The Human Comedy (Blu-ray)

Mickey Rooney's tenure as MGM's premiere box office draw was coming to an end. Between the ages of 15 and 25 he had been among the studio's top ten personalities, starring in 43 movies and occasionally even to surpass the appeal of Metro's undisputed 'king' - Clark Gable. Such was the girth of his talent that no less an authority on the craft of acting than Lionel Barrymore once proclaimed Rooney the most versatile actor working on the back lot.

The Human Comedy casts Rooney as the amiable 'kid' waiting for his elder brother (played by Van Johnson) to come home from the war. For it's time, The Human Comedy was an observant reflection on the emotional toll those back home were required to endure while their loved ones were off fighting the Nazis overseas. Today, much of that effect has been blunted - either, from our present age's thorough lack of understanding or perhaps due to our jadedness to acknowledge self-sacrifice as the noblest pursuit of the human animal.

Rooney's performance herein is subtler. He's quite marvelous as the boy desperate to become a man and teeming in admiration for the brother who might not return from the conflict. Frank Morgan, Donna Reed and Fay Bainter are particularly satisfying in this one too. But the appeal of Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins has always escaped me.

WAC has done another superior job on mastering a classic for hi-def. This is a gorgeous B&W presentation with all the subtler nuances of Harry Stradling's cinematography coming to…