Blu ray review: The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

This Universal pre-Code, newly released on blu ray by Kino Lorber, is based on a play that closed after only 23 performances. The play's star was Claude Rains, who believed in the project and asked the studio to buy the film rights. Rains was coming off the success of The Invisible Man, so he had some box office power. Sadly, the film was not a box office success. This is especially unfortunate because the film is an exceptional melodrama with an excellent cast and a magnificent performance by Rains.

The film opens with the Rains' character going to see an old college friend who is now a successful lawyer. He tells his story which is presented in flashback. He is a shy man with a gifted mind who joined a newspaper and achieved massive success with his pacifist anti-war columns. He later feels betrayed when the publisher wants to succumb to munitions dealers who insist the paper publish some pro-war articles. The publisher arranges for the reporter to be sent to the front and then goes after the man's wife. This leads the shy pacifist reporter to react violently and thus now needs the help of the lawyer.

With a supporting cast that includes fine work by Joan Bennett, Lionel Atwill, Wallace Ford, and Henry Armetta, Claude Rans commands the movie in the leading role. His tour-de-force portrayal allows his acting to run the gamut from secure and satisfied, to trembling desperation, and finally destructive insanity. He manages to expertly balance these character perspectives, making this performance somewhere near his career-best.

Universal has some truly noteworthy releases from the 1930s that are a bit overlooked because the concentration is usually reserved for their horror film series (that notably includes Rains). And since The Man Who Reclaimed His Head was an unsuccessful movie from a flop play, it has not lived on. Fortunately, Kino Lorber has released the film to the home market, revealing to us an outstanding pre-Code melodrama with fine performances from the entire cast, especially Rains in the lead role.

Kino's blu ray is a brand new HD Master from a 2K Scan of the 35mm finegrain. The special features include commentary tracks by film historians David Del Valle and Troy Howarth.

This highly recommended blu ray can be purchased at this link: RECLAIMED