Spencer Tracy 4-Film Collection Blu-ray review
Feb 15, 2026- Permalink
Warner Archive has released the Spencer Tracy 4-Film Collection Blu-ray that gives us a sampling of the actor’s MGM films: 1936’s Fury and Libeled Lady, 1940’s Northwest Passage, and 1955’s Bad Day at Black Rock. Thanks to Warner Archive and Allied Vaughn, I had a chance to take a look at this four-disc release.
Fritz Lang’s Fury is a film noir that sees Tracy play Joe Wilson, a man who is almost killed by a lynch mob for a child kidnapping he didn’t commit and then seeks revenge on his would-be killers. Tracy is joined in the cast by Sylvia Sidney, Walter Abel, Bruce Cabot, Edward Ellis, and Walter Brennan. The film received a Best Writing (Original Story) Oscar nomination for Norman Krasna at the 9th Academy Awards.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is sourced from a 4K scan and we end up with sharp details. The black levels are deep, the grayscale is without banding, and there’s a nice grain structure too. Great work from Warner Archive.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The dialogue is clear and nicely prioritized over the effects and score by Franz Waxman. There’s only the occasional hiss and crackle from this 1936 recording.
As for extras, there is not an included digital code, but we do get a commentary track from filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich that also includes snippets of a 1965 interview he did with director Fritz Lang. There’s also a theatrical trailer.
The comedy Libeled Lady, directed by Jack Conway, sees Tracy teamed up with Jean Harlow, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. Tracy plays a newspaper editor trying to extricate his paper from a libel suit by launching a screwball scheme on a cruise liner. Libeled Lady was nominated for Best Picture at the 9th Academy Awards.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. It’s another great restoration from a 4K scan by Warner Archive. The transfer was most likely compiled from multiple sources, so though some scenes may appear a bit softer than others, for the most part we’re getting amazing detail and clarity. It’s a great day when you can see each detail on a suit in a 90-year-old movie. There’s a natural grain and the grayscale from black to white looks great.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Though dialogue is clear, the source material does have the occasional hiss and the score can get a bit tinny on the high end, but it’s still a solid soundtrack.
There is no digital code for this Blu-ray. Extras include the 1935 WB short “Keystone Hotel” which sees many of Mack Sennett’s usual gang (including Ford Sterling, Ben Turpin, and Chester Conklin) in a Keystone Cops caper. There’s the 1936 MGM short “New Shoes”. Though technically starring Arthur Lake and Jean Chatburn, the real stars are the singing and dancing shoes. We also get the 1936 Technicolor animated short “Little Cheeser”, a Happy Harmonies piece where a young mouse is tired of being treated like a baby and decides to venture off and take on the cat. There’s “Leo Is On The Air”, a radio segment from a long-running show that is promoting the movie, and a theatrical trailer.
Up next in the collection is Northwest Passage, a Technicolor Western directed by King Vidor. Also starring Robert Young, Walter Brennan, and Ruth Hussey, it’s based on the St. Francis Raid by Rogers Rangers during the French and Indian War in 1759. The film is a product of a time when Hollywood definitely had a good guy/bad guy view of Whites and First Nations and the slaughter of a sleeping village is portrayed as an heroic act.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Another Blu-ray transfer sourced from a 4K scan, the image quality has me reaching for the superlatives. There’s the amazing detail and clarity. A colour palette that goes from bright primaries to the muted tones of the uniforms and forest. Black levels are mostly good, though some darker scenes exhibit some crush.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Hiss is mostly absent and dialogue and effects are placed well in the mix.
There’s no digital code. There’s “Northward, Ho!”, a black and white promotional piece and a theatrical trailer.
Finally, the collection wraps up with Bad Day at Black Rock, a neo-Western film noir directed by John Sturges. Tracy plays a one-armed war veteran looking for a man named Komoko. As his search deepens, he realizes the residents of the desert town he’s in are hiding a secret. The cast also features Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine, and Lee Marvin. It received Best Director, Actor and Screenplay nominations at the 28th Academy Awards.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.55:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. The wide aspect ratio really shows the expanse and isolation of the setting. The transfer is apparently from a 2K scan and the folks at Warner Archive have given us a great video presentation. The faces, places and textiles are presented with great detail and the light film grain is present. Sun-bleached earth tones dominate the palette, so when we do get a pop of primary colour, it really pops. The black levels are deep with nice detail in the darker scenes and their is no digital noise or compression artifacts to speak of.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear and priortized in the mix, effects are clear, and the score by André Previn is bright and dynamic in the stereo mix.
There is no digital code. Extras include a commentary by film professor Dana Polan and a theatrical trailer.
Warner Archive’s Spencer Tracy 4-Film Collection Blu-ray gives us a nice intro to 20 years of the actor’s career. All the movies have very enjoyable audio and video collections and a nice smattering of bonus materials. Recommended.