NOTE: The Man in Grey is compared to the Blu-ray HERE

With Criterion lowering the Eclipse output to only 2 sets a year, it's time to revisit some of the collections we somehow missed reviewing that should get highest recommendations. One such release from 2012 is Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures. while they omitted one costume melodrama that should have been included (Fanny by Gaslight), the three films included are wicked fun with some noir touches - The Man in Grey, Madonna of the Seven Moons and The Wicked Lady. In fact, three of the four films mentioned in the review are listed in highly recommended book by Michael F. Keaney British Film Noir Guide. The Wicked Lady was not included although you are unlikely to meet more despicable character in any of these films as the title character played wonderfully by Margaret Lockwood.

The Criterion presents these films on three dual-layered discs, each film getting its own disc in a transparent slimcase with a page of informative liner notes by Michael Koresky. The progressive transfers have little damage (the worst offender can be seen in the last capture for Madonna of the Seven Moons), but overall they are minimal and never interfere with the presentation. The contrast is good. The mono audio, while not perfect, is adequate and all films include English subtitles. This is a highly recommended release for any fan of British noir and, particular, of so-called "Gaslight noir".

  - Gregory Meshman