DVD Reviews

Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5 – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 14, 2010, 19:08 GMT

Out of the vaults and into the light: a fascinating 4-Disc Set showcasing 8 genre gems rich with the intensity and diversity of noir! Disc 1 wreaks revenge, with Dick Powell on the hunt in Cornered and Steve Brodie on the lam in Desperate. Caught-in-the-act immediacy highlights Disc 2\'s corruption exposé The Phenix City Story and the hostage drama Dial 1119. Disc 3 turns procedural with noir ace Charles McGraw ...more

Happily Noir fans can count their lucky stars that Warner Brothers continues their fine collection.  We even get “real” DVDs and not DVD-Rs from the Archives Collection.  However, the special features suffer from the laws of diminishing returns.  

Merriam Webster (online) defines film noir as “a type of crime film featuring cynical malevolent characters in a sleazy setting and an ominous atmosphere that is conveyed by shadowy photography and foreboding background music.”  Certainly all the films in this set meets (or exceeds) that definition. 

Some of them haven’t aged well, but others are still as shocking as they were when they first darkened theaters.  Director Anthony Mann begins his noir series with Desperate (and would eventually carry that into some grand Westerns) and Richard Fleisher (shooting in a documentary style and one of the first heist movies) and Don Siegel (along with Sal Mineo hot off Rebel without a Cause) also show up on this set. 

The Phenix City Story is told in a documentary style that even opens with a newsreel.  Armored Car Robbery also takes a documentary style. 

Each film has something to recommend to noir fans.  Some of them still have a 40s naïveté, Desperate has the little lady learning to bake a cake and a lovey dovey married couple.  

Disc one:

Cornered (1945): From England to continental Europe to Buenos Aires, ex-RCAF pilot Dick Powell stalks the Nazi collaborator who murdered his bride. But one fact constantly surfaces during his quest: no one can describe the mysterious man. Joining Powell in the film shadows are the director and other key talent behind Murder, My Sweet of the year before.

Desperate (1947): Desperate is the first of seven atmospheric noirs directed by Anthony Mann. Steve Brodie is a postwar every man who accepts what he thinks is an honest trucking job, only to find he’s the driver in a botched heist that puts Brodie and his bride (Audrey Long) on the run from the cops and the cons who planned the job (including chief thug Raymond Burr).

Disc two:

The Phenix City Story (1955): Corruption, brutality and vice plagued Phenix City, Alabama, for 100 years, so who would dare to change it? Based on real-life events and filmed on location in what was called Sin City USA, director Phil Karlson’s semi-documentary tells the jolting tale of those who risked their lives to bring the burg’s syndicate of thugs and murderers to justice.

Dial 1119 (1950): An asylum inmate escapes to the city, where he takes hostages at a local dive, guns down a bar employee and warns authorities his captives will be next if the doctor whose testimony first put him away doesn’t arrive within the hour. A bit of casting irony goes with the movie’s then-novel use of TV news coverage: actors Marshall Thompson, William Conrad, Keefe Brasselle and Leon Ames would have significant career ventures in television.

Disc three:

Armored Car Robbery (1950): Richard Fleischer directs this brute-force milestone about a deadly heist and the battle of wits and firepower between a fugitive gangster (William Talman) and his stripper moll (Adele Jergens) and a bulldog cop (Charles McGraw), out to avenge his partner’s death, who uses hidden microphones, lab work and his own well-honed instincts to close the net.

Crime in the Streets (1956): Following a turf rumble with a rival group, a street gang leader (John Cassavetes) tells his gang to do what they’ve never done before: kill a snitch. Reginald Rose wrote and Don Siegel directs a jazz-riffing screen version of a tale first seen on TV and co-starring James Whitmore and Sal Mineo.

Disc four:

Deadline at Dawn (1946): A gangster’s sister lies dead. All clues point to sailor Bill Williams as the murderer. Slated to depart for duty at dawn, the swabbie, aided by good-hearted dime-a-dancer Susan Hayward and affable cabbie Paul Lukas, has mere hours to prove his innocence. The tangy Clifford Odets script is based on a novel by William Irish (pseudonym of Cornell Woolrich).

Backfire (1950): Vincent Sherman directs this gripping yarn about recovering war veteran Gordon MacRae’s quest to prove pal Edmond O’Brien innocent of murder. Aiding him is his resourceful nurse Virginia Mayo. And a secretive doctor, a lively undertaker, a desperate gambler, a dying witness and a haunting Viennese melody all lead them to a shocking climax.

The Phenix City Story and Crime in the Streets are presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and are enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  The rest of the films are presented in fullscreen.  Special features are sparse.  You only get trailers for Cornered and Dial 1119 (both 2 minutes). 

I can only assume that trailers for the rest could not be located or are lost to time.  Earlier sets had informative commentaries and those are missed, but I’d imagine the economy is to blame.  I’m not crying too loudly as we should be happy this set happened at all.  

My daughter has been complaining of late of my love of “grey” and white films.  Phhhttt to her says I.  I always enjoy a good noir and this set features some lesser known ones.  They’ll entertain you while you and your femme fatale spend a rainy Sunday in the private eye offices waiting for a new case. 

Visit the DVD database for more information.