Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance is essential to our survival.
What do Patrons receive, that you don't?
1)
Our
weekly
Newsletter
and
Calendar Updates
sent to your Inbox!
Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change! / a coffee!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. I am indebted to your generosity. |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'United States Mail')
Directed by
Lewis Allen
USA
1951
The 2024 Kino Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE
Postal Inspector Al Goddard (Alan Ladd) is assigned to investigate the murder of a fellow officer. The only witness to the crime is Sister Augustine (Phyllis Calvert), who identifies the photograph of one of the assailants. This leads Goddard to a seedy hotel where he learns that the assailant is a member of a gang headed by Earl Boettiger (Paul Stewart), and he soon discovers that the gang is planning a million dollar mail robbery. This classic film noir also features the stars of Dragnet, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, as Stewart’s Henchmen. This was Alan Ladd’s final Film Noir and was directed by Lewis Allen (The Uninvited). |
Posters
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Theatrical Release: May 9th, 1951
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Olive Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
1)
Olive Film
- Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2)
Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
|
Box Cover |
|
Coming out individually December 2014: |
Distribution | Olive Films - Region 1 - NTSC | Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:38:48 | 1:30:38.808 |
Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.45 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1080P Single-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 15,143,175,779 bytesFeature: 15,020,341,248 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
||
Bitrate: |
|
|
Bitrate: Blu-ray |
|
|
Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | DTS-HD Master Audio English 929 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 929 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit) |
Subtitles | None | None |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • none |
Release Information: Disc Size: 15,143,175,779 bytesFeature: 15,020,341,248 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 20.00 Mbps Edition Details: • none |
Comments: |
The 2024 Kino Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
ADDITION:
Olive Films - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray -
November 12':
The improvement in the
HD video is evident in the screen captures - it is noticeable by the comparisons
- if not always overwhelming in superiority. Technically
these are on the modest side with a respectable 20 Mbps
bitrate. There has been no further restoration or
digital tinkering from the SD - but grain is more
prevalent and contrast certainly improves showing more
detail in the frame. Typical of a straight
Blu-ray
transfer - the damage marks - in this case only speckles
- become slightly more visible in hi-def. These all look
quite good in my opinion - better than I anticipated. Details tighten,
visuals brighten, and artifacts morph into film-grain.
It was a pleasure to revisit these films with the
improved resolution. It felt much closer to seeing them
as they were originally - in the theatre.
Audio is now lossless in mono, there are no subtitles
and no extras. Noir Fans should be pleased to own this
Blu-ray Boxset -
especially if they don't own the previous DVDs. ***
ON THE DVD: Summer 2010 has been an exceptional time for Noir on 'pressed' DVD. Aside from the plentiful Warner Archive we've gone through a long drought of consistent and important Noir titles being available. Many essentials from the 'dark cinema' style have been recently released including VCI's New York Confidential followed by the 5 film Sony The Film Noir Collection: Volume 2 being released the week prior to Film Noir Classics Collection 5 and it's not over! - now Olive Films offer this; Lewis Allen's Appointment With Danger, also William Dieterle's Dark City and Rudolph Mate's Union Station. Noir devotees' diligent patience has been amply rewarded.
There are pluses and minuses to these new Olive Films Noir DVDs. Firstly, on the VERY positive - they look very strong with high bitrates on dual-layered discs! The image quality is relatively clean (a few speckles - very light surface scratches) - contrast is better than I anticipated and there is even some grain peeking through. Audio is original mono (something Criterion seem the only production company adhering to) - so basically the A/V transfer is excellent. On the negative these are totally bare-bones offerings with no supplements at all - not even a trailer. There are also no subtitles offered. In an ideal world we'd have some Muller et all commentaries etc. but this seems to be a sign of the times (see the Film Noir Classics Collection 5). In all honesty I am thankful to see these films in the first place - so I won't be complaining too vociferously. I suppose the lack of extra material is a result of profit vs. cost -and I'd rather have the films available in bare-bones editions than not at all. It was great to see Ladd's last noir - looking and sounding so adept. It is an intriguing crime-drama expose and I am thrilled to finally own it on DVD! Recommended! |
Menus
1)
Olive Film
- Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2)
Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Recommend: |
DVDBeaver recommends all 7 Noir Collections from Warner and Sony (43 films and counting!):
|
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1)
Olive Film
- Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2)
Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
|
![]() |
1)
Olive Film
- Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2)
Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |