Too Much Johnson – Mr. Bongo (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, October 9th, 2013 (Silent Film Festival in Pordenone)
Director: Orson Welles
Writer: Orson Welles
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Virginia Nicolson, Edgar Barrier, Arlene Francis, Ruth Ford, Mary Wickes , Eustace Wyatt, Guy Kingsley Poynter, George Duthie, Orson Welles, John Berry, Marc Blitzstein, Herbert Drake, John Houseman, Erskine Sanford, Howard Smith, Augusta Weissberger, Richard Wilson, Judy Holliday

Release Date: June 29th, 2015
Approximate Running Time: 67 Minutes 17 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: U (UK)
Sound: LPCM Stereo
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £4.99 (UK)

"Too Much Johnson is an elaborate 1890's farce of mistaken identity. Cuckolded husband Dathis is on the tail of a man named Billings, who has been having an affair with Dathis’s wife. Billings flees to Cuba, where now also hiding from his own wife and mother-in-law, he adopts the identity of a plantation owner named Johnson, who is expecting a mail-order bride." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Too Much Johnson comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 15.5 GB

Feature: 15.5 GB

Too much Johnson was thought to have been lost forever. With the last known print of Too Much Johnson residing in the home that Orson Welles lived in before it was destroyed by fire, this brings us to the print that was used for this release. It was discovered in a warehouse in Pordenone, Italy, in 2008.

This is a well-authored disc from a source that has undergone extensive restoration and was mastered in 2K resolution. The end result looks very good, considering the age. Sure, there are some instances of print debris and some instances of contrast fluctuation. These things are to be expected, and the fact that this film is even available to watch is the most important thing.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, an LPCM mix in stereo. This is a silent film, and there is no dialog. The audio sounds clear and balanced throughout. also suitable for those who do not wish to view the film with Philip Carli's score. There is an option to watch all the footage without any sound.

Extras:

This release comes with no extra content. There are three options on the main menu: play feature, chapter selection, and setup (audio).

Summary:

Too Much Johnson was originally shot in 1938 by Orson Welles, who planned to use the footage as part of Mercury Theater’s latest production of William Gillette’s 1894 comedy Too Much Johnson. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the footage would not be used due to the lack of projection equipment at the theater. And though the play would go on without said footage, this would ultimately lead to confusion with the audience. Also, if everything had gone as planned, the film would have lasted about forty minutes, with a twenty-minute prologue for the play and two ten-minute introductions, one for the second act and the other for the third act.

The first thing that immediately grabs you while watching Too Much Johnson is its tongue-in-cheek approach to the story at hand. Also, in regards to humor, it leans heavily towards slapstick comedy. Another strength of this film is that everyone is not always who they seem. At the start of the film, Joseph Cotton's character, Augustus Billings, pretends to be a wealthy plantation owner who is having the affair that sets the plot in motion.

Structurally, the narrative is broken up into three sections. The first act is mostly about a husband chasing his wife's love for the plantation owner through the streets and across rooftops. From there, the middle act goes to Cuba, and once there, Billings discovers that this friend, a plantation owner, is dead. And of course, the jealous husband rears his head once again. For the final act, the film sets up a final showdown between the jealous husband, Billings, and the new plantation owner.

Though the cast for Too Much Johnson, like Orson Welles' next two films, Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, was predominantly made up of actors who worked with Welles as part of The Mercury Theater, Too Much Johnson is significant for being the film that introduced Welles to Joseph Cotten, an actor who would go on to appear in numerous films directed by Orson Welles. Joseph Cotten hands down steals the show with Too Much Johnson in terms of performance. His ability to deliver psychical comedy is astonishing, and it is a shame that he strayed away from the comedy genre. Too Much Johnson is also a rare comedy showcase for Orson Welles, who would never again direct another comedy.

Trying to evaluate something when only half of the equation is known is what we're up against in Orson Welles' Too Much Johnson. After all, said footage was shot as a companion piece to a stage play, and even when said footage is assembled, there is not a complete and cohesive film to be found in this footage. With that being said, this film’s main merit is how it shows that even at this early stage of his career, Orson Welles' mindset was in regard to how he shot his visuals.

Too Much Johnson gets a strong audio/video presentation from Mr. Bongo.

Written by Michael Den Boer