Chase a Crooked Shadow

Directed by Michael Anderson
UK 1958

Chase a Crooked Shadow is a glossy, well-directed drama that has its fair quota of absurdities which occasionally strain credulity to the limit. Nevertheless, there are enough twists and artfully planned kicks to keep most audiences guessing.

The yarn concerns Anne Baxter as an heiress who becomes a frightened lady when Richard Todd arrives at her Costa Brava hangout and claims to be her brother, who Baxter knows was killed in a car crash in South Africa a year before. What is the purpose of his visit? Is he a crook? A fortune hunter? Todd builds up so much evidence that even the local chief cop (Herbert Lom) is convinced that his story is true. There begins a nightmare of terror as she believes the plot is to drive her insane and then murder her. Final twist is a sock climax.

Excerpt from Variety located HERE

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Theatrical Release: January 21st, 1958

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DVD Review: Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:24:03
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.87 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 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: Optimum Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: November 5th, 2007 Keep Case Chapters: 10

Comments:

Neat little Noirish thriller with some tight curves. One of my best friends told me about this over 6 years ago. He had fond memories of enjoying it... way back when. I scoured the web for it but came up empty. I'm happy to have this now (finally) and grateful for his recommendation. He shares my tastes.

Optimum's single-layered bare-bones release is progressive and the image is acceptable if not stellar. Perhaps a touch of brightness boosting but not fatal. No subtitles and the English audio quivers a bit. I wasn't expecting much more to be honest. It is coded for region 2 in the PAL standard.

No extras but the film definitely has appeal. Of course, it's not Hitch but I still think it has merit and is certainly worth watching for those keen on the style and era.

Gary W. Tooze

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