Three disparate movies — a theatrical musical, a family-oriented TV Western and a straight-to-video horror yarn — make their DVD debuts this week.
Movies
"Sparkle" (Warner, 1975, PG, $19.98). When "Dreamgirls" showed up on Broadway, it was compared in some corners to this film, which starts off with a trio of talented "girl singers" in Harlem who are hoping to hit the big time.
But this one only faintly recalls Diana Ross and the Supremes, which "Dreamgirls" deliberately invokes.
Here, the title character — yes, her name is Sparkle — is played by 16-year-old Irene Cara, who would earn Hollywood stardom four years later with "Fame." She's the central figure in this tale of three sisters who form a group in the 1950s and have the usual ups and downs, with an unexpected mobster component toward the end.
Stale story is bolstered by a first-rate cast that includes Lonette McKee and Dwan Smith as the other sisters, and Philip Michael Thomas and Dorian Harewood as boyfriends who try to help the girls' careers.
All of which adds up to an OK melodrama with some enjoyable, if not particularly memorable, songs.
Extras: Widescreen, trailer, CD soundtrack with Curtis Mayfield's songs sung by Aretha Franklin
"Love's Abiding Joy" (Fox, 2006, PG, 26.98). This is the fourth cable-Hallmark Channel adaptation of Janette Oakes' novels about a pioneer family confronting challenges in the Old West. This time there is an infant death and the prospect of becoming sheriff to help further tangle the soap-opera threads in this gentle family-oriented series.
If these films seem to evoke the style of "Little House on the Prairie," it comes naturally from director Michael Landon Jr., whose father pioneered that series.
Extras: Widescreen and full-frame options
"The Darkroom" (Anchor Bay, 2006, not rated, $19.98). Another sleazy straight-to-video horror film, this time about an escapee from a mental institution who sees visions of brutal murders. He is befriended by a teenage boy from a troubled family as they try to stop the serial killer.
An earnest cast — which includes Lucy Lawless as the boy's alcoholic mom — and a couple of bizarre twists at the end can't elevate this one beyond its B-movie roots.
Extras: Widescreen, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurette
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com