Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956 (9-Movie/3-disc Blu-ray Collection) [Avail. 7/16/19]
It’s time once again for film noir fans rejoice with 9 additional major studio film noirs, this time from the period 1954-1956: “Bait” (1954), “The Crooked Web” (1955), “The Night Holds Terror” (1955), “Footsteps in the Fog” (1955), “Cell 2455, Death Row” (1955), “5 Against the House” (1955), “New Orleans Uncensored”(1955), “Spin a Dark Web” (1955), “Rumble on the Docks” (1956)
Stalwart “noir” directors and casts highlight nine more hard to find features:
“Bait” (1954) dir/Hugo Haas cst/Cleo Moore, Hugo Haas, John Agar;
“The Crooked Web” (1955) dir/Nathan Juran cst/Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, Richard Denning;
“The Night Holds Terror” (1955) dir/Andrew Stone cst/Jack Kelly, Hildy Parks, Vince Edwards, John Cassavetes, David Cross;
“Footsteps in the Fog” (1955) dir/Arthur Lubin cst/Bill Travers, Ronald Squire, Finlay Currie, Belinda Lee;
“Cell 2455, Death Row” (1955) dir/Fred F. Sears cst/William Campbell, Robert Campbell, Marian Carr;
“5 Against the House” (1955) dir/Phil Karlson cst/Alvy Moore, William Conrad, Kerwin Mathews;
“New Orleans Uncensored” (1955) dir/William Castle cst/Arthur Franz, Beverly Garland, Helene Stanton;
“Spin a Dark Web” (1955) dir/Vernon Sewell cst/Faith Domergue, Lee Patterson, Rona Anderson, Martin Benson;
“Rumble on the Docks” (1956) dir/Fred F. Sears cst/Laurie Carrol, James Darren, Michael Granger
Approx. 750 minutes | B&W | 1.85:1 | Optional English subtitles
ActorsFrank Lovejoy, Arthur Franz, John Cassavetes, Kim Novak, Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly, Vince Edwards, Hugo Haas, Beverly Garland, William Conrad, William Campbell, Richard Denning, James Darren, Guy Madison, Brian Keith, John Agar, Cleo Moore, Bill Travers, Faith Domergue, and more
Directed byHugo Haas, Phil Karlson, William Castle, Nathan Juran, Andrew Stone, Fred F. Sears, Vernon Sewell, Arthur Lubin
“Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956 (9-Movie/3-disc Blu-ray Collection) [Avail. 7/16/19]”
-
Forgotten Noir Vol. 9 – Scotland Yard Inspector/Pier 23/Case of the Baby-Sitter
SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR – Cesar Romero stars in this Hammer Films mystery as a Yank newspaperman in London who sets out to solve a murder, American style. The rest of the typically tangled plot includes assaults, a mysterious tape recording, a visit to an asylum and even a plot to steal an inventor’s secrets! Lois Maxwell, the James Bond series’ “Miss Moneypenny”, co-stars. 1952|73 mins.|B&W|1.33:1
PIER 23 – Two more “brushes with crime” for ace private detective Dennis O’Brien (Hugh Beaumont). In the first, he gets mixed up with a crooked wrestling referee, an equally corrupt arena owner and murderous grappler Mike Mazurki. Next is a case involving a murdered cop and film noir’s ultimate femme double-crosser, the unforgettable Ann Savage (Detour). 1951|59 min.|B&W|NR
THE CASE OF THE BABY-SITTER – Jewel thieves, operating in the guise of a Duke and Duchess, hire the Ace Detective Agency to “baby sit” the infant they are using as a blind for their thefts. A rival mob dopes the detective’s dumb aide and make off with a valuable diamond. 1947|43 min.|B&W|NR
-
Forgotten Noir Vol. 1 – Portland Expose/They Were So Young
PORTLAND EXPOSÉ – In the 1950’s LIFE Magazine printed a blistering exposé on the rampant sin, crime and Teamsters-controlled corruption that at the time had a stranglehold on Portland, Oregon. Producer Lindsley Parsons seized upon the considerable publicity and assembled a cast of great character actors for the starring roles. Although the film crew was threatened with physical violence, the result is a dark and gritty filmed-on-location crime drama that contains considerable violence for a 1950’s movie, most notably a violent rape scene with the Frank Gorshin character and a teenage girl. 1957|72 min.|B&W|1.85:1/Widescreen|NR
THEY WERE SO YOUNG – Five beautiful European models arrive in Rio under contract to a fashion house secretly owned by a wealthy Brazilian (Raymond Burr), and quickly learn that their duties have more to do with “entertaining men” than modeling. Set in Brazil but actually shot in the swamps and jungles of Italy, “the film is extremely interesting scenically” (Variety). 1954|80 min.|B&W|1.85:1/Widescreen|NR
SPECIAL FEATURES: PORTLAND EXPOSE COMMENTARY by Assistant Director Lindsley Parsons, Jr.; Original Theatrical Trailers, Bios, Photo Gallery, Advertising Materials
-
Hammer Noir Vol. 4 – Terror Street/Wings of Danger
TERROR STREET (36 Hours) – U.S. Air Force pilot Dan Duryea becomes a logical suspect after his English wife is shot and killed in her apartment. With only 36 hours to find the real murderer and clear himself before he must reporting for flight duty, Duryea doggedly sets out to learn the secret of Terror Street. 1952|72 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
WINGS OF DANGER (Dead on Course) – Flyer Zachary Scott joins in the search for Robert Beatty, a airline operator suspected of smuggling millions of counterfeit dollars, and now suddenly gone missing. Complications include Scott’s romantic attraction to Scott’s sister (Naomi Chance)–and a blackmail scheme–as the counterfeit cargo and airborne adventure fly on “Wings of Danger.” 1954|73 min.|B&W| 1.33:1|NR
SPECIAL FEATURES – Commentaries by Alan K. Rode on Terror Street, Dan Duryea and Steve Fisher; Bios; Trailers
-
Forgotten Noir & Crime Collection Vol. #4 (9 Movies)
9 movies/3 DVDs
COUNTERSPY MEETS SCOTLAND YARD – When enemy agents obtain leaked secrets about a guided missile reservation, the chief of America’s counterspy division (Howard St. John) and Scotland Yard’s top sleuth (Ron Randell) get on an investigative trail which quickly leads to a reservation secretary (Gunsmoke’s Miss Kitty, Amanda Blake). “Suspense and excitement”–Harrison’s Reports. 1950|67 min|B&W|1.33:1|NR
RADAR SECRET SERVICE – It’s science versus crime when agents of a foreign power working with local gangsters (including Tom Neal) steal a truck loaded with secret atomic materials, and the members of the Secret Service’s new “radar unit” (including John Howard and Ralph “Dick Tracy” Byrd) use the “latest technology” to run down the lawbreakers. MOTOR PATROL: Roaring down America’s highways in the pursuit of justice, motorcycle policemen put the heat on a car theft ringleader who uses a legitimate garage as a front. When Officer Bill Henry is killed in the line of duty, rookie Don Castle, the fiancé of Henry’s sister, gets him assigned to the case and infiltrates the gang. 1950|60 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (1941): When Harvard Law School graduate P. Cadwallader Jones (Dennis O’Keefe) bungles his first assignment in the D.A.’s office, he is next assigned the make-work job of reviewing the closed case of a crooked city official (Peter Lorre) who vanished with a stolen $100,000. The cold case suddenly gets hot when the money begins to reappear, and a series of brutal murders ensues! There’s plenty of fast-moving action in this crime melodrama laced with humor. 1941|69 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
WESTERN PACIFIC AGENT – A “modern Western,” set in the year it was released (1951). The railroad assigns its top agent Kent Taylor to investigate a payroll robbery and the murder of a paymaster. Meanwhile, the felon’s father (Morris Carnovsky) is also desperately trying to convince the wayward boy (Mickey Knox) to forsake his life of crime. 1950|64 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
HIGHWAY 13 – It’s murder on wheels when a trucking company loses several vehicles in a series of mysterious crashes–and a company honcho dies in a road accident that is equally inexplicable. Truck driver Robert Lowery soon finds himself enmeshed in the whodunit, which involves a café truck stop, an ex-gangster mechanic and indications of sabotage. This film was produced in 3 days! 1948|60 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
THE TREASURE OF MONTE CRISTO – A web of death, intrigue and daring love entwines merchant seaman Glenn Langan, a descendent of the Count of Monte Cristo, as he searches modern-day San Francisco for the fortune in long-missing jewels to which he is the rightful heir. Crooked lawyers, a murder and a frame-up are among the obstacles thrown in his path. Great location photography. 1949|79 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
ROARING CITY – Private eye Dennis O’Brien (Hugh Beaumont) will do anything for a dame or a dollar, tackling two more assignments filled with pistol-point suspense. The first involves a “fixed” fight, double-crosses and, of course, murder. Later, his reward for hiring out to pose as a young beauty’s husband is a knockout blow to the head and a false murder charge! 1951|59 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
SKY LINER – Attention, Homeland Security! It’s GRAND HOTEL in the air as the usual wild assortment of travelers (movie actress, eloping couple, child singer, spinsters, crooks, more) board a LaGuardia Airport flight, unaware that other passengers might be spies and counter-spies, complete with secret documents, poison and elaborate plans to engage in international espionage! 1949|63 min.|B&W|1.33:1|NR
SPECIAL FEATURE: Vintage Trailer Collection
There are no reviews yet.