Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

5 Against the House Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 16, 2019

Note: This film is available as part of Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956.

Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment mined an interesting nonet of features for their Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954, and now a second volume is forthcoming, with another nine outings that show what a reliable purveyor of noir or at least noir-ish films Columbia Studios continued to be through the mid-fifties. As the subtitle for the first volume made clear, that collection spanned a decade, from what was arguably the apex of noir in the mid-forties to the arguably somewhat less fertile era of Eisenhower. This second volume picks up in 1954 and continues forward two years, assembling a rather diverse collection of writers, directors and stars, some of whom at least many would probably consign to the so-called “B list”, though others, like Kim Novak, Jack Finney and even William Castle, certainly have claims to "A list" fame. One way or the other, though, there are some interesting titles in this second collection, and noir fans may well find this as appealing a set as the first outing.

If you’re a fan of any iconic heist or caper film like everything from Topkapi to Ocean's 11, you’ll probably enjoy a similarly formulated entry from the mid-fifties, one which is culled from a story by the venerable Jack Finney (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), and which features the blandishments of Kim Novak as a blowsy nightclub singer named Kaye Greleck, who is the onetime and perhaps future girlfriend of Al Mercer (Guy Madison). Al and a bunch of his buddies visit “the biggest little town in the world”, AKA Reno, Nevada, where much of the film takes place. A mixup early in the story alerts one of the guys, Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews), to the seeming impossibility of robbing Harold’s Club, something he becomes convinced can be done. He ultimately enlists another of the guys, Brick (Brian Keith), though Al, hoping to rekindle a spark with Kay, isn’t as easily convinced. There is a heist in 5 Against the House, but it’s kind of fitful and is only offered after a host of “character beats”, which kind of strangely include what amounts to a post traumatic stress disorder subplot for one of the guys, who is a returning Korean vet. The film has a fair amount of energy, but I’m not quite sure the overheated dramatics (some might argue melodramatics) of the interpersonal relationships actually help propel the caper angle much, if at all.

5 Against the House Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

5 Against the House is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is another presentation which features a rather heavy grain field, and there are also a few passing issues with damage down the right side of the frame (as in the opening credits). This has some impressively deep black levels, however, and detail levels are often quite satisfying, especially when close-ups are employed. While there are some weirdly recurrent white specks, one of them, in a scene with Novak reclining (see screenshot 2) I'm assuming is actually a small piece of glitter or something on Novak's temple, since it kind of fades and disappears when she moves her head. Some of the process photography can look a bit ragged, and the entire presentation looked just a bit dark to me.

5 Against the House Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

5 Against the House features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that is rather full bodied throughout, and which provides a nice accounting of the jazz inflected score, though it is arguably over bright on the high end, something that makes the high frequencies of the omnipresent sounds of chips and background chatter in some casino scenes just a bit shrill sounding. Novak hadn't quite mastered the art of lip syncing, as evidenced by her song in the film, but the music itself sounds warm and distortion free.

5 Against the House Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

None of the three discs in this set feature any supplements.

5 Against the House Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are some really interesting elements to 5 Against the House, and I'd kind of be curious to see what some modern day filmmakers might do with this at times odd mash up of heist elements and wartime psychological angst. There are a few passing issues with video, but audio is generally fine, for those considering a purchase.