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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (September 2024): Kino have transferred another three films for their twenty-first edition of Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema series to three, single-layered, Blu-rays. This has Fritz Lang's Cloak and Dagger from 1946 with Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer, Shack Out on 101 starring Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Keenan Wynn and Lee Marvin - made in 1955. Lastly, James Cagney directs a remake of the Ladd / Lake classic noir This Gun for Hire entitled Short Cut to Hell - made in 1957. The films are cited as being "2020 HD Master for Cloak and Dagger, 2021 HD Master for Shack Out on 101 and 2023 HD Master for Short Cut to Hell – All from 4K Scans". We compared the Olive and Masters of Cinema Blu-rays of Cloak and Dagger in 2020 HERE. We also reviewed the bare-bones Olive Blu-ray of Shack Out on 101 HERE in 2013. So, Cloak and Dagger Kino transfer looks much fainter than the other two 1080Ps (Olive and Moc) and I have no idea why. Certainly the richer black levels are more appealing but the Kino is consistent and without the direct comparisons looked okay on my system and the lighter image does show more detail (fabrics etc.) The Olive Blu-ray of Shack Out on 101 was 1.78:1 and 'opened-up' so it has a slight amount more information in the frame. The Kino, in this case, is darker and has consistent fine grain textures. It looks superior. For Short Cut to Hell, I would have liked to have seen more grain and there is a hint of digitization although I couldn't definitively identify it zooming in. There is depth and a few speckles and crystal clear. I was very keen to see this one. 

NOTE: We have added 162 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. There is the anticipated violence and aggressive action sequences that come with the dark cinema cycle and spy-war-related films (Cloak and Dagger); machine guns, hand guns, slaps etc. but nothing dynamically impactful in terms of bass response. The score for Cloak and Dagger was by the iconic Max Steiner (The Breaking Point, Mildred Pierce, Key Largo, Casablanca, The Caine Mutiny, Bird of Paradise, Beyond the Forest, Pursued, The Fountainhead etc. etc.) For Shack Out on 101 the score was by Paul Dunlap (Black Tuesday, How to Make a Monster, The Angry Red Planet, Shack Out on 101, Portland Expose, Big House U.S.A., Target Earth, Park Row, Cry Vengeance) and Short Cut to Hell has stock music credited to Harry Sukman (Planet Earth, A Bullet For Joey, Forty Guns, Verboten!, The Crimson Kimono, Underworld U.S.A., Someone's Watching Me!) and Victor Young (Arise My Love, Union Pacific, The Accused, Strategic Air Command, The Sun Shines Bright, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) These are good scores - I liked Steiner's best but they all support the films crime-thriller elements. I didn't notice any inconsistency in the dialogue or any egregious flaws. Kino offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-rays.

The Kino Blu-rays offer new commentaries for each of the three films. The audio commentary for Cloak and Dagger was by Heath Holland, host of Cereal at Midnight Podcast and, our friend, Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition, Quarry), co-author of Spillane - King of Pulp Fiction (with James L. Traylor.) I was never that keen on this Lang film but the commentary assisted my appreciation. They talk about this being the first film from the United States Pictures Production company, Cooper as an American scientist, Lilli Palmer as a member of the Italian resistance, Lang and much more. The commentary for Shack Out on 101 is by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney who describes it as one of his favorite noirs, and talks about the previous Olive Blu-ray release - thinking it would be the last. He discusses the Cold-war concept mentioning similar films, and he tells us why this fits so well into the noir cycle, its fascinating portrayal of masculinity and some background data on the people who made it. Jason is always prepared and informative. The commentary for Short Cut to Hell is by film historian / screenwriter Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television). He talks about this being the only film that Cagney directed, his presence in a brief prologue (which also doubled as the film's trailer.) He makes comparisons to 1942's This Gun for Hire and generally fills the running time with excellent tidbits and observations. Nice job, Gary. Other than that are some trailers with one for Short Cut to Hell.

This is a decent set of three noirish films. I seem to gain more appreciation by rewatching certain noirs. Fritz Lang's Cloak and Dagger would be a perfect example although more espionage-foreign intrigue-adventure than dark cinema. The film's screenwriters Ring Lardner Jr. (M*A*S*H, The Cincinnati Kid) and Albert Maltz (Broken Arrow, The Beguiled) became two of the Hollywood Ten (cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted,) accused of adding communist dogma to movie scripts <eyebrows raised>. The 1950 radio show of Cloak and Dagger started with "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Shack Out on 101 has Lee Marvin (The Killers, Point Blank) who is not just the short-order cook, slob and letch that he appears to be. He's actually a spy. You heard right. Circling around this seaside greasy-spoon are the owner George (Keenan Wynn), desirable waitress Kotty (Terry Moore - Gaslight - playing Ingrid Bergman as a child, Mighty Joe Young) and scientist, Prof. Sam Bastion, (Frank Lovejoy - In a Lonely Place, The Hitch-Hiker), also keen on patriotic Kotty. Lower-economic strata fun and keep your eyes peeled for "Uncle Leo" (Len Lesser.) I was most keen on Short Cut to Hell not because it was James Cagney's only directorial effort but as it is a remake of the Ladd / Lake classic noir This Gun for Hire based on the 1936 novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. Bitter hitman Kyle Niles (Robert Ivers - I Married a Monster from Outer Space) commits double cold-blooded contract murders but is backstabbed by his employer. Revenge time... but he requires the, uncooperative, assistance from singer Glory Hamilton (Georgann Johnson - recall her as the 'rejecting rich lady' in Midnight Cowboy?) Ivers is no Ladd nor GJ - Miss Lake but Short Cut to Hell can still carry the day - noir-wise. The Kino 'Dark Side' Blu-ray packages just keep coming - commentaries abound. I'll be keeping this one. To each his own.

Gary Tooze