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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (October 2022): Indicator have transferred six Universal Noirs, made between 1947 - 1954, on Blu-ray. The films are on their own separate single-layered Blu-ray disc. Each of the six films have been transferred to Blu-ray by Kino in Region 'A'; The Web (Michael Gordon, 1947) Larceny (George Sherman, 1948), Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (Norman Foster, 1948) Abandoned (Joseph M Newman, 1949), Deported (Robert Siodmak, 1950) and Naked Alibi (Jerry Hopper, 1954). The 1080P image quality is almost and exact duplicate with the US counterpart and only Kiss the Blood Off My Hands has a slight difference in brightness. We've compared captures below and here are a few comments from the Kino editions:

The Web (Michael Gordon, 1947): "There is fine contrast layering and grain texture support. The image is clean and consistent (why wasn't this released before now?) The source seems in solid shape and the HD presentation is tight and impressive. There is adequate detail and frequent depth. All very good."

Larceny (George Sherman, 1948): "Aside from frequent frame-specific surface-scratch marks that permeate the image, it looks excellent with fine grain and layered contrast. Black levels are strong and there are a few sequences with depth. I'd say the texture is a prominent attribute. Discounting the marks (see samples below) it is a consistent and pleasing 1080P image."

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (Norman Foster, 1948): "The 1080P is bright and still maintains its heavy film-like thickness - a good representation of the film source. There are still speckles and most of the same small damage marks - although, surprisingly, they seem less - rather than usually more - prevalent in the higher resolution. This is a dark film and the shadow and light play by Metty looks wonderful in this HD presentation."

Abandoned (Joseph M Newman, 1949): "The 1080P is pleasing with a textured thickness to it. It's fairly heavy but the same print as the SD with little to no speckles or damage. The source is in decent shape."

Deported (Robert Siodmak, 1950): "There are a couple of weaker scenes and occasional speckles but it's a decent 1080P image. There is texture and contrast supports the darker scenes and shadows. A pleasing HD presentation."

Naked Alibi (Jerry Hopper, 1954): "I was very pleasantly surprised by the richness of the film grain and although it can look a shade 'light' - the 1080P provides a formidable presentation - especially those that can appreciate grain and Russell Metty's shadow-drenched cinematography!"

NOTE: There are over 200 bonus captures from four of the six films (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use a linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. For The Web there is a bit of aggression with gunfire and a supportive score by Hans J. Salter (The Female Animal, Naked Alibi, Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, Bengal Brigade, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) that can waver between the budding romance and the thriller aspects. Larceny a dialogue-heavy film without much in the way of aggression and, like the video, is consistently exported. The score is by Leith Stevens (The Time Tunnel, Hercules and the Captive Women, I Married a Monster From Outer Space, Great Day in the Morning, The Gun Runners, Syncopation, World Without End, The Night of the Grizzly, 20 Million Miles to Earth, When Worlds Collide) supporting the sly-crime drama adeptly. There are some heavy-ish British accents in Kiss the Blood From My Hands but most of the dialogue is easily discernable with a score by the iconic Miklós Rózsa (The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity) and has a stranglehold on the film's moods and atmosphere. Great tension is exported sounding effective and impactful in the uncompressed. Abandoned has a lighter score - by Walter Scharf (Three Violent People, Casbah, The Glass Key, Hans Christian Andersen, The Geisha Boy, Rock-a-Bye Baby) that that adds further atmosphere. Deported has only a few aggressive moments - minor gunplay - that export modest depth. The effective score is by Walter Scharf again (Abandoned) sounding like a strong replication in the uncompressed. Naked Alibi sounds consistent with audible dialogue and a score credited to Hans J. Salter (Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) and Frank Skinner (The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City) adding some noir-ish atmosphere - especially in Tijuana. The DUB'ed song by Grahame is worth the price of the disc alone! Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region Region 'B' Blu-rays.

The Indicator Blu-ray offers a new commentaries for all six film; with film historian David Del Valle on The Web, with academic and curator Dr. Eloise Ross on Larceny, film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson on Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman on Abandoned, filmmaker and film scholar Daniel Kremer on Deported and film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson on Naked Alibi. These are seasoned commentators and we have heard them all on many past Blu-ray editions. I've only briefly sampled and am really looking forward to tucking in when time allows. Great choices for commentarists! On Kiss the Blood Off My Hands we also get a John Player Lecture series chat with Joan Fontaine from 1978. It is an archival audio recording of the star of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands in conversation with film critic Martin Shawcross at London’s National Film Theatre playing to the film.

We also get new supplements; 1/2 hour of Nick Pinkerton on Dan Duryea where the author and critic assesses the life and career of the big-screen tough guy. Plus a dozen minutes of Christina Newland on Robert Siodmak where the critic and writer looks at the Deported director’s extensive work in film noir and 40-minutes of Lucy Bolton on Gloria Grahame. It has the academic discussing one of the great femme fatales of film noir.

More: a 2018 interview with Victoria Price, the daughter of Vincent Price, in conversation with the Film Noir Foundation’s Alan K Rode following a screening of The Web at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival for 1/2 hour. An hour long Lux Radio Theatre radio adaptation of ‘The Web’ from 1947 featuring Ella Raines, Edmond O’Brien and Vincent Price reprising their roles from the film.

There are a few older shorts; Skirmish on the Home Front (1944). A WWII propaganda short starring film noir mainstays Alan Ladd and William Bendix - United Action Means Victory (1939,) a documentary short about the 1938-39 General Motors strike, with narration written by Kiss the Blood Off My Hands screenwriter Ben Maddow. Easy to Get (1947) - a 20-minute documentary short directed by Abandoned filmmaker Joseph M. Newman as part of the US Army’s ‘Easy to Get’ campaign on venereal disease. Fun. A Salute to France short and The Cinematographer from 1951. The latter is a behind-the-scenes story of the movie cameraman who transforms lifeless film into thrilling screen entertainment. It gives a glimpse of the intricate machinery inside a movie camera and then shows the cinematographer's activity on the set.

There are image galleries for each film and a few trailers. The package offers a limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Iris Veysey, Jill Blake, Karen Hannsberry, Sabina Stent, Sergio Angelini and Walter Chaw, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits.

The Web has Ella Raines, Edmond O'Brien, William Bendix, Vincent Price... in a tight frame-plotted thriller with wonderful dark cinema characterizations from the bold ambitious everyman, the independent wily female, the studious cop and the nefarious criminal mastermind. I also really enjoyed George Sherman's Noir Larceny. It surely must have influenced David Mamet's House of Games - especially the portrayal of lead character incorporating seduction into the long confidence game. There is deception, sexual-tension, suave John Payne, bad-girl Tory ('Torrid Tory' in the book) played by Shelley Winters, the war-widow 'mark' (Joan Caulfield), mastermind criminal Silky Randall (Dan Duryea), support from familiar Percy Helton, sexy Dorothy Hart and flirty Patricia Alphin... Norman Foster's Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is absolutely wonderful - a quick, simple dark-cinema gem with two hypnotic stars. The film has enough Noir-conventions to make it on our Essential list - murder, black-mail, jail-time etc., and it's beautifully shot by the great Russell Metty. A dynamic 'on-the-run' suspense-driven picture weaving through alleyways of the London waterfront. Abandoned is an oddball that skirts the Noir cycle and gets enough votes for inclusion. It has Dennis O'Keefe, Raymond Burr plus a bit of Mike Mazurki... so it certainly can evoke Noir with those dudes. Robert Siodmak's Deported is a decent film taking the reverse angle of the 'immigrant makes good' premise with the Italian-born gangster getting deported - his experiences and moral shifts. Shot, almost entirely, in Italy, it has minor travelogue aspects (Tuscany.) I liked Marina Berti and Chandler - Robert Siodmak is always a pleasure. Naked Alibi is a fabulous Noir - Grahame is at her most hypnotic, and the wonderful a/v HD presentation. Indicator's Universal Noir #1 Blu-ray set will surely gets some votes in our year-end poll. Absolutely worthy of a double dip even if owning the Kino's as there are new commentaries and a host of further supplements - plus the 120-page booklet. A must-own for Noir fans.

Gary Tooze