![Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71X0ORrKwuL._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
![Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVI [Mystery of Marie Roget / Chicago Deadline / Iron Man] [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71tPbKrc9lL._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
![Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema V [Because of You / Outside the Law / The Midnight Story] [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71-y4-ACtQL._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
![Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVII [Vice Squad / Black Tuesday / Nightmare] [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/818pg+6682L._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
The Dark Side of Cinema series has been mixed, including some real gems and a few not-so-good titles. But Kino deserves thanks for rescuing the good ones from obscurity and issuing them in fine blu-ray transfers. Volume XII is one of the very best in the series, with three very good films. OUTSIDE THE WALL and UNDERTOW fully make the grade as Noir, even if they are not destined for classic status. While HOLD BACK TOMORROW, though barely Noir, if at all, is an example of a B-movie elevated by very good acting. Some may be surprised to see that John Agar and Cleo Moore are more than up to the task, playing down-and-out characters with real conviction.
OUTSIDE THE WALL is a solid B Film Noir that delivers everything fans might expect, without attaining classic status. It might make a nice comparison with TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY, released the next year. In both films, an ex-con, newly released, runs into trouble despite their pretty naive aspirations and innocuous personalities.
Probably the main distinguishing characteristic of OUTSIDE THE WALL is the use of Philadelphia locations for some scenes. It's always fascinating to see a large city back in the middle of the last century. We are usually shown L.A. or N.Y., the Pennsylvania metropolis makes a welcome change.
At the top of the cast list is Richard Basehart. Pretty much an asset in any film, Basehart carries the lead perfectly. His boyish good looks serve the character, a still-young man who never had a chance to experience the world before he was thrown into prison. When he's let out, Basehart meets a stream of women, most of them unworthy of his attentions. Marilyn Maxwell is also well-cast as a brittle, materialistic nurse whom Basehart encounters in his first legitimate job. Her influence leads him to rejoin the criminal life, and plenty of trouble ensues. Among the rest of the cast are Noir favorites, Joseph Pevney, the incredibly prolific John Hoyt, a hardened, bedridden gangster, and Harry Morgan (who here plays a crime boss with gusto), . Dorothy Hart plays Basehart's possible love interest, while Signe Hasso is almost wasted as a money-hungry gangster's wife. There's plenty of action and high drama in the final act. Now on blu-ray, rescued from murky TV prints.
UNDERTOW: William Castle, later known for several gimmick-laden horror films, directs a well-paced and nicely acted Noir thriller with UNDERTOW. This is one in a long line of plots involving an innocent person being framed for a murder. As such, it succeeds through a focus on characters. With an actor like Scott Brady in the lead that was a wise approach. Brady is terrific as a nice guy recently out of military service, now in Las Vegas with an intention to start a lodging business up north. To accomplish everything he needs to go to Chicago. Since the film uses a good number of real locations (mostly in Chicago) we get to see how a city looked in 1949. That's always fascinating for some viewers. Those locations are also pretty well-used by Castle's film crew. Opposite Brady is the excellent Peggy Dow (whom Noir fans should see in a recently released-to-home video of SHAKEDOWN). She had a short career, by her own choice, but never lets a movie down, performance-wise. Dorothy Hart is another female presence, but she doesn't register as well as Ms Dow does. Noir semi-regular Bruce Bennet delivers a typically solid characterization of a conflicted police detective and we also have a sinister John Russell and young Rock (billed here as "Roc") Hudson in one brief scene. Not a must-see classic, but UNDERTOW delivers enough of what Noir-holics crave.
HOLD BACK TOMORROW: Two performers who were not known for their acting talent show that they really did have what it takes. This is a Hugo Haas movie--he wrote and directed--but it's a little different: the focus really is on the acting. Without real actors it wouldn't work. A two-person story, with both people on the lower rungs of life. The man is on death row for murder (he may not really be guilty) and the woman, a companion whom the man has requested for his last day, is a former prostitute with nothing much going for her but her beauty. They're both beautiful--Cleo Moore and John Agar have never looked better. But what really matters is that they make us believe who they are and what matters most to them. Starting out as complete strangers, and after a phase of mutual hostility, they draw close. Very close and it's a genuinely moving thing to watch. Classified by some as Film Noir, this is really a psychological drama, with nothing relating it to Noir, apart from its setting, mostly in a prison cell. Two people, locked up, a death sentence over the man's head, a woman at the end of her rope. But it's not a drag, not depressing in the least. A real sleeper if there ever was one, now preserved in a fine blu-ray transfer.
$24.99 with 50 percent savings
List Price: $49.95 
The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Learn more
Frequently bought together
This item: Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XII
$24.99
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
+![Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71X0ORrKwuL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
$24.99
Only 15 left in stock (more on the way).
+
$25.57
Only 19 left in stock (more on the way).
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start over
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII [Blu-ray]George ShermanBlu-ray$8.94 shippingOnly 15 left in stock (more on the way).
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XICharles BoyerBlu-ray$8.89 shippingOnly 19 left in stock (more on the way).
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XTony CurtisBlu-ray$8.92 shippingOnly 20 left in stock (more on the way).
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVI [Mystery of Marie Roget / Chicago Deadline / Iron Man] [Blu-ray]Alan LaddBlu-ray$8.94 shipping
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema V [Because of You / Outside the Law / The Midnight Story] [Blu-ray]Jack ArnoldBlu-ray$8.94 shippingOnly 19 left in stock (more on the way).
- Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVII [Vice Squad / Black Tuesday / Nightmare] [Blu-ray]Arnold LavenBlu-ray$8.94 shipping
From the manufacturer
This collection features brand new 2K masters of three film noir classics: Undertow (1949), Outside the Wall (1950), and Hold Back Tomorrow (1955)
Similar brands on Amazon
Page 1 of 1Start Over
Sponsored
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2024
