300-329; 354-357 Columbia Noir #1-6

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300-329; 354-357 Columbia Noir #1-6

#1 Post by domino harvey » Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:36 am

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ESCAPE IN THE FOG (Budd Boetticher, 1945)
THE UNDERCOVER MAN (Joseph H Lewis, 1949)
DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD (Richard Quine, 1954)
5 AGAINST THE HOUSE (Phil Karlson, 1955)
THE GARMENT JUNGLE (Vincent Sherman and Robert Aldrich, 1957)
THE LINEUP (Don Siegel, 1958)


Release date: 30 November 2020
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (4 x UK & 2 x World Blu-ray premieres)

Six tough, no-nonsense noirs from six of the genre’s toughest, no-nonsense directors: Budd Boetticher’s Escape in the Fog, in which a nurse and a war veteran take on Nazi spies in San Francisco; Joseph H Lewis’ The Undercover Man, inspired by the real-life case against Al Capone; Richard Quine’s Drive a Crooked Road, which finds Mickey Rooney moving away from comedies and musicals to a tougher persona; Phil Karlson’s 5 Against the House, starring Kim Novak as a nightclub singer embroiled in a casino heist; Vincent Sherman’s The Garment Jungle, from which Kiss Me Deadly director Robert Aldrich was famously fired; and Don Siegel’s police procedural The Lineup, based on the radio and television series, and as brutal a film as he ever made.

All six films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, with The Undercover Man and Drive a Crooked Road making their world Blu-ray premieres. This stunning collection also boasts a 120-page book, and is strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

ESCAPE IN THE FOG
• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Pamela Hutchinson (2020)
The Fleet That Came to Stay (1945, 22 mins): World War II documentary, compiled by Budd Boetticher from original combat footage captured during the Battle of Okinawa, and released shortly after Escape in the Fog
You Nazty Spy! (1940, 18 mins): World War II comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio satirise the Third Reich and help publicise the Nazi threat to American audiences
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

THE UNDERCOVER MAN
• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writer and film programmer Tony Rayns (2020)
Man on a Bus (1945, 29 mins): short film directed by Joseph H Lewis for the United Jewish Appeal, featuring a star-studded cast, including Walter Brennan, Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, and Lassie
Income Tax Sappy (1954, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio come under the scrutiny of the US Treasury Department when they get creative with their tax returns
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film critic Nick Pinkerton (2020)
The Guardian Interview with Mickey Rooney (1988, 83 mins): archival audio recording of the much-loved actor in conversation with Tony Sloman at the National Film Theatre, London
• Introduction by Martin Scorsese (2012, 2 mins)
Screen Snapshots: ‘Mickey Rooney, Then and Now’ (1953, 10 mins): Columbia Pictures promotional short featuring the famed performer looking back at one of his childhood roles
Higher Than a Kite (1943, 18 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio play mechanics who find themselves in a situation that’s way out of their control
• 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

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film critic David Jenkins (2020)
The Guardian Interview with Kim Novak (1997, 67 mins): archival video recording of the celebrated actor in conversation with David Robinson at the National Film Theatre, London
Sweet and Hot (1958, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio team up with a female singer in the hope of finding fame and fortune in the big city
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

THE GARMENT JUNGLE
• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
It’s a Jungle Out There (2007, 20 mins): archival interview with actor Robert Loggia, conducted by Alan K Rode of the Film Noir Foundation following a screening of The Garment Jungle
Law of the Jungle (2020, 15 mins): writer and film programmer Tony Rayns discusses Robert Aldrich and The Garment Jungle
Rip, Sew and Stitch (1953, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio play tailors who find themselves caught up in criminal activities
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

THE LINEUP
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author James Ellroy and the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller (2009)
• Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle and author and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner (2020)
The Influence of Noir (2009, 7 mins): appreciation by filmmaker Christopher Nolan
The Streets of San Francisco (2020, 7 mins): video essay guide to the locations of The Lineup
• Three episodes of The Lineup radio series: ‘The Candy Store Murder’ (1950, 30 mins), written by Blake Edwards; ‘The Case of Frankie and Joyce’ (1951, 31 mins); and ‘The Harrowing Haggada Handball Case’ (1951, 26 mins), written by Edwards and Richard Quine
Tricky Dicks (1953, 16 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio send up the police procedural
• Original theatrical trailer
• Trailer commentary: short appreciation by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• 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, Paul Duane, Jill Blake, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Nathalie Morris, and Sergio Angelini, archival articles and interviews, and film credits
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units

#PHILTD300
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921205
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FRAMED (Richard Wallace, 1947)
711 OCEAN DRIVE (Joseph M Newman, 1950)
THE MOB (Robert Parrish, 1951)
AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD (Vincent Sherman, 1952)
TIGHT SPOT (Phil Karlson, 1955)
MURDER BY CONTRACT (Irving Lerner, 1958)


Release date: 15 February 2021
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (3 x UK & 3 x World Blu-ray premieres)

Our second Columbia Noir box set takes a dive once more into the studio’s archives and the world of film noir – a world of undercover detectives (The Mob) and emotionless hitmen (Murder by Contract), a world where film is inspired by real-life criminal activities (Tight Spot, based loosely on Virginia Hill’s testimony against Bugsy Siegel) and real-life criminal activities are inspired by film (711 Ocean Drive, which attracted the unwanted attention of mobsters), and a world where Glenn Ford finds himself unwittingly embroiled in murder – twice (Framed, Affair in Trinidad).

All six films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, with The Mob, Tight Spot and Murder by Contract making their world Blu-ray premieres. This stunning collection includes newly recorded commentaries on each film, assorted bonus materials, including six short films starring the Three Stooges, lampooning the tropes and themes of the features, a 120-page book, and is strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

FRAMED
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author and critic Imogen Sara Smith (2021)
The Steps of Age (1951, 25 mins): dramatised documentary written and directed by Ben Maddow, screenwriter of Framed, demonstrating the challenges of growing old as seen through of the eyes of a retired widow
Up in Daisy’s Penthouse (1958, 17 mins): the Three Stooges get mixed up with a murder plot, mistaken identity, a gold-digging blonde, and a great deal of money
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

711 OCEAN DRIVE
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author and film critic Glenn Kenny (2021)
Diary of a Sergeant (1945, 24 mins): Joseph M Newman’s documentary portrait of Harold Russell, a soldier who lost his hands during World War II and would later win an Oscar® for his performance in The Best Years of Our Lives
Three Sappy People (1939, 18 mins): the Three Stooges play a trio of telephone repairmen who make an unexpected career switch
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

THE MOB
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with filmmaker and writer Gina Telaroli (2021)
The Guardian Interview with Ernest Borgnine (2001, 79 mins): archival audio recording of the much-loved character actor in conversation with Clyde Jeavons at the National Film Theatre, London
Ernest Borgnine in Conversation (2009, 49 mins): archival video recording of the actor discussing his eventful career with Adrian Wootton at the BFI Southbank, London
Hot Stuff (1956, 16 mins): a trio of law enforcers, played by the Three Stooges, go undercover and assume blue-collar jobs in order to thwart criminal activities
• 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

AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian and author Lee Gambin (2021)
The End of the Affair (2012, 24 mins): Peter Ford, son of Glenn Ford, discusses the life and career of his father with the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller
Caribbean (1951, 25 mins): documentary by the Crown Film Unit, released the same year as Affair in Trinidad, depicting life and culture in the West Indies, British Guiana, and British Honduras
Saved by the Belle (1939, 18 mins): island intrigue and Señorita Rita spell trouble for the Three Stooges
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

TIGHT SPOT
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writer and film historian Nora Fiore (2021)
The Senate Crime Investigations (1951, 62 mins): extracts from unedited telerecordings of the US senate committee’s hearings into organised crime, originally compiled by the British Film Institute and presented in four parts, including footage of Virginia Hill, who partly inspired Tight Spot
Idiots Deluxe (1945, 18 mins): courtroom comedy short starring the Three Stooges and featuring an isolated hideaway beset by a deadly intruder
• 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

MURDER BY CONTRACT
• High Definition presentation
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film critic and writer Farran Smith Nehme (2021)
• Introduction by Martin Scorsese (2014, 5 mins)
Swedes in America (1943, 18 mins): Irving Lerner’s Oscar®-nominated short film, presented by Ingrid Bergman, detailing the influence of Swedish immigrants on the United States
Violence Is the Word for Curly (1938, 18 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges, which provided an early cinematography credit for Murder by Contract’s prolific director of photography, Lucien Ballard
• Original theatrical trailer
• Larry Karaszewski trailer commentary (2020, 3 mins): short critical appreciation
• 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 Melanie Williams, Ellen Cheshire, Simon Abrams, Kulraj Phullar, Tara Judah, and David Thompson, archival articles and interviews, and film credits
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units

#PHILTD306
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921250
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JOHNNY O’CLOCK (Robert Rossen, 1947)
THE DARK PAST (Rudolph Maté, 1948)
CONVICTED (Henry Levin, 1950)
BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (Gordon Douglas, 1950)
THE SNIPER (Edward Dmytryk, 1952)
CITY OF FEAR (Irving Lerner, 1959)


Release date: 17 May 2021
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (World Blu-ray premieres)

For the third volume in our ongoing Columbia Noir series, we return once again to the studio’s archives for a sextet of films which brings together some of the great names of film noir – including Dick Powell, Lee J Cobb, Nina Foch, William Holden, Edmond O’Brien, Dorothy Malone, Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Marie Windsor, and Vince Edwards – in stories of psychoanalysis and cynicism, racketeers and radioactivity, casinos and killing sprees, and cops and convicts.

Presenting all six films for the first time on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, this stunning collection includes a commentary on each film, critical appreciations and analyses, a range of documentary shorts from the forties and fifties, six Three Stooges comedy shorts lampooning the tropes and themes of the titles in the set, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

JOHNNY O’CLOCK
• 2K restoration
• Original mono soundtrack
• Audio commentary with filmmaker and film historian Jim Hemphill (2021)
Not One Shall Die (1957, 30 mins): short film by the United Jewish Appeal, directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Guy Madison, Felicia Farr and Agnes Moorehead, made by the core crew of many Columbia noirs, including cinematographer Burnett Guffey, art director Cary Odell, editor Al Clark, set decorator Frank Tuttle, and composer Morris Stoloff
Whoops, I’m an Indian! (1936, 18 mins): the casino business spells trouble for the Three Stooges
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

THE DARK PAST
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with academic and curator Eloise Ross (2021)
The Poised Performance (2021, 14 mins): critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson assesses the career of actor Nina Foch
The Gulf Screen Guild Theater: ‘Blind Alley’ (1940, 23 mins): radio adaptation of the James Warwick play upon which The Dark Past is based, starring Edward G Robinson, Joseph Calleia and Isabel Jewell
Shivering Sherlocks (1948, 18 mins): the Three Stooges get mixed up with a dangerous gang of criminals hiding out at an isolated mansion
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

CONVICTED
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson (2021)
Codes and Convictions (2021, 30 mins): video essay by Jonathan Bygraves which examines Convicted in relation to Columbia Pictures’ other screen adaptations of Martin Flavin’s play The Criminal Code
So Long Mr. Chumps (1941, 18 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges in which the trio discover that prison life is a complicated business
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author and entertainment journalist Bryan Reesman (2021)
Categorically Dependable (2021, 16 mins): writer and critic Kim Newman assesses the long, eclectic career of director Gordon Douglas
Dizzy Detectives (1943, 19 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges in which the trio play police officers on the trail of a psychopath and a criminal mastermind
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

THE SNIPER
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller (2009)
• Introduction by Martin Scorsese (2009, 4 mins)
Three Lives (1953, 23 mins): short film made for the United Jewish Appeal, reuniting the main players behind The Sniper, writers Edna and Edward Anhalt, director Edward Dmytryk, and star Arthur Franz
Three Pests in a Mess (1945, 16 mins): comedy short starring the Three Stooges in which the trio become involved in a deadly shooting incident, or so they think, causing panic
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• World premiere on Blu-ray

CITY OF FEAR
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film critic and writer Adrian Martin (2021)
Pulp Paranoia (2010, 7 mins): filmmaker Christopher Nolan discusses the influence of film noir
The Autobiography of a “Jeep” (1943, 10 mins): light-hearted documentary produced and directed by Irving Lerner about the then-new, all-purpose vehicle
The Autobiography of a “Jeep” audio commentary with film historian Jeremy Arnold (2021)
Hymn of the Nations (1944, 29 mins): documentary produced and edited by Lerner, and directed by Alexander Hammid, featuring famed conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra performing the music of Giuseppe Verdi, presented in its complete, uncut version
The Cummington Story (1945, 20 mins): documentary short, written and directed by Helen Grayson and Larry Madison, produced by Lerner, and featuring the music of Aaron Copland, re-enacting the stories of a group of refugees who relocated to a small American town during World War II
Oil’s Well That Ends Well (1958, 17 mins): the Three Stooges are convinced they can make money from uranium
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• 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 Peter Stanfield, David Cairns, Michał Oleszczyk, Adam Scovell, Fintan McDonagh, Andrew Nette, Jeff Billington, and Ramsey Campbell, archival articles and interviews, and film credits
Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units

#PHILTD312
BBFC cert: 15
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921427
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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)


Release date: 20 September 2021
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (World Blu-ray premieres)

Indicator’s ongoing series of Columbia Noir box sets returns with its fourth instalment, once again delving into the studio’s archives to select six films which plunge the viewer into a dark world of crime. Featuring Kim Novak, Fred MacMurray, Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun, Abbe Lane, Louis Hayward, and Richard Conte – not to mention gangsters, G-men, foreign spies, criminals on the run, and corrupt cops – Columbia Noir #4 continues the series in fine style.

Presenting all six films on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, this stunning collection includes newly recorded commentaries and critical appreciations, archival documentaries, six Three Stooges comedy shorts which lampoon the tropes and themes of the titles in the set, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remasters of all six films
• Original mono soundtracks
• Audio commentary on Walk East on Beacon! with In a Lonely Street author Frank Krutnik (2021)
• Audio commentary on Pushover with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson (2021)
• Audio commentary on Chicago Syndicate with film historian Toby Roan (2021)
• Audio commentary on The Brothers Rico with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney (2021)
• Introduction to The Brothers Rico by Martin Scorsese (2010)
Glenn Kenny on Richard Quine (2021): the author and critic examines the eclectic career of the director of Pushover
Josephine Botting on Jean Simmons (2021): the film historian discusses the early American career of the British actor
G-Men Combat Saboteurs (1941) and G-Men at War (1942): two March of Time documentaries produced by Louis De Rochemont (Walk East on Beacon!), focusing on the FBI’s efforts to apprehend spies and fifth columnists
Routine Job: A Story of Scotland Yard (1946): short film examining the day-to-day work of the Scotland Yard detective, much like the one in Walk a Crooked Mile
Policeman’s Holiday (1949): short film in which an American detective comes to England to assist Scotland Yard, echoing but reversing the plot of Walk a Crooked Mile
• Six comedy shorts starring the Three Stooges, each lampooning the tropes and themes of the films in this set: From Nurse to Worse (1940), The Yoke’s on Me (1944), Dunked in the Deep (1949), Blunder Boys (1955), Commotion in the Ocean (1956), and A Merry Mix-Up (1957)
• Original theatrical trailers
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Beth Ann Gallagher, Bob Herzberg, Sophie Monks Kaufman, Omar Ahmed, Jen Johans, and Monica Castillo, archival articles and interviews, and film credits
• World premieres on Blu-ray
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
• MORE EXTRAS TO BE ANNOUNCED

All extras subject to change

#PHILTD318
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921519
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DEAD RECKONING (John Cromwell, 1947)
KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (Nicholas Ray, 1949)
TOKYO JOE (Stuart Heisler, 1949)
SIROCCO (Curtis Bernhardt, 1951)
THE FAMILY SECRET (Henry Levin, 1951)
THE HARDER THEY FALL (Mark Robson, 1956)


Release date: 20 June 2022
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (4 x UK & 2 x World Blu-ray premieres)
Pre-order here

A fifth foray into the film noir output of Columbia Pictures, but, this time, with a twist. Not only does this volume bring together six more gems from the studio’s archives, but it also serves as a showcase for the great Humphrey Bogart.

Having established his stardom in the gangster pictures of the 1930s, Bogart fit easily into the world of film noir, where he was equally at home playing troubled servicemen, slick-talking lawyers, black marketeers, gambling den owners, or hard-up journalists.

Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart brings together five of the iconic actor’s starring vehicles: John Cromwell’s Dead Reckoning, Nicholas Ray’s Knock on Any Door, Stuart Heisler’s Tokyo Joe, Curtis Bernhardt’s Sirocco, and Mark Robson’s The Harder They Fall, plus Henry Levin’s The Family Secret, a rarity starring Lee J Cobb and John Derek that was produced by Bogart’s Santana Pictures, an outfit that regularly delved into the seedy, shadowy world of noir.

Featuring a stunning 4K restoration of The Harder They Fall, and with Sirocco and The Family Secret appearing on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, this stunning collection includes newly recorded commentaries and critical appreciations, archival documentaries and short films, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration of The Harder They Fall
• HD presentations of Dead Reckoning, Knock on Any Door, Tokyo Joe, Sirocco and The Family Secret
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film scholar and preservationist Alan K Rode on Dead Reckoning (2022)
• Audio commentary with writer and film historian Pamela Hutchinson on Knock on Any Door (2022)
• Audio commentary with writer and film historian Nora Fiore on Tokyo Joe (2022)
• Audio commentary with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson on Sirocco (2022)
• Audio commentary with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney on The Family Secret (2022)
• Audio commentary with critics and writers Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme on The Harder They Fall (2022)
• The South Bank Show: ‘Bogart: Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ (1997): episode of the British arts television series devoted to the iconic actor
• Tony Rayns on ‘Dead Reckoning’ (2022): appreciation by the writer and film programmer
• Geoff Andrew on ‘Knock on Any Door’ (2022): the critic and programmer discusses Bogart and Nicholas Ray
• Bertrand Tavernier on ‘Tokyo Joe’ (2017): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
• Tom Vincent on Sessue Hayakawa (2022): the film archivist looks at the career and stardom of the Tokyo Joe actor from the silent film era through to his Oscar-nominated role in The Bridge on the River Kwai
• Christina Newland on ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2022): the critic and writer talks Bogart, boxing and Budd Schulberg
• Bertrand Tavernier on ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2017): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
• The Negro Soldier (1944): WWII documentary film intended as a recruitment drive for African American enlistees, directed by Stuart Heisler and now preserved by the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance
• Jim Pines on ‘The Negro Soldier’ (2010): audio presentation by the author and lecturer, recorded following a screening of the film at London’s BFI Southbank
• The Negro Sailor (1945): documentary short film, inspired by the success of The Negro Soldier, directed by Henry Levin
• Watchtower Over Tomorrow (1945): documentary short film about the formation of the United Nations, directed by John Cromwell
• Tuesday in November (1945): documentary short on the US presidential campaign of 1944, on which Nicholas Ray served as assistant director
• That Justice Be Done (1945): documentary short on the Nuremberg Trials, written by Budd Schulberg
• The Big Moment (1954): short film produced by the United Jewish Appeal starring Knock on Any Door and The Family Secret actor John Derek
• Max Baer on Super 8: home cinema presentations of boxing matches featuring the prize fighter who acted in The Harder They Fall, including his famous bout with Primo Carnera that he would recreate in the film
• Theatrical trailer for Knock on Any Door
• Image galleries: publicity and promotional materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
• World and UK premieres on Blu-ray
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
• All extras subject to change

#PHILTD324
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921946


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COLUMBIA NOIR #6: THE WHISTLER
Release date: 20 May 2024
Limited Edition Blu-ray (World Blu-ray premieres)


THE WHISTLER (William Castle, 1944)
THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER (William Castle, 1944)
THE POWER OF THE WHISTLER (Lew Landers, 1945)
VOICE OF THE WHISTLER (William Castle, 1945)
MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER (William Castle, 1946)
THE SECRET OF THE WHISTLER (George Sherman, 1946)
THE THIRTEENTH HOUR (William Clemens, 1947)
THE RETURN OF THE WHISTLER (D Ross Lederman, 1948)

Pre-order here.

Our sixth journey into Columbia Pictures’ film noir output walks a different path, taking a detour into the mysterious world of the Whistler, as we present all eight films in the popular series.

Adapted from a hit radio series, each episode has the Whistler emerge from the shadows to introduce a nightmarish, twisting tale in his own sardonic manner, with the first seven films starring Richard Dix (It Happened in Hollywood). In The Whistler, a guilt-stricken man hires a contract killer to end his life… but finds he cannot pull out of the deal. The Mark of the Whistler sees a homeless man claim the money in an abandoned bank account, only to find the rightful owners on his tail. In The Power of the Whistler, an amnesiac must reconstruct his dark past using only the items in his pockets. Voice of the Whistler finds a poor nurse marry her wealthy, terminally ill patient, only for him to defy the odds and recover. In Mysterious Intruder, a private eye becomes embroiled in a murderous race to track down a missing girl and a lost fortune. The Secret of the Whistler sees a young bride suspect that her new husband may have murdered his first wife. In Dix’s final film, The Thirteenth Hour, the owner of a trucking company is framed for a murder he didn’t commit. Finally, in The Return of the Whistler, Michael Duane takes the lead as a man whose fiancée is abducted on the eve of their wedding.

This essential four-disc collection marks the UK Blu-ray premiere of all eight films, and features an array of fascinating contextualising extras, including newly recorded commentaries, critical appreciations, rare archival short films, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 individually numbered units.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4 x BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition presentations of The Whistler, The Power of the Whistler, Voice of the Whistler, Mysterious Intruder, The Secret of the Whistler, The Thirteenth Hour, and The Return of the Whistler;
• Standard Definition presentation of The Mark of the Whistler;
• Original mono audio;
• Audio commentary with film historian Josh Nelson on The Whistler (2024);
• Audio commentary with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney on The Power of the Whistler (2024);
• Audio commentary with film historian Lee Gambin on Voice of the Whistler (2024);
• Audio commentary with film historian Jeremy Arnold on Mysterious Intruder (2024);
• Audio commentary with academic and curator Eloise Ross on The Thirteenth Hour (2024);
• Kim Newman on ‘The Whistler’ (2024): in-depth exploration of the film series by the critic and author;
• Kim Newman on William Castle (2024): overview of the cult filmmaker’s early career as a studio-contracted director, prior to his successes as an independent showman best known for his macabre genre movies;
• Stuart Holmes Oral History (1958): rare archival audio recording of the prolific character actor in conversation with historian George Pratt;
• It’s Murder (1944): dramatised documentary, produced by Columbia Pictures for the war effort and featuring a number of cast and crew members from The Whistler film series;
• It’s Your America (c. 1945): dramatised documentary focusing on soldiers returning from World War II, directed by John Ford and featuring J Carroll Naish, the antagonist in The Whistler;
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials;
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing;
• Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Tim Lucas, archival interviews with actor Richard Dix, an extract from director William Castle’s autobiography, an archival article on the popularity of the radio show, new writing on the short films, and film credits;
• World premieres on Blu-ray;
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 individually numbered units for the UK.

All extras subject to change

#PHILE354B
BBFC cert: PG TBC
REGION B
EAN: 5060697923834
Last edited by MichaelB on Thu Mar 10, 2022 12:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Forthcoming: The Garment Jungle

#2 Post by domino harvey » Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:37 am

My writeup from the Noir list:
domino harvey wrote:
Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:06 pm
the Garment Jungle (Vincent Sherman and Robert Aldrich 1957) Unions good, sweat shop owners bad. Got it? If not, the film will beat you over the head with it. Luckily, for at least the first two thirds, it’s an effective work of agitprop, with Lee J Cobb (of that other, more notable Union movie) starring as a shopowner who refuses to let his seamstresses unionize, employing mobster Richard Boone to take care of it for him with violence if necessary. There’s a lot of time wasted on the deadwood son of Cobb and doomed union firebrand Robert Loggia’s Italian wife, but when the film gets in our face with its social messaging, I at least admired its gusto if nothing else. There’s also a wonderful set reveal moment early on in which we see the glamorous changing room of the in-store models is separated by a chickenwire door from the lowly sweatshop workers— it’s a smart visual cue far more effective than anything else here in showing the disconnect between the classes.

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Re: Forthcoming: The Garment Jungle

#3 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Thu Jul 23, 2020 12:48 pm

Should go down a storm in Leicester.

For those who have lost the thread - https://www.ft.com/content/0b26ee5d-4f4 ... 49038de18c

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Re: Forthcoming: The Garment Jungle

#4 Post by rapta » Thu Jul 23, 2020 6:05 pm

Likely part of a Columbia Noir set (or sets) according to comments made on social media and elsewhere. Great news! :)

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Re: Forthcoming: The Garment Jungle

#5 Post by MichaelB » Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:35 am

rapta wrote:Likely part of a Columbia Noir set (or sets) according to comments made on social media and elsewhere. Great news! :)
Comments by you, as far as I can see. ;)

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Re: Forthcoming: The Garment Jungle

#6 Post by rapta » Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:58 pm

MichaelB wrote:
Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:35 am
rapta wrote:Likely part of a Columbia Noir set (or sets) according to comments made on social media and elsewhere. Great news! :)
Comments by you, as far as I can see. ;)
I'm sure I saw others' yesterday...scrap that then, no box sets! :-$

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#7 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:49 am

The Ellroy commentary on the Lineup is a riot if you can tolerate his schtick. I have no earthly idea why yet another label is foisting 5 Against the House on unsuspecting innocents, though

Classic: Drive a Crooked Road
Okay: Lineup, Escape in the Fog, Undercover Man, Garment Jungle
A Personal Insult: 5 Against the House

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#8 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:51 am

Also, this is the only release this month. Using code BUNDLE gets you 10% off though

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#9 Post by HJackson » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:55 am

Glad to see this. Three of these are available in the very good value region free Noir Archive sets, but the other three are to my knowledge new to Blu which I think is a pretty fair rate (especially since these discs will almost certainly be an upgrade anyway). The "#1" is of course tantalising and I still have my fingers crossed for The Sniper and Murder By Contract!

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#10 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:57 am

Garment Jungle is coming from Imprint in Australia in their noir box, which means rather improbably I will end up with two blu-rays of this movie, a fresh reminder of the unpredictability of 2020

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#11 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:59 am

HJackson wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:55 am
The "#1" is of course tantalising and I still have my fingers crossed for The Sniper and Murder By Contract!
This November, INDICATOR embarks on a major project – a deep dive into the murky, cynical, shadowy world of film noir that will comprise multiple releases across numerous volumes over the coming years.

Maybe this is why Arrow was releasing some of the worst titles from the Sony Noir sets?

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#12 Post by Calvin » Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:02 am

This passage in the newsletter confirms a few titles in future volumes, including Nick Ray's Knock On Any Door
This November, INDICATOR embarks on a major project – a deep dive into the murky, cynical, shadowy world of film noir that will comprise multiple releases across numerous volumes over the coming years. To begin, we dig into the Columbia vaults with COLUMBIA NOIR #1, the first in a series of collections devoted to the studio’s output, encompassing outright classics like Irving Lerner’s Murder by Contract, forgotten gems like Gordon Douglas’ Between Midnight and Dawn, and such major filmmakers as Edward Dmytryk, Nicholas Ray and Robert Rossen.

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#13 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:05 am

Calvin wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:02 am
This passage in the newsletter confirms a few titles in future volumes, including Nick Ray's Knock On Any Door
[...]such major filmmakers as Edward Dmytryk, Nicholas Ray and Robert Rossen.
Yeah, that’s basically a confirmation of the Sniper, Knock on Any Door, and Johnny O’Clock

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#14 Post by Ribs » Thu Aug 20, 2020 6:23 am

Kind of wild to jump ~100 spine numbers from the previous latest set (Fu Manchu, 205). Makes me curious if Indicator signed some big deals in between...

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#15 Post by swo17 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:38 am

How much less likely does this make it for there to be a Quine-specific box now?

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#16 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Aug 20, 2020 1:28 pm

I'm the outcast who's underwhelmed by Drive a Crooked Road, and I generally love Quine. I'm holding out hope that Indicator wouldn't stray too diversely between genres though, and could see a box of more female-driven comedies like Solid Gold Cadillac, It Happened to Jane and My Sister Eileen at Columbia. Still a dream..

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#17 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Aug 20, 2020 1:43 pm

I'm sure the Columbia noir that Arrow have already released, would have been included in this or future volumes.

The wording of this announcement suggests that we'll be seeing noir sets from other companies - namely Fox and Universal - in the future. I get the feeling that I'll be selling off a lot of Kino discs in the coming years.

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#18 Post by MichaelB » Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:02 pm

I'm afraid you're living in a dreamworld if you're expecting more Fox titles from any boutique label.

(Aside from things like Signal One's much-delayed Nightmare Alley, whose licensing clock can't have long still to run.)

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#19 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:33 pm

“The studio’s output” is unambiguously referring to Columbia only. There is no reason to think the films Arrow released will make an appearance in future boxes either— Columbia has a TON of noirs to pick from. I’m pulling for Two of a Kind myself

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#20 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:27 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:33 pm
I’m pulling for Two of a Kind myself
Now that's a noir I can cosign! Easily one of the top five noirs of the 50s

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#21 Post by domino harvey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:50 pm

It’d be a better Edmond O’Brien noir than Between Midnight and Dawn, which is okay but I suspect I know why they picked it up because I can already picture the extras for it (probably don’t invite Ellroy to record his thoughts on that one!) considering it is so blatantly homoerotic that the heterosexual coupling in the film seems more like subtext than the gay one

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#22 Post by beamish14 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 5:03 pm

The Lineup is the only one I've seen, but it's one hell of a corker. Has one of the craziest death scenes ever, which made the crowd I
saw it with actually gasp. I like it more than Charley Varrick, even.

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#23 Post by Noiradelic » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:05 am

To me The Lineup is by far the best of the bunch. There are a lot of movies that would've been great except for bad endings, but this is the rarer case of a pretty great film that has a bad beginning. The first 20 minutes are dishwater-dull till Eli Wallach and Robert Keith step off the plane and then it jolts to vibrant life. Somehow a bad opening's a lot easier to overlook than a bad ending, at least in this instance. A hitman with a coach in 1958's quite novel. Think it's a top 20 noir -- box art suggests Indicator rates it pretty highly as well.

Drive a Crooked Road's definitely second -- the first getaway driver noir. Interesting choice to make the "mastermind" a middle-class suburbanite with an Ivy League education, possibly the best single example of noir transitioning from the cities to the 'burbs in the '50s.

Pretty offended by 5 Against the House too. Paid to see it on a double-bill with Murder by Contract.

Liked The Garment Jungle when I first saw it in the 90s, but it didn't hold up on a second viewing. Preachy and dramatically hamfisted. Can see why Sony dumped it onto their Martini Movies line as opposed to including it in a noir box.

Hope The Black Book and 711 Ocean Drive are included in future sets.

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#24 Post by MichaelB » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:37 am

Noiradelic wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:05 am
To me The Lineup is by far the best of the bunch. There are a lot of movies that would've been great except for bad endings, but this is the rarer case of a pretty great film that has a bad beginning. The first 20 minutes are dishwater-dull till Eli Wallach and Robert Keith step off the plane and then it jolts to vibrant life. Somehow a bad opening's a lot easier to overlook than a bad ending, at least in this instance. A hitman with a coach in 1958's quite novel. Think it's a top 20 noir -- box art suggests Indicator rates it pretty highly as well.
Yes, this is a useful corrective to the principle that if a film hasn't gripped you within the first 15-20 minutes, it's never going to. It's a full 22 minutes before Wallach and Keith turn up, prior to which it's been a perfectly amiable but - especially given Don Siegel's presence behind the camera - surprisingly trundling police procedural. After that, though, it's a knockout, and doesn't let up until the end - and I don't think anyone's going to complain about the last 22 minutes, which gleefully stirs in pretty much everything in Siegel's considerable arsenal, including what must be one of the better car chases in 1950s cinema.

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Re: 300-305 Columbia Noir #1

#25 Post by Calvin » Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:04 am

domino harvey wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:05 am
Calvin wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 4:02 am
This passage in the newsletter confirms a few titles in future volumes, including Nick Ray's Knock On Any Door
[...]such major filmmakers as Edward Dmytryk, Nicholas Ray and Robert Rossen.
Yeah, that’s basically a confirmation of the Sniper, Knock on Any Door, and Johnny O’Clock
I suppose there's nothing to say that there's only one Rossen planned, but it could also be his Best Picture-winning All The King's Men

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