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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Boy Cried Murder')

Directed by Ted Tetzlaff
USA 1949

 

In Ian McEwan's telling comment, 'low-budget films, enforce good behavior'; the best of RKO's post-war thrillers and social dramas thrived on this notion. Tetzlaff's tense movie - from a story by Woolrich - marks a variation on the boy who cried wolf (once too often). Here the boy is an over-imaginative kid whose working-class parents are driven to distraction by his stories. But one night he witnesses a murder. No one believes him, but the killers get to hear of it and decide to kill him. The chase and the climax are brilliantly handled against suitably authentic New York backgrounds.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

 

A superior RKO B thriller variant on the boy who cried wolf fable, adapted from a short story by Cornell Woolrich. Driscoll is the kid who, from the fire escape one hot night, witnesses the couple in the apartment above killing a drunken seaman, only to have no one believe his story since they're all so used to his lying ways. Thrills begin when the culprits (Stewart and Roman) realize he knows the truth, and decide to ensure his silence. Pleasingly performed and shot, the film benefits from its evocative creation of the grimy New York tenements as a claustrophobic haven of crime and paranoia. Taut and gripping.

Excerpt from Time Out Film Guide located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: August 6th, 1949

Reviews                                         More Reviews                              DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL vs. Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Warner Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Box Cover

 

BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Warner Archive

Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:13:12  1:13:18 1:13:27.444
Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.29 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s		 1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.25 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,415,513,350 bytes

Feature: 21,343,703,040 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate: Warner

Bitrate: Warner Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0) Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (English) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1809 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1809 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles French, None None English (SDH), None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Editions Montparnasse

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Serge Bromberg Intro (2:41) in French only

DVD Release Date: October 1st, 2006
Transparent Slim Keep Case
Chapters: 8

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• None

DVD Release Date: December 14th, 2010
Keep Case

Chapters 21

 Release Information:
Studio: Arrow

 

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,415,513,350 bytes

Feature: 21,343,703,040 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• None


 Blu-ray Release Date: September 21st, 2021
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 25

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner Archive Blu-ray (September 2023): Warner Archive transferred Ted Tetzlaff's The Window to Blu-ray in 2021. It is a notable upgrade form the 2010 individual release with almost 5 X the bitrate. It's a story we have happily seen before; richer black levels, more information - mostly on the left edge, better layered contrast, and the grain textures are consistent and fine. A very welcome upgrade.

NOTE: We have added 54 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their The Window Blu-ray Warner Archive utilize a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are minor aggressive moments in the film and tension and drana are added from the scores by Roy Webb, who has hundreds of film music credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures including The Ghost Ship, Bedlam, Crossfire, Clash by Night, I Married a Witch, This Is Cinerama, Easy Living, The Window, Fixed Bayonets, Journey Into Fear, I Walked with a Zombie etc. sounding flat, clean and wonderfully dramatic in the lossless transfer. Warner Archive offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

Unfortunately there are no extras at all on the Blu-ray. With the short 1 1/4 hour running time this should have been a part of a double-feature - not unlike Warner Archive's The Ghost Ship / Bedlam. Some form of supplements would have been appreciated.

Ted Tetzlaff's The Window is based on Cornell Woolrich short story "The Boy Cried Murder" ("aka Fire Escape") published in 1947. Mel Dinelli (The Spiral Staircase) adapted the story for the screen. Bobby “boy who cried wolf” Driscoll was under contract with Walt Disney, which "loaned" him to RKO for "The Window". The result as a highly effective, if often overlooked, suspense-thriller that vaguely fits into the Dark cinema canon with assistance by, too-briefly seen, Ruth Roman as a nasty self-serving 'femme' almost willing to murder an adorable child. Being so bare-bones and such a B-level short running time - the Blu-ray should still be obtained for less than $15 - which it is - at the writing of this review being 32% OFF HERE. Recommended!

  - Gary Tooze

***

ADDITION - Warner Archive 2010: Warner Archive disc is single-layered and progressive. More information on the sides and not window-boxed, but less information on the bottom compared to French edition. The Warner Archive edition is sharper, more grain, better contrast... no subtitles or extras but of the two it is the one I would prefer.

  - Gregory Meshman

***

A typical unremarkable, interlaced Montparnasse transfer. The 'combing' is relatively fine but quite rampant. Contrast is fairly weak as well with a slight greenish haze over the image. Audio, although unimpressive, was fairly consistent. No extras save mono-brow Bromberg's usual intro-praise (in French only).

Frankly, the biggest plus to this package is the wonderful film - an essential for Noir enthusiasts. I suppose we should feel fairly fortunate that the French subs are removable. I also love these slim cases. I would probably be recommending another version if one existed - but I think this is it - so you have to see this film via this method if you want it on DVD. I still say 'Go for it' just don't have strong expectations.

Gary W. Tooze

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Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC RIGHT


 

 

Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL TOP

2) Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE

3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

 
Box Cover

 

BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Warner Archive

Region FREE - Blu-ray

 


 


 

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