Hammer Film Noir Volume 5 - Glass Tomb

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Description: VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films present "Hammer Film Noir Vol. 5" (1955) --- Perhaps the beauty of 'Film-Noir' is its lack of limitation, and its problematic nature of strict classification. Translated literally as "Black Cinema (or film)" and so defined by French critics post WW2 to describe the increasing trend of American crime dramas shot with murky, shadowy grays often with anti-hero protagonists. Plot devices of amnesia, recent ex-convict characters, flash-back (remembered) narratives, femme fatales, shared guilt, pathos, classic nemesis and occasional obtuse camera angles are only a few of the recognizable stylistic norms building the distinguishing keys of Film-Noir. Most often plots were derived from the hard-boiled pulp fiction novels of the era. More of a theme or mood than a 'genre' - the Noir appeal spawned many contemporary imitations - 'Tech-Noir (Blade Runner), Neo-Noir (Taxi Driver) etc.

(aka "The Glass Cage" )

directed by Montgomery Tully
UK 1955

First up we have "THE GLASS TOMB" (aka: Glass Cage) (1955) (59 min. B/W) --- Under Montgomery Tully (Director), Anthony Hinds (Producer), Richard Landau (Screenwriter), A.E. Martin (Book Author "The Outsiders"), Walter Harvey (Cinematographer), Leonard Salzedo (Composer (Music Score) ------ the cast includes John Ireland (Pel Pelham), Honor Blackman (Jenny Pelham), Geoffrey Keen (Harry Stanton), Eric Pohlmann (Sapolio), Sid James (Tony Lewis (as Sidney James), Liam Redmond (Lindley), Sydney Tafler (Rorke (as Sidney Tafler), Valerie Vernon (Bella), Nora Gordon (Marie Sapolio), Sam Kydd (George), Ferdy Mayne (Bertie), Tonia Bern (Rena Maroni), Arthur Howard (Rutland ), Stan Little (Mickelwitz) ------ our story has "The Starving Man:" with the longest fast undertaken by Sapolio who will go food less for 70 days ... can he do it, or will he be found dead inside his glass cage ... several murders as the police investigate and our hero John Ireland side steps a poisoning and kidnapping ... the lovely Honor Blackman appears in the midst of drama and intrigue within the carnival world ... discover whose behind all of this and why.

Theatrical Release: 15 April 1955 (USA) / 29 August 1955 (UK)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: VCI - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	VCI Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	0:59:08
Video	1.76:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.70 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: VCI Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.76:1 Edition Details: • Bios for John Ireland, Dane Clark, and Montgomery Tully • Trailers for Race for Life, Bad Blonde, Deadly Game, FBI Girl, Man Bait • Commentary by Richard M. Roberts • Photo Gallery DVD Release Date: December 26, 2006 Keepcase Chapters 12

Comments

Overall, a very good quality - an anamorphic transfer. There's some damage on the print, especially in the first reel, but overall above average non-progressive transfer.

- Gregory Meshman

DVD Menus

Screen Captures

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

The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir

by Foster Hirsch

Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City

by Nicholas Christopher

Film: The Critics' Choice
by Geoff Andrew

Shades of Noir: A Reader
by Joan Copjec

The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir
by Eddie Muller


The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir: Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa	Film Noir by Alain Silver	Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney	Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch

Check out more in "The Library"

(aka "Five Days" )

directed by Montgomery Tully
UK 1954

Second on the double bill is "PAID TO KILL" (aka: Five Days) (1954) (71 min. B/W) --- Under Montgomery Tully (Director), Anthony Hinds (Producer), Paul Tabori (Screenwriter), Jimmy W. Harvey (Cinematographer), Ivor Slaney (Composer (Music Score), James Needs (Editor), J. Elder Wills (Art Director) ------ the cast includes Dane Clark (James Nevill), Paul Carpenter (Paul Kirby), Thea Gregory (Andrea Nevill), Cecile Chevreau (Joan), Anthony Forwood (Glanville), Howard Marion-Crawford (McGowan), Avis Scott (Eileen), Peter Gawthorne (Bowman), Leslie Wright (Hunter), Hugo Schuster (Professor), Arthur Young Hyson), Martin Lawrence (Masseur), Ross Hutchinson (Ingham), Arnold Diamond (Perkins), Charles Hawtrey (Bill), Geoffrey Sumner (Chapter) ------ our story is a thriller to end all thrillers, when Dane Clark hires his best friend to kill him for the insurance money ... why you ask, so his wife can be provided for as his business has gone down the tubes ... is the wife on the up and up, or is she behind an alternative plot to kill her husband ... another first timer on DVD, has the entire Hammer Studio lot jumping for joy as this is one is the best released from this UK organization ... and oh by the way, Dane Clark has changed his mind and no longer wants to die, but can he stop whoever is trying to end his life ... you're in for the surprise ending that you've been waiting for ------ there's a great deal of entertainment here for all the film noir fans out there --- all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

Theatrical Release: 25 June 1954 (USA)