Review: Universal Noir #1

Blu-Ray: Universal Noir #1

After having had the pleasure of reviewing all 5 of Powerhouse Films previous “Columbia Noir” box set releases (just search for “Columbia Noir” via the search function on the website), it was with great anticipation that I sat down to watch the 1st of their “Universal Noir” releases.

The films included are:

THE WEB (Michael Gordon, 1947)
LARCENY (George Sherman, 1948)
KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS (Norman Foster, 1948)
ABANDONED (Joseph M Newman, 1949)
DEPORTED (Robert Siodmak, 1950)
NAKED ALIBI (Jerry Hopper, 1954)

While some of the movies in the Columbia releases didn’t quite hit with me as much as the others, I have to say that I absolutely loved every single one of the 6 movies in this set.

Watching them in chronological order, I began with The Web, where small time lawyer Robert Regan (Edmond O’Brien) is unwittingly brought into the money grabbing world of businessman Andrew Colby (Vincent Price), who intends to use Regan for his own criminal intentions.

True to its title, The Web unfolds its narrative in strands as blackmail, double crossing, love interests and illegal activities all began to untangle and fall apart as plans go awry.

Vincent Price, usually hamming it up in his later movies, plays it more restrained here, perfectly pitching his performance as a man who you “think” you can trust, but then exposes his true character when pushed.

1948’s Larceny continues the themes which run through all of the movies; guns, girls (or “dames” as they are mostly referred as), blackmail, money and smoking…lots of smoking!

Con man Rick Maxon (John Payne) wants to quit the gang he is in which is run by power mad Silky (Dan Duryea). Not only is Maxon becoming wary about Silky’s mood swings, he is also (not so secretly) having a relationship with Silky’s main squeeze Tory (Shelley Winters), who is herself a ticking time bomb of emotional instability.

Tasked with heading up a big con operation which involves bleeding the funds from war widow Deborah (Joan Caulfield), Maxon finds himself slowly developing feelings for her, which are at odds with the job he is sent to do.

This of course doesn’t go down well with Silky or Tory, both of whom want to make their feelings known to him in a not so subtle manner.

Kiss the Blood off My Hands takes proceedings over to England, as Bill Saunders (Burt Lancaster) suffers the effects of PTSD after being locked up in a Nazi prisoner of war camp.

With a temper that can flare at any moment, Bill inadvertently finds himself in a pub fight where one stray punch of his accidentally kills a man who hits his head too hard when falling to the floor.

On the run from the police he hides in the small bedsit of Jane (Joan Fontaine) who immediately (and quite rightly so) is completely afraid of him…this of course will change in time.

After serving some time in prison, Bill and Jane’s paths cross once again and she helps him to start a new life with a full time job.

Their mutual attraction for each begins to build, but coming between them is slimy Harry Carter (Robert Newton), a man who witnessed the pub fight and blackmails Bill into doing some unlawful work for him on the promise of keeping his mouth shut.

Will Bill and Jane’s story have a happy ending, or will Harry tear them both apart?

Abandoned takes the viewer into the baby-adoption racket, where reporter Mark Sitko (Dennis O’Keefe) bumps into Paula (Gale Storm) who is in town looking for her sister and the baby that her sister recently gave birth to.

A great cast that also includes Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall and Raymond Burr, all contribute to making Abandoned far better than its low budget origins, with location shooting adding an extra layer gravity to the proceedings.

All these years later, the baby adaption racket is still unfortunately a thing.

Jeff Chandler return in 1950’s Deported, this time playing American gangster Vic Smith who is deported back to his home country of Italy.

Meeting up with family members there who embrace him into their lives and homes, he plots to import $1o0k into the country that he has stashed away in America.

Always being watched by the unflinching eyes of the law, Vic must plot an ingenious way of getting his hands on the cash, which leads to the trusting Countess Christine di Lorenzi (Märta Torén) and her food relief program becoming involved both professionally and personally.

Shot in Italy the exterior locations are always an absolute treat for the eyes, while the story itself is probably the most lighthearted of this set…though of course still involves all the usual noir tropes.

Completing this set is Naked Alibi, in which police captain Joe Conroy (Sterling Hayden) is investigation the murder of a fellow policeman.

Al Willis (Gene Barry) is the main suspect, and when 2 more policemen are murdered Conroy takes out his anger on Willis, but is then suspended from the force for police brutality.

Still sure that Willis is the murderer, Conroy follows Willis into Mexico where he has no power or jurisdiction.

When bar singer Marianna (Gloria Grahame) gets involved in both their lives, the truth begins to emerge…but not without its price.

All 6 movies mark their UK blu-ray premiere and look fantastic, accompanied by a slew of special features that will keep you entertained and interested for many hours.

I’d never seen any of these movies before and loved each and every one of them thanks to this new Indicator release. These are the type of movies that I often refer to as “perfect Sunday afternoon viewing”, which they are, but they are also just as enjoyable at any time of any day.

Grab this 1st Universal Noir box set and dive into it before #2 hopefully comes along before too long.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

THE WEB

• 2017 restoration from a 4K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle (2022)
• Film Noir Festival Q&A with Victoria Price(2018, 30 mins): archival video recording of Vincent Price’s daughter in conversation with the Film Noir Foundation’s Alan K Rode following a screening of The Web
• Lux Radio Theatre: The Web (1947, 53 mins): vintage radio adaptation of the screenplay, featuring Ella Raines, Edmond O’Brien and Vincent Price reprising their roles from the film
• Skirmish on the Home Front (1944, 13 mins): promotional short film for war bonds starring Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton, Susan Hayward, and The Web’s William Bendix
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

LARCENY

• 2017 restoration from a 4K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with academic and curator Eloise Ross (2022)
• The Heel with Sex Appeal (2022, 29 mins): author and critic Nick Pinkerton assesses the life, career and screen persona of big-screen tough guy Dan Duryea
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS

• 2019 restoration from a 2K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Josh Nelson (2022)
• The John Player Lecture with Joan Fontaine (1978, 63 mins): archival audio recording of the much-loved star in conversation with film critic Martin Shawcross at London’s National Film Theatre
• United Action Means Victory (1939, 37 mins): documentary about the 1938–39 General Motors strike, with narration written by Kiss the Blood Off My Handsscreenwriter Ben Maddow
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

ABANDONED

• 2010 High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (2022)
• Easy to Get (1947, 22 mins): short film made as part of the US Armed Forces’ ‘Easy to Get’ campaign on venereal diseases, directed by Joseph M Newman
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

DEPORTED

• 2017 restoration from a 4K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with filmmaker and film historian Daniel Kremer (2022)
• Return to Europe (2022, 11 mins): critic and writer Christina Newland discusses the work of Robert Siodmak and the twin influences of American and European cinema on Deported
• A Salute to France (1944, 36 mins): promotional film by the Office of War Information on the wartime alliances of the French, British and American nations, co-directed by Garson Kanin and Jean Renoir, and starring Burgess Meredith, Philip Bourneuf, and Deported’s Claude Dauphin
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

NAKED ALIBI

• 2014 restoration from a 2K scan
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson (2022)
• Absolute Magnetism (2022, 42 mins): academic Lucy Bolton discusses the life and career of Gloria Grahame, one of film noir’s greatest femmes fatales
• The Cinematographer (1951, 10 mins): documentary directed by Jerry Hopper, produced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, providing a guide to the role of director of photography
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Iris Veysey, Jill Blake, Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, Sabina Stent, Sergio Angelini, and Walter Chaw, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units for the UK

Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.