Review: Columbia Noir #4
Following on from the great Columbia Noir #1, Columbia Noir #2 and Columbia Noir #3 box sets, Powerhouse Films once again delves into the Columbia film archives for 6 more noir movies, all of which are making their worldwide Blu-ray premieres.
- WALK A CROOKED MILE (Gordon Douglas, 1948)
- WALK EAST ON BEACON! (Alfred Werker, 1952)
- PUSHOVER (Richard Quine, 1954)
- A BULLET IS WAITING (John Farrow, 1954)
- CHICAGO SYNDICATE (Fred F Sears, 1955)
- THE BROTHERS RICO (Phil Karlson, 1957)
Walk a Crooked Mile starts my 4th venture into Columbia’s noir movies in fine style, with beautiful location shots in San Francisco and Southern California. Something that all 4 of these box sets has showcased across various cities and landmarks in America…all helped of course by these crisp new blu-ray transfers.
A post-war look at America and its increasing desire to warn its citizens about the dangers of Communism, Walk a Crooked Mile is almost documentary style (complete with narration) as it follows 2 special agents (Dennis O’Keefe & Louis Hayward) assigned to find whoever is responsible for leaking top secret information from a nuclear plant in California.
Set mostly in San Francisco, the narrative plays out showing how a spy ring uses seemingly inconspicuous items to move information around, and leaving the viewer guessing as to who the main “bad guy” might be, all while watching the 2 special agents slowly piecing information together.
A slow burner, but one greatly enriched by its location shooting and the inclusion of Raymond Burr (though I STILL always visualise him in a wheelchair…Google it if you don’t know what I mean!).
Walk East on Beacon! didn’t engage me as much as the other movies in the set, but that’s more of a comment about the high standard of the set as a whole, rather than this being a particularly weak movie.
Another docu-drama adventure, communism is once again thrown into the mix when the FBI is tipped off about communist activity in Boston.
KGB agent Alexi (Karel Stepanek) stirs up some trouble, but this is a very slow paced and heavily politicised affair (not surprising really when it is based on a short story by J Edgar Hoover).
Pushover sees the return of the femme fatale to the Columbia noir fold, and in this case it is the introduction of Kim Novak to our screens.
What begins as a seemingly accidental meeting between Novak’s character ‘Lona’ and plain clothes cop Paul (Fred MacMurray), is soon shown to be deliberate, as he wants to get information from her about her mobster boyfriend who is suspected in being involved in a bank robbery and the death of a policeman.
Paul’s staged friendly relationship with Lona soon develops into something more passionate, leading to both of them being in trouble on either side of the law.
A superb debut from Novak and a tightly executed narrative that twists and turns ever more with each morsel of information, this was one of the highlights of the set for me.
A Bullet is Waiting is a bit of a weird one, and certainly stands out from the other movies in the set.
Eschewing the usual city based drama, this is set in rural America after a plane carrying Sheriff Munson (Stephen McNally) and his prisoner Ed Stone (Rory Calhoun) crashes near the property of father and daughter David & Cally Canham (Brian Aherne & Jean Simmons).
With her father currently away, it is left to Cally to try and keep the peace between the 2 men, as well as trying to deduce what the true story between them is.
Once again the charms of the female character can not be denied, and Ed finds himself falling in love with Cally. All of which complicates an already complicated situation.
When Cally’s father returns home, decisions by everyone must finally be made.
More like a Western than a noir, this certainly stands out from the rest of the movies in this set (and indeed, in ALL of the sets so far). However, the twisting narrative and great dynamics between the 3 main actors for the bulk of the running time kept me thoroughly engaged in to how it was all going to play out.
Set mostly in a small wooden cabin, with the rest being out in the open desolate landscapes, the performances more than made up for the dizzying city location shots of previous movies included here.
Chicago Syndicate does exactly what you think it will from a title such as that.
Barry Amsterdam (Dennis O’Keefe) is an accountant paid $65k by the authorities to infiltrate the titular Chicago syndicate and get information on the top guy and bring him to justice.
Also out to topple him is Sue Morton (Allison Hayes); a woman with a more personal stake in bringing down the syndicate.
Paul Stewart as syndicate boss Arnie Valent exudes a skin crawling sliminess that makes you want this mother loving (yet woman hitting) crook to come to a sticky end.
Does he? Well you will of course have to watch to find out.
Rounding off the set is The Brothers Rico, involving yet another accountant…this time retired mob accountant Eddie Rico (Richard Conte), who has forged a successful laundry business in Florida.
Eddie and his wife Alice (Dianne Foster) are close to adopting a child, but those plans are put into jeopardy when Eddie is brought back into mob activity due to the actions of his 2 brothers.
Forced to put his past life into prominence over his wife and business, Eddie has no idea what lays ahead as he tries to save his brothers from their misdeeds.
A great finale to this 6 movie set, The Brothers Rico threw some narrative curveballs at me that I certainly wasn’t expecting, and was all the better for it.
Once again Powerhouse Films release a box set of movies that have me enthralled from beginning to end, showcased perfectly in their blu-ray debuts, alongside a plethora of special features that will keep you entertained and informed for many hours after the end credits have rolled on the movies.
If you already have sets 1-3, then this is a no-brainer and should be added to your collection immediately.
If you’re new to these noir sets, then you can pick them up and watch in any order. #4 is as good a start as any in the series and is highly recommended.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Routine Job: A Story of Scotland Yard (1946, 23 mins): short film following the day-to-day work of a Scotland Yard detective in the pursuit of a case
- The March of Time: ‘Policeman’s Holiday’ (1949, 20 mins): dramatised instalment of the famed newsreel series, featuring an American detective who assists Scotland Yard while in the UK, echoing but reversing the plot of Walk a Crooked Mile
- Dunked in the Deep (1949, 17 mins): the Three Stooges inadvertently find themselves mixed-up with a foreign spy ring and smuggling top-secret material out of the country
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity author and academic Frank Krutnik (2021, 69 mins)
- The March of Time: ‘G-Men Combat Saboteurs’ (1941, 21 mins): documentary short from the famed newsreel series created by Walk East on Beacon! producer Louis de Rochemont
- The March of Time: ‘G-Men at War’ (1942, 20 mins): documentary short from the newsreel series, focusing on the efforts of the FBI to apprehend spies and fifth columnists
- Commotion on the Ocean (1956, 17 mins): the Three Stooges once again find themselves mixed-up with a foreign spy ring and smuggling top secret materials in this ‘Fake Shemp’ reversion of Dunked in the Deep
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson (2021)
- Partners in Crime and Comedy (2021, 19 mins): author and critic Glenn Kenny discusses the careers and collaborations of director Richard Quine and actor Kim Novak
- Blunder Boys (1955, 16 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio play detectives assigned to the case of a justice-evading bank robber
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with writers Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (2021)
- From Cricklewood to Hollywood (2021, 21 mins): archivist and historian Josephine Botting discusses the early career of actor Jean Simmons and her transition from British to American cinema
- The Yoke’s on Me (1944, 16 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio protect their isolated farmhouse from unwanted guests
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- High Definition presentation
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historian Toby Roan (2021)
- From Nurse to Worse (1940, 17 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio attempt to make big money through an insurance scam
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney (2021)
- Introduction by Martin Scorsese (2010, 4 mins)
- A Bracing Brutality (2021, 30 mins): author and critic Nick Pinkerton considers the tough, no-nonsense cinema of director Phil Karlson
- A Merry Mix-Up (1957, 16 mins): the Three Stooges play three sets of brothers, creating all manner of chaos, confusion, and violent misunderstandings
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Beth Ann Gallagher, Bob Herzberg, Sophie Monks Kaufman, Omar Ahmed, Jen Johans, Monica Castillo, and Jeff Billington, archival articles and interviews, and film credits
- Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.