- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,311
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Henry Hathaway's The House on 92nd Street, which was released just post-WWII, is an interesting film, from a number of perspectives.
It's a blend of police (FBI really) procedural, with a decidedly documentary bent to it. Look at the films of producer Louis De Rochemont, and you'll find the heritage.
It's opening is virtually all narrated set-up, which is a slow means of beginning a film. In this case, it seems to be the entire first reel. Sometime I may watch the film beginning with reel two, remove the entire explanation, and see how it plays.
Starring the short-careered William Eythe, backed by Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso, Gene Lockhart and Leo G. Carroll, the film must have worked better in 1945 than it does today, but it's still an interesting oddity. Many bits are played by actual non-pros, who are FBI agents, and we get to see some of the inner-workings of the Bureau of that era.
That's reprised in The Street with No Name a few years later, with Mr. Nolan playing the same character.
Look for a young E.G. Marshall in his first screen appearance as the morgue attendant, along with other Fox contract players of the era.
As a Blu-ray disc, it's a very nice affair, without many problems. Black levels and shadow detail are more than acceptable, and the disc has an overall cohesive image.
Image - 3.75
Audio - 4
4k Up-rez - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
It's a blend of police (FBI really) procedural, with a decidedly documentary bent to it. Look at the films of producer Louis De Rochemont, and you'll find the heritage.
It's opening is virtually all narrated set-up, which is a slow means of beginning a film. In this case, it seems to be the entire first reel. Sometime I may watch the film beginning with reel two, remove the entire explanation, and see how it plays.
Starring the short-careered William Eythe, backed by Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso, Gene Lockhart and Leo G. Carroll, the film must have worked better in 1945 than it does today, but it's still an interesting oddity. Many bits are played by actual non-pros, who are FBI agents, and we get to see some of the inner-workings of the Bureau of that era.
That's reprised in The Street with No Name a few years later, with Mr. Nolan playing the same character.
Look for a young E.G. Marshall in his first screen appearance as the morgue attendant, along with other Fox contract players of the era.
As a Blu-ray disc, it's a very nice affair, without many problems. Black levels and shadow detail are more than acceptable, and the disc has an overall cohesive image.
Image - 3.75
Audio - 4
4k Up-rez - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
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