A & E

'The Black Dahlia'
R; 2006;

James Ellroy's novel fictionalized the investigation of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short's murder in 1947.

Brian de Palma's movie is so convoluted and involves so many under-developed threads that by the end you may be wondering not only what it was about but what relationship some parts of it had to do with others, if anything.

Los Angeles detectives Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart socialize with Scarlett Johansson while working on a murder case.

The DVD's features include promotional material involving De Palma and his cast, as well as a segment on Ellroy and his perspective on the case.

'Presenting Lily Mars'
G in nature; 1943;

One of Judy Garland's least known musicals, possibly because she's the only musical star in it and because it introduced no songs that became standards. It does include "When I Look at You," "Where There's Music" and older songs such as "Broadway Rhythm" and "Three O'clock in the Morning."

Garland plays an Indiana girl determined to persuade Broadway producer Van Heflin to cut her a break.

The DVD contains a cartoon, a short, an alternate version of the finale and a radio show adaptation.

'Operation Crossbow'
PG in nature; 1965;

One of the more exciting World War II action dramas. Moments after commandos parachute into Nazi territory to find and destroy Hitler's V1 doodlebug and V2 rocket, the compromised mission is canceled. Oops.

George Peppard heads an outstanding cast that includes John Mills, Trevor Howard, Tom Courtenay, Anthony Quayle and Richard Johnson. Top billing goes, though, to Sophia Loren, who was the biggest star but who has more of a supporting role.

The DVD contains a long promotional featurette.

'There Was a Crooked Man'
R; 1970;

It's directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had never done a western and who was associated with witty, intelligently scripted dramas ("All About Eve," "A Letter to Three Wives," et al).

In 1883, conceited prison inmate Kirk Douglas concocts a plan to escape despite the vigilance of warden Henry Fonda. The shenanigans are enlivened that much more by such strong character actors as Burgess Meredith, Arthur O'Connell, Claudia MacNeil, Lee Grant, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates and Martin Gabel.

There's an on-location featurette on the DVD.

'The Illustrated Man'
PG; 1969;

After all the acclaim Rod Steiger received in the mid-1960s for "Doctor Zhivago," "The Loved One," "The Pawnbroker" (a near miss for the Oscar) and "In the Heat of the Night" (an Academy Award at last), his options finally were vast.

But nothing he selected from what he was offered worked out well. Steiger was a notoriously somber Method actor whose deadly earnest and questioning manner may have hurt him professionally. Less experienced, less secure filmmakers may have recoiled and chosen actors with less daunting reputations.

"The Illustrated Man" is a misconceived and somewhat pretentious work in which the altogether tattooed Steiger searches for Claire Bloom (Steiger's off-screen wife), who drilled the artwork onto him.

As part of that search, Steiger, Bloom and drifter Robert Drivas appear in three stories-within-the-story.

The DVD contains a 10-minute featurette about how the tattoos were prepared and applied to the corpulent star's body.

'Up, Periscope!'
G in nature; 1959;

Navy frogman Lt. James Garner is assigned to a submarine mission that involves penetrating a Japanese-occupied island. The film is efficient but routine, with the climactic swimming mission the highlight.

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