Crime Does Not Pay - The Complete Shorts Collection

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

directed by various directors
USA 1935

Here it is – the original. MGM’s Crime Does Not Pay, oft imitated, never matched, an intimate look at mankind’s most seductive and destructive past time – CRIME. Crafted as only MGM can. Includes: Buried Loot, Alibi Racket, Desert Death, A Thrill for Thelma, Hit and Run Driver, The Perfect Setup, Fool Proof, Public Pays, Torture Money, It May Happen to You, Soak the Poor, Give Till It Hurts, Behind the Criminal, What Price Safety, Miracle Money, Come Across, A Criminal is Born, They're Always Caught, Think It Over, The Wrong Way Out, Money to Loan, While America Sleeps, Help Wanted, Think First, Drunk Driving, Pound Foolish, Know Your Money, Jackpot, Women in Hiding, Buyer Beware, Soak the Old, You, the People, Respect the Law, Forbidden Passage, Coffins on Wheels, Sucker List, Don't Talk, For the Common Defense, Keep 'Em Sailing, Plan for Destruction, Patrolling the Ether, Easy Life, Dark Shadows, The Fall Guy, The Last Installment, Phantoms, Inc., A Gun in His Hand, Purity Squad, The Luckiest Guy in the World, EC: Eyes of the Navy.

Posters

Release Dates - 1935 - 1947

DVD Reviews

DVD Review:

Warner Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for all the Screen Caps!

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	Disc 1 - 2:55:36 bitrate 5.93 Disc 2 - 3:03:54 bitrate 5.64 Disc 3 - 3:04:18 bitrate 5.63 Disc 4 - 3:00:30 bitrate 5.73 Disc 5 - 3:05:12 bitrate 5.54 Disc 6 - 1:36:51 bitrate 5.83
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 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: Warner Home Video
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono (English)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: DVD Release Date: July 6th, 2012 6 discs in a Keep Case

Comments

Warner Home Video has teased us with Crime Does Not Pay shorts, first by including a short with various MGM films as an extra feature - total of 6 films were released that way. Also, five shorts were released on a bonus DVD in Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 3 (the very last short in the series, The Luckiest Guy in the World, was released twice - included as an extra on Ziegfeld Follies DVD and in the above-mentioned set). Some of the names you will see directing these shorts will graduate to full-length film noirs - Jacques Tourneur (), Fred Zinnemann (Act of Violence), Joseph Losey (The Prowler), Edward L. Cahn (Destination Murder ), Felix E. Feist (Tomorrow is Another Day - ), Roy Rowland (Killer McCoy), Joseph M. Newman (711 Ocean Drive), David Miller (Sudden Fear). Some of the familiar faces you will see - Robert Taylor, J. Carrol Naish, Dwight Frye, Tom Neal, Laraine Day, Marsha Hunt, Hugh Beaumont, Gloria Holden, Van Johnson, Cameron Mitchell, Barry Nelson, and, of cause, "what's his name I know I've seen that guy before".

After a long wait, all 49 shorts are available from Warner Archive Collection in this 6-disc set. The 50th short, Eye of the Navy, available previously as an extra with Pride and Prejudice, was not a Crime Does Not Pay short, but was released by MGM to theaters as part of the series and is included here as a bonus short. 50 shorts are divided between 5 dual-layered and 1 single-layered discs housed in a keep case. To sweeten the deal, all six discs are commercially pressed DVDs, available for a limited time. Transfer quality varies from a short to a short. Some shorts are rough looking - for example, the very first title, Buried Loot; also, see chroma capture for Women in Hiding or badly contrasted capture for Phantoms, Inc. But most of the time, progressive transfers are very fine quality, with good contrast and very little damage on the prints. We provided sample captures of various quality for 21 shorts.

Mono audio depends on the materials utilized for the transfers, but overall the quality is very fine, with no drop-outs and very little audible damage. The lone extra is the short mentioned above. Most films are under 20 minutes and get 2 chapters with a second chapter starting at a 10-minute mark. There are nine shorts on each dual-layered disc and the last disc gets 4 + bonus. With all things considered, this is easily one of the best releases from Warner Archive Collection and gets enthusiastic recommendation for any film noir fan.

- Gregory Meshman

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