meantime, they become involved in the financial woes of an island shopkeeper (Leo G. Carroll) and his wife (Joan Bennett) and daughter, whose business is in danger from a rich, nasty relative (Basil Rathbone). Despite the threat of black comedy, especially in the form of a poisonous viper (which Ray carries around in a demure bamboo case), broad cuteness tends to rule the day. While it's not on the list of essential Bogart performances, Bogie does seem to be enjoying himself, and the puckish Ustinov savors his lines like a cow chewing grass. The stage origins of the scenario are all too obvious, and probably contribute to the pokey pacing (Michael Curtiz, who guided Bogart in Casablanca, was perhaps not the ideal choice for this kind of winsome comedy). This 1955 film looks good in comparison to the loose, labored 1989 remake with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn. --Robert Horton

Direct from Termite Terrace, it's 60 more classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies! This four-disc set offers animation fans installments with Bugs Bunny ("The Big Snooze," "Hare Conditioned," "Slick Hare," "Baby Buggy Bunny," and more); the Road Runner and friends ("Beep, Beep," "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z," "The Dover Boys," "Mouse Wreckers," and more); Tweety and Sylvester and friends ("Bad Ol' Puddy Tat," "Tweety Pie," "Kitty Kornered," "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," more); and other Warner all-stars ("Book Revue," "I Love to Singa," "One Froggy Evening," and more). 5 1/3 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish, French; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; audio commentary; documentaries; featurette; more. NOTE: This set includes all 30 shorts from "Spotlight Collection, Vol. 2."

Brash, fast-paced, and hysterically funny, the Warner Brothers cartoons rank among the undisputed treasures of American animation and American comedy. This second collection, a follow-up to Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, includes such gems as "Porky in Wackyland," "A Bear for Punishment," "Gee Whiz-z-z," The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," and "I Love to Singa." A short documentary about director Bob Clampett features several cartoon historians, animator Eric Goldberg, Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont, and Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi (enthusiastic but over the top). But Warners continues its scattergun approach to selecting films. There are only eight cartoons by Clampett in the set, plus three by Tex Avery and one by Frank Tashlin. "Rabbit Fire" and "Rabbit Seasoning" appear on the first set, but the third cartoon in Jones's trilogy, "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" isn't on either. More than two-thirds of the films are by Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones. That's not necessarily a bad thing. "Show Biz Bugs," "Bugs Bunny Rides Again," and the Oscar-winning "Tweety Pie" showcase Freleng's razor-sharp timing. "What's Opera, Doc," "The Dover Boys," and the justly celebrated "One Froggy Evening" rank among Jones's boldest experiments and most brilliant successes. Volume Two includes some genuine rarities, among them, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub" (1930), the first Looney Tune, and the Oscar-winning documentary "So Much for So Little." With 60-plus cartoons, transferred from good prints Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Volume 2 is a collection to treasure. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

Come back to 165 Eaton Place, London, in the early 1900s to follow the lives, loves, and drama of the wealthy Bellamy family and their servants. All 68 episodes of the 1971-75 Emmy-winning British series that aired on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" are featured in this 21-disc boxed collector's set. Angela Baddeley, Pauline Collins, Rachel Gurney, Gordon Jackson, David Langton, Jean Marsh, and Simon Williams star. 57 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; audio commentary; alternate pilot episode; "making of" documentary; featurettes; interviews; more.

Feast on this (frightfully) good compilation of scenes from the immensely popular "Dark Shadows" series! The program features an abbreviated chronicle of the events leading up to the witch's curse placed upon Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) that transformed him into a member of the bloodthirsty undead. 3 1/2 hrs. Standard; Soundtrack: English; interview; bonus episode.

Photo Puzzle, GLAMOROUS SMOKER 1942. American film star Joan Bennett smokes a cigarette from a holder as she poses seductively for a promotional photo for her latest picture. Note the star hair slides!. Chosen by Mary Evans. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5x7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our

Photo Puzzle, JOAN BENNETT 1942. American film star Joan Bennett models a dress she wears in her latest picture, Girl Trouble. She looks sultry if a little troubled as she reclines on some stairs. Chosen by Mary Evans. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5x7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab.

What a great idea for a deep-dish tell-all! JFK's lonely, classy wife, Bobby's athletic, competitive wife, and Ted's meek, alcoholic wife, together at last between covers, soothing each other when not fighting like fishwives. Taraborrelli's breathless prose makes you a fly on the wall when formidable mother-in-law Rose Kennedy walks in on Joan commiserating with Ethel about their honeymoons: "I think Bobby was finished before I got into the room!" said Ethel. "Now what are you ladies talking about?" asked Rose. Jackie, who was present, cooed, "Oh, we were just saying how well Bobby sleeps at night." "He gets that from me," said Rose. Ethel should never have been so catty when gentle, simple Joan joined the clan: "Goodbye wine and cheese," hissed Ethel. "Hello macaroni and cheese." And she shouldn't have mocked Jackie for being unable to compete in touch football--with the Kennedys, it was more like "claw, scratch and bite" football. And what about when she rubbed it in that she and Bobby were closer than Jackie and Jack? After all, when Lee Remick phoned Ethel to say "You're on the way out," and Ethel replied that Bobby was home in bed, Bobby was in fact (says Taraborrelli) in bed with Lee Remick. You may have heard that JFK's dad, Joe Kennedy, offered Jackie $1 million not to divorce JFK, but did you hear Jackie's alleged reply? "The price goes up to $20 million if Jack brings home any venereal diseases." Did Ethel betray Jackie's discontent to Joe--and then go ballistic when Joe only gave Ethel $500,000? You'd think Joan would be the clinker in the group, like Zeppo Marx. She was a bit dim, but should Ted have put her down as dumb? He's the one who showed up soused with a prostitute for dinner with the king and queen of Belgium, whose priceless antique couch Ted's date ruined by wetting it. Who knows how historians will judge this book, but it sure does a great job of making history into a Jackie Collins novel. --Tim Appelo

Over the years there have been many books published about the Kennedy family, individually and collectively. But only this book provides a powerful and detailed look at the complex relationships shared between the three women who were not born Kennedy but who married into the family: Jackie Bouvier, Ethel Skakel, and Joan Bennett. For each of the Kennedy wives, the Camelot years provided an entirely different experience of life lessons. These were the years when Jackie's dreams became reality, but at a hefty price. For Ethel, these were years of frustration where her dreams of being First Lady were dashed and she sank into a deep depression. For Joan, her years as a Kennedy wife were the most confusing of her life, and she is now a recovering alcoholic. This fascinating story is set against a panorama of explosive American history, as the women cope with Jack's and Bobby's alleged affairs with Marilyn Monroe, their tragic assassinations, and other tragedies and scandals. Whether dealing with their husbands' blatant infidelities, stumping for their many political campaigns, touring the world to promote their family's legacy or raising their children, the Kennedy wives did it all with grace, style, and dignity. In the end, JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN is a story of redemption and great courage.

Over the years there have been many books published about the Kennedy family, individually and collectively. But only this book provides a powerful and detailed look at the complex relationships shared between the three women who were not born Kennedy but who married into the family: Jackie Bouvier, Ethel Skakel, and Joan Bennett. For each of the Kennedy wives, the Camelot years provided an entirely different experience of life lessons. These were the years when Jackie's dreams became reality, but at a hefty price. For Ethel, these were years of frustration where her dreams of being First Lady were dashed and she sank into a deep depression. For Joan, her years as a Kennedy wife were the most confusing of her life, and she is now a recovering alcoholic. This fascinating story is set against a panorama of explosive American history, as the women cope with Jack's and Bobby's alleged affairs with Marilyn Monroe, their tragic assassinations, and other tragedies and scandals. Whether dealing with their husbands' blatant infidelities, stumping for their many political campaigns, touring the world to promote their family's legacy or raising their children, the Kennedy wives did it all with grace, style, and dignity. In the end, JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN is a story of redemption and great courage.

Over the years there have been many books published about the Kennedy family, individually and collectively. But only this book provides a powerful and detailed look at the complex relationships shared between the three women who were not born Kennedy but who married into the family: Jackie Bouvier, Ethel Skakel, and Joan Bennett. For each of the Kennedy wives, the Camelot years provided an entirely different experience of life lessons. These were the years when Jackie's dreams became reality, but at a hefty price. For Ethel, these were years of frustration where her dreams of being First Lady were dashed and she sank into a deep depression. For Joan, her years as a Kennedy wife were the most confusing of her life, and she is now a recovering alcoholic. This fascinating story is set against a panorama of explosive American history, as the women cope with Jack's and Bobby's alleged affairs with Marilyn Monroe, their tragic assassinations, and other tragedies and scandals. Whether dealing with their husbands' blatant infidelities, stumping for their many political campaigns, touring the world to promote their family's legacy or raising their children, the Kennedy wives did it all with grace, style, and dignity. In the end, JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN is a story of redemption and great courage.

Let's answer the burning question straightaway: Steve Thomas believes that Patsy Ramsey is responsible for the death of her daughter, JonBenét, Christmas night 1996. As a key member of the team assigned to investigate the murder of the 6-year-old girl, the former detective knows the facts of the case as well as anyone, and the conclusion he draws is convincing and clearly presented. And, as it turns out, his theory about who may be guilty of the crime is just one of the shocking revelations in JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation. From the outset, it was a textbook example of how not to run an investigation: JonBenét's body was moved from where it was discovered before clues could be gathered, evidence was mishandled or removed altogether, the coroner failed to conduct routine procedures to determine time of death, and the crime scene was not sufficiently sealed off for hours after Patsy Ramsey's 911 call first summoned the police. In all, the initial response was inept, and it served to undermine the entire investigation; the utter lack of cooperation with the police on the part of John and Patsy Ramsey then compounded the difficulties. Within hours of the murder, the Ramseys had their own team of high-priced lawyers, who effectively insulated them from any direct contact with detectives. Nearly four months passed before police were able to question the parents at length, and only then on the condition that the Ramseys be given full access to police reports and evidence prior to the meeting. In essence, they behaved like suspects, and when Thomas and other detectives tried to determine the Ramseys' guilt or innocence, they were stymied every step of the way by Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter and those under his direction. The hostile relationship between the police and the D.A.'s office slowed the investigation to a crawl, and, in Thomas's eyes, proved the principal reason an arrest was never made. Despite copious evidence against them and glaring inconsistencies in their testimonies, particularly Patsy's, the Ramseys were not even officially listed as prime suspects until March 1998 because the D.A. would not permit it. All the while, Thomas alleges, Hunter was leaking sensitive information to tabloid journalists and allowing the Ramseys' lawyers to dictate the direction and scope of the investigation. Thomas eventually resigned from the police department after exposing the D.A.'s mismanagement of the case, and a grand jury was called. But the grand jury investigation was ultimately undermined by the D.A.'s refusal to hear the testimony of several detectives closest to the case. Somewhere in the midst of the politics, the legal wrangling, and the in-fighting between the D.A. and the police department, the central focus of this case was lost: justice for an innocent 6-year-old girl. Steve Thomas has returned that fact to the fore in this important book. --Shawn Carkonen

Finally, the information you've been waiting for: who really killed JonBenet?Perhaps the most compelling murder case of our day, the death of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey galvanized the nation-and years after it occurred, the mystery still endures. Who killed the young beauty queen and why? Who is covering up for whom and who is simply lying? In JonBenet, the most authoritative and comprehensive study of the Ramsey murder, a former lead Boulder Police detective, Steve Thomas, explores the case in vivid and fascinating detail-pointing the way toward an analysis of the evidence some deem too shocking to consider. Here, Thomas raises these and many other provocative questions:-How was the investigation botched from the beginning-and why did police so carelessly allow the crime scene to be tampered with?-Why were John and Patsy Ramsey protected from early questioning and any lie-detector tests, even though their stories and behavior were erratic, suspicious and inconsistent?-Why was crucial evidence ignored, why were certain key witnesses unquestioned by detectives, and why were the Ramseys privy to sensitive information about the case and even police reports?