Though based on a true story, the principal inspiration for The Night Holds Terror was the success of Paramount's The Desperate Hours. Jack Kelly plays well-to-do businessman Gene Courtier, who makes the mistake of his life when he picks up hitchhiker Victor Gosset (Vincent Edwards). Soon afterward, Gosset and his criminal confederates (John Cassavetes, David Cross) are holding Courtier and his family hostage. Upon learning that Courtier has a lot of money in the bank, the trio kidnap the businessman and hold him for ransom. Working in concert with Courtier's wife Doris (Hildy Parks), the FBI manages to keep apace with the criminals via the telephone system. Only occasionally resorting to family-held-captive cliches, The Night Holds Terror is an effective suspenser. Leading lady Hildy Parks later became an influential TV and theatrical producer

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

• No extras - shares the disc with 5 Against the House and New Orleans Uncensored

Chapters 12

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

ADDITION: Kit Parker Blu-ray (August 2019): Kit Parker Films in association with Millcreek Entertainment have released the first (of three announced) of these 3 Blu-ray / 9 Film Noir features Boxsets. Volume Two is 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)

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."

So, also 3 films on a dual-layered Blu-ray, with a decent bitrate in 1080P and this is in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This has the same speckles as the Sony DVD - but detail advances notably and the texture is lush and appealing. The differences are visible even in our reduced captures.

The audio is 24-bit lossless (DTS-HD Master mono) exporting the score by French composer Lucien Cailliet which has a deeper edge via the lossless. The Blu-ray offers optional English subtitles (see sample) on this Region FREE Blu-ray package.

No supplements - but the disc is shared with 5 Against the House and New Orleans Uncensored. 'Dark Cinema' aficionados get to revisit these crime-dramas in a far more film-like presentation with optional subtitles. This is 50's hostage thriller with the great cast including Jack Kelly, Vince Edwards and John Cassavetes. It's a very appropriate addition to this Blu-ray set.