Shadow on the Window Bu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Missing Witness" )

directed by William Asher
USA 1957

Musical-comedy legend Betty Garrett (My Sister Eileen) has a rare dramatic role in this incredibly tense thriller. Lisa Atlas (Garrett) and her seven-year-old son Petey (a pre-Beaver Jerry Mathers) witness the murder of her boss during a botched armed robbery by psycho Jess Reber (John Barrymore, Jr., While The City Sleeps) and his two pals. Stunned by what he saw, Petey wanders off, leaving the thugs holding his mom hostage. But what they don’t know is that her husband is a police detective (Phil Carey, TV’s Laredo) and will stop at nothing to get her back safely. Corey Allen and Paul Picerni co-star in this seldom-seen gem, skillfully directed by William Asher (Bewitched).

***

Starring Jerry Mathers as the shell-shocked child who witnesses an assault on his mother, Shadow On the Window is a decent 'B' film with a solid cast and a decent script. Jerry's dad, a police officer, is played stoically by Phil Carey and mom is Betty Garrett, decent as a woman under constant threat from three stereotypical teen bad boys. One of the boys is played by Corey Allen, who revisited the role in the similarly themed Key Witness (1960), and the others are John Drew Barrymore--apparently channeling the spirit of an evil Dobie Gillis--and lovable lunk Gerald Sarracini.

Excerpt of review from John Seal for imdb located HER

Posters

Theatrical Release: 6 March 1957 (USA)

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Comparison:

Sony Pictures (Screen Classics by Request) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kit Parker Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover	Also available in the 5 disc Sony Film Noir Collection Volume 1 which contains (already reviewed) *The Case Against Brooklyn, Criminal Lawyer, The Crooked Web, Escape from San Quentin* and The Shadow on the Window	Shadow on the Window is part of the Noir Archive Volume 3: 1957-1960 9-film Collection Bu-ray
Distribution	Sony Pictures (Screen Classics by Request) Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC	Kit Parker Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:13:12	1:13:22.439
Video	1.82:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.32 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,871,061,895 bytes Feature: 12,138,577,920 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono (English)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 897 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 897 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony Pictures Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.82:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer (2:03) DVD Release Date: September 21st, 2010 Keep Case Chapters 8	Release Information: Studio: Kit Parker Films 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,871,061,895 bytes Feature: 12,138,577,920 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Shares disc with The Long Hail and Pickup Alley Blu-ray Release Date: September 17th, 2019 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kit Parker Films Blu-ray (September 2019):

Kit Parker Films in association with Millcreek Entertainment have released the last (of three announced) of these 3 Blu-ray / 9 Film Noir features Boxsets. Volume Three is has:

The Crimson Kimono (1959), The Lineup (1958), Man on a String (1960), The Shadow in the Window (1956), The Long Haul (1957), Pickup Alley (1957), The Case Against Brooklyn (1958),The Tijuana Story (1957) and She Played with Fire (1957)

Volume One was described as "Stalwart noir directors and casts highlight these hard to find features Address Unknown (1944) dir/William Cameron Menzies, cast/Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, Peter Van Eyck; Escape in the Fog (1945) dir/Oscar (Budd) Boetticher cast/Otto Kruger, Nina Foch, William Wright; The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947) dir/Henry Levin cast/Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas, Sid Caesar; The Black Book (aka The Reign of Terror) (1949) dir/Anthony Mann cast/Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, Arlene Dahl; Johnny Allegro (1949) dir/Ted Tetzlaff cast/George Raft, Nina Foch, George Macready; 711 Ocean Drive (1950) dir/Joseph M. Newman cast/Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru, Otto Kruger; The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) dir/Earl McEvoy cast/Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop; Assignment Paris (1952) dir/Earl McEvoy cast/Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, George Sanders; The Miami Story (1954) dir/Fred F. Sears cast/Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler, John Baer - all in high definition presented in their original aspect ratios."

Volume Two has:

Bait (1954), The Crooked Web (1955), The Night Holds Terror (1955), Footsteps in the Fog (1955), Cell 2455, Death Row (1955), 5 Against the House (1955), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), Spin a Dark Web (1955), and Rumble on the Docks (1956)

So again, 3 films on a dual-layered Blu-ray, with a decent bitrate (approaching 5X that of the SD DVD) in 1080P and this is in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Shadow on the Window is clean, nicely layered contrast and plenty of depth - looks excellent - reflective of the fine source. The differences will be notable dependant on how large your system is, but this 1080P exports nice grain and looks excellent.

The audio is 24-bit lossless (DTS-HD Master 1.0 channel mono) exporting the score from George Duning (Assignment Paris, The Guilt of Janet Ames, The Man From Laramie, 3:10 to Yuma, Jeanne Eagels, The Shadow on the Window, Tight Spot, etc.) which sounds richer and deeper than on the MoD DVD. The Blu-ray offers optional English subtitles (see sample) on this Region FREE Blu-ray package.

No supplements - but the disc is shared with The Long Hail and Pickup Alley. Crime-Drama fans get to revisit these delights in a far more film-like presentation with optional subtitles. The Shadow in the Window has home-invasion (The Desperate Hours) + child witness (The Window) overtones and effective performances by Betty Garrett, Jerry Mathers, Philip Carey, Corey Allen etc.. The negative is the lack of extras but the value with these packages is the number of, usually modest, 50's crime dramas (many with Noir cycle acceptability). I re-watch frequently.

Gary Tooze

***

ON THE DVD: The Shadow on the Window is a decent hostage thriller from Columbia Pictures that got a release on made-on-demand disc in the first wave of Columbia's "Screen Classics by Request" line. Betty Garrett is excellent as a woman in peril and John Drew Barrymore is menacing enough as one of the hoods holding the lady hostage. Most notable in the cast is Jerry Mathers, before he became 'Beaver' Cleaver in Leave It to Beaver.

The picture quality is, like most of Sony's MOD releases, is excellent. There is very little damage and the progressive, anamorphic image has a good contrast and deep blacks. The mono audio is likewise, very good. The disc includes a restored trailer, anamorphic and in very good condition. A top notch release for a minor B thriller.

-Gregory Meshman