NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (June 2026): Imprint have transferred four films for their Essential Film Noir Six Blu-ray package. The films are, from 1954 Ring of Fear and Naked Alibi, Hell's Island from 1955, plus, lastly, Flame of the Islands (1956.) We reviewed the Paramount DVD from 2006 of Ring of Fear, HERE. We reviewed the Kino Blu-ray of Naked Alibi HERE and compared it to the Indicator Blu-ray HERE.

Each of the four films in this set are transferred in 1080P with very high bitrates. Ring of Fear (2.55:1) benefits from vibrant WarnerColor circus sequences, with bold hues and wide framing that are pleasing on Blu-ray. It advances quite a bit over the 20-year older SD. DoP Edwin B. DuPar (From the Earth to the Moon, Target Zero, The Eddie Cantor Story, The System, Springfield Rifle, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, I Was a Communist for the F.B.I.) on Ring of Fear effectively capture the spectacle and chaos of the Clyde Beatty Circus, from colorful big-top performances and animal acts to the shadowy noir-tinged tension of the sabotage plot. There is some stock footage used. Naked Alibi (1.85:1) looks almost exactly the same as the two previous Blu-rays. The film shines with Russell Metty's (Ivy, The Omega Man, Eye of the Cat, Madigan, The Appaloosa, Madame X, The War Lord, Midnight Lace, Spartacus, Imitation of Life (1959), Monster on the Campus, The Thing That Couldn't Die, A Time to Love and a Time to Die, Touch of Evil, The Female Animal, Written on the Wind, There's Always Tomorrow, All That Heaven Allows, Cult of the Cobra, Man Without a Star, Magnificent Obsession, Buccaneer's Girl, The Lady Gambles, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, All My Sons, Arch of Triumph, A Woman's Vengeance, Ride the Pink Horse, The Stranger, Bringing Up Baby,) masterful black-and-white cinematography - deep shadows, crisp contrasts, and pleasing natural grain that captures border-town grit and urban menace. Hell's Island (1955, 1.85:1), shot in VistaVision, offers rich, detailed color - deep maroons, vibrant blues, and textured fabrics - making its tropical setting feel lush and exotic. Cinematographer Lionel Lindon (Grand Prix, Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, The Manchurian Candidate, The Young Savages, The Black Scorpion, The Scarlet Hour, Conquest of Space, Secret of the Incas, Jivaro, Those Redheads from Seattle, Only the Valiant, Quicksand, Alias Nick Beal, Monsieur Beaucaire, O.S.S., The Blue Dahlia) on Hell's Island crafted polished, colorful imagery that lends a glossy, exotic sheen to the film's tropical settings and Pine-Thomas budget production, with rich hues and a stylish look that enhances its pulpy adventure-noir atmosphere despite occasional flat lighting on interior sets. Flame of the Islands (1956, 1.66:1) is mostly warm and grainy. Bud Thackery (No Man's Woman, Panther Girl of the Kongo, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe,) served as director of photography on Flame of the Islands, capturing the film's vibrant Trucolor palette with warm, sun-drenched island exteriors, rich tropical hues, and glamorous lighting on Yvonne De Carlo that enhances its melodramatic, racy noir atmosphere despite some inherent Republic Pictures limitations and occasional print wear. Overall, these are solid, film-like transfers typical of Imprint's boutique standards, preserving the late-noir aesthetic beautifully.  

NOTE: We have added 216 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language for all four films. Dialogue is generally intelligible, though Ring of Fear requires volume adjustments due to uneven levels between quiet conversations and loud circus music/tunes. The Naked Alibi has a score credited to Hans J. Salter (Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) and Frank Skinner (The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City.) The music for Hell's Island is by the legendary Miklós Rózsa (Sahara, The Man in Half Moon Street, Time Out of Mind, The Green Cockatoo, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity,) who provides a solid, atmospheric tropical-noir score with orchestral swells and exotic touches that enhance the island intrigue and adventure elements, though some viewers note it feels a bit adequate rather than inspired or particularly memorable. In Flame of the Islands Nelson Riddle (Red Line 7000, adapting or composing for a variety of films such as El Dorado, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pal Joey, The Great Gatsby, The Naked City TV Series, Batman the Movie etc.,)supplied the music, delivering breezy, jazzy, and tropical arrangements that suit the island melodrama, including catchy numbers like “Take It or Leave It” and “Bahama Mama” performed on-screen by Yvonne De Carlo. The score adds a light, energetic, and somewhat campy vibe to the casino intrigue. It sounds flawless in the uncompressed. Imprint offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-rays.

This limited-edition 4-disc Essential Film Noir Six Blu-ray Collection (1500 copies) is generously loaded with new, insightful supplements that elevate the set beyond mere debuts. Naked Alibi includes a strong Samm Deighan (The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema,) commentary (contextualizing careers, Hayes Code impacts, and connections to other Metty-shot films.) She talks about paranoia, censorship the McCarthy era and much more also seeing sexism in the description of the characters. It's quite interesting hearing her take on Naked Alibi. Eloise Ross's (The Pre-Code Companion, Issue #2: Three on a Match, Female, & Other Men's Women) video essay on border-noir symbolism, a recreated radio ad, Jerry Hopper's (The Atomic City, Pony Express, Secret of the Incas, Alaska Seas, One Desire, Never Say Goodbye and Naked Alibi,) short The Cinematographer, and the trailer. Ring of Fear offers a Paul Anthony Nelson video essay on real-life stars playing themselves (with historical footage) and a repeated commentary track by favorite Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition, Quarry, co-author of Spillane - King of Pulp Fiction) and Heath Holland (host of the Cereal at Midnight podcast.) Hell's Island has a humorous, detailed Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television,) commentary and a fun recreation of the 1955 Senate hearing. Flame of the Islands features a lengthy, well-researched Phillippa Berry (Shakespeare's Feminine Endings: Disfiguring Death in the Tragedies) video essay on Yvonne De Carlo as "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" (I don't disagree.) The packaging - sleek hardbox with individual transparent cases.

Imprint's Essential Film Noir Collection 6 is a debatable addition for noir enthusiasts, showing glimpses of the cycle's evolution into mid-1950s B-movies with varied settings (border towns, circuses, tropical islands) and a mix of monochrome tension and color exoticism. Naked Alibi stands out as a taut, stylish revenge thriller with powerhouse turns from Sterling Hayden (The Long Goodbye, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Terror in a Texas Town, Crime of Passion, 5 Steps to Danger, The Killing, Suddenly, Johnny Guitar, Prince Valiant, Denver & Rio Grande, The Asphalt Jungle) - as a relentless ex-cop - and sultry Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat, The Glass Wall, The Bad and the Beautiful, Sudden Fear, Macao, In a Lonely Place, Crossfire, It's a Wonderful Life, The Nesting, Chilly Scenes of Winter, Blood and Lace, Odds Against Tomorrow, Not as a Stranger, Human Desire, The Good Die Young,) as a nightclub singer, elevated by Metty's chiaroscuro visuals that echo classics like Touch of Evil; it perfectly embodies noir's moral ambiguity and pursuit of justice outside the law. Ring of Fear delivers macabre circus-noir fun with a deranged killer (Sean McClory - Them!, The Quiet Man, Valley of the Dragons, Island in the Sky, Plunder of the Sun, Niagara, Storm Warning,) real-life cameos by Mickey Spillane (The Long Wait,) with animal-trainer, big-top impresario, Clyde Beatty, and pulpy revenge - campy yet gripping in its big-top atmosphere... although, a bona-fide piece of 'dark cinema' - it ain't. Hell's Island (Phil Karlson - 5 Against the House, Framed, Gunman's Walk, Hell to Eternity, Hornet's Nest, Kansas City Confidential, 99 River Street, The Scarface Mob, The Secret Ways, Tight Spot, Wife Wanted, The Phenix City Story,) mixes Maltese Falcon-style treasure intrigue with VistaVision glamour and a slimy villain, offering pre-Bond escapism laced with betrayal. John Payne (The Big Combo, 99 River Street, Hidden Fear, Larceny, The Boss, Silver Lode,) stars in Hell’s Island as Mike Cormack, a tough ex-cop and treasure hunter drawn into a dangerous tropical scheme involving betrayal, stolen emeralds, and double-crosses. Mary Murphy (The Wild One, A Man Alone, The Mad Magician, Make Haste to Live,) plays Janet Martin - the alluring female lead who becomes romantically and perilously involved with Payne’s character amid the film’s pulpy adventure-noir plot. Flame of the Islands is the most melodramatic, carried by, Canuck-born, Yvonne De Carlo's (Buccaneer's Girl, Casbah, Criss Cross, Silver City, Death of a Scoundrel, Band of Angels, McLintock!, Happy Ever After, The Captain's Paradise,) ambitious dreamer amid casino intrigue and past sins, blending racy Code-era thrills with island noir. Howard Duff (Shakedown, Woman in Hiding, Private Hell 36, All My Sons, Spy Hunt, Women's Prison, Johnny Stool Pigeon,) appears in Flame of the Islands as a charming yet opportunistic romantic lead opposite De Carlo, navigating the film's melodramatic mix of passion, crime, and tropical noir entanglements. While far from peak noir (Naked Alibi aside - it's a must-own,) the set's variety, strong performances, and insightful extras make it a vibrant snapshot of the genre's twilight - highly recommended for its three worldwide Blu-ray debuts and overall package. Thumbs down on Ring of Fear but both Hell's Island (strong John Payne, as always) and Flame of the Islands (always hypnotic De Carlo - moving into a midlife stage - but remaining healthy, confident, and alluring with two talented musical numbers) make these worth the indulgence. I'll be keeping this one. 

Gary Tooze