Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 1

Bad Girls of Film Noir Vols. 1 & 2

Studio: Sony/Columbia

Years: 1946-1956

Rated: Not Rated

Aspect Ratios: See Individual Titles

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, English SDH            

The Program

The authoritative reference book “Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style” calls film noir “a world of darkness, ambiguity, and moral corruption.” By that standard, the title of this collection of eight relatively obscure but intriguing “B” films from Columbia’s vaults is somewhat misleading. Only two of the films – Night Editor and The Killer That Stalked New York – indisputably deserve to be called film noir. The others are mostly conventional, low-budget crime films, and one is a prison film. However, all eight films do have leading characters who are “bad girls,” so in that respect the set’s title is on the mark. Included are performances but such femmes fatale as Gloria Grahame, Ida Lupino, and Lizabeth Scott. One of the real treats here is the opportunity to see three performances by Cleo Moore, who in the fifties was known as “Queen of the B Movie Bad Girls.” Apart from the Nicholas Ray Film On Dangerous Ground, in which she has a small role, and an unbilled appearance in Bright Leaf, this set contains the only Cleo Moore films to be released on DVD to date. Other familiar faces in this collection include Charlton Heston, Edmond O’Brien, and Richard Crenna. The films included in this set are:

Volume 1

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), directed by Earl McEvoy and starring Charles Korvin, Evelyn Keyes, Lola Albright and Dorothy Malone (79 minutes)

Eight million people hunt one woman as a silent, invisible assassin stalks an entire population!

Shelia Bennet (Keyes), who has smuggled diamonds into the country, becomes the object of a manhunt when it is discovered that she unknowingly contracted smallpox while in Cuba. Shelia vows revenge when she discovers that her husband and partner in crime, Matt (Charles Korvin), is having an affair with Shelia’s sister, Francine (Lola Albright). This tense and atmospheric film benefits greatly from location filming in New York City.

Two of a Kind ((1951), directed by Henry Levin and starring Edmond O’Brien, Lizabeth Scott and Terry Moore (75 minutes)

Made for each other...and on the make for millions!

Scott stars as Brandy Kirby, a larcenous woman who has hatched a scheme to scam an elderly couple out of an inheritance. She and her partner enlist a crook named Lefty Farrell (O’Brien) to pose as the “heir.” Moore plays the niece of the intended victims.

Bad For Each Other (1953), directed by Irving Rapper and starring Charlton Heston and Lizabeth Scott (83 minutes)

A lot of things look good until you get them...especially expensive women!

Dr. Tom Owen (Heston) returns to his hometown in Pennsylvania from Korea and has to decide between devoting himself to treating poor coal miners or opening a swanky office and catering to local socialites. The wily divorcee Helen Curtis (Scott) tries to lure him away from the mines. This movie is more soap opera than film noir.

The Glass Wall (1953), directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame (80 minutes)

Filmed at express speed! Told with explosive force!

Gassman, appearing in his first American film, plays Peter Kaban, a displaced person from Europe who avoids deportation by jumping ship in New York City. His efforts to evade the authorities are assisted by the sympathetic Maggie Summers (Grahame). The two try to avoid capture while attempting to locate the one person who can attest that Peter has a right to asylum in the United States. The film includes striking on-location photography in New York City. Gassman’s marriage to Shelley Winters is alluded to in the film’s theatrical trailer.

Volume 2

Night Editor (1946), directed by Henry Levin and starring William Gargan and Janis Carter (68 minutes)

In the middle of a kiss...Murder!

Tony Cochrane (Gargan) is a married police detective who is having an affair with socialite Jill Merrill (Carter). He wants to break it off, but while parking by the ocean they witness the murder of a young woman. The problem is that Tony can’t report the crime without exposing his infidelity, and he faces a moral dilemma when an innocent man is arrested for the killing. Carter is particularly chilling as the mistress who demands to see the body of the victim, who has been pummeled with a tire iron. Tony’s quandary fits well within the tradition of film noir. The film is based upon a radio show of the same title, and there also was a television series which had a brief run in the fifties.

One Girl’s Confession (1953), directed by Hugo Haas and starring Cleo Moore, Haas and Russ Conway (74 minutes)

Other people’s money – Other women’s men – She took both!

This film is one of several collaborations between director Haas and Cleo Moore. Haas was a celebrated actor in Czechoslovakia in the thirties before he fled from the Nazis and ended up in America. After World War II he found himself in demand for supporting roles, and by 1951 he had earned enough money to form his own production company. During the ensuing decade he made a series of low-budget “B” features, several of which unquestionably deserve to be called film noir. Most of them feature well-developed blondes (such as Cleo Moore) and have suggestive titles. Moore stars here as Mary Adams, a sexy but chaste woman who steals from her guardian and then is sent to jail for her crime. However, she manages to stash the loot and it is waiting for her upon her release. She just needs someone trustworthy to help her dig up the money.

Women’s Prison (1955), directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter and Cleo Moore (80 minutes)

Man-Smuggling in “Big House” for women bared!

In my youth I was an altar boy for a Roman Catholic parish in New York which includes the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a women’s prison which has housed such infamous inmates as Pamela Smart, Carolyn Warmus, Amy Fisher, Jean Harris, and Kathy Boudin. Occasionally I was called upon to serve Mass at the prison, and my recollection is that the inmates there were considerably rougher than the prisoners who are portrayed in Women’s Prison. Ida Lupino plays Amelia van Zandt, the prison warden who seems to enjoy abusing her charges. She often butts heads with the prison doctor (Howard Duff, who at the time was married to Lupino), who is sympathetic to the plight of the prisoners. Thaxter plays a timid housewife who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after she accidentally ran over a child with her car. Trouble develops when one of the male inmates in the adjacent men’s prison discovers a way to sneak into the women’s area.

Over-Exposed (1956), directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Cleo Moore and Richard Crenna (80 minutes)

She took New York apart...man by man...with a camera, curves, and no conscience!

Lila (Cleo Moore) is ordered to leave town after the clip joint where she has just started working is raided by the police. Down on her luck and strapped for cash, she meets a photographer who hires her to be his model. He teaches her the business and she eventually strikes out on her own. Unable to land employment with a news bureau, she takes a job photographing patrons in a nightclub. She learns that some customers are there in compromising situations and do not want their pictures taken. Lila finds that this gives her opportunities to foray into blackmail. Crenna plays a newsman who tries to set Lila straight.

No one is going to argue that most of these films are classic film noir, but aficionados of “B” movies from the forties and fifties will find plenty to enjoy. It is a great opportunity to see why Cleo Moore had a devoted following, and this set offers the first opportunity to see on DVD a film produced by Hugo Haas, who some have dubbed “the foreign Ed Wood.”  

The Video

All of the black & white films in this collection are in excellent shape. The transfers are crisp, free of damage, and they boast strong contrasts and solid black levels. Women’s Prison and Over-Exposed are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and both films appear to be properly framed (IMDB claims that both films are 1.37:1, but I tried watching both films in 4:3 and the images appear elongated). The other six films are framed at 1.33:1.

The Audio

The English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks offer nothing which will tax your sound system, but the mono sound is clear, intelligible, and devoid of annoying hiss and distortion.

The Supplements

The original theatrical trailers for all of the films except Night Editor are included. The trailers are in pretty good shape, although the audio and video quality is not up the standard of the feature presentations.

Two half-hour television dramas, credited to “All Star Theatre,” were actually aired originally under the auspices of “The Ford Television Theatre.” Presumably the Ford name has been dropped because the automaker no longer has any connection to the shows. “Remember to Live,” which aired in 1954, is an extra on Volume 2 and features Dane Clark as a returning P.O.W. from Korea who has a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. Cleo Moore appears as a saucy blonde who catches the G.I.’s eye while Barbara Hale is the wholesome girl next door. “The Payoff,” from 1956, is a snappy private eye story written by Blake Edwards about an effort to fix a boxing match which goes sour. It stars Howard Duff and Janet Blair and is an extra on Volume 1. Both shows are Screen Gems productions and are in good shape.

Also included with Volume 1 is a seven-minute featurette in which Terry Moore discusses her acting career and the making of Two of a Kind.

The Packaging

The full set consists of four discs, two films per disc. Each volume is a standard DVD keep case, two discs per case.

The Final Analysis

The eight films in this collection are not exactly classic film noir, but they are enjoyable examples of late forties and early fifties “B” films which feature some of the more interesting femmes fatale of that period. The excellent restorations by Sony add to the enjoyment. At a street price of approximately $5.00 per film, fans of low-budget crime films will be seriously tempted to pick up this set.

Equipment used for this review:

Toshiba HD-XA-2 DVD player

Panasonic Viera TC-P46G15 Plasma display, calibrated to THX specifications by Gregg Loewen

Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver

BIC Acoustech speakers

Interconnects: Monster Cable

Release Date: February 9, 2010