A Man Alone: A DVD From Germany (1 Viewer)

[Robin9]

A Man Alone is a 1955 film that my father took me to see when it first came out. I loved the film and I still do. I've never met anyone who shares my high opinion of A Man Alone and a few people have told me they think my opinion is eccentric, but I do note that IMDB does have some favorable reviews.

The film has now been released on DVD in Germany and I watched it last night. It's not a good DVD by normal standards with a lot of scratches, marks and dirt on the images, but it is certainly watchable and far, far better than the seriously bad DVDs of Great Day In The Morning and Bandido. The film is presented in open matte 1.37:1 with masses of spare room at the top of the image. The English soundtrack is good with everything clearly audible and real definition to voices. There are no subtitles for the hard-of-hearing.

The DVD is part of a handsome package with a glossy booklet and outer sleeve.

I can now see a few minor faults with the screenplay that could have been fixed with one final re-write. Ray Milland, who directed as well as being the leading actor, was obviously influenced by silent films. His direction of Mary Murphy makes that quite clear and there are long stretches with no dialog where everything is conveyed by the images.

For a major admirer of A Man Alone - like me - this DVD is more than acceptable. People who do not agree with my assessment of this film should perhaps avoid this disc.

 

[Thomas T]

If I may piggyback on your A Man Alone, Robin. For fans of Universal's western programmers, I received my copy of Raw Edge (1956) with Rory Calhoun and Yvonne De Carlo from Germany. It's a more than decent 16x9 anamorphic transfer and a rather unusual western for its day.

 

[Robin9]

If I may piggyback on your A Man Alone, Robin. For fans of Universal's western programmers, I received my copy of Raw Edge (1956) with Rory Calhoun and Yvonne De Carlo from Germany. It's a more than decent 16x9 anamorphic transfer and a rather unusual western for its day.

I might buy that one too. It's noticeable that there's a strong DVD market in Germany for Westerns. I'm also particularly interested in their DVD of Day Of Fury, one of the very opportunities to star in a movie ever given to Mara Corday.

 

[Bert Greene]

I recall enjoying "A Man Alone," but I admit I haven't seen it in over three decades and my memories are a bit sketchy. When I was at a library in my old hometown of Shreveport, La,, I used to spend a lot of time going through the microfilm of the area newspapers. I recall encountering (and making note of) a news item that Ray Milland, Ward Bond, and Mary Murphy came to town for the local premiere of the film, in October 1955. Might even have involved a parade, if I'm remembering correctly.

On the topic of similar obscure favorites, I've always had a peculiar, nostalgic affection for "Rogue River" (1950), a contemporary little western-flavored crime drama, shot in color, and on location in Oregon, with Rory Calhoun and Peter Graves (his debut). Would love to have this on DVD or blu. It's not necessarily a highly-regarded film, and I seem to never run across anyone very familiar with it, but it remains an oddball favorite of mine.