Customer Reviews

Hammer Film Noir, Vol. 7

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VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films present "HAMMER FILM NOIR 7" (Unholy Four (1954) & A Race For Life (1955) --- (Dolby digitally remastered)...Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe Hollywood crime dramas that set their protagonists in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic...Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression...the term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most of the American filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs..the canon of film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of those involved in the making of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film.

First up we have "THE UNHOLY FOUR" (aka: The Stranger Came Home) (1954) (80 min. B/W) --- Under Terence Fisher (Director), Michael Carreras (Producer), Michael Carreras (Screenplay), Jack Causey (Asst. Director), Jimmy Sangster (Prod. Manager), Walter J. Harvey (Cinematographer), J. Elder Wills (Art Director), Ivor Slaney (Music), Bill Lenny (Film Editor), George Sanders (Original Author) - - - - the cast includes Paulette Goddard (Angie), William Sylvester (Philip Vickers), Patrick Holt (Job Crandall), Paul Carpenter (Bill Saul), Alvys Mahen (Joan Merrill), Russell Napier (Inspector Treherne), Davis King-Wood (Sessions) ---- released September 24, 1954, Miss Goddard appears with an all English cast in this film noir and turns in a rather good performance --- Paulette holds her own with a very distinguished supporting cast, someone returning to find the person who attempted to end their life. Paulette is one of the suspected --- Someone knocked a man out and left him for dead during a fishing trip in Portugal. That someone is either his fetching wife, or two business partners all sporting guilty faces after his unexpected return --- From the original 35mm negative

BIOS:
Paulette Goddard
Date of Birth: 3 June 1910 - Whitestone Landing, Long Island, New York
Date of Death: 23 April 1990 - Ronco, Switzerland.

Second on the double bill is a Lippert Picture release "A RACE FOR LIFE" (aka: Mask of Dust) (1955) (69 min. B/W) --- Under Terence Fisher (Director), Mickey Delamar (Producer), Richard H. Landau (Screenplay), Exec. Producer: (Michael Carreras), Asst. Director: (Jack Causey), Prod. Manager:(Jimmy Sangster), Cinematographer: (Jimmy Harvey), Art Director: (Jim Elder Wills aka Jim Elder Wills), Music: Leonard (Salzedo), Film Editor: (Bill Lenny), Original Author: (Jon Manchip White) - - - - the cast includes Richard Conte (Peter Wells),Peter Illing (Tony Bellario), Alec Mango (Guidio Rosetti), James Copeland (Johnny Jackson), George Coulouris ("Pic" Dallapicola), Meredith Edwards (Laurence Gibson), Richard Marner (Hans Brecht) ---- released December 10, 1954, An idol of auto-racing fans attempts a comeback after serving in the Air Force. When his former rival lies dying in the hospital, he must decide whether to continue in the Grand Prix or make peace with his adversary --- A car pilot must choose between his love for car-racing, and his wife. His buddy's accident will help him to choose, and his loyal ways will get him a new friend - his main rival ------ there's a great deal of entertainment here for all the film noir fans out there --- all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

BIOS:
1. Richard Conte
Date of Birth: 24 March 1910 - Jersey City, New Jersey
Date of Death: 15 April 1975 - Los Angeles, California

2. Terence Fisher (Director)
Date of Birth: 23 February 1904 - London, England, UK
Date of Death: 18 June 1980 - Twickenham, London, England, UK.

3. PHOTO GALLERY
4. TRAILERS
5. TEXT TRIVIA

Great job by VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films for releasing the "Hammer Film Noir Vol. 7" (1954/55), digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch "Classic Film Noir" that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) --- Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 149 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video #572 ~ (6/26/2007)