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

ADDITION: Film Detective Blu-ray (September 2021): Film Detective have transferred Paul Guilfoyle's A Life at Stake to Blu-ray. Despite only being on a single-layered disc, the film is only 1 1/4 hours, the 1080P image is surprisingly strong. The only issues I had would be that the darker scenes are quite grey looking a bit dull and there is some warping - rarely noticeable in sporadic spots in the film. Generally though I was quite pleased with the detail, textures and occasional depth. 

NOTE: We have added 58 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Film Detective use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. A Life at Stake  has very few aggressive moments with some car engine and gun noise - it comes through flat and unremarkable. The score is by Les Baxter (Master of the World, How To Stuff a Wild Bikini, Switchblade Sisters, The Man With the X-Ray Eyes, The Comedy of Terrors, Panic in the Year Zero, US version of Baron Blood, The Beast Within) and really helps the film's transition from dark to romantic moods. The lossless sounds fairly flawless. NOTE: Costantino Ferri did the score for the Italian DUB'ed version of the film (not part of this release.) Film Detective offer optional English and Spanish subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Film Detective Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film scholar, Jason A. Ney. He explains why this is a forgotten film, he makes comparisons to Double Indemnity, he amusingly reads Lansbury's critical comments of her own films and he is quite thorough discussion identifying dark cinema conventions making a strong case for A Life at Stake inclusion in the cycle. I found it informative and interesting. I also enjoyed C. Courtney Joyner's 11-minute Hollywood Hitchhikers: Inside The Filmakers about Ida Lupino with her then-husband, producer and writer, Collier Young, forming their independent film company ('The Filmakers' - yes with one 'm') and how Lupino directed The Hitch-Hiker (1953), making her the first woman to direct a film noir. It's an excellent video piece. The package also has a 12-page liner notes booklet with an essay - ''A Career at Stake: Angela Lansbury and the Last Days of the B Noir''; by Professor Jason A. Ney plus photos. 

Paul Guilfoyle's A Life at Stake is certainly Noir and we applaud Film Detective for rescuing it via their wonderful Blu-ray package. There is some suspicious femme-fatale action, a planned murder, and insurance fraud to wrap the story around. It's actually far superior a 'B' effort than given credit and the commentary is a fabulous addition as is the C. Courtney Joyner piece, and the booklet essay. What's not to love about A Life at Stake? Noir fans shouldn't hesitate. 

Gary Tooze