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Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.95 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.

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
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DVD Release Date: July 22nd, 2014
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Chapters 18

Monogram Pictures made its mark in Hollywood history with many crime drama quickies, often with noir overtones, that stood out from the usual poverty row bunch. Jean-Luc Godard singled out Monogram by dedicating to them his first feature, À bout de souffle. "I did it to prove that you can do pictures that are both interesting and cheap." - he said in 1964 and the films coming from Monogram in the late 1940's-early 1950's can be just that. Just look at Dillinger (1945), produced by King Brothers that got Monogram their only Oscar nomination for Philip Yordan's script. Or exciting Decoy (1946) with unforgettable Jean Gillie as a femme fatale. The success of Belita vehicle Suspense (1946) () gave an idea to Monogram to create their own B+ unit for superior fare, Allied Artists Productions. The two units co-existed until 1953 when Allied Artists ceased making movies under Monogram brand name. Luckily for us, the later Monogram titles and most of Allied Artists catalogue are now in the hands of Time Warner library and many films are being restored and released for the first time on home video as part of Warner Archive Collection.

Incident is rarely seen noir that starts like a Cornell Woolrich story - our protagonist played by Warren Douglas is mistaken for someone else and knocked down in a dark alley. What follows is an unusual story with Jane Frazee being a standout as a love interest and a sleuth in her own right. Anthony Caruso is a menacing gangster and Robert Osterloh is the ruthless killer - both men have supporting roles in a number of film noirs - you know their faces, not their names. Joyce Compton and Harry Lauter play a married couple that are friends with Warren Douglas and their constant banter acts as comic relief.

Incident is one of those titles that has been impossible to find in good quality... until now. The restored print can be soft at times, with occasional marks, but the film looks good and is miles above with what was circulating previously in noir fan circles. The mono audio is fine and there are no extras on the disc. Considering there are no existing original elements for most of Monogram films and comparing them to the output from other poverty row studios languishing in public domain or owned by unreliable small companies, Warner Home Video should be commended on these welcome releases that are highly recommended to all fans of such B pictures.

  - Gregory Meshman

CLICK to order from:

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC