Volume XXII of Kino’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema series unveils three gems from the Paramount vaults returning to Blu-ray. First, Humphrey Bogart plays a maverick district attorney looking to bring down a murder-for-hire ring in The Enforcer. Next, Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart are lovers who find inspiration for a crime plot of their own in The Scarlet Hour. Finally, five men try to pull off an elaborate heist of millions in gold bullion in Plunder Road. Both The Enforcer and Plunder Road were previously released on Blu-ray by Olive Films – with The Enforcer being previously released on Blu-ray by Imprint as well – while The Scarlet Hour is making its stateside debut after being previously released on Region Free Blu-ray by Imprint.
The Production: 4/5
The Enforcer (1951; 4 out of 5)
In an unnamed big city, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson (Humphrey Bogart) is the lead prosecutor in the case against crime boss Albert Mendoza (Everett Sloane). However, when the star witness Joe Rico (Ted de Corsia) is found dead from a fall, it looks like Mendoza might just beat the rap for the many murders he committed through his associates. But Ferguson is determined to bring Mendoza to justice, and he – along with Captain Frank Nelson (Roy Roberts) – discover a tantalizing piece of evidence they’ve previously overlooked and it’s a race against time before Mendoza walks free!
One of the first films to concretely look at the inner workings of the Mob, The Enforcer is thrilling and moody crime thriller with touches of noir. Though the film is credited to longtime theatre and television director Bretaigne Windust, veteran Raoul Walsh was brought in to complete the film when Windust fell seriously ill; however, the switch is not noticeable, since the film is a taut and suspenseful affair throughout. Loosely based off of the real life Murder, Inc. trials that gripped New York City in the early 1940’s, Martin Rackin’s screenplay marks one of the earliest films to detail how the Mob works and has some of the terminology we no associate with organized crime like “hit”, “finger man” and “contract”; cinematographer Robert Burks – best known for his long association with Alfred Hitchcock, starting the same year as this movie with Strangers on a Train – shoots the movie in stark, semi-documentary style that suits the story quite well. However, the best quality about this film is the performances, anchored by Humphrey Bogart – channeling Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Burton Turkus in his final film role for Warner Bros. – and supported by the likes of Zero Mostel (right before he was blacklisted), Ted de Corsia (as a cinematic stand-in for Murder, Inc. hitman Abe “Kid Twist” Reles), Everett Sloane (as the on-screen equivalent of Murder, Inc. boss Albert Anastasia), Roy Roberts, Michael Tolan, King Donovan, Bob Steele, Don Beddoe, Tito Vuolo and Jack Lambert. Though it exists on the edges of the film noir genre, The Enforcer is one of the hidden gems of the genre – and the police procedural subgenre – that’s absolutely worth seeking out.
The Scarlet Hour (1956; 3.5 out of 5)
Real estate sales manager E.V. “Marsh” Marshall (Tom Tryon) is in the midst of a love affair with his boss’ unhappy wife Pauline “Paulie” Nevins (Carol Ohmart) when an opportunity falls into his lap. It’s during a romantic tryst on Lovers Lane when he and Paulie overhear thieves plotting the theft of priceless jewelry at the home of a prominent local doctor; rather than go to the police, Paulie manages to convince Marsh to take part in the robbery, especially since Ralph (James Gregory) has caught on to the affair between his wife and Marsh. However, when the robbery does happen, a series of events – resulting in the death of Ralph – occur afterwards that leads to some surprising twists in this sordid love affair and crime caper.
The Scarlet Hour marked veteran director Michael Curtiz’s return to the film noir genre since The Breaking Point (1950), with some mixed results here. Let’s start off with the positive: Curtiz’s visual sense and pacing is never in question here, with strong contributions from cinematographer Lionel Lindon giving shadowy menace to the Los Angeles locations; the added virtue of VistaVision – Paramount’s answer to 20th Century Fox’s CinemaScope widescreen process – is another asset. The story – penned by the trio Alford Van Ronkel, John Meredyth Lucas and former animator Frank Tashlin (from Tashlin’s story “The Kiss Off”) – melds romantic melodrama with crime caper and bathes it in noirish tones and also the work of longtime Paramount regular Edith Head (costume designer) and the production design team of Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Sam Comer and Frank McKelvy. However, the lone weak point here is that the two leads – Tom Tryon and Carol Ohmart in their film debuts (the latter taking over when Lauren Bacall, Barbara Stanwyck and Carroll Baker could not take the part of Paulie for different reasons) – while OK, are a bit long in the tooth in their performances (not terrible, but not really inspired either); supporting players James Gregory, Elaine Stritch, Jody Lawrance, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns, David Lewis, Jacques Aubuchon – and even an appearance by Nat “King” Cole singing “Never Let Me Go” – fare better here. So, while it’s not one of his best efforts overall, The Scarlet Hour is still a decent effort from Michael Curtiz, who delivers enough suspense and potency to offset enough of its flaws to make it worth a look.
Plunder Road (1957; 4 out of 5)
On a dark and stormy night in California, a group of five men (Gene Raymond, Wayne Morris, Elisha Cook Jr., Stafford Repp & Steven Ritch) pull off an incredible heist of $10 million in gold bullion en route to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. To keep the police off their tails, the bounty is split up and horded into three different trucks going in three separate directions; one of those, driven by Eddie Harris (Raymond) is bound for Los Angeles. With police scrambling to catch the crooks, will the quintet pull off their version of The Great Train Robbery, or have they plotted themselves into a proverbial – and literal – dead end?
Lean and mean, Plunder Road strips the heist noir to its barest essentials and still manages to deliver thrills. The third film from cult director Hubert Cornfield wastes no time in getting into the action; once the train heist occurs, the tension never lets up until the ironically fitting end. Despite its low budget origins, the film does boast solid cinematography by the great Ernest Haller to establish solid atmosphere; the contributions of Bob Gill – who not only designed the film’s title sequence but also supervised the film’s production design – should not be overlooked either. The best aspect about the film is quality of the performances from the cast, headed up by some of noir’s familiar faces and character actors, including Elisha Cook Jr., Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper, Wayne Morris, Stafford Repp, Steven Ritch – who also wrote the movie’s script – and Jeanne Cooper. Pulling no punches here, Plunder Road is one of noir’s great hidden gems worth seeking out and a crucial film in understanding the cult appeal of director Hubert Cornfield.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
For this release, The Enforcer is presented in its original 1:37:1 aspect ratio, The Scarlet Hour is presented in its original 1:85:1 VistaVision aspect ratio and Plunder Road is presented in its original 2:35:1 Regalscope aspect ratio; all three films in this Blu-ray set have HD transfers created by Paramount Pictures – The Scarlet Hour and Plunder Road had theirs created in 2021 while The Enforcer had its transfer created in 2022 – from 4K scans of each film’s respective film elements. For each film, there’s minimal cases of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer, while film grain, gray scale and fine details are faithfully represented. Overall, when compared to previous DVD and Blu-ray releases, this release is likely the best each film will ever look on home video.
Audio: 5/5
For all three films in this Blu-ray set, the original mono soundtracks are presented on dual mono DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. There’s minimal cases of distortion like crackling, popping and hissing present while dialogue, sound mixes and music scores – David Buttolph for The Enforcer, Leith Stevens for The Scarlet Hour and Irving Gertz for Plunder Road – are presented with clarity and strong fidelity on each film.
Special Features: 3.5/5
The Enforcer
Commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode – Recorded for the 2023 Imprint Blu-ray, Rode goes into great detail about the film’s production, including some backstory on the real life Murder, Inc. that terrorized the streets of New York City during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Theatrical Trailer (2:06)
Bonus KLSC Trailers – Deadline – U.S.A. & The Killing
Not carried over from the Imprint Blu-ray is an interview with film noir specialist Frank Krutnik.
The Scarlet Hour
Commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode – Originally recorded for the 2022 Imprint Blu-ray, Rode brings his usual deep insight into the film and its production history (you’ll notice at the beginning of the track that it’s been slightly cut off at the beginning, but this is a minor quibble).
Bonus KLSC Trailers – Force of Evil, The Turning Point & Touch of Evil
Plunder Road
Commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold – Newly recorded for this release, Arnold delves into the themes of the movie as well as the backstory behind the making of the film and the histories of its cast and crew.
Bonus KLSC Trailers – Behind the High Wall, Man Afraid & The Lady from Shanghai
Overall: 4/5
Kino continues to bring the noir gems out of obscurity with this latest entry in the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema Blu-ray series, with solid HD transfers and equally informative commentary tracks as special features. Very highly recommended.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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