After hungrily covering every film noir boxset and single title release I could get my hands on for a number of years, most notably Indicator’s Columbia Noir series, I seem to have taken a break in 2023, with only a smattering of reviews to my name. There have been so many great physical media releases to choose from over the past few years I haven’t been able to squeeze everything in that I’d like to. Thankfully, Andy has been taking up the slack on the noir front but as the year drew to a close I thought I needed to get in on the action again.
So, when Imprint announced another volume to their Essential Film Noir series, Collection 5, I decided to take the plunge and spend my Christmas holidays entrenched in shadows, intrigue and shady goings-on.
The films included in Essential Film Noir Collection 5 are:
Island of Doomed Men (1940)
The Red Menace (1949)
The Burglar (1957)
13 West Street (1962)
Below are my thoughts on the titles, the presentation and the extra features. I’ll keep things fairly brief as I’m supposed to be on holiday whilst writing this.
Island of Doomed Men
Director: Charles Barton
Screenplay: Robert Hardy Andrews
Starring: Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, Robert Wilcox, Don Beddoe, George E. Stone, Kenneth MacDonald
Country: USA
Running Time: 67 min
Year: 1940
Island of Doomed Men opens with Mark Sheldon (Robert Wilcox) being hired as an undercover agent with a mission to see what the suspicious Stephen Danel (Peter Lorre) is up to on his isolated island mining facility.
When Sheldon’s initial meeting with his contact ends in the man being murdered, the freshly minted agent is forced to take the blame for the crime. This allows him to work for Danel as a parolee and find proof of the rumours that the wealthy crook is using ex-convicts as lifelong slaves.
Sheldon finds himself trapped with the rest of the prisoners though, so tries to win their favour and stage a revolt.
Meanwhile, we discover Danel is also holding his beautiful wife, Lorraine (Rochelle Hudson) prisoner on the island, never allowing her to leave. Sheldon wonders if they can work together to both put an end to Danel’s reign of terror.
Island of Doomed Men is perhaps more of a straight-up crime drama than noir but, nevertheless, it’s a lot of fun.
Wasting little time and running at a slim 67 minutes, the film races through its generic story. Its great strength lies in Lorre’s performance though. Whilst Wilcox is the hero, he’s rather bland and its Lorre that you can’t keep your eyes off. He’s doing his usual loathsome, slimy shtick but it works a treat and he revels in the chance to play the lead villain.
Island of Doomed Men might not trouble your brain cells or win any awards for originality but it’s a tough, quick-fire thriller that rides on the skills and persona of its central villain and is all the better for it.
Film: 
The Red Menace
Director: R.G. Springsteen
Screenplay: Albert DeMond, Gerald Geraghty
Starring: Robert Rockwell, Hanna Axmann-Rezzori, Betty Lou Gerson, Barbra Fuller, Shepard Menken, Lester Luther, William Lally, Norman Budd
Country: USA
Running Time: 87 min
Year: 1949
The Red Menace (a.k.a. Underground Spy) centres around an ex-GI named Bill Jones (Robert Rockwell). Overheard getting angry about a housing scam he’s fallen victim to and badmouthing the government about not supporting him, Jones is targeted by members of the Communist Party to join their ranks.
Jones is easily led by the female Communist agents, even falling in love with one of them, Nina Petrovka (Hanna Axmann-Rezzori). So the net around him tightens.
After witnessing some fellow members suffer, Jones and Nina begin to see cracks in the seemingly honourable veneer of the party though and they wish to get out. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that.
The Red Menace is pure propaganda (in case the title didn’t make it clear), spouting absolute nonsense about what the Communist Party were up to at the time. What’s disturbingly ironic about the film is that most of the trials and tribulations the American characters face because of Communism were actually attacks the US government themselves were making on supposed members, not visa versa.
Some of the social problems explored in the film, away from the Communist aspects, are accurate though. So, the film is quite fascinating, even if it’s not all that good.
Worse than its dodgy rendition of the truth though, is the sad fact that it’s quite boring. The writing is shoddy in particular, with too many plot contrivances and preachy monologues. The acting can be a little wooden too, though Betty Lou Gerson hams it up epically as the villainous Yvonne Kraus. Her ludicrously over-the-top breakdown towards the end is something to behold.
The film has its moments, particularly in the first act, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that The Red Menace leans far too heavily into propaganda as it goes on. As such, it becomes as subtle as a punch to the face and, worse than that, is rather dull.
Film:
The Burglar
Director: Paul Wendkos
Screenplay: David Goodis
Based on a Novel by: David Goodis
Starring: Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell, Mickey Shaughnessy, Wendell K. Phillips, Phoebe Mackay
Country: USA
Running Time: 90 min
Year: 1957
The Burglar opens with a group of thieves carrying out a well-planned heist, stealing a valuable necklace from a spiritualist called Sister Sara (Phoebus Mackay). Though they have a couple of close calls, the job goes off relatively smoothly and the quartet hide out with the goods whilst the heat dies down.
Tensions boil, however, as Baylock (Peter Capell) is keen to shift the goods as soon as possible whilst Nat (Dan Duryea) wants to wait it out so as to protect himself and his surrogate sister Gladden (Jayne Mansfield). Not helping matters is the fact that Dohmer (Mickey Shaughnessy), the final member of the team, lusts after Gladden.
When Nat lets Gladden make her own way out of town, however, she is tailed and befriended by a mysterious man who also has his eyes on the necklace.
The Burglar is good old fashioned hard-boiled noir and I loved every minute of it. Yes, many of the performances are over-baked, as is the music, but it only adds to the wonderfully pulpy atmosphere. It was based on a novel by David Goodis who’s somewhat of a legend of hard-boiled fiction and the screenplay here was written by him too, keeping it true to his style.
I was also impressed by the sharp editing and great use of sound effects to punctuate the drama and aid scene transitions. It’s a tight, punchy thriller because of this.
It ain’t subtle but The Burglar is tough, brash and thrilling, making it a treat any noir fan will be sure to enjoy.
Film:
13 West Street
Director: Philip Leacock
Screenplay: Bernard C. Schoenfeld, Robert Presnell Jr.
Based on a Novel by: Leigh Brackett
Starring: Alan Ladd, Rod Steiger, Michael Callan, Dolores Dorn, Kenneth MacKenna, Margaret Hayes, Stanley Adams
Country: USA
Running Time: 80 min
Year: 1962
13 West Street sees the erudite aerospace engineer Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) get jumped by a group of teenagers, led by Chuck Landry (Michael Callan). With no reasoning behind the attack, Detective Sergeant Pete Koleski (Rod Steiger) has his work cut out for him in tracking down the culprits.
Sherill, however, finds Koleski’s calm and controlled approach too slow, particularly when the gang continue to target him and is wife, Tracey (Dolores Dorn). So, Sherill begins his own obsessive quest for revenge that only lands himself in danger and threatens both his marriage and career.
Whilst the film seems to be riding on the ‘rebellious teenager’ phenomenon that gained traction in the mid-50s, 13 West Street still feels quite relevant today with the central idea of a group of teens beating up a middle-aged man being not at all unheard of. It provides an interesting spin on the idea of the tough, macho hero you often get in films of the era too. Even when our protagonist attempts to turn the tables and ‘man up’, his actions are far from glorified.
The performances don’t entirely gel, with the ‘modern’, naturalistic style of Steiger clashing with the rather stiff Ladd. However, the approach of the latter fits his character, so it’s not wholly unsuccessful. Callan makes for a deliciously nasty villain too, even if his character is a little one-dimensional.
Overall though, despite a few dated elements here and there, 13 West Street seems ahead-of-its-time and tells a tense and gripping tale, making for a strong end to the set.
Film:
Essential Film Noir: Collection 5 is out now on Blu-Ray, as part of the Imprint Collection. The older films show a little age here and there but only through faint scratches and lines that might only be visible on larger screens and projection. Otherwise the images are detailed and richly toned with a pleasingly natural grain. The most recent film in the set, 13 West Street looks stunning, with sharper details than the other titles. I had no issues with the sound on any of the films either.
It also can’t be stressed enough how beautifully presented Imprint’s box sets are, and this is no different. The artwork is fitting and attractive and the outer box is sturdy. Having the discs themselves housed in individual full-sized plastic cases means it’s a hefty box but it looks very nice on the shelf.
SPECIAL FEATURES & TECH SPECS
– Limited Edition 4-Disc Hardbox. 1500 copies only.
Island of Doomed Men
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
– Audio LCPM 2.0 Mono
– Original Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
– Optional English HOH Subtitles
The Red Menace
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray, from a 4K Scan of the 35mm Nitrate Original Negative (2013)
– NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan
– Hollywood on Trial – 1976 feature documentary, narrated by John Huston
– The Hollywood 10 – 1950 Short film
– Audio LPCM 2.0 Mono
– Original Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
– Optional English HOH Subtitles
The Burglar
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
– Introduction by Martin Scorsese
– Theatrical Trailer
– Audio LPCM 2.0 Mono
– Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
– Optional English Subtitles
13 West Street
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
– Theatrical Trailer
– Audio LPCM 2.0 Mono
– Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
– Optional English HOH Subtitles
As you can see, extras are a bit thin on the ground, other than on the Red Menace disc. What you get there is fantastic though.
Samm Deighan opens her commentary by describing the film as problematic, yet fascinating. She then goes on to provide a detailed breakdown of what went into the film, the backgrounds of its makers as well as discussing its warped politics. Her description of the ‘red scare’ is clear, intelligent and deftly explains how the ‘land of the free’ was (and, let’s be honest, still is) anything but. It’s a fascinating and engrossing track. Possibly the best commentary of the year, in my opinion.
The feature length documentary ‘Hollywood on Trial’ is also included on the Red Menace disc. Narrated by John Huston and made in 1976, the film explores the ‘red scare’ and ‘McCarthy witch-hunts’, making it a perfect supplement. Telling its story largely through archival material, it’s a little long and densely packed with talk but it’s also refreshingly detailed and eye-opening. I particularly appreciated the lengthy opening portion that explained what led to the whole phenomenon. Following this, you get several accounts from those involved at the time, on both sides, cut in amongst footage from the trials themselves. There are a number of clips from The Red Menace included too, showing it for the nonsense it is, making the documentary an even more fitting extra to the disc.
A shorter archival documentary called ‘The Hollywood Ten’ is also included. Featuring in ‘Hollywood on Trial’, this 15 minute piece focuses on the titular group who were the first victims of HUAC’s attack on the film industry.
The only notable extra not on the Red Menace disc is a brief but fairly illuminating introduction from Martin Scorsese to The Burglar.
So, overall, whilst it would have been nice to get some commentaries or essays to supplement all the films in the set, what is included helps make the disc containing the weakest film a worthwhile watch. With the rest of the films all being good, hard-boiled fun, ‘Essential Film Noir: Collection 5’ makes for an easy recommendation.
Discs/Package:
