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Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.13 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:
� None

DVD Release Date: October 13th, 2015
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Chapters 10

One of the true auteurs of film noir is Joseph H. Lewis and Cry of the Hunted is perhaps his least remembered addition to the dark cinema. Set and filmed around Louisiana bayou, it is the finest example of "swamp noir", also represented by such diverse films as Jean Renoir's Swamp Water, Louisiana Hussy, Lure of the Wilderness (1952), Lure of the Swamp (1957) and Bayou (1957); even Lewis' own Gun Crazy ends in the swamp.

Barry Sullivan (The Gangster, Cause for Alarm, Loophole, Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires) stars as a cop Lt. Tunner on a hot pursuit of a fugitive Jory, played by Vittorio Gassman (Bitter Rice, The Glass Wall, Big Deal on Madonna Street, Il Sorpasso) in his third English-language role. Polly Bergen (Cape Fear) and Mary Zavian (in her only credited role) are love interests for the detective and the fugitive, respectively, and William Conrad (Cry Danger, director of Brainstorm, Two on a Guillotine) provides great support as Tunner's partner, but this is by far Sullivan/Gassman show. Some critics see homosexual undertones in the relationship between the two men - from the filmmaker who gave us Fante and Mingo (played by Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman) in The Big Combo, this reading is not too far-fetched.

Except from rare TCM screenings and appearance at Noir City 7 Film Festival in 2009, Cry of the Hunted has been impossible to see in acceptable quality - until this made-on-demand DVD from Warner Archive in 2015. The progressive newly-mastered transfer looks especially well, with very little damage, very nice contrast and grain structure. The mono soundtrack is fine, but per usual standard for Warner Archive releases, there are no subtitles or captioning and this release does not have any extras. Still, the film itself and transfer quality make this single-layered disc an attractive and recommended release.

  - Gregory Meshman