Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 (9 Movie Collection) [Blu-ray]

1) 1944: Address Unknown - Paul Lukas, Morris Carnovsky - directed by William Cameron Menzies2) 1945: Escape in the Fog - Otto Kruger, Nina Foch - directed by Budd Boetticher3) 1947: The Guilt of Janet Ames - Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas - directed by Henry Levin4) 1949: Reign of Terror - Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart , Arlene Dahl - directed by Anthony Mann5) 1949: The Black Book - same film, new title - see “la révolution française noir” below.6) 1949: Johnny Allegro - George Raft, Nina Foch - directed by Ted Tetzlaff7) 1950: 711 Ocean Drive - Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru - directed by Joseph M. Newman (filmed under police protection)8) 1950: The Killer That Stalked New York - Evelyn Keyes, William Bishop - directed by Earl McEvoy - see "Terrible Timing" below.9) 1952: Assignment Paris - Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, George Sanders - directed by Robert Parrish10) 1954: The Miami Story - Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler - directed by Fred F. Sears (don’t come back, mobsters)Nine films noir (1944-54) from Columbia Pictures, previously released as nine burned-to-order DVD-Rs by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) in 2010.Not the greatest examples of the genre (some are only slightly noir - 'The Guilt of Janet Ames' not really noir at all), but still great entertainment.Due to greatly increased memory, three movies can easily fit onto a single Blu-ray without any of the compromises mandated by DVD.All films are in black and white and have English SDH subtitles (no other extras).Eight films are in the standard 1.37:1 picture ratio.The most recent film, ‘The Miami Story’ is in the 1.85:1 widescreen ratio.These films have NOT been newly remastered for Blu-ray release.Instead Kit Parker Films /Mill Creek Entertainment licensed the HD masters that Sony created ten years ago.This is actually good news - those were very well-done transfers - not pristine, but well ahead of earlier transfers.And they look better on Blu-ray than they did on DVD.DVD-R was not capable of capturing all the details in an HD mastering.Black and white film stock of the 1940s and ‘50s had something called grain, which is noticeable on modern Hi-Def big screen TVs.Grain is not a mistake.Audiences in the ‘40s expected to see it (back when movie theaters had big screens).Grain gives depth to black-and-white film, but people who grew up with the flat, smooth images of analog TV, videotape and even DVD have no idea what it is.Great cinematographers like John Alton (The Black Book) knew how to work with grain.Grain is to black-and white film stock what brushstrokes are to paintings.Grain is Good.DIRECTORS:Of the nine B-movie directors in this collection, Budd Boetticher (‘Escape in the Fog’) and Anthony Mann (‘The Black Book’) went on to become Hollywood A-list directors.Both are especially remembered for their work in Westerns of the 1950’s: Boetticher with Randolph Scott, Mann with James Stewart.William Cameron Menzies (‘Address Unknown’) was only a part-time director: He was better known as art director/production designer - and won a special Oscar for “outstanding achievement in the use of color” on ‘Gone with the Wind’.‘Address Unknown’ is the most impressive film in this collection.The film actually looks like it was directed by a production designer, with some imaginative camera angles.The suspense and sense of dread never let up.It even has a surprise ending that I did not see coming, but which made perfect sense (rare in Hollywood).LA RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE NOIR:Anthony Mann’s ‘The Black Book’ (1949) is unique: a historical thriller /film noir set during the French Revolution.At the premiere, it was called ‘Reign of Terror’ and Columbia’s poster featured a guillotine in the background (photo 4).For the UK release, British censors cut several scenes deemed too violent - a character gets shot in the face (in close-up) long before it happened in 'Bonnie and Clyde'.Columbia reissued the film with a new title, and a new poster that made it look like a crime thriller (photo 5), underplaying the French Revolution connection, though Robert Cummings’ powder blue suit looks a bit suspicious.The first public domain DVD release (2003) on Alpha Video was of the edited UK version, but the 2010 Sony remaster in this box is unedited.TOO MANY JOHNNYS:Five films noir are frequently confused:-- 'Johnny Apollo’ (1940) starring Tyrone Power and Dorothy Lamour-- 'Johnny Eager’ (1941) starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner-- 'Johnny O’Clock’ (1947) starring Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes-- 'Johnny Stool Pigeon' (1949) starring Howard Duff and Shelley Winters-- 'Johnny Allegro’ (1949) starring George Raft and Nina Foch (photo 6) - in this boxTERRIBLE TIMING:Two films with identical plots were released close together in 1950:--- on September 15, 1950 Twentieth Century Fox released 'Panic in the Streets',a medical thriller /film noir about a hoodlum who contracts pneumonic plague and is hunted by both police and medical authorities (not in this box).--- on December 1, 1950 Columbia released ‘The Killer That Stalked New York’,a medical thriller /film noir about a diamond smuggler who contracts smallpox and is hunted by both police and medical authorities (in this box).‘Panic in the Streets’ was a box-office hit.‘The Killer that Stalked New York’ was a flop. Audiences were reluctant to spend money when they knew how the film was going to end (still a pretty good B-movie).‘Panic in the Streets' is the better film, with a much larger budget and two actors on the verge of stardom:In addition to Jack Palance as the contagious hoodlum,Richard Widmark is the overworked Public Health Officer who is trying to track Palance down (and save his life, though Palance doesn’t believe him).Directed by A-list director Elia Kazan:‘The Killer That Stalked New York’ (photo 8) is a Columbia B-movie:Evelyn Keyes as the contagious smuggler, was nearing the end of her career (she was Scarlett O’Hara’s younger sister in ‘Gone With the Wind’).William Bishop is the overworked Public Health Officer who is trying to track Keyes down (and save her life, though Keyes doesn’t believe him).Bishop’s film career never really took off, and he spent the 1950s on television.Directed by B-list director Earl McEvoy.TERRIBLE PACKAGING:The three Blu-rays come packaged in a two disc Blu-ray box (discs 2 and 3 are on the same spindle).I’ve never seen this done before and didn’t think it was possible.But I was wrong.A terrible idea - it can lead to scratched discs - all to save a few pennies.So stupid.At least Amazon sells three disc blu-ray replacement cases:In the Amazon search bar, enter “blu ray cases 3 disc” (unfortunately only sold in multi-packs).MINOR COMPLAINT:'The Killer That Stalked New York' is on Disc Two, not Disc Three as advertised.'711 Ocean Drive' is on Disc Three, not Disc Two as advertised.OTHER VOLUMES IN THIS SERIES:]1954: Bait - Cleo Moore, John Agar, Hugo Haas - directed by Hugo Haas1955: The Crooked Web - Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, Richard Denning - directed by Nathan Juran1955: Cell 2455, Death Row - William & Robert Campbell, Marian Carr - directed by Fred F. Sears1955: Five Against the House - Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Kim Novak - directed by Phil Karlson1955: The Night Holds Terror - Jack Kelly, Vince Edwards, John Cassavetes - directed by Andrew Stone1955: New Orleans Uncensored - Arthur Franz, Beverly Garland - directed by William Castle1955: Footsteps in the Fog - Stewart Grainger, Jean Simmons - directed by Arthur Lubin (only film in color)1956: Spin a Dark Web - Faith Domergue, Lee Patterson - directed by Vernon Sewell1956: Rumble on the Docks - James Darren, Robert Blake, Timothy Carey - directed by Fred F. Sears]Pretty much the last gasp of film noir.1956: The Shadow in the Window - Phil Carey, Betty Garrett, John Barrymore, Jr. - directed by William Asher1957: The Long Haul - Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen - directed by Ken Hughes1957: Pickup Alley - Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard - directed by John Gilling1957: She Played with Fire - Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price - directed by Sidney Gilliat1957: The Tijuana Story - Rodolfo Acosta, James Darren, Robert McQueeney - directed by Leslie Kardos1958: The Case Against Brooklyn - Darren McGavin, Maggie Hayes, Bobby Helms - directed by Paul Wendkos1958: The Lineup - Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Warner Anderson - directed by Don Siegel1959: The Crimson Kimono - Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta - directed by Samuel Fuller1960: Man on a String - Ernest Borgnine, Kerwin Mathews, Colleen Dewhurst - directed by Andre DeTothThere wasn’t a whole lot of film noir after 1960, so if there are to be further volumes in this series (here’s hoping), Kit Parker /Mill Creek will have to return to the ‘40s and ‘50s(there are a lot of old Columbia films noir that have not yet made it to Blu-Ray).

This is a superb collection of obscure films noir. I found the progression of this genre to be well-portrayed by the order the films as presented here. The viewer can see the growing use of such aspects as shadow/light cinematography, poignant irony, melodrama taken to another level, etc.The price is very reasonable. At $35 for the set, that comes out to less that $4 per film. Also, the transfer quality is excellent. Great picture and sound throughoutA movie that struck me, in particular, was "The Guilt of Janet Ames". A truly masterful movie that incorporates the use of shadowed figures to represent dreamlike sequences of imagination-- a novel use of shadow and light, like no other noir I've seen to date The script, acting, and directing all excel.I've only completed 5 of the 9 movies so far, but am finally making my way through them with great enjoyment. When I finish, I'll return and flesh-out this review to the finer level that it deserves.As for the packaging, I find it to be perfectly fine. Discs 2 and 3 are put on the same hub, but if you blow any dust off Disc 2 before returning to the hub, it stands no more risk of scratching than if Disc 3 weren't there. So the complaints from other reviewers are highly overblown.I can't believe I bought this and let is sit on my shelf for close to a year!4.5 STARS

When purchasing this set I had no idea it was a Mill Creek release in "collaberation" with Kit Parker films. I have DVDs but out by Parker and they were released by VCI including Columbia films. Since then, Mill Creek has a distribution deal with Columbia so that could be why but since Amazon did not bother to show the reverse side or spine of the case I simply didn't know. Those of us familiar with Mill Creek know they are very low budget, hit and miss releases and are known for awful packaging. These releases are not even on Mill Creek's website. These sets are way too pricey for Mill Creek releases that may turn up in the bargain bins in a couple of years.

An earlier helpful review from 2019 mentioned the labels being switched on disk 2 and 3, but all content being there. It was probably thanks to that feedback that mine have the correct labels and films on each. Just arrived today so haven't watched yet but spot-checked each disk and watched the first minute or so for each of the 9 films. Quality looks great, and very happy with this purchase! (thanks Thomas from 2019 for the heads up, and to the other reviewers as well - much appreciated)

Anthony Mann was a great Noir director, but his Black Book feature is set during, of all times, The French Revolution! That's as far as Noir as you can get. It's a historical drama. Another film is a WW2 psychological melodrama, and then there are a few others, like a disease-of-the-week thriller with some crime on the side, and a few spy/espionage entries, that are not Film Noir. The only real Noir is even argued among some as not being Noir, and it's the best of the set, 711 Ocean Drive with Edmond O'Brien. As a fan of Dana Andrews, one of the reasons I bought this was his cold war thriller Assignment Paris but that's no Noir either. Also, the packaging issue already mentioned. There are two holders for 3 DVDs. Now that's just plain stupid.

We watch quite a bit of film noir and had never seen these. They have been enjoyable to watch.

Bought this set for the 711 Ocean Drive movie but was pleasantly surprised with the other offerings. Different Noir than I expected . They went from WWII to Cold War to crime to Reign of Terror in France . Very well done movies. I knew they had to be winners with Otto Kruger, Dana Andrews , Nina Foch , Robert Cummings , and Edmond O'Brien listed among the casts. If you know your history, it's even better . The quality of the Blu-ray is quite good , crisp , clear , with excellent sound quality . I very seldom give a 5 star but in this case it merits one.

very happy with this purchase. Arrived promptly as described. great value.

Excellent collection of little know films. Transfer quality is excellent.

So far I've watched 5 of the terrific prints (even though the aspect ratios are unsatisfactory). Only one of these fits with what I understand to be in the noir genre. The French revolution - noir??