Essential Film Noir Collection 3 — Essential Film Noir Collection 3 (Blu Ray Boxset)

From Australia’s Imprint, Essential Film Noir Collection 3 is a four-film Blu-Ray boxset- featuring Paramount-released noir, dating from between the years 1946 & 1955. We get a good mix of different examples of the genre- going from a noir/ melodrama blend, a mistaken identity thriller, a courtroom drama, and an early example of a home invasion thriller. Each film receives a classy new scan, as well as each featuring a new commentary track, and a good selection of interesting extras to boot.

The set comes in a hardback box- this classily blends together moody black-and-white film stills, with minimal green texts. Each film comes presented in its own Blu-Ray case- these feature double-side covers- on the front film poster artwork/ specs, and on the reverse a single still from the film. This version of the set is Ltd to just 1000 copies, so if you’re a noir fan I wouldn't hang around.

 

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is from the year 1946 and is best described as a blend of noir and melodrama. It was directed by Moldavian-born Lewis Milestone- in total, he helmed thirty-seven feature lengths. These went from comedy crime caper Seven Sinners (1925), early noir The Racket (1928), epic war drama All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), comedy musical Anything Goes (1936), classic depression set drama Of Mice and Men(1939), race car romance La vedova X(1955), and classic Vegas Heist picture Ocean's Eleven(1960). So, he was certainly a versatile director- and with the film to hand, he managers a great balance between moody noir and compelling drama.

The film kicks off with a flashback to the 1920s- where we see a pair of female & male pre-teens planning to run away on a freight train. Martha is clearly from a better family, while Sam is more from the wrong side of the tracks. Fairly soon they are found- he runs away, leaving her to be taken home to her aunty Mrs Ivers (Judith Anderson) who is clearly a stern disciplinarian. 

We find out the girl was dobbed in by bespectacled pre-teen Walter, who lives with his father Mr O’Neil (Roman Bohnen)- his father is keen to better his son. Martha is sent to her room, and just as Sam is making his way through the window- suddenly the lights go out with Martha and Walter going out onto the house's grand staircase, where her cruel aunt is beating her cat with a cane- she snatchers the cane beating her aunt instead- she slips, falls down the stairs. The lights come on, with Mr O’Neil appearing to find the old woman dead- and Martha lies saying a man pushed his aunt and rushed out into the rain. And Walter backs up her story.

We flash forward some twenty years finding Sam (Van Heflin) driving through the night not watching the road and lands up crashing into the city limits sign of Iverstown- where he had spent his childhood. We find out he’s gone on to become a professional gambler and hasn’t been back to Iverstown since that fateful night. He goes into the city to get his car fixed, and fairly soon meets the rather haunted and lost-looking Toni (Lizabeth Scott)- who we find out is on the run from jail time. Sadly, she is soon picked up, just as a spark seems to have been lit between the two. Sam finds out the now all-grown-up Walter (Kirk Douglas) is the cites DA, so he decides to give his office a visit the next morning- to see if he can help with Toni's plight.

Added into the mix we find out that the grown-up Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) is in a troubled marriage with Walter, and she now owns most of Iverstown. With Sam's appearance, the pair become very twitchy- worrying that he saw what happened on the night her aunt died. And this is where the film's tension and edge are set off from, and as it unfolds, we find a nice tight script which nicely balances the pair's doubt, possible romantic entanglement, and general intrigue.

Moving onto the cast, and Heflin is well-suited as the largely happy-go-lucky professional gambler. Douglas, here in his first on-screen role, really hits the ground running with his portrayal of Walter- who at first seems like an on-the-edge & boozing geek, though as we go on, we find out he is a far more cunning and devious figure. Both Stanwyck and Scott’s characters nicely play their cards close to their chests- as you constantly wonder who is truly honest and who is a femme fatale. With the surrounding fairly small cast all doing a good job.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers runs at the one hour and fifty-six-minute mark- which on paper may sound a tad too long, but it all flows nicely and evenly. With it's blend of well-acted drama, and atmospheric noir tropes.

Moving onto the Blu-Ray- it features a new 4k scan of the film, which features nicely defined black and whites. On the extra side, we get a commentary track from Film Noir Foundation Board Member Alan K.Rode, and this is truly a fact and observation-packed track. He begins by briefly commenting on the film's score, going on to give a compact bio of Miklós Rózsa who composed it. He talks about the locations for the flashback and gives bios on the actors. We find out the film was originally going to be titled Love Lies Blending, that Douglas got a salary of $15,000 for his debut role, and that the film had a total budget of just under a million $'s. He talks about how the film's director got put on the communist blacklist- only getting off it to work again after giving his own list, though, of course, this didn't make him very popular. He gives quotes from reviews of the film when it was released, which point out its capitalistic injustice theme. Later on, he comments on members of the supporting cast, discussing their roles & gives bios. We find out Douglas's father was a Russian emigrate, he had a difficult youth, and how the actor gave up smoking. He talks about the wonderful nuances in the lead actor's performances. We find out the film had a planned forty-five-day shot, though there was a major strike going on with Hollywood studio unions at the time- so this impacted the filming.  So a truly excellent track- which could easily be played more than a few times. Otherwise, on the new extras side, we have Barbara Stanwyck: From Stage to Screen to Legend – which finds Alan K. Rode talking about the actress (11.35). Domestic Terror: Barbara Stanwyck and the Gothic Noir (26.36) which is a video Essay from the always great Kat Ellinger. 
We get a few archive extras- a just over eight-minute intro from Kirk Douglas, which I believe was done about ten years back. And Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (53.33) a documentary about the actress.

 

 

No Man of Her Own is from the year 1950. It’s a blend of mistaken identity melodrama and noir thriller- with the film opening with a flashback to near the end of the story to create a rewarding sense of building suspense. It was directed by Menominee, Michigan-born Mitchell Leisen- he started off working in the industry in the 1920s as an art director, moving on to be a film director in 1933. In total he had forty-one feature-length credits to his name these went from romantic fantasy Death Takes a Holiday (1934), action comedy 13 Hours By Air (1936), musical romantic drama Lady In The Dark (1944), post-war Paris-based noir Bedevilled (1955)- as well as more than a few romance focused films in his canon. No Man of Her Own is an effectively unfolding mystery-bound thriller, with noir touches, and a fair bit of romantic drama.

So, the film begins with a female voice-over, as we glide into a large leafy suburban house- in the house are neatly moustached and Bree-creamed-haired Bill Harkness (John Lud) and his wife Patrice- she is putting a baby to bed, and we find out the police will shortly be at the house to question either her or her husband. Then we flashback,  finding out the woman we just met real name is Helen Ferguson(Barbara Stanwyck). She is pregnant, and down on her luck- we find her banging on the door of the wonderful caddish and cowardly Stephen Morley(Lyle Bettger) who she is pregnant by, and he’s now moved on to another woman- he pushes money and a ticket for a train under the door. Helen gets the train, and here she meets the real Patrice Harkness (Phyllis Thaxter) and her Husband Hugh (Richard Denning) the pair take pity on the clearly upset and bedraggled Helen. After having lunch together, Helen and Patrice go to the powder room. We find out Patrice is also pregnant, and she & Hugh are making their way to meet his parents, whom she has never met before. All of a sudden, the train is upturned and crashes.

Next, we see Helen slip in and out of consciousness as she is taken to the hospital. She awakes and finds out that the hospital believes she is Patrice, as both the real Patrice and her husband are dead. She starts having a real moral dilemma- but decides to roll with what they think, as if she doesn't she'll be moved to a ward with others. Then she gets through a huge package of clothes for her just-born baby from the Harkness family- realizing they are clearly very rich. She fully recovers, with the Harkness family requesting that she comes and live with them, so her dilemma becomes, even more, gut-twisting.

She is taken to the house from the beginning of the film, and here we meet the kind, caring but elderly Donald (Henry O'Neill) and Grace (Jane Cowl) who of course are the parents of the now dead Hugh. They welcome Helen into their home, and shower her and her baby with love, and gifts. Helen keeps feeling deep, deep guilt, packing to leave on several occasions- but stays. She also meets the pair's other son Bill, and a romance develops. Then the telegrams start arriving, and seemingly someone knows who she really is.

Stanwyck is very good as the mistaken identity centre of the story- playing well both desperation, self-doubting, and later romanced Helen. Lud also plays his role well too. With both Thaxter & Denning are wonderful as the stinking rich, but caring grandparents. The whole suspense of the storyline is kept well and alive, around its melodrama base. As for the noir elements, we get double crossings, murder, and tense late-night car rides. The film is set during the winter, so we get wonderful moody shots of mostly night-time set town streets and country roads deep with snow, and we also have a great scene set around a night-time rail yard with all the steam and noise, blended with deep shadow.

I guess No Man of Her Own isn’t the purest of noirs, but the melodrama and mystery elements are done in an engaging manner- with the whole being a well-acted and tightly scripted film. And when the noir tropes do appear they are realised very well, with some memorable scenes/ set-ups along the way.

Moving on to the disc itself, and we get an HD scan of the film- which is well-defined and balanced. We get a commentary track from film historian Drew Casper- and this is a most expressive, passionate, and informative track. He starts off by discussing the opening titles- with its blend of 
wedding ring picture, and use of tense and dramatic scoring. As he goes on, he talks about how the opening scenes feature an air of conflict and tension- even though it takes place in a seemingly well-to-do suburban house. He declares that the film is the production of three of his favourite people- the writer of the story the film is based on Cornell Woolrich, director Mitchell Leisen, and female star Barbara Stanwyck. He goes on to talk about Woolrich's troubled life- he had alcohol problems, his early career wasn’t as successful as his later novel/ story writing career, and he lived with his mother in an apartment while writing - with the pair not really getting on. He moves on to touch on both director and lead actress. He talks about the film noir traits and discusses the themes of both Woolrich & Leisen's work. He comments on the supporting cast, mentioning other worthy films they were in. He discusses the film's use of both suspense and subtle humour. Later on, he comments on the film's blend of female melodrama and thriller- discussing the film's tropes. He goes more in-depth about Stanwyck's ability as an actor- and how she could play roles in every social and economic setting, as well as different ages too. A really wonderful track, which really adds depth and detail to the film, as well as getting you scribbling down the titles of other films worth checking out. Otherwise, on the new side, we find broadcaster and journalist Barry Forshaw discussing the film (12.46). And on the archive side The Screen Director’s Playhouse: No Man of Her Own (59.50) a radio play of the film, featuring the two lead actors.

 

The Turning Point is a crime syndicate-focused noir, with a fairly heavy courtroom drama focus. The film is from the year 1952, and it was directed by Ludwigshafen, Germany-born William Dieterle. In total he had seventy-nine feature-length credits to his name- these went from the provocative titled- though apparently tame drama Sex in Chains (1928) which charts the relationship between two men in prison. Romantic musical comedy Her Majesty, Love (1931), Bette Davis fronted mystery thriller Fog Over Frisco (1934), melodramatic noir The Accused (1949),  Richard Wagner bio-pic Magic Fire (1955),  and comedy-drama Quick, Let's Get Married (1964).

The film sees special prosecutor John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) setting up a case against a crime syndicate. He works plucky but quite intense Amada (Alexis Smith), with his childhood buddy-now-no-nonsense and steely focus journalist Jerry McKibbon (William Holden) dropping by his offices ever so often. Jerry isn’t total sold his childhood buddy is up to the case- as the syndicate are cunning and devious. 

John is keen for his ageing cop dad Matt (Tom Tully) to be the cases key investigator- but he refuses, and this gets the always keen to get the bottom of things Jerry to follow Matt, and he finds out he’s in the pay of the syndicate. The first half or so of the film is largely very office/ courtroom based- and aside from the fleeting snippets of the interrogation of some more interesting characters, this part of the film is somewhat dull and rather flat. 

In its last quarter, things start to get a little tauter and more suspenseful, as we move out of the office/ courtroom- with a building explosion, café chases/ fleeting shoot-outs, and a fairly tense gunman in a crowded boxing match sequence. 

Most of the crime syndicate's men are largely rather cliched gangsters- the only memorable figure is the tubby and cigar-puffing Neil Eichelberger (Ed Begley), who is pretending to be a respectable businessman. Both O'Brien and Holden work us the grown-up childhood buddies, with some quite intense interaction between the pair, which really keeps one' interest in the largely bland first half of the film. Smith is passable as Amanda- with love interest hinted at, but never really fully developed.

When the film heads outside/ away from the courtroom/ officers there are some well-executed noir visuals and tropes presented- the thing is, it’s not until the last quarter that we truly get some tension and edge coming into play. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of courtroom-based drama, so for me too much of The Turning Point dwelled in the less inspired side of this genre.

The Blu-Ray features an HD print of the film, and once again it’s a very clear and crisp scan. On the extras side, we get a commentary track from Alan K. Rode- once again this is full of facts/ observations, though he does become a little more sporadic towards the film's last quarter. He touches on the film's half-a-million budget, and how it was done ‘n’ dusted with its filming in twenty-six days, four days under the expected thirty days. He talks about the real trials the film was based on, and the characters in the film who were loosely based on real people. He gives bios of actors as they appear, going in-depth on Holden- discussing where he was at this point in his career, as well as talking about how he climbed the ranks, and how became a rich man due to taking out a percentage on the big films he was in. He chats about the several writers involved in the film's script, and what the story was based on. He points out street locations, talks about how all the extras got exactly $15.56 per day's work, and Holden's drinking habits. Later on, he discusses scenes that borrowed from the real trials. He gives bios of supporting actors, talks about areas in LA that have drastically changed/ their history, and much more. It’s another worthy track, which certainly drew me more into the film. Otherwise, on the new extras, we find Barry Forshaw commenting on the film( 19.21)

 

 

From the year 1955, The Desperate Hours is a noir-tinged home invasion film- featuring none other than one of Noir’s greatest actors Humphrey Bogart in his second to last film role. The film was helmed by Mulhouse, France William Wyler- the American filmmaker had forty-nine feature-length credits to his name. These take in the likes of western Lazy Lightning (1926), romantic comedy Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (1928), another Noir featuring Bogart Dead End (1937), WWII drama Mrs. Miniver (1942), and classic romantic comedy featuring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday (1953). The Desperate Hours is a perfectly cast, taut ‘n’ tense thriller, which keeps you on the edge of your seat until it resolves.

The film focuses on three just escaped prisoners-Glen Griffin (Bogart), his younger brother Hal (Dewey Martin), and unbalanced/imposing man-child Sam Kobish(Robert Middleton). The three head for suburbia- setting down at the upper-middle-class family home of the Millard's- taking in middle-aged businessman Daniel (Fredric March), his wife Ellie (Marta Scott), their nineteen-year-old daughter Cindy (Mary Muphy), and their around seven-year Ralphie (Richard Eyer).

Just before the three arrive, we see the Millard's having a normal weekday morning. Daniel is suited and booted ready for work, Ellie is preparing breakfast, Ralphie is being cheeky before heading off to school, and Cindy is talking about her older lawyer boyfriend Chuck (Cig Young)- who her father doesn’t like. Everyone but Ellie leaves, just as the escaped cons roll up. And from here we slip into fairly typical plotted home invasion territory- with Glen and his men waiting for a female friend to arrive from a distance away with cash and a car for escape.

I won’t detail the plot any further, as I say it is fairly typical of the genre, and of course, detailing the unfold of the whole thing would rather lessen the tension/ effect of the film. But it’s all executed with real flair, tension, and believability- and surprisingly for a film from the 50’s it feels rather undated. Bogart is excellent as the hagged and stubbly con, who when we first meet him is firmly in control of his men and the family. As for his colleagues in crime- Middleton is perfect as the unpredictable and towering Sam, who switches between being childlike and suddenly derangement. Martin works well as Glen's brother, and as the film moves on his pining for a normal life grows. Moving onto the family, and March plays well as the family man- who switches between a shell-shocked protector, and a man pushed to his limits. The other three members of the family are believable too- though at points Young is expectedly trying as the young son of the family. The small surrounding cast is all good too. In finishing The Desperate Hours is both a classy & tense noir thriller and a great final film in this box set.

The Blu-Ray features another great HD print, which enhances both the mood and tension of the film. We get a commentary track from historian Kevin Lyons- and as always, he gives a very informative and well-researched track. He begins by talking about the ominous drifting shots of suburbia, mentioning the film as an early example of the home invasion genre- and wonders if Wes Cravens Last House On The Left may have been influenced by the film. We find out that spencer Tracy was due to get the role of the family's father- but didn't get it because his & Bogart's management wouldn't give up top billing. He goes on to give an in-depth bio of Fredric March who landed up playing the role. We find out that one of March's scenes had to have thirty takes, as the director felt he was acting too much and didn't look weary enough. He gives a great rundown of Bogart's career, and where it was at this point. Later on, he comments on some of the film's wonderful camera work, going on to give a bio of the film's Cinematography Lee Garmes. We find out the film was delayed due to its stage version still playing, and also that apparently it wasn’t a huge success at the box office. We find out there were issues with the film's premiere, as the print didn’t play well. And much, much more- another most worthy track from Mr Lyons. Lastly, on the extras we find Barry Forshaw discussing the film (15.50).

 

 

In finishing, Essential Film Noir Collection 3 features a good mix of different types of noir- with each film getting a great new scan, and most worthy commentary tracks/extras. If you’re a fan of the genre, this really is a must-buy. And to score a copy directly drop by here to buy direct.