The Joan Collins Superstar Collection: DVD Review (2007)

Long before she was swinging her fists, shaking her diamonds and smoking her cigarillos on "Dynasty," Collins was a movie star, slinking from stage left to stage right as if she belonged at stage center.

And she did, too, even if too many of her movies were stinkers.

This new collection from Fox gives us five Collins' films, all from the CinemaScope era, with three proving just absurd enough to be disarming--1955's "Girl in the Red Velvet Swing"; 1957's "Sea Wife," with Collins marooned onscreen opposite Richard Burton; and the 1957 espionage thriller "Stopover Tokyo," with Joan and Robert Wagner struck dumb in Japan. The set's two other movies, 1958's "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys" and 1960's "Seven Thieves," are as enjoyably appalling as you could imagine.

This is the rare boxed set in which the cover art alone, which features Collins as kneeling, bustiered sex kitten, is worthy of its own commentary, though not in a family newspaper.

Grade: B