DVD Corner

“The Adventures of Superman: Third and Fourth Season”: With “Superman Returns” flying high in theaters next week, an onslaught of Superman DVDs naturally ride its cape. First up is “The Adventures of Superman: Third and Fourth Seasons,” in which our man of steel really is somewhat soft. The series, on the other hand, was not. With such episodes as “The Big Freeze,” “The Bully of Dry Gulch” and “The Talking Clue,” the show was influenced by the noir movement of the day. Hardened criminals and hard-boiled reporting are the mainstay. With George Reeves as Superman and Noel Neil as Lois Lane, the show might not appeal to fans of the current glossy series “Smallville,” but for those who appreciate the occasional airborne throwback, this landmark series won’t disappoint. Grade: B

“The Clark Gable Signature Collection”: A Gable signature collection without “Gone with the Wind”? That’s an oversight, to say the least, but Gable fans still should give a damn about this new box set from Warner. A nice mix of six Gable films – 1940’s “Boom Town,” with Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr; the 1935 adventure movie “China Seas,” with Jean Harlow; 1933’s “Dancing Lady,” with Joan Crawford doing burlesque; 1953’s “Mogambo,” with Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly; 1936’s terrific “San Francisco,” replete with romance amid the earthquake; and the 1936 dramedy, “Wife vs. Secretary,” with Gable paired opposite Harlow, Myrna Loy and James Stewart. Grade: A-

“Failure to Launch”: The same can be said for the movie. After her disastrous turn in “The Family Stone,” in which she played an unlikable shrew of the first order, Sarah Jessica Parker sinks again in this slight comedy of the dumbest order. In it, Matthew McConaughey is Tripp, a 35-year-old man who still lives in New Orleans with his parents (Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw). Since they wish he’d move out, they hire Parker’s Paula to get him out of the house and on his own. The idiot plot goes like this – Paula will get Tripp to fall in love with him, he will want his own place, end of story. But Tripp has his own agenda, which by the end of the movie, hasn’t made for much of a movie. After this dud, Parker now needs a hit. Is it too late to reconsider that “Sex and the City” movie of hers? Let’s hope not. Rated PG-13. Grade: C-

“Justice League: Season Two”: Not just Superman, but Superman paired with Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl, all of whom join forces to fight the likes of Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Clayface, The Parasite and The Joker. What’s notable about this second season of “League” is that the improved animation captures the look and feel of a comic book, which wasn’t always the case in the weaker first season. Here, the animation is cleaner, evoking the printed page. Highlights include the episodes “A Better World” and “Hereafter.” Grade: B+

“Lois & Clark: The Complete Third Season”: Teri Hatcher, before the desperation set in. Dean Cain, before the desperation really set in (his career peaked with this series). Together, however, for a time in the ’90s, these two were it, romantically squabbling onscreen while off screen, the egos threatened to kill the show (which they eventually did). The end of the second season pushed love to the forefront, with a first kiss had and a marriage proposal leaving viewers in the balance. This third season focuses on the entertaining fallout. Grade: B+

“Mary Tyler Moore: Complete Fourth Season”: Mary on a tear. The fourth season of Moore’s iconic show finds Mary Richards returning with her backbone a bit firmer than in the previous three seasons. She’s more combative here, more alive, with her added pluck giving the season added zip. That’s a good thing, particularly since this is the season that introduced Georgette (Georgie Engel) and Sue Ann (Betty White) while Rhoda (Valerie Harper) prepared to leave for her own show. As with the best comedic series, what the show does so well is weave moments of genuine drama within the laughs. Some shows in this excellent season stand among the best of the series, “The Lars Affair” and “Happy Birthday, Lou!” A stripped-down collection with no extras, but the 24 episodes prove enough. Grade: A

“The Trouble with Harry”: Re-released from Universal, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 movie is a sly, subtle black comedy in the British vein. It’s laced with sexual innuendoes, an enthusiastic skewering of Puritanism and fringe New England characters that resist caricature. As written by former Maine summer resident John Michael Hayes (“Peyton Place,” “Butterfield 8,” “Rear Window,” “To Catch a Thief”), the movie finds Hitchcock turning comedy on its side as he did with suspense. As such, “Harry” is an absurdist’s dream, featuring a screwy story about a bothersome corpse named Harry who can’t seem to stay buried and whose death could be attributed to any number of people. Characters played by John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine, Edmund Gwenn, Jerry Mathers, Mildred Natwick and Mildred Dunnock factor into the mystery. Hardly Hitchcock’s best, though it has its moments, among them the unforgettable scenes in which Jerry Mathers (“Leave it to Beaver”) finds his favorite toy in a dead rabbit. Grade: B+