1967 was obviously a good year for James Coburn. He had not one, not two, but three films out that year. Two of them, 'The President's Analyst' and 'Waterhole #3', have just been released with widescreen transfers on laser disc from Paramount (the third, 'In Like Flint', is also available in a widescreen edition from Fox Video). The two Paramount features share a number of superficial similarities yet are different enough in subject and tone to make an interesting double feature. Both films are considered comedies, but the real similarities end there.
'The President's Analyst' has Coburn as a New York psychiatrist enlisted by the Government to be the President's shrink. Those same government agencies soon decide that the President's shrink knows way too much for the country's good about the same time that a number of other foreign governments, both friendly and hostile, decide he knows just enough to give them the advantage they need. Considered a satire, I expect 'The President's Analyst' worked a lot better in 1967 than it does today, though it remains an entertaining slice of nostalgia.
The Blake Edwards production, 'Waterhole #3', on the other hand, holds up quite well with the passage of time. Eschewing any pretense at satire and avoiding the pratfalls of slapstick, WATERHOLE #3 is nothing more than a light comedic romp through the west. Here Coburn is at his best, as a likable, good natured scoundrel. The story deals with a box of stolen Army gold that's been hidden at the title location and sought after by Coburn, a town sheriff he offends (played by Carroll O'Connor), the sheriff's daughter (for her own reasons), the Army, and finally, the outlaws that stole the gold in the first place. With the possible exception of a rape dealt with in, what today would be considered, the most insensitive and politically incorrect way possible, this film remains an appealing and entertaining bit of fluff.
The video transfers for both films are also similar, and similarly good. Both are scope productions (Panavision on 'The President's Analyst' and Techniscope on 'Waterhole #3') from an era when filmmakers had no regard for television and made full use of the 2.35 frame. Likewise, both films benefit tremendously from these letterboxed presentations. 'The President's Analyst' is a bit dark, but this appears to be conceptual and this transfer handles the dark-to-light transitions quite well with good shadow detail and excellent contrast. Colors appear accurate on both discs with good saturation. Both are also extremely sharp and detailed. The transferred ratio on 'The President's Analyst' trims the Panavision frame only the tiniest bit at about 2.30:1, while 'Waterhole #3' looks to have a sliver of picture matted at the top with a ratio of about 2.40:1. The framing on both looks quite good and is absolutely essential to the enjoyment of these films.
Both discs have mono soundtracks and the 'clear' winner here is 'The President's Analyst'. The sound on this disc is, considering the film's age, very good with clear, natural sounding dialog and suprising range to Lalo Schifrin's score. 'Waterhole #3' is not bad, though there is little or no low end and quite a bit of high frequency hiss.
Both films run 100 minutes and both discs do not contain chapter encoding (supervised by Bob Zemeckis, perhaps?). The side breaks are both well placed, particularly on 'Waterhole #3' with the break on 'The President's Analyst' being a bit more abrupt. Both list for $39.95 (each, of course). No trailers or other extras are included.
I liked both these films, but if I were only buying one, I'd go for 'Waterhole #3'. I still recommend both, however. A good double feature.
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