FILM NOIR COLLECTOR'S EDITION: 7 GREAT KILLER CLASSICS - DVD review

Film noir.

You may not know how to define it, but everyone who sees an example of it knows how to describe it. There are shadows, and plenty of them, with light used artificially rather than naturally in order to generate stylish effects. There's melodrama, too, because the music is used the same way as lighting--to create a style and mood.

There's fog, smoke, and people smoking. There are tough-talking guys and guns, because usually these films are crime capers. Somebody gets slapped around. Sometimes it's a dame. And you can say stuff like that without fear of being politically incorrect because you're talking about the kind of women who populate the crime dramas we now call "film noir." Often the women are mysterious, and that can get a guy into trouble. Femme fatales, they call them, though five 'll get you 10 that the B-movie dialogue will kill you first. Sure, some of the noir films were A movies--private eye stuff like "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Big Sleep"--but most of them were killer Bs.

If film noir were a joke, the set-up would go something like this: "What do you get when you cross hard-boiled crime fiction with German Expressionist filmmaking?" Answer? I don't know, but it's really making a comeback with home entertainment audiences. Set after set of these films have been released in recent years, with the latest this seven-film collection from Questar Entertainment.

In "Film Noir Collector's Edition" you get seven representative B-movie noir entries that give you a pretty goof feel for the genre, with a nice range of familiar actors. There are a few bonus features too, like "What is Film Noir" and "Femme Fatale--The Noir Dame," so you can enjoy the films and then sound intelligent at parties as you talk about them. If you go to parties, that is. It's okay if you go to parties. Just don't leave town.

For my money, the best of this bunch are "Scarlet Street" (1945), "The Stranger" (1946) and "D.O.A." (1950), but they're all in pretty much the same range.

"D.O.A." (1950) puts the spotlight on character actor Edmond O'Brien, who would go on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "The Barefoot Contessa" (1954). In this film, he plays Frank Bigelow, a womanizing businessman who stumbles into a San Francisco police station and says he wants to report a murder . . . HIS. And so he tells the cops the story of how he went to San Francisco to get away for a few days, and ended up in his own private purgatory. Told by a doctor that somebody poisoned him with "luminous poison" that will kill him anywhere from 24 hours to a week, Bigelow tries to find his killer. Suspects include a secretary (Pamela Britton) he's mistreated, a bunch of traveling salespeople, a flirtatious wife (Lynn Baggett), her jealous husband (Henry Hart), and people he's been involved with in recent business dealings. Look for veteran Western actor Neville Brand as a hood. This one was directed by cinematographer Rudolph Maté, who was responsible for the camerawork on such films as "To Be or Not to Be" (1942), "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942), and "Gilda" (1946).

"Detour" (1945) is another frame tale, this time told at an isolated diner by Al Roberts (Tom Neal), who talks about the chain of dominoes that knocked him down. Dropped by his singer-girlfriend (Claudia Drake), this boyfriend-accompanist gets the blues, big-time, and gets the notion to hitchhike to catch up with her in L.A., where she's gone to find fame. I can't say too much about this film without spoiling it, as much depends upon the plot's twists and turns, but suffice it to say that his problems begin when a man who gives him a ride (Edmund MacDonald) dies, and his next pick-up (Ann Savage) is even bigger trouble. This one was shot by veteran B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer, and despite the lack of star power it's still a noir classic. Roger Ebert quipped, "No one who has seen it has easily forgotten it."

"The Stranger" (1946) teams director-star Orson Welles with tough guy Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young in a fascinating film about a Nazi war criminal hunter (Robinson) who's after a slippery German named Franz Kindler (Welles), who's assumed an identity as a teacher in smalltown U.S.A. Why, he even married the daughter of a Supreme Court justice to add legitimacy to his life. But things get complicated when Wilson (Robinson) arranges for one of Kindler's Nazi pals to be released from prison, hoping he'll head straight for his friend. What will a war criminal do to avoid capture? That's what drives this taut drama. "The Stranger" was the first post-WWII film to show footage of concentration camps.

"Scarlet Street" (1945) is directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and stars Edward G. Robinson as Christopher Cross, a superstitious newly retired cashier who witnesses the assault of a young woman (Joan Bennett) and helps her, leading to an encounter. Bad move, because this kid has got a boyfriend (Dan Duryea) and he's a henpecked husband with the hen (Rosalind Ivan) to prove it. Gambling, extortion, art critics, cops, and murder all factor into this fascinating film which, like most noir entries, depends upon a series of unfortunate events.

"The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" (1946) stars Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, and Kirk Douglas in this tale of a small-town heiress who runs afoul of the law when her personal life unravels. Time passes, and a returning lover (Heflin) finds that he was better off without her as this woman who's killed once may be perfectly capable of killing again. More blackmail, more other women, more scheming, and more dirty secrets emerge in this film, which is more character study than the others in this set. But the Oscar-nominated story by John Patrick is also solid.

"Killer Bait" (1949) features Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, and Arthur Kennedy in a tale about a woman who finds a suitcase full of money that turns into a suitcase full of trouble. The plot is more confusing than others in this set, but it involves the same basic elements: deception, blackmail, murder. You know. Noir stuff. The plot quickly builds up a head of steam, and "Killer Bait" is another decent entry in the genre. Credit Scott's chilling femme fatale performance for the better part of that. If you want to see a femme fatale in action, this kid is quintessential.

"Suddenly" (1954) stars Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden in a film that will remind people a little of "Key Largo." As the president of the United States is scheduled to pass through a small town, lives are about to change. A crazed assassin (Sinatra) plans to take out the president, and to do that he has to commandeer the house with the best "shot" at doing so . . . even if it means holding residents and guests hostage. More is at stake here than in "Key Largo," and there are fake FBI agents and real FBI agents for the principles to sort out. Underscoring the film's tension are messages about guns and gun use.

As a set, just about every film falls somewhere in the 7 out of 10 range. It's a nice introduction for people who'd like to get into film noir, and a decent collection for those who are already into it.

Video:
None of these films has been remastered. Then again, these were mostly B movies to begin with, and that meant low-budget. I'm guessing that the original elements aren't going to be in the kind of shape to do much more than what we have here, which is a slightly rough-looking picture, for the most part. Edges of objects and figures are slightly blurred, and there's a generous amount of film grain to go with occasional flickers of dirt and scratches to the original prints. In some of the films, contrast levels are a little off, with a few scenes having a bluish cast to them instead of strong blacks. For noir films, that's a bummer. Overall, though, I'd rate these a 6 out of 10, given the films' ages and original budgets. They're packaged nicely, at least, on six single-sided discs and housed in six slim keep cases tucked inside a cardboard slipcase that shows a few of the old B movie posters on the back. Of course, two of the three films depicted aren't on this set, but they're referenced in a bonus feature. The films are all presented in the original black-and-white and 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

Audio:
All of the films are Mono, and the best thing you can say about them is that they're relatively free from distortion. Like the video, the soundtracks show their age.

Extras:
Questar put together some nice bonus features. Usually I'm not a fan of trailers or artwork, but if you're trying to get a feel for a genre, there's nothing better than seeing poster after poster to see how the films were packaged. A substantial poster gallery is included here, along with 38 (yes, 38!) film noir movie trailers. Then there's a "What is Film Noir?" featurette that's not bad, and one for "Femme Fatale-The Noir Dame" as well. A nice surprise, all the way around.

Bottom Line:
Most collections slip in a few duds, but there are no misfires in this one. All are in the 7 out of 10 range, and they're a nice representation of film noir entries.