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(aka "Fearful Decision" )
directed by Alex Segal
USA 1956
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[...] Self-made millionaire industrialist David Stannard (Glenn Ford) is co-owner with his older brother Al (Ainslie Pryor) of the successful Stannard Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturing firm, which sells as a public stock, and has a happy suburban home life with his ideal homemaker wife Edith (Donna Reed) and his energetic bright 8-year-old son Andy (Bobby Clark). One afternoon Andy fails to come home from his private school and the parents soon learn he was kidnapped from the school under the ruse that a nurse picked him up to take him to his private physician's office. The Chief of Police (Robert Keith) taps the house phones, but his men are not fast enough to nab the kidnapper's call for ransom of a half a million dollars. At first the beleaguered dad is ready to pay, but cynical experienced reporter Charlie Telfer (Leslie Nielsen) informs David the odds are the same of getting back the kid whether you pay or not. [ ...]Though it can't get itself untangled from being a teleplay, it still works out well because it delivers the dramatics, it's well-acted, it's intelligently presented and is always riveting. Excerpt of review from Dennis Schwartz for Ozus' World Movie Reviews located HERE |
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Theatrical Release: 24 January 1956 (New York City, NY)
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DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution |
Warner Home Video Region 0 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 1:41:54 | |
| Video |
1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Dolby Digital Mono (English) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
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Release
Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 23 |
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| Comments |
Ransom! is a kidnapping drama with excellent performances by Glenn Ford, Donna Reed and Juano Hernandez. It's somewhat dated today, especially compared to 1996 Ron Howard remake with Mel Gibson or similarly themed Akira Kurosawa masterpiece High and Low that would make a great double feature with this film. Yet, the gripping drama of the film holds our interest and Glenn Ford gives a heartbreaking performance as a parent of a kidnapped child and was robbed that year by not getting an Academy Awards nomination. The story stays only on the parents and the decisions they make and we never get a glimpse of the kidnappers. This is the first official release of the film on DVD - there was a public domain double feature in UK from Elstree Hill, but our recommendation is to avoid that release at any cost. Warner's made-on-demand disc features a new progressive transfer in theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66 with strong contrast and healthy grain texture. There is very little damage on the print if any. The mono soundtrack is decent, with no distortions and without any synchronization issues that marred public domain release. A 3-minute letterboxed trailer is presented as an extra and the film gets 23 chapters. A very fine release from Warner Archive that was worth the wait and gets our recommendation. |
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