On Sidewalks of New York: Another Era’s Charm

The latest batch of golden oldies pays tribute to early independent filmmakers, celebrates the legacy of the King and honors the comic genius of Peter Sellers.

Back in the 1950s, former news photographer Morris Engel and his wife, photojournalist Ruth Orkin, wrote, directed, produced and edited their own films. These low-budget movies were each shot on location in New York with a hand-held 35mm camera of Engel’s own design and captured the sights, sounds and charm of the Big Apple during this era. Kino’s “The Films of Morris Engel With Ruth Orkin” collection features the three films they made.

Their first effort, 1953’s “The Little Fugitive” (which also was written and directed by Ray Ashley), is a charming little comedy drama that won the Venice Film Festival Silver Lion Award and received an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay. Freckle-faced Richie Andrusco is endearing as a 7-year-old boy named Joey who runs away to Coney Island after he’s tricked into believing he’s killed his older brother (Rickie Brewster).

Engel and Orkin coax another winning performance out of a youngster in 1955’s “Lovers and Lollipops” ($40), a slight, entertaining comedy-drama about a 7-year-old girl (Cathy Dunn), her widowed mother (Lori March) and her mother’s new boyfriend (Gerald O’Loughlin). As her mother’s relationship grows with her boyfriend, the little girl becomes jealous and disruptive and rebuffs the boyfriend’s attempts to win her over. Among the landmarks featured in the film are Central Park, the Bronx Zoo, the Statue of Liberty and Macy’s toy department.

Viveca Lindfors is luminous in 1958’s “Weddings and Babies” ($40) as a woman approaching 30 who is distressed because her photographer boyfriend (John Myhers) still hasn’t proposed to her. His excuse is that he’s too busy photographing “weddings and babies” to get married and has to spend all of his money supporting his mother, an Italian immigrant who takes to wandering the streets. The moving comedy-drama was shot in Little Italy, Greenwich Village and Queens.

To order call (800) 562-3330.

If your tastes run to bawdier fare, there’s the 1971 curio “Is There Sex After Death?” (First Run, $30). The mock documentary is the brainchild of writer-directors Jeanne and Alan Abel. This adults-only satire chronicles the adventures of Dr. Harrison Rogers (Alan Abel) as he goes on a fact-finding tour to discover what Americans think about sex. Though the film is wildly uneven, there are some funny moments from Buck Henry and Marshall Efron. To order call (800) 488-6652.

Also new from First Run is “Mikey & Nicky” ($30), Elaine May’s 1976 drama starring Peter Falk and John Cassavetes. Though the film leaves a lot to be desired, Falk and Cassavetes are riveting as two lifelong buddies. To order call (800) 488-6652.

MGM Home Video’s commemorating the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death with the “Elvis Commemorative Collection” ($15 each), featuring the digitally remastered prints of Presley’s MGM films: “Spinout,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Harum Scarum,” “Live a Little, Love a Little,” “Frankie and Johnny,” “Elvis on Tour,” “Kid Galahad,” “Girl Happy,” “Double Trouble,” “Elvis: That’s the Way It Is,” “Clambake,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Speedway,” “Stay Away, Joe,” “Follow That Dream,” “Elvis: The Lost Performances” and “The Trouble With Girls.” Each volume contains the original theatrical trailer.

MGM has also digitally remastered the Blake Edwards comedies starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling, fumbling Inspector Clouseau. “The Pink Panther Movie Collection” ($15 each) features “The Pink Panther,” “The Revenge of the Pink Panther,” “The Trail of the Pink Panther,” “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” and “A Shot in the Dark.” Each film is available in either pan-and-scan or letterbox format and includes a Pink Panther cartoon featurette.

Warner Bros. Classics ($20 each) is offering the letterbox versions of the 1975 classic “The Man Who Would Be King” and 1963’s “PT 109” for the first time. Each film also includes the original theatrical trailer.