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Forgotten Noir, Vol. 3
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Volume 3 of VCI's Forgotten Film Noir series includes Shadow Man (Street of Shadows) and Shoot To Kill. NOTE: The DVD set contains Street of Shadows which is the British version of the film Shadow Man - it contains an extra 7 minutes that were deleted from the US edition. Short take: I think these two films more appropriately fit into the Noir styling (more so than in volume 1 - Portland Exposé, and They Were So Young) and I enjoyed these flawed shadowy expressions a lot more. Shoot To Kill sees gangster Dixie Logan framed by crooked DA Lawrence Dale. His wife secures a job as Dale's assistant, the better to find the proof of the DA's dishonesty. She gets help from Reporter Mitchell, who falls in love with her. In Street of Shadows, Luigi (Cesar Romero), owner of night club, falls in love with the attractive Barbara (Kay Kendall). But a corpse of his former friend is found, and one of Barbara's gloves is the only clue. Is it a Murder? Scotland yard gets involved and the plot thickens... great British Noir in the vein of the Hammer thriller/murder films of this period. From the Kit Parker Collection DVD-ophiles will not be expecting much from one of these cheapo Double Featured discs. I've made my individual assessments below. |
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Directed by Richard Vernon
UK 1953
Part matron, part vamp, Kendall manages to combine the dowdy appeal of a '50s housewife who's just bought her first washing machine with Hollywood-style glamour. Romero is Luigi, the Soho nightclub owner who falls for her, Bogart to her Bacall. An excellent harmonica-based score and a half sympathetic villain in Maddern's scorned, deformed Limpy make for a dark atmospheric frame-up thriller, more Graham Greene than Edgar Wallace.
Excerpt from Time Out Film Guide located HERE
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Theatrical Release: October 16th, 1953
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: VCI Video - Region 0 - NTSC
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The Forgotten Noir Collector's Set (Vol 1-3) contains
Portland Exposé, Arson, Inc., Loan Shark,
Shoot To Kill,
They Were So Young and
The
Shadow Man. It is a substantial savings but we are unsure of the
packaging.
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| Distribution | VCI Video - Region 0 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:23:30 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.83 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
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Release Information: Edition Details: • Photo
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| Comments: |
This film shares the dual-layered (barely at about 5.7 Gig) with 'Shoot to Kill' and its extras. The transfer is another interlaced job with plenty of visible 'combing' in horizontal pans. It is quite weak with a heavy appearance that could easily be boosted black levels. Contrast gets a C- grade and there is a greenish haze to much of the image. Audio is relatively consistent and there are no optional subtitles. As it stands the price is the final word and it has reasonably value - too good for Noir fans to pass up. I see VCI as taking baby steps forward with some relevant extras (where did they get these) - posters, gallery, trivia and some trailers - nothing eventful but we appreciate the effort. NOTE: The case artwork is pretty good and we still don't have word on how the packaging of the Vol. 1-3 stacks up - hopefully much better than VCI's Hammer Noirs set. Buying in the 3-pack will save you some money. |
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Directed by William A. Berke
USA 1947
A fast-paced B film noir about corruption and double-crosses, that has a lot of plot twists and a nifty surprise ending. The film opens with a car crash involving escaped murderer Dixie Logan (Blackley), Assistant District Attorney Larry Dale (MacDonald) and his wife Marian Langdon (Walters). The two men die, but Marian is brought to the hospital in critical condition with a head injury and confesses to reporter George Mitchell (Wade) what really happened. The film is told in flashback until Marian finishes her story and the film returns to the present.
Excerpt from Dennis Schwartz' review at Ozu's World Movie Reviews located HERE
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Theatrical Release: March 15th, 1947
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: VCI Video - Region 0 - NTSC
| DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from:
|
|
|
The Forgotten Noir Collector's Set (Vol 1-3) contains
Portland Exposé, Arson, Inc., Loan Shark,
Shoot To Kill,
They Were So Young and
The
Shadow Man. It is a substantial savings but we are unsure of the
packaging.
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| Distribution | VCI Video - Region 0 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:03:56 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.83 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: VCI Video Aspect Ratio: Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details:
• Shooting Schedule |
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| Comments: |
This film shares the dual-layered (barely at about 5.7 Gig) with 'Street of Shadows' and its extras. The transfer is yet another interlaced job with plenty of visible 'combing' in horizontal pans. It is very weak looking pretty hazy - certainly only acceptable for CRT (tube) viewing. Audio is a bit up-and-down and there are no optional subtitles. As it stand the price is the final word and it's has reasonably value - too good for Noir fans to pass up. I see VCI as taking baby steps forward with some relevant extras (where did they get these) - wardrobe plot?, shooting schedule and some text screen bios - nothing eventful but we appreciate the effort. NOTE: The case artwork is pretty good and we still don't have word on how the packaging of the Vol. 1-3 stacks up - hopefully much better than VCI's Hammer Noirs set. Buying in the 3-pack will save you some money. |
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Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Shades of Noir: A Reader by Joan Copjec |
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the
Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller |
The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir:
Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa |
Film Noir by Alain Silver |
Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era,
1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney |
Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch |
| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution | VCI Video - Region 0 - NTSC | |
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA |
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Thank You!
