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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2023): Kino have transferred three more dark cinema favorites as part of their Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XII Blu-ray set. The 3 films are Undertow (1949), Outside the Wall (1950) and Hold Back Tomorrow (1955.) They are cited as being from "Brand New 2K Masters".

The films are all single-layered Blu-ray discs with high bitrates. They look very pleasing in 1080P with some heavy scratch and speckle sequences in Outside the Wall (see samples below.) Undertow is a notable bump above the 2010 DVD both tightening the image and showing more information in the frame. The contrast layering is adept and there is grain throughout all three - no digitization to report.

NOTE: We have added 132 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. The first two noirs both have violence (gunfire, fights, pre-torture etc.) with very little in Hold Back Tomorrow. Undertow has stock music by the likes of Miklós Rózsa (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity), Hans J. Salter (The Web, 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), Frank Skinner (The Sleeping City, The World in His Arms, Arabian Nights, The Lady Gambles, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City) and others. Outside the Wall utilizes stock music by composers like Daniele Amfitheatrof (Act of Murder, The Last Hunt, I'll Be Seeing You, Edge of Eternity, The Lost Moment, The Desperate Hours, Human Desire, Letter From An Unknown Woman), Leith Stevens (Larceny, 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) and others. So some chords may be familiar by some noir devotes. Hold Back Tomorrow has a score by Sidney Cutner (The Face Behind the Mask, His Girl Friday, Those Redheads From Seattle, and part of the music department for Gun Crazy and Rear Window.) The films opens with a gal singing a theme song of the title but I didn't see a credit. The music is generally dramatic at times and supports the film's suspense well in the lossless. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-rays.

The Kino Blu-ray package offers two new commentaries. Undertow has a commentary by Scott Brady's son Tim Tierney and Professor/Film Scholar Jason A. Ney. Tim introduces himself as also being one of the nephews of actor Lawrence Tierney. Jason talks about the locations (streets, casinos, hotels etc.) and Tim gives some interesting background history on his father. A well-prepared commentary. Outside the Wall has a commentary by noir stalwart Alan K. Rode (author of Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy.) He discusses the location of Philadelphia - a rare city for 'dark cinema', the opening narration by Richard Basehart and plenty on the cast, crew etc. He recounts the interesting career and history of director / writer Crane Wilbur - a nephew of actor Tyrone Power, Sr., thereby making him a cousin of Tyrone Power. Wilbur was a prolific writer and director of over 60 films starting in the silent era finding more recognition as an actor in efforts like the iconic serial The Perils of Pauline. He had a lot of work partially set at prisons of which he is quite notable. There is only a trailer for Hold Back Tomorrow.

I found strong positives in all three of these noirs in Kino's The Dark Side of Cinema XII Blu-ray set. I really liked Outside the Wall where a noble, but streetwise ex-con (Richard Basehart) who isn't keen on the outside world (sniffing-out bar floozie played by Tracey Roberts - Edge of Hell) eventually developing a crush on a femme fatale nurse (Marilyn Maxwell - Rock-a-Bye Baby) before a sweet-and-wholesome caregiver (Dorothy Hart - The Naked City) brings him back. Keep your eyes peeled for Peggie Castle (I, the Jury) as a comely waitress, John Hoyt (When Worlds Collide) as the dying, repenting gangster, - yes, that's once-stooge Joe Besser as the diner cook and director Joseph Pevney (The Night of the Grizzly) in a small role. I found Hold Back Tomorrow quite compelling as a stage play with, essentially just two characters; a suicidal prostitute (Cleo Moore) and a soul-searching death row inmate (John Agar) sharing angst one night. This was the second film with Moore and Agar, who had appeared together in Hugo Haas' 1954's Bait - which I also quite enjoyed. Undertow has the story of a former Chicago mobster (Scott Brady) - now an ex-con recently released, who gets framed for murder while trying to go straight (investing in a lodge in Reno.) There is some crossover with the other films having Peggy Dow, Lawrence Tierney and Bruce Bennett starring in Joseph Pevney's Shakedown. Usually these boxsets are a crapshoot with one or maybe two winners but I liked all three here. Kino's The Dark Side of Cinema XII Blu-ray set is certainly recommended to Noiristas. That you if you read this far.

At the writing of this review - 44% OFF on Amazon.

Gary Tooze