Hollywood legends don’t get much bigger than Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy. For their one and only on-screen collaboration, we go to 1932’s 20,000 Years in Sing Sing.

Career criminal Tom Gordon (Tracy) winds up incarcerated, where he believes his pals will free him. When this release doesn’t come, he buys into the program run by reformist warden Paul Long (Arthur Byron) and turns into an ideal prisoner.

An assault leaves Tom’s girlfriend Fay Wilson (Davis) in bad shape so Warden Long allows him time outside of prison to visit her. Complications arise that threaten Tom’s future.

Not only did Years pair Tracy with Davis for the first and last time, but also it became Tracy’s lone pairing with noteworthy director Michael Curtiz. Given the presence of Davis, Tracy and Curtiz, one might expect Years to become a great film.

Alas, that doesn’t occur. Instead, Years becomes a fairly mediocre look at incarceration and inmates.

Though the film got a different reception in 1932. Back then, Years offered a fairly revealing look at prison life that seemed new and fresh to viewers.

After 94 years and umpteen other movies with a similar theme, however, Years< lacks novelty. This leaves it open to examination on its merits as a film and not as social commentary.

And in that realm, Years seems pretty forgettable. It follows largely predictable narrative paths and doesn’t do much memorable with them.

Perhaps this exists as hindsight, but both Davis and Tracy seem miscast. This becomes especially true for Tracy, as he tends to fare better with thoughtful, avuncular characters.

As Tom, Tracy essentially offers a performance that feels like he took other actors of the era and put them in a blender. While he doesn’t obviously impersonate Edgar G. Robinson, James Cagney or Paul Muni, we can see elements of their work in Tom, and that makes Tom feel like a generic gangster.

Davis also doesn’t really suit the typical “moll” role, though she gets so little to do in Years that it doesn’t matter much. Fay exists mainly as a plot device and her infrequent appearances lack much impact.

Curtiz fails to display much flair behind the camera. While he does nothing to harm the project, he also can’t add spark to the tale.

None of these factors make Years a bad movie, as it moves well enough to keep us with it across its 78 minutes. It just doesn’t offer much beyond the chance to see some Hollywood greats together.

20,000 Years in Sing Sing appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a generally solid image for a 94-year-old movie.

Sharpness usually fared well. A few shots came across as a little ill-defined, but the image stayed mostly distinctive and concise.

I saw no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain seemed fairly natural and the film lacked obvious print flaws.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, and low-light scenes demonstrated positive clarity. Overall, the image held up well over the years.

As for the DTS-HD monaural soundtrack of Years, it never stood out as great. However, it seemed more than acceptable when I considered its age. <

Speech occasionally showed some edginess. However, those moments occurred infrequently, and the lines always remained intelligible.

Effects remained well within the realm of acceptability for their age and only showed minor distortion. Music lacked much dynamic range.

No issues with background noise manifested during the film. Nothing here excelled but the track worked fine for something from 1932.

Along with the movie’s trailer, we get four vintage shorts. The set includes the live-action 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (19:51) and That Goes Double (20:14) along with the animated Crosby, Columbo and Vallee (7:13) and The Queen Was In the Parlor (6:44).

From 1933, Gang obviously takes its title as a riff on Years but the film itself offers a musical comedy take on inmates. A relic of its time, it lacks much charm now.

1933’s Double focuses on then-popular crooner Russ Columbo, as he plays himself as well as a lookalike who resents the attention he gets due to that resemblance. Forgotten today, Columbo died due to a tragic firearm accident only a year after this short’s release.

Columbo’s music does nothing for me, but he shows personality as an actor. Double manages some clever twists and works pretty well.

The vocalist becomes part of the focus for Crosby, as it spoofs Columbo along with fellow singers Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee. Native Americans protest the fact their “squaws” get distracted by the three crooners.

This means a disclaimer at the start about racist stereotypes – and a warranted one, given how broadly it caricatures Native Americans. Beyond that side of things, Crosby seems cutesy and not much more.

Finally, Parlor reveals around a queen who doesn’t want to come out of hiding. Like most “Merrie Melodies” of the early 1930s. it comes heavy on adorable antics and light on actual laughs.

A combination of Hollywood legends in front of and behind the camera, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing comes with expectations it can’t meet. The film offers a watchable but generally forgettable drama. The Blu-ray comes with solid visuals, age-appropriate audio and a handful of shorts from the movie’s era. Years seems decent but without much to stand out from the crowd.