Diplomatic Courier - Patricia Neal

Search DVDBeaver

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

directed by Henry Hathaway
USA 1952

Tyrone Power plays a diplomatic courier called out on a special assignment which seems fairly simple: pick up some documents from an agent and take them to Washington. But of course, in a film like this, things don't work out right the first time. The "drop" doesn't go according to plan, so Power has to improvise, surrounded by an increasing number of characters whose loyalties are questionable. A couple of femmes fatales, a cross-dressing night club entertainer, some MPs, and the obligatory little bald pawnshop owner all liven up the plot, with plenty of twists en route to the finale.

The influence of THE THIRD MAN is clear, with plenty of atmospheric European locations, and even a bit of zither music in a restaurant. Power is an engaging hero, and the two female leads (Neal and Neff) keep him guessing. Early appearances by Karl Malden, Charles Bronson, and Lee Marvin add interest for trivia buffs. Fans of Cold War espionage fiction will find DIPLOMATIC COURIER a great way to spend an evening.

Excerpt of review from LC Shackley at imdb.com located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 13 June 1952 (USA)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: 20th Century Fox (20th Century Fox Cinema Archives) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	20th Century Fox Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:37:30
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 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	Dolby Digital Mono (English)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: June 20, 2012 Keep Case Chapters 10

Comments

Diplomatic Courier is an espionage thriller with some Hitchcockian overtones, but unfortunately more of Torn Curtain than North by Northwest. Tyrone Power maked a good leading man and Hildegard Knef and Patricia Neal is nice pair of supporting ladies. Unfortunately, this made-on-demand release from 20th Century Fox is a miss. A progressive transfer on a single-layered disc suffers from excessive grain that is often very intrusive. There are some scratches and marks on the print, but these are not fatally poor on their own.

The mono soundtrack is decent and there are no extras. There is a region 2 release for this film in UK from Odeon HERE, but reports indicate the transfers are identical - although with PAL speedup. Unfortunately, we do not own it to compare.

- Gregory Meshman

DVD Menu