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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Discrétion assurée" )

 

directed by Harold F. Kress
USA 1951

A get-rich-quick scheme leads to a killing in this hard-hitting noir starring Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy and Jean Hagen. When Ellen Sayburn (Dahl) trades him in for a husband who can keep her in mink, embittered insurance company attorney Steve Keiver (Sullivan) cooks up a racket that soon has him rolling in dough. Offering criminals a payoff in return for stolen goods, Keiver’s deal saves on claims and earns him large commissions. Things go awry, however, when Ellen’s decision to cut herself in ends in a double-cross, and Keiver finds himself a wanted man on the run for murder. A prime example of M-G-M’s tough post-war fare of the late ’40s and early ’50s, No Questions Asked was written by Sidney Sheldon, an Oscar-winning* screenwriter who would later create TV’s I Dream of Jeannie and pen a series of blockbuster novels including “The Other Side of Midnight” and “Bloodline.

***

Barry Sullivan plays an eager young lawyer who is willing to sacrifice any and all scruples on the upward climb. He is put on retainer by a gangster, and soon is ankle-deep in an insurance racket. When he wants to pull out, Sullivan is framed for a gangland murder. No Questions Asked was in line with the harsher, less frothy fare produced by MGM during the Dore Schary regime. The screenplay was by former radio gagman Sidney Sheldon, who would later carve a literary niche for himself in the best-seller market of the 1970s.

Posters

Television Premiere: June 15th, 1951

 

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC

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Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Runtime 1:20:30
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.74 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

Audio Dolby Digital 1.0 (English)
Subtitles None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Trailer (2:44)

DVD Release Date: June 21st, 2016
Keep Case

Chapters 10

 

 

 

Comments

Barry Sullivan (Loophole, The Gangster, The Purple Gang) is no stranger to Noir, neither is Arlene Dahl (She Played With Fire, Scene of the Crime.) No Questions Asked even has Jean Hagen (Side Street.) Wonderful dark cinema themes including unrequited love - the pursuit of immoral money. Classic and a Noir beauty.

It's standard single-layered MoD (Made-on-Demand) disc but progressive in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and looks very good. This is labeled under the Warner's "Archive Collection" marquee and the image is very impressive but flat looking clean with strong detail for the SD format. Above average.

The score by Leith Stevens (The Wild One, I Married a Monster From Outer Space, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Garment Jungle) is supportive but lacks crispness in the lossy Dolby. There are no subtitle and only a trailer as an extra on the region free DVD disc. 

Noir aficionados will adore the conventions in No Questions Asked. Desire and dirty money. Sweet. Strongly recommended to the Dark cinema crowd. In fact it's essential.

  - Gary Tooze

 



 

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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

 




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