Banning – ViaVision Imprint

Director: Ron Winston
Screenplay: James Lee
From a Story By: Hamilton Maule
Starring: Robert Wagner, Anjanette Comer, Jill St. John, Guy Stockwell, James Farentino, Susan Clark, Howard St. John, Mike Kellin, Gene Hackman, Sean Garrison
Country: United States
Running Time: 102 min
Year: 1967
BBFC Certificate: PG

Actors Robert Wagner and Jill St. John began dating on Valentine’s Day in 1982 and were married in 1990. Several decades earlier, in the 1960s, Wagner signed with Universal Pictures and starred in two films for the first time with his future wife St. John: made-for-TV movie How I Spent My Summer Vacation (AKA Deadly Roulette) and the subject of this review, Banning. In total, the pair appeared together in six films, a television pilot and a stage production, and of their feature film outputs, Banning is undoubtedly the best film they made together.

Banning follows rising golf star Mike McDermot (Wagner) who is kicked off the pro golf circuit after he’s accused of match-fixing.  In reality another competitor Jonathan Linus (Guy Stockwell) has conspired against him with pro Tommy Del Gaddo (Gene Hackman), whose best days are behind him. McDermot renames himself Mike Banning and vows to expose the pair who ruined his career, leading to a job at Del Gaddo’s exclusive golf club. Banning begins to organise a high stakes golf tournament and the plot develops, involving gambling, the mob, several love interests and plenty of intrigue.

Banning is a wonderful time capsule of the 1960s, from the hairstyles and clothing to the cars, home décor and music. It’s a delight to watch from that perspective. It’s also a pretty entertaining film overall.  Unfortunately, some of its attitudes and dialogue hasn’t aged well, with the occasional very questionable piece of dialogue or action.

There’s nothing much unique about the plot; a man is hoodwinked out of his job then sets out on a path of revenge, whilst also trying to keep his head afloat due to the interests of the Mafia after he builds up some gambling debts. What makes this such a good watch though are the stars – in many cases future stars – who appear, together with the interesting camera work, and a memorable jazzy score by the great Quincy Jones.

And what of those stars? It’s fabulous to see a few actors at early stages of their careers, including a marvellous (though relatively brief from a screentime perspective) performance from Gene Hackman in one of his earliest roles. Wagner has his moments, though it is not one of his best performances, but there’s a nice role for his future wife and future James Bond girl St. John. The pair have great chemistry, not surprising considering their future romance.

Banning is a dialogue-heavy film with occasional flourishes of action including a police car chase with some back projection that is very much of its time, and the full on sports action of the finale as the high stakes golf tournament plays out, the suspense ratcheted up to the very last shot of the tournament.

In short, I found plenty to enjoy with Banning, the stars, music and the way it’s a very evocative 60s time capsule. It’s an entertaining watch, that builds to a strong and gripping finale.

Film:

Banning is released by ViaVision as number 345 of their Imprint label. It’s limited to 1,500 copies, with a slipcase, and can be ordered direct from the ViaVision website.

The picture contains vibrant colours and some fine details at times, but is from a dated print and frequently shows its age with print damage throughout the running time. It’s perfectly watchable but would have benefited from a restoration rather than just a scan. The audio is fine.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a new 2K scan of an interpositive by Imprint Films

Audio Commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell (2024)

A Hole in One: Robert Wagner & Jill St. John remember ‘Banning’ (2024)

Members Only: Scoring ‘Banning’ – interview with author / film music historian Jon Burlingame on Quincy Jones’ score (2024)

Isolated music track of the Quincy Jones score

Theatrical Trailer

Audio English LPCM 2.0 Mono

Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Optional English HOH Subtitles

Limited Edition Slipcase

The commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell is top notch looking at the film as a time capsule, the period in which it was made, and the cast and crew. The pair share their experiences of  watching the film for the first time, and why they are huge fans of it. It’s a very entertaining and fact-packed track, with plenty of analysis too.

The interview with actors and married couple Robert Wagner and Jill St. John runs for 19 minutes and includes clips from the film. The couple give an insight into the beginnings of their careers, and talk fondly about some of the other cast members, including Gene Hackman and Guy Stockwell.

John Burlingame’s piece on the score starts by looking at the types of jazz scores that were being written in the 1950s and particularly the 1960s. Burlingame highlights how the film’s composer Quincy Jones led his own band and was an excellent jazz arranger. We also hear how Jones came to compose the score for Banning. It’s a very good and informative interview. There is also an isolated track of the score by Jones which allows the music to really shine, without the dialogue and sound effects.

The two minute trailer is a very Sixties one. It gives a decent overview of the plot, with some 1960s Batman-esque intertitles thrown into the mix too.

Banning is an entertaining snapshot of the 1960s that builds to a fine climax. ViaVision’s release contains a so-so transfer, that would have benefited from a restoration, but some very worthwhile new extras, including a fantastic commentary and a strong piece about the music of the film.

Disc/Package: