Kino Lorber Studio Classics: Film Noir: the Dark Side of Cinema I-XX

[FrauBlucher]

Today's announcement is the re-release of the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema boxset available in June

[domino harvey]

How many hours of work went into it, though?

[tenia]

The usual half hour.

[yoloswegmaster]

FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA IX

New 2K & 4K Restorations

LADY ON A TRAIN (1945)
w/ Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy & Dan Duryea

TANGIER (1946)
w/ Maria Montez & Sabu
Directed by George Waggner

TAKE ONE FALSE STEP (1949)
w/ William Powell & Shelley Winters

[ChunkyLover]

Coming Soon!

FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA X

• Flesh and Fury (1952) Tony Curtis & Jan Sterling

• The Square Jungle (1955) Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Pat Crowley, David Janssen & Heavyweight Champ Joe Louis

• World in My Corner (1956) Audie Murphy & Barbara Rush

[domino harvey]

These are a streeeeeetch. They couldn't just call it Boxing Movies or something?

[FrauBlucher]

Beaver...Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VI

[dwk]

Today's announcement:
FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA XI
• A Woman’s Vengeance (1948) Charles Boyer, Ann Blyth & Jessica Tandy
• I Was a Shoplifter (1950) Scott Brady, Mona Freeman, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson & Peggie Castle
• Behind the High Wall (1956) Tom Tully & Sylvia Sidney

Tomorrow's announcement will be a Paramount UHD.

[domino harvey]

I’ve seen I Was a Shoplifter (forgettable variation on the syndicate crime story) and A Woman’s Vengeance. Here’s my write up for the latter

A Woman's Vengeance (Zoltan Korda 1948) Charles Boyer is married to a sickly woman who is staying alive just to spite him (her words), and so it doesn't look great for him when she finally dies under mysterious circumstances and he immediately marries eighteen-year-old Ann Blyth, much to the chagrin of Jessica Tandy, who has a mad crush on Boyer and went through the trouble of murdering his wife so they could be together. An overwrought and excessively talky melodrama adapted by Aldous Huxley from his own short story, this nevertheless has some things going for it despite its obvious self-imposed seriousness, namely Russell Metty's gorgeous use of shadows and darkness. Tandy's good here too, though the script invariably has her prattling on incessantly like everyone else in the film.

[domino harvey]

FOUR more Noir sets coming:

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XII

Undertow (1949)

A paroled convict is framed for murder and must clear himself before the police catch him. Directed by William Castle. Starring Scott Brady, John Russell, Dorothy Hart, Peggy Dow, and Bruce Bennett.

Outside the Law (1950)

An ex-convict lands a job in a sanitarium and discovers that a patient was the mastermind of a million-dollar robbery. Directed by Crane Wilbur. Starring Richard Basehart, Marilyn Maxwell, Signe Hasso, Dorothy Hart, and Joseph Pevney.

Hold Back Tomorrow (1955)

A condemned murderer (John Agar), scheduled to hang in the morning, asks for the company of a prostitute (Cleo Moore) in his final hours. Directed by Hugo Haas. Starring John Agar, Cleo Moore, Frank DeKova, Dallas Boyd, and Steffi Sidney.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII

Spy Hunt (1950)

During the Cold War, a microfilm concealed in the collar of a panther, transported by freight rail, is sought by several spies after the animal escapes its cage following the train's derailment in Switzerland. Directed by George Sherman. Starring Howard Duff, Märta Torén, Philip Friend, and Walter Slezak.

The Night Runner (1957)

A mental patient on leave from an asylum explodes in a psychopathic rage over a remark made by his girlfriend's father. Directed by Abner Biberman. Starring Ray Danton, Colleen Miller, and Merry Anders.

Step Down to Terror (1958)

Trying to outwit police, a psychopathic killer (Charles Drake) returns to his mother's home after a long absence to play the role of loving son. Directed by Harry Keller. Starring Colleen Miller, Charles Drake, and Rod Taylor.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIV

Undercover Girl (1950)

A young woman joins the Police Department in order to track down the killer who murdered her father. Directed by Joseph Pevney. Starring Alexis Smith, Scott Brady, Richard Egan, and Gladys George.

One Way Street (1950)

After stealing a gangster's money and his girlfriend, a doctor heads for a small village in Mexico. Directed by Hugo Fregonese. Starring James Mason, Märta Torén, and Dan Duryea.

Appointment with a Shadow (1957)

George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Nader is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal. Directed by Richard Carlson. Starring George Nader, Joanna Moore, and Brian Keith.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XV

Man Afraid (1957)

A preacher (George Nader) fears for his family (Phyllis Thaxter, Tim Hovey) after killing a teenage burglar whose father seeks revenge. Directed by Harry Keller. Starring George Nader, Phyllis Thaxter, Eduard Franz, and Tim Hovey.

Girl in the Kremlin (1957)

In 1953, Soviet dictator Stalin fakes his own death, undergoes plastic surgery and vanishes, but OSS agent Steve Anderson searches for him in Europe. Directed by Russell Birdwell. Starring Lex Barker, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Jeffrey Stone.

The Tattered Dress (1957)

When top lawyer James Blane gets an acquittal for a man who killed another man for sexually roughing up his trophy wife, the murderous town sheriff frames him for bribing a juror in the case. Directed by Jack Arnold. Starring Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, Jack Carson, Gail Russell, and Elaine Stewart.

Remarkably I’ve only seen one of these (Undertow, which is terrible), but I’m excited by the Tattered Dress and Appointment with a Shadow, which I’ve wanted to see for some time but no ‘Scope copies are circulating

[What A Disgrace]

Is it just me, or did Kino just spoil the contents of the next few Universal Noir boxes from Indicator?

[Calvin]

I really enjoyed Fregonese's One Way Street in Bologna, so I'm very glad to see that it's getting a release. It would be even better if it was part of a future Indicator Universal set (or Fregonese at Universal!) but the Kino sets can often be had for dirt cheap so I'll pick this up regardless.

[swo17]

The eight noir sets are each $25. I can't remember--are any of those titles worth picking up?

[domino harvey]

The eight noir sets are each $25. I can't remember--are any of those titles worth picking up?

I’ve been dutifully writing up some of these titles throughout the thread. The best films included are Abandoned (redundant because it’s in Indicator’s Universal Noir), the Boss (the other two films in the box are awful but it’s up there with Abandoned as the best film in one of these sets), Street of Chance (haven’t seen other two films in the set but they at least look promising), and A Woman’s Vengeance (not on sale)

[domino harvey]

Street of Chance (haven’t seen other two films in the set but they at least look promising)

Looks can be deceiving! Enter Arsene Lupin is another strong contender for worst film in one of these sets... and it's not even remotely a noir! Seriously, do the people making decisions for KLSC even watch these films first? This is in the comic spirit of the Saint and Falcon programmers from a few years prior, with a far less charismatic lead, and one of J Carrol Naish's worst "ethnic" perfs ever as the pursuing detective (and I have no earthly idea what nationality he's trying to imitate, unless Annoying is a place). But while everything about this film save getting to look at Ella Raines is bad, I was blindsided by the ending:

SpoilerShow

This movie really tried to do an Arsene Lupin movie where he gets caught because of the Code, and doesn't even think of a way around it. Greatest thief in the world gets arrested by the comic relief because crime doesn't pay... WTF. It's hard to overstate how colossally dumb this is as an idea

Imagine thinking this shit had franchise potential after ending like that. Bravo, Universal

[yoloswegmaster]

Street of Chance (haven’t seen other two films in the set but they at least look promising)

Looks can be deceiving! Enter Arsene Lupin is another strong contender for worst film in one of these sets... and it's not even remotely a noir! Seriously, do the people making decisions for KLSC even watch these films first? This is in the comic spirit of the Saint and Falcon programmers from a few years prior, with a far less charismatic lead, and one of J Carrol Naish's worst "ethnic" perfs ever as the pursuing detective (and I have no earthly idea what nationality he's trying to imitate, unless Annoying is a place). But while everything about this film save getting to look at Ella Raines is bad, I was blindsided by the ending:

SpoilerShow

This movie really tried to do an Arsene Lupin movie where he gets caught because of the Code, and doesn't even think of a way around it. Greatest thief in the world gets arrested by the comic relief because crime doesn't pay... WTF. It's hard to overstate how colossally dumb this is as an idea

Imagine thinking this shit had franchise potential after ending like that. Bravo, Universal

I've always wondered if they have ever released titles that no one who works for the company has watched. Surely there must be quite a lot, especially with the amount of titles that they shit out,

[ryannichols7]

thank you guys for making this a separate thread, I've had to talk myself out of these sets a few times despite the good prices. I think I can wait and see what Indicator (a label with actual curation and care for all of their films) does with their continued Universal Noir sets

[domino harvey]

Well, just when I was starting to really smart at falling for buying one of these sets, turns out Temptation is also quite good, which means that 2/3 of the films in this particular box are okay, which is a slam dunk for this series! Kinda perverse to set a period noir among the pyramids and pharaoh tombs and only actually set one or two brief scenes within this unusual setting, but this is a handsomely made "respectable" noir, and Charles Korvin is far more charming as an immoral fez-sporting Chad here than he was as Arsene Lupin

[FrauBlucher]

Coming Soon!
Brand New 2K Masters!
Three Classics Starring Screen Legend Edward G. Robinson

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVII
• Vice Squad (1953) with Paulette Goddard
• Black Tuesday (1954) with Jean Parker & Peter Graves
• Nightmare (1956) with Kevin McCarthy

[domino harvey]

Nightmare is godawful, haven’t watched my copies of the other two

[mteller]

Black Tuesday is pretty good.

[MichaelB]

Black Tuesday is superb - I was very lucky to see it in a packed cinema in Bologna last year, where it was one of the festival’s unqualified hits.

[Calvin]

Like Michael, I caught Black Tuesday in Bologna last year and it was one of my personal highlights. I seem to remember the introduction saying they'd had some difficulty locating a print, so I'm very pleasantly surprised to see it come to Blu-Ray just a year later.

Kino recently put out another great Fregonese, One Way Street, in a noir set as well.

[domino harvey]

Kino's WTF idea of a Noir set from Universal:

the Female Animal
the Price of Fear
Thunder on the Hill

You're a sad little puppy.

Arf arf, I caught up with the only title I hadn’t seen from this box, the Price of Fear, and… I loved it?! That doesn’t change the other two titles not being ones that belong in an inaugural Noir set of Universal titles, but this unexpectedly now stands as the strongest film I’ve seen shoved into one of these KLSC Noir grabbags. It reminded me of Another Man’s Poison on a noir plot mechanic level of the premise being so terrific that it would be almost impossible to screw it up: Here we have a man framed for a shooting murder whose only alibi to that crime is being framed for a hit and run killing he also didn’t commit. Perfect! Realism is beside the point at this level of narrative fuckery, so all that matters is how it plays out, and I thought this was on the whole better than it needed to be, hitting only the beats you’d want for the length of the slim running time. Not a masterpiece of the genre by any means, but deeply enjoyable nevertheless. Recommended!

[domino harvey]

Five more down: Undercover Girl is mercifully not lit for TV like so many of the Universal films in these sets, but that's about all it has going for it. The film approaches the familiar subject matter of drug dealing baddies with an air of Seriousness, seemingly unaware of how ridiculous the film is, particularly the hammy acting from much of the support. Appointment with a Shadow is even worse, a halfhearted stab at tackling addiction that feels even more insulting given it was released the same year as Time Without Pity and A Hatful of Rain. The film is also shot in Scope for no discernible reason. Step Down to Terror decides to remake Shadow of a Doubt without Hitchcock or anyone else who knows how to make a movie involved, and the results are exactly as successful as you'd imagine. Outside the Law makes up for Undercover Girl by being twice as brightly lit as needed, and this undercover caper offers nothing of note beyond a potentially interesting father-son dynamic that never gets utilized to much effect. And finally, One Way Street is, mercifully, not bad, or rather either end of it isn't. While James Mason is a walking ad for accident insurance (THREE car or plane crashes in 78 minutes, good lord), the first ten minutes or so of this tease you with the promise that this is going to be way better than it ends up as Mason calmly steals gangster Dan Duryea's loot and woman, only to get sidelined in Backlot Mexico. I enjoyed the colorful support here, particularly a helpful padre, but this movie really loses itself in the last act before trying to tie it all up with a moderately successful finale. So, 1 out of 5 movies being watchable, that's... about right for this series