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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Dead Pigeon')


Directed by Phil Karlson
USA 1955

 

NOTE: Columbia Noir #2 Blu-ray with Framed (1947), 711 Ocean Drive (1950), The Mob (1951),

Affair in Trinidad (1952), Tight Spot (1955) and Murder By Contract (1958) is reviewed HERE

 

The neglected but powerful noirmeister Phil Karlson shows how good he can be in this taut 1955 thriller about a former gangster's moll (Ginger Rogers, no less) who agrees to work for the police. The script is by William Bowers; with Edward G. Robinson and Brian Keith.

Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's capsule at the Chicago Reader located HERE.

 

Tight Spot often employs the depth staging Karlson favors. He likes to shoot down long corridors of the hotel. The sets are built so that one can see from one room into the next. A memorable shot shows the long corridor outside the hotel suite, through the open door of the suite's living room. There are also two memorable long take moving camera shots down the hotel corridor. One shows the first arrival, walking from the elevator to the hotel room. The other has Robinson leaving the hotel room for the elevator, followed by Brian Keith returning back down the corridor to the room.
A mirror in the hotel suite is used to create the complex shots beloved by film noir.

Excerpt The films of Phil Karlson located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: March 19th, 1955

Reviews                                                        More Reviews                                                       DVD Reviews

 

DVD Review: Columbia Tri-Star - Region 2 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover

   

Only available in the COLUMBIA TRISTAR FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL.2

CLICK to order from:

The COLUMBIA TRI-STAR FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL.2 contains The Big Heat 1953 Gilda 1946 Human Desire 1954 Lady From Shanghai 1947  Tight Spot 1955.

Distribution Columbia Tri-Star (Japan) - Region 2 - NTSC
Runtime 1:36:06 
Video 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.6 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0) 
Subtitles English, Japanese, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• Trailers

DVD Release Date: February 25th, 2004

Keep Case (with 4 others in Boxset - see images above and below)
Chapters: 28

 

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: Columbia Noir #2 Blu-ray with Framed (1947), 711 Ocean Drive (1950), The Mob (1951), Affair in Trinidad (1952), Tight Spot (1955) and Murder By Contract (1958) is reviewed HERE

Another solid image from this Japanese Noir Box. Similar to Human Desire with the heavy dirt/grain but anamorphic and strong shadow detail. Progressive transfer, and again, on a single layered DVD.

It has appeal as the film is presently only available in this collection. But the good news is that it is scheduled for release in the UK HERE.

It is one of 5 great films in this COLUMBIA TRI-STAR FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL.2 Boxset (none of these region 2 NTSC discs are sold separately - it also contains The Big Heat, Gilda, Lady From Shanghai and Human Desire), but if you are like most you have the first 3 already in your collection from region 1. Human Desire is alternately commercially available in a poor quality edition from Spain.

As a nice touch this DVD contains English subtitles (along with a Japanese option). The menus are in Japanese but there are limited screens and it takes only moments to access your desired choice through trial and error. The English 2.0 channel is both clear and consistent with easily audible dialogue.

The film is a hidden noir classic from Phil Karlson (Kansas City Confidential and The Phenix City Story) - performances are exceptional down the line and Karlson's little touches mark him as a master of the dark style. Highly recommended! 

Gary W. Tooze

 





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DVD Box Cover

   

Only available in the COLUMBIA TRISTAR FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL.2

CLICK to order from:

The COLUMBIA TRI-STAR FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL.2 contains The Big Heat 1953 Gilda 1946 Human Desire 1954 Lady From Shanghai 1947  Tight Spot 1955.




 

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