Customer Reviews

Dark Crimes Collection 50 Movie Pack

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...as it is a listing of the titles in this collection.
Baby Face Morgan-- Mary Carlisle
Capture, The-- Lew Ayres
Cause for Alarm-- Loretta Young
Chase, The-- Robert Cummings
D.O.A.-- Edmond O'Brien
Devil's Party-- Victor McLaglen
Fear in the Night-- DeForest Kelly
Flowers from a Stranger-- Yul Brynner
Gaslight-- Anton Walbrook
Great Flamarion, The-- Erich von Stroheim
Guest in the House-- Ann Baxter
Half a Sinner-- Heather Angel
Hoodlum, The-- Lawrence Tierney
Inner Circle, The-- Adele Mara
Inner Sanctum-- Mary Beth Hughes
Last Mile, The-- Preston Foster
Life at Stake, A-- Angela Lansbury
Limping Man, The-- Lloyd Bridges
Love From a Stranger-- Basil Rathbone
Man Who Cheated Himself-- Lee J. Cobb
Man Who Had Influence, The-- Robert Sterling
Mandarin Mystery, The-- Eddie Quillan
Mystery of Mr. Wong, The-- Boris Karloff
Naked Kiss, The-- Constance Towers
Parole, Inc.-- Michael O'Shea
Pay-Off, The-- Lowell Sherman
Phantom Fiend, The-- Ivor Novello
Plan for Escape-- Peggy Ann Garner
Please Murder Me-- Angela Lansbury
Prison Shadows-- Eddie Nugent
Red House, The-- Edward G Robinson
Scar, The-- Paul Henreid
Shoot to Kill-- Russell Wade
Sinners in Paradise-- Madge Evans
Sleeping Tiger, The-- Alexis Smith
Slightly Honorable-- Pat O'Brien
Special Agent-- William Eythe
Strange Illusion-- James Lydon
Strange Woman-- Hedy Lamar
Sucker Money-- Mischa Auer
Ten Minutes to Live-- A.B. Comatherie
There Was a Crooked Man-- Robert Sterling
Things Happen at Night-- Gordon Harker
Trapped-- Lloyd Bridges
Two Sharp Knives-- Stanley Ridges
Whistle Stop-- George Raft
Woman Condemned, The-- Claudia Dell
Woman in the Shadows-- Melvyn Douglas
Woman on the Run-- Ann Sheridan
Wrong Road, The-- Helen Mack

Help! I have become hopelessly addicted to these 50 pack DVDs. And Dark Crimes Collection is the best of all of them. Sure the sound is sometimes a little tinny and the images could be sharper but you're getting such a value you don't care. And such fabulous rareties! A chance to see the cult actress Mary Beth Hughes in Inner Sanctum-- don't miss the twist ending! There are several of the greatest sleeper mysteries of all time: Fear in the Night and Strange Illusion. Those are the definition of great B films. The Chase is a rare costume adventure with a great performance by Robert Cummings. It's cut for tv but stay with it and you'll see a fine, rare film by an old personal family friend of ours, producer Ed Lasker, who did it with Anthony Mann directing. There are so many great things for the old movie and B movie buff on this DVD. I loved Half a Sinner with one of the world's least appreciated actresses, the great Heather Angel, in a breezy screwball mystery with a light touch. And don't miss the sultry (yes, I said sultry) Angela Lansbury flirting with Raymond Burr in Please Murder Me-- with another socko twist ending. These 50 packs from Mill Creek are such a great value. I hear they dredge these up out of public domain movies but I don't care. I am hopelessly addicted. I can't wait for Nightmare Worlds to come out, the next entry in the series. Thanks, Mill Creek and Amazon.com for all the fabulous viewing pleasure. I just want to curl up and purr with glee!

All of the 50 movie sets from Digital One Stop (such as this one) come in a box that has twelve double sided discs each in it's own cardboard sleeve in the center of the box.

7 of these movies I have on other DVD's & budget (EP speed) VHS tapes. The rest I have never seen. So far (I've watched the first 4 movies) picture & sound quality are fine. The 2nd movie on disc 1 side 1 (The Red House) has a slightly distorted (buzzy) soundtrack but then I have 2 other copies of the same movie on PD VHS tapes with this same problem & it doesn't distract the enjoyment of this movie too much. The spoken words are understandable. Rest of the movies (so far) sound fine. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the set!

This is a very good collection for the price. If you only like two movies, you'll get your money's worth. I particularly enjoyed Cause for Alarm, Gaslight, Guest in the House, A Life at Stake, Love From a Stranger. I would definitely recommend to all old (B&W) movie fans.

(AMAZON rating: 3½ stars)

Forty-seven titles in DARK CRIMES COLLECTION were polled at a website specializing in movie data-- the median rating for these film noir oldies is: 6.1.

Below is a complete alphabetized list that includes years of release as well as individual viewer rankings (on a 1 to 10 scale). Additionally, the ORIGINAL names have been provided for four titles. These are marked with ***

(Note that condition of source material, as well as transfer quality, are not calculated in these ratings.)

(5.6) Baby Face Morgan (1942) - Mary Carlisle
(6.5) The Capture (1950) - Lew Ayres/Theresa Wright
(6.2) Cause For Alarm! (1951) - Loretta Young/Barry Sullivan
(6.5) The Chase (1946) - Robert Cummings
(7.4) D.O.A. (1950) - Edmond O'Brien
(6.5) Devil's Party (1938) - Victor McLaglen
(6.7) Fear in The Night (1947) - DeForest Kelley (his film debut)
(???) Flowers From A Stranger ("Studio One") 1949 or '50 - Yul Brynner
(7.5) Gaslight ("The Murder In Thornton Square")*** (1940) - Anton Walbrook
(6.5) The Great Flamarion (1945) - Erich von Stroheim
(6.1) Guest In The House (1944) - Ann Baxter/Ralph Bellamy
(6.4) Half A Sinner (1940) - Heather Angel
(6.3) The Hoodlum (1951) - Lawrence Tierney
(6.6) The Inner Circle (1946) - Adele Mara/William Frawley
(6.8) Inner Sanctum (1948) - Charles Russell/Mary Beth Hughes
(7.0) The Last Mile (1932) - Preston Foster
(5.2) A Life At Stake (1954) - Angela Lansbury
(5.9) The Limping Man (1953) - Lloyd Bridges
(6.2) Love From A Stranger (1937) - Ann Harding/Basil Rathbone
(7.3) The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) - Lee J. Cobb/Jane Wyatt
(6.0) The Man Who Had Influence ("Studio One") (1950) - Robert Sterling
(5.7) The Mandarin Mystery (1936) - Eddie Quillan (as Ellery Queen)
(6.1) The Mystery Of Mr. Wong (1939) - Boris Karloff
(7.4) The Naked Kiss (1964) - Constance Towers
(4.5) Parole, Inc. (1948) - Michael O'Shea
(5.3) The Pay-Off (1930) - Lowell Sherman
(5.2) The Phantom Fiend ("The Lodger")*** (1932) - Ivor Novello
(???) Plan For Escape ("Studio One") (1952) - Peggy Ann Garner
(6.4) Please Murder Me (1956) - Angela Lansbury/Raymond Burr
(5.8) Prison Shadows (1936) - Edward J. Nugent
(7.0) The Red House (1947) - Edward G. Robinson/Judith Anderson
(6.4) The Scar ("Hollow Triumph")*** (1948) - Paul Henreid/Joan Bennett
(6.2) Shoot To Kill (1947) - Russell Wade
(5.8) Sinners In Paradise (1938) - Madge Evans/Bruce Cabot
(6.8) The Sleeping Tiger (1954) - Dirk Bogarde/Alexis Smith
(6.1) Slightly Honorable (1940) - Pat O'Brien/Edward Arnold
(6.4) Special Agent (1949) - William Eythe/George Reeves
(6.2) Strange Illusion (1945) - James Lydon
(6.3) Strange Woman (1946) - Hedy Lamar/George Sanders
(6.5) Sucker Money (1933) - Mischa Auer
(5.4) Ten Minutes To Live (1932) - A.B. Comatherie
(???) There Was A Crooked Man ("Studio One") (1950) - Robert Sterling
(4.7) Things Happen At Night (1947) - Gordon Harker/Alfred Drayton
(6.5) Trapped (1949) - Lloyd Bridges
(7.9) Two Sharp Knives ("Studio One") (1948) - Stanley Ridges
(4.8) Whistle Stop (1946) - George Raft/Ava Gardner
(6.0) The Woman Condemned (1934) - Claudia Dell/Jason Robards Sr.
(6.7) Woman In The Shadows ("Woman In The Dark)*** (1934) - Fay Wray/Ralph Bellamy
(7.5) Woman On The Run (1950) - Ann Sheridan
(5.8) The Wrong Road (1937) - Richard Cromwell/Helen Mack

The 12th (and last) DVD in this set contains six made-for-TV films shown on CBS's "Studio One" program between 1948 and 1952. These films include the commercials, and they are the earliest TV commercials I have ever seen. For example, in 1949 Westinghouse was selling a big, boxy, front-opening washer and dryer set called the "Laundromat" using the slogan "Buy On Proof". One commercial asks you to call any of their authorized dealers, who will come to your home, pick up a load of your dirty laundry, wash and dry it at their store, and invite you into town to see the results for yourself. Easy payment plans are available.

So you actually get fifty decent movies _plus_ some of the earliest TV commercials. What a deal!

Also, each DVD comes in a cardboard sleeve that lists for every film the title, year, a brief synopsis, and featured actor. It's very good packaging for any collection, and exceptionally good for this price.

i own many of these 50 pack sets and like most of them.
this set is full of great old b-z grade crime thrillers from the 30's,40's,and 50's. the transfers are good (at least the set i have is)and the movies are fun to watch.

So much fun watching these old movies. I'm very happy with this purchase. Some of the first movies I viewed had poor sound quality, but I could still understand what was being said. Also, I didn't notice a logo being played as someone had mentioned. Both sides play perfectly. I would definately recommend buying this movie pack if you love these type movies. (meant to give 5 star rating, gave 4 by mistake)

I got this set primarily for the film noir in it. But this is hardly a purely "film noir set" many of the films to be found here are from the 30s and are more crime/gangster films than film noir which exists mostly (not entirely) in the period of 1941-1958.

If, like me you are seeking some noir this set has the following titles which are pure-to-near-noir:

The Chase
DOA
Fear in the Night
The Great Flamarion
Gaslight
Guest in the House
The Hoodlum
The Inner Sanctum
The Limping Man
The Man Who Cheated Himself
The Man Who Had Influence
Shoot to Kill
Whistle Stop
The Scar
Strange Illusion
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
A Life at Stake
Please Murder Me
Cause for Alarm!
Woman on the Run
Trapped
Parole Inc.
The Inner Circle

So 23 out of 50 ain't bad. A few of these are excellent films, "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers," "DOA," "Whistle Stop" and "The Scar." And there are plenty of lesser surprises which will at least provide entertainment if not warranting repeated viewings.

A final note on the video quality, yes it is hardly perfect, far from it in some cases, but I did not find it to be as bad as some reviewers here seem to believe. In any case, this set is a good way to get a lot of B-films which are less likely to be restored much better than you find here, and its good for those of us who want to have those rare, low budget films but aren't worried about having the highest quality version.

I got this used for $15. The printo of The Chase is much better than the one on the double feature disc that's out. Fear In the Night (another Woolrich adaptation) is a pretty neat movie, and a solid print.

The Hoodlum and Martha Ivers look about the same as in other sets. The Naked Kiss transfer is just AWFUL! But there are plenty of obscure gems on here I have yet to delve into. Of course, it has the usual Mill Creek non-packaging with double sided discs. But a lot of these titles might not hit dvd otherwise. I'm very pleased with this set.