Forgotten Noir Collector's Set 3

Eight film noirs not to be misses: DAVID HARDING, COUNTERSPY; DANGER ZONE; THE BIG CHASE; MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY - 1947; RINGSIDE; HI-JACKED; SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR; PIER 23; THE CASE OF THE BABY-SITTER Bonus Features: Scene Selection, Trailers, SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR - Featurette by Joel Blumberg, PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE - Radio program and source for PIER 23, LORD OF THE RADIO Part 2 - Jean Lord Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts, Mr. District Attorney - Radio Program, THE BIG CHASE: Robert L. Lippert Jr. interview with Tom Weaver (reenactment), LORD OF THE RADIO Part 1 - Jean Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts Product Specs: 3-DVD9s; Dolby Digital; 554 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954.

Not Seen For Over Half A Century!

Here's another fantastic release from Kit Parker Films and VCI. Many of the movies in this set haven't been seen in over fifty years which makes them all the more interesting to film noir buffs, although one could argue the noir status of some of them. There are nine films in this collection: two are from Columbia Pictures (David Harding Counterspy, Mr. District Attorney,) six are from Lippert Pictures (Pier 23, Hi-Jacked, Scotland Yard Inspector, Danger Zone, The Big Chase, Ringside,) one from Screen Guild Productions (Case of the Baby Sitter.) There is nothing to distinguish any of these productions from the many films with similar story lines being made in the forties and early fifties, however imparted through these movies is a picture of how our society and culture was at that time, with more hope and less crassness. The films star a fine group of actors including Lon Chaney Jr., Jim Davis, Marguerite Chapman, Hugh Beaumont, Don "Red" Barry. There are plenty of special features in this set too. In these stories, the good people won and the bad people went to jail! June 11, 2008

"Kit Parker Films ... Forgotten Noir Collector's Set - Series 3 ... VCI Ent (2008)"

VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "FORGOTTEN NOIR COLLECTOR'S SET - SERIES 3" --- (1947-1954) (554 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Film noir has sources not only in cinema but other artistic mediums as well...the low-key lighting schemes commonly linked with the classic mode are in the tradition of chiaroscuro and tenebrism, techniques using high contrasts of light and dark developed by 15th- and 16th-century painters associated with Mannerism and the Baroque --- film noir's aesthetics are deeply influenced by German Expressionism, a cinematic movement of the 1910s and 1920s closely related to contemporaneous developments in theater, photography, painting, sculpture, and architecture --- opportunities offered by the booming Hollywood film industry and, later, the threat of growing Nazi power led to the emigration of many important film artists working in Germany who had either been directly involved in the Expressionist movement or studied with its practitioners --- Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael Curtiz brought dramatic lighting techniques and a psychologically expressive approach to mise-en-scène with them to Hollywood, where they would make some of the most famous of classic noirs --- Lang's 1931 masterwork, the German M, is among the first major crime films of the sound era to join a characteristically noirish visual style with a noir-type plot, one in which the protagonist is a criminal (as are his most successful pursuers) --- M was also the occasion for the first star performance by Peter Lorre, who would go on to act in several formative American noirs of the classic era --- featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together --- another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems

Excellent review posted by fellow reviewer - "Calvinnme: The Texan Refugee from Fredericksburg, VA --- Check his story line and plot which saved me the review space, is right on.

Films with titles, date released, time, director and some of the cast inclusive:
First up we have "DAVID HARDING COUNTERSPY" (13 July 1950) (71 mins/B&W) - Ray Nazarro (Director)
Willard Parker ... Jerry Baldwin
Audrey Long ... Betty Iverson
Raymond Greenleaf ... Dr. George Vickers
Harlan Warde ... Hopkins
Alex Gerry ... Charles Kingston
Howard St. John ... David Harding

Second we have "DANGER ZONE" (20 April 1951) (56 mins/B&W) - William A. Berke (Director)
Hugh Beaumont ... Dennis O'Brien
Edward Brophy ... Prof. Frederick Simpson Schicker
Richard Travis ... Lt. Bruger
Tom Neal ... Edgar Spadely
Pamela Blake ... Vicki Jason
Virginia Dale ... Claire Underwood

Third we have "THE BIG CHASE" (18 June 1954) (60 mins/B&W) - Arthur Hilton (Director) Glenn Langan ... Officer Pete Grayson
Adele Jergens ... Doris Grayson
Lon Chaney Jr. ... Henchman Kip (as Lon Chaney)
Jim Davis ... Brad Bellows
Douglas Kennedy ... Police Lt. Ned Daggert

Fourth feature "MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY" (20 February 1947) (81 mins/B&W) - Robert B. Sinclair (Director)
Dennis O'Keefe ... Steve Bennett
Adolphe Menjou ... Craig Warren
Marguerite Chapman ... Marcia Manning
Michael O'Shea ... Harrington
George Coulouris ... James Randolph
Jeff Donnell ... Miss Miller

Fifth feature "HI-JACKED" (7 July 1950) (65 mins/B&W) - Sam Newfield (Director)
Jim Davis ... Joe Harper
Marcia Mae Jones ... Jean Harper (as Marsha Jones)
Sid Melton ... 'Killer'
David Bruce ... Matt
Paul Cavanagh ... Hagen
Ralph Sanford ... Stephen Clark
House Peters Jr. ... Hank

Sixth feature "RINGSIDE" (14 July 1949) (68 mins/B&W) - Frank McDonald (Director)
Don 'Red' Barry ... Mike O'Hara aka King Cobra
Tom Brown ... Joe O'Hara
Sheila Ryan ... Janet 'J.L.' Brannigan
Lyle Talbot ... Radio Announcer
Margia Dean ... Joy White
Joseph Crehan ... Oscar Brannigan

Seventh feature "SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR" (31 October 1952) (73 mins/B&W) - Sam Newfield (Director)
Cesar Romero ... Philip 'Phil' O'Dell
Lois Maxwell ... Margaret 'Peggy' Maybrick
Bernadette O'Farrell ... Heather McMara
Geoffrey Keen ... Christopher Hampden
Campbell Singer ... Inspector Rigby
Alastair Hunter ... Detective Sergeant Reilly

Eighth feature "PIER 23" (11 May 1951) (58 mins/B&W) - William A. Berke (Director)
Hugh Beaumont ... Dennis O'Brien
Ann Savage ... Ann Harmon
Edward Brophy ... Prof. Shicker
Richard Travis ... Inspector Lt. Bruger
Margia Dean ... Flo Klingle
Mike Mazurki ... Ape Danowski

Final feature "THE CASE OF THE BABY-SITTER" (26 July 1947) (41 mins/B&W) - Lambert Hillyer (Director)
Tom Neal ... Russ Ashton
Allen Jenkins ... Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
Pamela Blake ... Susan 'Susie' Hart
Virginia Sale ... Veronica Hoopler
George Meeker ... Phil Russell, alias the Duke
Rebel Randall ... Mamie Russell, alias the Duchess
Keith Richards ... Silk (henchman)

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. The Big Chase: Robert L. Lippert Jr. interview with Tom Weaver (reenactment)
2. Lord of the Radio Part 1
3. Jean Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts, Trailers
4. Lord of the Radio Part 2 - Jean Lord Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts
5. Mr. District Attorney - Radio Program
6. Scotland Yard Inspector Featurette by Joel Blumberg
7. Pat Novak for Hire - Radio program and source for "Pier 23"
8. Trailers (all the above film noir)

Hats off and thanks to Robert Blair and his staff at VCI Entertainment --- VCI was named in Variety and Hollywood Reporter as the first company to produce and release motion pictures directly to the home marketplace --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- VCI are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector -- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections.

Total Time: 554 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video KPF-600 ~ (4/29/2008) May 19, 2008

More great film noir fun from VCI

Ed Brophy as a professor, Hugh Beaumont as a hard-boiled private detective, and B-rated noir that is great fun if you like the genre continues this series by VCI. The films included are:

David Harding, Counterspy (1950) 7/10 - Stars Willard Parker and Audrey Long. Based on a radio show that ran from 1942-1957. Harding (Howard St. John) causes the interruption of a radio broadcast to announce disinformation. Harding then tells the radio announcer the story that is the movie's plot. It has lots of twists and turns and spy tricks just like the original radio show.

Danger Zone (1951) 6/10 - Stars Hugh Beaumont and Ed Brophy. A private detective is hired by a woman to bid on a locked suitcase at an auction. He is also working with another detective doing surveillance for a pending divorce. However, his partner in the second case is setting up him to take the fall for a murder. It's a little strange to see "The Beaver's" dad (Hugh Beaumont) as a detective, and stranger still to see supporting tough guy Ed Brophy as a professor.

The Big Chase (1954) 5/10 - Stars Lon Chaney Jr., Glenn Langen, and Adele Jergens. A Korean War vet becomes an L.A. policeman whose wife has developed health problems late in her pregnancy. The highlight of the film is our hero's pursuit of a gang of payroll robbers through the streets of L.A. This film was shot in 3-D during that particular craze in the 50's. You'll also be perplexed by the standard of self-care for pregnant women 55 years ago. Apparently bourbon and cigarettes were not discouraged.

Mr. District Attorney (1947) - Stars Dennis O'Keefe and Adolphe Menjou. Adapted from a popular NBC radio program of the time.

Ringside (1949) 6/10 - Stars Don Barry and Tom Brown. Joe O'Hara wants to win a boxing title so he can use the prize money to finance the concert pianist career of his brother Mike. Joe's opponent uses the info that Joe has a bad eye to blind Joe and win the fight. Brother Mike swears revenge and begins training as a fighter himself. Eventually he does face Tiger Johnson, the fighter that blinded his brother Joe. This film reminded me a little bit of "City for Conquest", which had some of the same plot elements.

Hi-Jacked (1950) 7/10 - Stars Jim Davis and Marcia Mae Jones. A truck driver is hijacked using the old "stranded motorist" ruse. When he comes to his truck is gone and the police immediately suspect him since he has a criminal past. Other events happen that make him look like a party to crime, so he sets out to determine who is really behind all of the truck hijackings. One of the better films in the set.

Scotland Yard Inspector (1952) 7/10 - Stars Caesar Romero and Lois Maxwell. What starts out as a hit and run spawns a routine murder investigation that seems to uncover a crime motivated by jealousy. However, the plot soon moves into the Cold War and the world of espionage and government secrets.

Pier 23 (1951) 6/10. Stars Hugh Beaumont and Ed Brophy. Like "Danger Zone", this movie actually has separate parts to it and appears to perhaps be a failed TV pilot that was turned into a film since the whole thing is under an hour in length. In the first half, private detective Dennis O'Brien becomes involved with a gang that uses a wrestling match as a cover for murder. In the second story O'Brien discourages a convict from trying to escape from Alcatraz. Later O'Brien mistakes another man for the convict, and winds up charged with a murder.

The Case of the Baby-sitter (1947) 6/10. Stars Tom Neal and Allen Jenkins. Members of royalty hire a detective agency to babysit their infant. It turns out the royalty and the child are just a ruse for a jewel robbery. It's only forty minutes long, so there's not much time for plot complexity.

Extras include:
The Big Chase: Robert L. Lippert Jr. interview with Tom Weaver (reenactment)
Lord of the Radio Part 1
Jean Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts, Trailers
Lord of the Radio Part 2 - Jean Lord Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts
Mr. District Attorney - Radio Program
Scotland Yard Inspector Featurette by Joel Blumberg
Pat Novak for Hire - Radio program and source for "Pier 23"

Normally VCI puts out excellent restorations of old films, so I expect the video and audio to be very good in this case too. The extras put the total value of this package at about 4/5 stars. April 6, 2008

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