Down Three Dark Streets

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

(aka "Down 3 Dark Streets " )

directed by Arnold Laven
USA 1954

When FBI agent Zack Stewart is gunned down in the line of duty, supervisor John "Rip" Ripley (Broderick Crawford) takes over his caseload. Believing that one of Stewart's three active investigations will reveal the identity of his killer, agent Ripley's assignment takes him "Down Three Dark Streets": chasing down fugitive criminal Joe Walpo (Joe Bassett), breaking down small-time hood Vince Angelino (Gene Reynolds), and hunting down an unknown extortionist threatening helpless Kate Martell (Ruth Roman)--ending with a thrilling climax set against the backdrop of the iconic "Hollywood" sign!

With a supporting cast that includes Martha Hyer, Casey Adams, Jay Adler, Claude Akins and William Johnstone, Down Three Dark Streets was directed by Arnold Laven (Without Warning!) and produced by Jules V. Levy and Arthur Gardner. The trio would enjoy much success in television as the creative team behind such hits as The Rifleman and The Big Valley.

Oscar-winning cinematographer Joseph F. Biroc (The Towering Inferno) adds the right noir flavor to the tight screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld and The Gordons. Gordon and Mildred Gordon (who wrote the book on which Streets is based, Case File: FBI) would later supply screenplays for such classic films as Experiment in Terror and That Darn Cat!

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Broderick Crawford as Agent Ripley takes over three cases for a murdered FBI man in "Down Three Dark Streets," a 1954 film also starring Ruth Roman, Marisa Pavan, Martha Hyer, and Max Showalter.

This is one of those police or FBI films done in semi-documentary style that abounded in the '50s. Each woman is involved in a crime; Roman is being threatened with her daughter's life if she doesn't turn over her late husband's insurance money; Pavan is the blind wife of a man jailed for being involved in car theft, but he won't reveal any information about the ring; and Hyer is the girlfriend of a wanted killer who is on the run. When two murders occur, Ripley is convinced they're tied to one of the cases, but which one? Great '50s LA sites are a highlight of this film, along with a suspenseful ending.

Excerpt of review from blanche-2 at imdb.com located HERE

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Theatrical Release: 2 September 1954 (USA)

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Comparison:

MGM (MGM Limited Edition Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Classicflix - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the DVD Review!

1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Classicflix - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Cover
Distribution	MGM Region 0 - NTSC	ClassicFlix Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:25:27	1:25:23,450
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.49 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 21,495,534,418 bytes Feature Size: 21,395,668,992 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray 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 1561 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1561 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: June 27th, 2011 Keep Case Chapters 9	Release Information: Studio: ClassicFlix Disc Size: 21,495,534,418 bytes Feature Size: 21,395,668,992 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • None Blu-ray Release Date: May 22nd, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 27

Comments

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

ADDITION: Classicflix Region 'A' - Blu-ray - April 2018: This is another vintage crime-thriller from ClassicFlix - on Blu-ray - like their The Killer is Loose, Crime of Passion, Another Man's Poison, You Only Live Once, T-Men... 'Dark Cinema' fans are very pleased despite this not reaching the lofty Noir branding!

ClassicFlix transfer has a high bitrate and this 1080P transfer is in the 1.75:1 aspect ratio - removing the superfluous headspace if the 1.33:1 DVD and adding more information on the side edges. It is far brighter than the SD transfer and has fewer marks, far more detail and superior contrast. It's quite s step up although retaining the heaviness and film-like look of film. I was pleasantly surprised with the HD presentation.

A DTS-HD Master (24-bit) audio 2.0 channel mono is utilized. There are minor effects but we get a compelling score by Paul Sawtell (S.O.S. Tidal Wave, Another Man's Poison, Silver City, The Fly, Denver and Rio Grande) that supports the film well in the lossless. There are optional English subtitles (see sample below) on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

No extras at all - a true bare-bones disc but the price reflects that.

This is another appealing ClassicFlix Blu-ray. Down Three Dark Streets is a well-above average crime-thriller with excellent performances from Broderick Crawford, always sexy Ruth Roman, Kenneth Tobey, Claude Akins and many will recognize a young William Schallert... I thoroughly enjoyed my superior viewing on ClassicFlix Blu-ray - love the cover - absolutely recommended!

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ON THE DVD: Down Three Dark Streets is an unusual crime drama with three different investigations intertwined to find a cop killer. MGM released the film as part of their now defunct Limited Edition Collection of made-on-demand discs.

The progressive transfer is open-matte and per usual for MGM black-and-white films in this collection, there is a greenish hue on some monitors. The mono soundtrack is decent, but there are no extras provided on the disc.

- Gregory Meshman

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