DVD Review: Noir Archive Volume 3
This is the third blu ray release of nine hard-to-find B-level noir films. Kit Parker films have gathered another two-disc set of great noir dramas, in fact, this might be the best volume of them all, which is saying a great deal as each has been excellent. The films in this set are from Columbia Pictures from 1957-1960 and boast a wide array of veteran actors and top level directors.
The following are capsule reviews of each movie on the set:
THE SHADOW ON THE WALL
Jerry Mathers, just before defining his career on TV's "Leave it to Beaver," plays a youngster who sees, thru a window, a group of thugs murder his mother's employer in a farm house while his mom, the man's secretary, watches. Because she is a witness, the thugs hold her hostage. The child is found wandering in a catatonic state and ends up at the police station where his father, who is estranged from his mother, tries to find out what happened. Betty Garrett, in a rare serious role, plays the mother. The cast is rounded out by Phillip Carey, John Barrymore jr, Corey Allen, Paul Piercini, Gerald Sarracini (who died this same year from injuries after an assault), and Doreen Woodbury (a promising starlet who committed suicide about a month before this movie's release). An excellent B-level noir drama directed by William Asher.
THE LONG HAUL
Victor Mature and Diana Dors star in this Maxwell Sutton production in which Mature plays a discharged military man who resorts to crime when he is desperate for money. He lives in England as a truck driver, and gets involved with a crime syndicate that controls the trucking industry. The cinematography is great, many scenes bathed in darkness, and the film is complimented by a jazz score. Well played with a lot of action. Ken Hughes wrote and directed, based on the novel by Mervyn Mills.
PICKUP ALLEY
Victor Mature once again, this time as a drug enforcement agent trailing Trevor Howard, a notorious narcotics smuggler. Shot mostly in England with some location filming in Greece, Italy, and Portugal, this story follows the action at an international level. Directed by John Gilling.
THE TIJUANA STORY
Rodolfo Acosta plays a crusading newspaper man in Mexico, trying to expose the mobsters in the crime ridden city. This Sam Katzman B production is based on actual events and a real reporter -- Manuel Acosta Mesa, whom Rodlofo Acosta portrays. This exciting story about a one-man crusade against years of corruption also features James Darren and Robert Blake in youthful roles. Directed by László Kardos.
SHE PLAYED WITH FIRE
An insurance adjustor goes to a manor to investigate a fire, and discovers the woman who lives there is an old girlfriend who disappeared from his life years earlier, who is now married. Another fire breaks out and her husband perishes, reuniting the couple. They soon get caught up in a blackmail scheme. Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price, and Ian Hunter star. Directed by Sidney Gilliat.
THE CASE AGAINST BROOKLYN
The tag line for the advertising of this film stated: "This movie is not anti-cop it is anti-crooked cop." Darren McGavin plays a former Military Intelligence officer who joins the police force to investigate police "on the take" from mobsters. Another well-acted B production with action. A scene early in the film where a trucker, who can't pay his debt to the gang, speeds his truck and overturns it, killing himself, is harrowing and well shot, establishing the pace for the rest of the film. Directed by Paul Wendkos and written by blacklisted wrtiers under pseudonyms.
THE LINEUP
Opening with a pre-credit action sequence, where a runaway cab slams into a truck and a traffic cop before the driver is killed, this tightly structured B drama features a Stirling Silliphant script and direction by Don Siegel. "The Lineup" is based on a radio series that was currently playing on television when this feature film was made. Warner Anderson and Marshall Reed play their roles from the TV show. It deals with two killers that plant heroin on tourists in Asia who unwittingly bring it through customs. The opening action scene is explained where the driver was a heroin addict who was running away with a tourist's luggage that contained the drug, unbeknownst to the bag's owner. This leads them to their investigation. Eli Wallach and Robert Keith star as the killers. Richard Jaeckel, Mary LaRoche, Emile Meyer, Raymond Bailey, and Vaughn Taylor also appear. One of the best films in the set.
THE CRIMSON KIMONO
An exceptional noir drama directed by Samuel Fuller and starring James Shigeta as a detective investigating the murder of a stripper in Los Angeles. The film deals with the subject of multi-racial relationships when the Japanese detective falls for the artist who was designing the stripper's kimonos for an upcoming act she was preparing. Fuller brilliantly blends the story of the societal forbidden romance and the compelling investigation into the stripper's murder. Glenn Corbett, Victoria Shaw, Anna Lee, and Gloria Pall also appear. Another one of the best films in this set.
MAN ON A STRING
Based on the life of Boris Morros, a film producer (he is noted for producing Laurel and Hardy in "The Flying Deuces"). The producer is called Boris Mitrov in the film. He is investigated by an intelligence agent for possibly being a Russian spy. Ernest Borgnine plays the producer, with Glenn Corbett as the agent who follows him. Kerwin Matthews, Colleen Dewhurst, and Ed Prentiss also appear. Directed by Andre de Toth.
Each of the nine of the films in this three disc set have something to offer, while a few stand out as particularly strong productions. This set is highly recommended, especially since the price is most affordable.
The blu ray can be ordered here: Noir Archive Volume 3