330-341 Universal Noir #1 and #2

[MichaelB]

UNIVERSAL NOIR #1
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)

Release date: 19 September 2022
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (6 x UK Blu-ray premieres)

Pre-order here

A new series of box sets – following Indicator's acclaimed Columbia Noir series – focusing on the film noir output of another of the major Hollywood studios, Universal Pictures.

Starring such high-profile talents as Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Vincent Price, Edmond O’Brien, Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Jeff Chandler, the six films in this volume feature embezzlement and murder (The Web), confidence tricksters (Larceny), lovers on the lam (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands), an adoption racket (Abandoned), transatlantic criminals (Deported), and police brutality (Naked Alibi).

This stunning collection marks the UK Blu-ray premiere of all six films, and also features an array of fascinating contextualising extras, including newly recorded commentaries for each film, critical appreciations, archival short films, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition presentations of The Web, Larceny, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Abandoned, Deported and Naked Alibi
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle on The Web (2022)
• Audio commentary with academic and curator Eloise Ross on Larceny (2022)
• Audio commentary with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson on Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (2022)
• Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman on Abandoned (2022)
• Audio commentary with filmmaker and film scholar Daniel Kremer on Deported (2022)
• Audio commentary with film historian Nathaniel Thompson on Naked Alibi (2022)
• The John Player Lecture with Joan Fontaine (1978): archival audio recording of the star of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands in conversation with film critic Martin Shawcross at London’s National Film Theatre
• Archival Interview with Victoria Price (2018): the daughter of Vincent Price in conversation with the Film Noir Foundation’s Alan K Rode following a screening of The Web at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival
• Lucy Bolton on Gloria Grahame (2022): the academic discusses one of the great femme fatales of film noir
• Christina Newland on Robert Siodmak (2022): the critic and writer looks at the Deported director’s extensive work in film noir
• Nick Pinkerton on Dan Duryea (2022): the author and critic assesses the life and career of the big-screen tough guy
• Lux Radio Theatre: ‘The Web’ (1947): radio adaptation featuring Ella Raines, Edmond O’Brien and Vincent Price reprising their roles from the film
• United Action Means Victory (1939): documentary short about the 1938-39 General Motors strike, with narration written by Kiss the Blood Off My Hands screenwriter Ben Maddow
• Men of the Lightship (1941): British World War II documentary short, co-written by Kiss the Blood Off My Hands screenwriter Hugh Gray and narrated by Kiss the Blood Off My Hands actor Robert Newton
• Skirmish on the Home Front (1944): WWII propaganda short starring film noir mainstays Alan Ladd and William Bendix
• Easy to Get (1947): documentary short directed by Abandoned filmmaker Joseph M Newman as part of the US Army’s ‘Easy to Get’ campaign on venereal disease
• Theatrical trailer for Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
• 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 new essays by Iris Veysey, Jill Blake, Karen Hannsberry, Sabina Stent, Sergio Angelini and Walter Chaw, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
• UK premieres on Blu-ray
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units

All extras subject to change

#PHILTD330
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921908

UNIVERSAL NOIR #2
LADY ON A TRAIN (1945, Charles David)
TIME OUT OF MIND (1947, Robert Siodmak)
SINGAPORE (1947, John Brahm)
A WOMAN’S VENGEANCE (1948, Zoltán Korda)
AN ACT OF MURDER (1948, Michael Gordon)
THE LADY GAMBLES (1949, Michael Gordon)

Release date: 18 September 2023
Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (6 x UK Blu-ray premieres)

Pre-order here.

Universal Noir #2 – the second in Indicator’s series of box sets focusing on the celebrated film noir output of Universal Pictures – collects six crime classics from Hollywood’s golden age.

Starring the cream of US and British acting talent – including Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, Phyllis Calvert, Fred MacMurray, Ava Gardner, Ann Blyth, Jessica Tandy, Cedric Hardwicke, Fredric March, and Barbara Stanwyck – these dark and dangerous dramas feature witnesses to murder (Lady on a Train), family rifts (Time Out of Mind), amnesia and smuggling (Singapore), murderous infidelity (A Woman’s Vengeance), mercy killing (An Act of Murder), and gambling addiction (The Lady Gambles).

This indispensable collection marks the UK Blu-ray premiere of all six films, and also 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 BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

High Definition presentations of Lady on a Train, Time Out of Mind, Singapore, A Woman’s Vengeance, An Act of Murder and The Lady Gambles
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with critics and writers Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme on Lady on a Train (2023)
Audio commentary with film historian Adrian Martin on Time Out of Mind (2023)
Audio commentary with screenwriter and author Kelly Goodner and filmmaker and film historian Jim Hemphill on Singapore (2023)
Audio commentary with writer and film historian Pamela Hutchinson on The Lady Gambles (2023)
Jose Arroyo on ‘Time Out of Mind’ (2023): the writer and academic discusses the film
Neil Sinyard on ‘A Woman’s Vengeance’ (2023): an in-depth appreciation by the author and film historian
Christina Newland on Ava Gardner (2023): the writer and critic considers the famed actor’s noir persona
Wings Up (1943): WWII propaganda film featuring The Lady Gambles star Robert Preston, alongside Hollywood legends Clark Gable, Gilbert Roland and William Holden
Reward Unlimited (1944): dramatised short film about the training of cadet nurses during WWII, directed by Jacques Tourneur and featuring Singapore actor Spring Byington
The Library of Congress (1945): documentary short, made as part of The American Scene film series, narrated by Lady on a Train star Ralph Bellamy
French Town… (1945): documentary short offering a portrait of a French town following liberation, narrated by A Woman’s Vengeance actor Cedric Hardwicke
Welcome Home (1945): documentary short about returning soldiers following the end of WWII, narrated by An Act of Murder star Fredric March
With This Ring (1954): dramatised promotional film for the Miller Brewing Company, directed by John Brahm
Mollé Mystery Theatre: ‘The Gioconda Smile’ (1945): radio play based on the Aldous Huxley short story, later adapted as A Woman's Vengeance
Lux Radio Theatre: ‘Singapore’ (1947): radio adaptation of the film’s screenplay, featuring Fred MacMurray and Ava Gardner reprising their original roles
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 Ellen Wright, Paul Duane, Philip Kemp, Tara Judah, Imogen Sara Smith, and Iris Veysey, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
UK premieres on Blu-ray
Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units for the UK

All extras subject to change

#PHILE336B
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697922677

[Glowingwabbit]

Were these all released previously by Kino? I know I have several in my wishlist and I'm so glad I never pulled the trigger on any of them since these Noir sets have been things of beauty so far

[Ribs]

Yes - though all except Abandoned were released individually and not in their own Noir sets.

[therewillbeblus]

The Web is great, but I have the KL - never heard of any of the others

[domino harvey]

I’ve seen all of these. Here’s the ones I’ve written up on the board:

Another Siodmak film coming in November, Deported (1950). I haven't seen it. Any takers here?

Watched this last night, it's okay but very slight and unlikely to ever be something I'd need to see again. Some interesting halfhearted attempts at social consciousness ala coopting the burgeoning neorealism movement (big Decision Before Dawn energy), but this thing really falls apart in the last act. Highlights are Marina Berti's bad girl who looks like the A+ lab creation of Elaine Stewart X Pier Angeli and whoever played the slimy low-rent local black market honcho-- there's a thirty second scene late in the action between these two that hints at a much better film, as does the comic relief scene wherein said honcho tries to send a coded telegram and can't stop arguing with the Western Union guy who thinks it's too wordy. Get me a time machine and make me a studio head and I could fix this with little effort: More grace notes like those and less of the predictable noir/social commentary aspects (and fire Claude Dauphin)

Naked Alibi (Jerry Hopper 1954) Violent cop Sterling Hayden becomes obsessed with the idea that an innocent baker is responsible for a series of police murders, gets fired for brutality, and starts stalking the baker, convinced of his guilt. Of the Where the Sidewalk Ends / On Dangerous Ground mold, only dumber. Hayden gets a lot of mileage out of giving squinty looks at things here, and Gloria Grahame enters the picture about halfway in so as to be smacked around every five minutes or so. There are too many ludicrous plot holes to keep track of, but the biggest has to be:

SpoilerShow

For a cop who is brilliant enough to see through the baker’s scam, Hayden sure does manage to fall into every trap set for him by criminals in the film!

the Web (Michael Gordon 1947) Further proof that there are so many forgotten noir classics out there just waiting to be rediscovered. Edmond O'Brien and Ella Raines get played for patsies by a devilish Vincent Price while William Bendix's laconic detective hovers around the perimeter. Wonderful dialogue-- O'Brien at one point objects by uttering "Over my beautiful muscular dead body"-- and a perversely effective frame-job seal the deal. Another new entry in my personal list of all-time greats!

Abandoned is a better than average b-thriller that deserves rediscovery, so it’s great for a box like this. Larceny is pretty lame, and the most memorable thing about Kiss the Blood off My Hands is the title

[mteller]

Haven't seen Deported, but the other five are all solid good/very good noirs. None essential, but all worthwhile.

[yoloswegmaster]

It looks as if they are going to use old HD masters, which is a bit strange since I know that Kino used 4K scans for their releases of 'The Web' and 'Larceny'. Are all of the Kino releases for the titles in this set using newer transfers?

[Gerald Christie]

I was just about to post the same thing. Hopefully the specs aren't final, but the fact that it only says "HD presentations" has me a bit worried". It's especially weird when you consider there's new remasters available. I mean, The Web (4K scan), Larceny (4k scan), Wash The Blood Out of My Hands (2K scan) and Naked Alibi (2K scan) all have newer scans that were carried out by Kino. Is it a Force 10 from Navarone type situation where they can't license for some reason the newer scans? Rather unfortunate if that's the case.

[soundchaser]

Apparently I saw (and liked!) The Web, but I can't remember a thing about it.

[What A Disgrace]

The only reasons I'm buying this set are because of the strong recommendations for The Web, and because I'm a sucker. This sounds like its scraping off the bottom of the barrel more than Columbia Noir Volume 5, and it's only volume 1! I know a lot of the really great Universal Noir have largely been released by Arrow, Eureka, and Criterion over the past decade plus, but I know there's more worthwhile noir than just The Web waiting to be discovered.

Like Columbia Noir volume 5, however, this set is definitely going to miss the inclusion of Three Stooges shorts.

[swo17]

Delayed to 24 Oct

[MichaelB]

Final specs for Universal Noir #1.



Abandoned:



Deported:



Kiss the Blood Off My Hands:



Larceny:



Naked Alibi:



The Web:

[MichaelB]

Bumped to flag up that the specs for Universal Noir #2 have been added to this thread's inaugural post.

[Jonathan S]

Wings Up (1943): WWII propaganda film featuring The Lady Gambles star Robert Preston in his very first film role...

Preston had played major roles in numerous films since 1938.

[domino harvey]

My writeups

the Lady Gambles (Michael Gordon 1949) Barbara Stanwyck develops the world's fastest gambling addiction in what could probably be better classified as a social problem picture, though its noir credentials are in better shape than a lot of other films bandied about more freely in the genre. The film is well-made and the frequent scenes of Stanwyck humiliating herself as she spirals downward are surprisingly unsympathetic to her rather pathetic and weak protagonist. There are some unnecessary and distracting attempts at explaining away her addiction and family drama dynamics present that only serve to cloud the good done here, but overall Stanwyck's ballsy performance (she is introduced by getting punched in the face in a back alley!) still makes it worthwhile

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.

Singapore (John Brahm 1947) Fred MacMurray travels back to the titular locale after the war in order to retrieve some stashed pearls and find his long-lost love Ava Gardner. Complications ensue. Flavorless programmer and instantly forgettable.

I’ve also seen An Act of Murder and didn’t like it. Not holding out much hope for the Durbin film, to the surprise of no one

[JSC]

Lady on a Train is essentially a Deanna Durbin vehicle disguised as a film noir. A couple
nice scenes, but this is essentially a sub-sub Hitchcockian story. Ralph Bellamy seems to be
spending half the time wondering why he's in this film. It also contains one of the most cringe
inducing moments where I actually had to skip through it:

SpoilerShow

Durbin sings (if I remember) Silent Night to her father over the phone while lying in bed
looking directly into the camera... creepy!

[What A Disgrace]

If I don't buy volume 2, will I still go to Heaven?

[reaky]

But Dan Duryea is in it, and Dan Duryea automatically makes anything noir.

LADY ON A TRAIN is a lot of fun, actually, and a great Christmas film.

[JSC]

Oh, I won't deny it's fun. All in all it has a jaunty charm. But is this possibly the only film noir where Dan Duryea...

SpoilerShow

...doesn't turn out to be a villain and/or complete heel?

[therewillbeblus]

I enjoyed Lady on a Train:

This year I discovered the *other* Deanna Durbin Christmas movie, Lady on a Train (1945). It’s a bit of mess, but as much fun as you’d expect from a screwball comedy whodunnit musical.

I thought this was excellent, and Deanna Durbin didn’t ruin anything for me because her obtuse nature was a perfect fit for a heroine who isn’t taken seriously by anyone in the film, not even the viewer. Part of the fun here is that instead of feeling allied with the protagonist I felt divorced from all parties watching her with just as curious a sideways perspective as anyone else. Without that tactic I doubt I would’ve liked this nearly as much, but by treating Durbin as another side character and removing myself to the position of the self-assured voyeur, the separation freed me from any responsibility to empathize with the players, and with the only objective to be entertained this film never failed to deliver. Through all its self-aware genre playing there was an even further dilution of the filmgoer experience that fit right at home with the distance a musical might.

Speaking of genre, the screwball comedy elements embedded in the noirish mystery worked oddly enough without a consistent sparring partner, because each person or situation Durbin encountered showed her naïveté, ill-equipped persona, and absence of skills. It felt like she was trapped in the wrong movie, which was actually perfect for how things would likely play out if a Joe or Jane Smith decided to meddle where they didn’t belong (also, I could totally believe that she had nothing better to do, nor personal goals to attend to, that gave credence to playing detective- emphasis on “playing”). The self-reflexivity was a lot more intelligent than I expected, up to and including Durbin’s casting. Even just watching her staring off into space next to Bellamy as she infiltrates the will reading is hysterical, and something that a more talented or personable actress wouldn’t be able to pull off. I don’t think her random breakout into song with Silent Night on the phone or her song in the ballroom were intended to be funny, but I laughed. I realize I’m selling this pretty hard, and it isn’t the great movie I’m painting it as (it’s a total mess, as reaky suggests) but it’s the exact kind of mess I adore, precisely because of the ways those flaws can be interpreted to create new ideas and thus new admiration for these recontenxtualizations, regardless of whether the exact intentions of the filmmakers are in step with these impressions all the way down the line.

[mteller]

Oh, I won't deny it's fun. All in all it has a jaunty charm. But is this possibly the only film noir where Dan Duryea...

SpoilerShow

...doesn't turn out to be a villain and/or complete heel?

Not at all.

SpoilerShow

The Burglar
Chicago Calling
The Underworld Story (starts off as a heel, but doesn't end up one)
World for Ransom (IIRC)
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Black Angel
The Great Flamarion

[reaky]

I’d say

SpoilerShow

drunkenly strangling someone in BLACK ANGEL

constitutes fairly major heeldom!

[MichaelB]

I'd say

SpoilerShow

posting spoilers for films like Black Angel that haven't been mentioned here outside spoiler tags

also constitutes fairly major heeldom!

(There are no actual spoilers inside my spoiler tags, incidentally; their use was strictly satirical.)

[swo17]

I suppose it's somewhat clear from context that these are all spoilers for people who have not yet seen all 100 or whatever of Duryea's films

[mteller]

I’d say

SpoilerShow

drunkenly strangling someone in BLACK ANGEL

constitutes fairly major heeldom!

But

SpoilerShow

he confesses!