99 River Street Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

99 River Street Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 15, 2024

Phil Karlson's "99 River Street" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by film noir expert Eddie Muller and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

John Payne is Ernie Driscoll, a failed boxer who is now making ends meet as a cabbie. His wife, Pauline (Peggy Castle), has figured out that he is a loser and secretly started dating Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter), a small-time hustler, who has promised her a new life. It is just a matter of time now. Victor has told Pauline that he is going to sell some diamonds to a shady dealer in the city and as soon as he gets paid, she can walk away from Ernie.

But when the dealer refuses to do business with Victor because he is involved with a woman, Pauline immediately becomes a worthless object. Victor kills her and then dumps her cold body in Ernie’s cab, where shortly after the police discover it. At first, Ernie loses his composure, but after he reevaluates the situation decides to do whatever it takes to prove that he is innocent. A friend from the cab company (Frank Faylen) and an aspiring young actress (Evelyn Keyes) then begin assisting him in his search for the killer, but making progress quickly proves to be a much more painful business than they could have ever imagined.

Directed by Phil Karlson, 99 River Street is a prime example of just how brutal film noirs could get without actually looking ugly. This film oozes that pure street energy that nowadays can get all kinds of different people, from producers to directors and actors, in a lot of trouble for simply considering getting involved in a project even remotely similar to it.

Screenwriter Robert Smith worked with an original story by George Zuckerman, who a few years later would deliver a beautiful script to Douglas Sirk for his cinematic adaptation of William Faulkner’s novel Pylon. It is hard to tell just how good Smith’s script or Zuckerman’s story were, though, because in 99 River Street the posture and attitudes of the actors are actually what provide it with its identity. Indeed, the men and women clashing before the camera infuse the film with unique energy that produces incredible atmosphere, which then makes the action and drama many times better than what the original story could have ensured. There is toughness, elegance, and energy on display that feel entirely spontaneous, not scripted and carefully practiced to appear authentic.

The meanness that flourishes throughout the film is just as striking. It tells the viewer that its characters are given a green light to do whatever it takes to emerge victorious. This makes the story seriously unpredictable because the viewer is left with the impression that the hits and surprises can come from anywhere, which is precisely what happens as soon as Ernie begins digging for answers.

Oscar nominated cinematographer Franz Planer (Breakfast at Tiffany's) gives the film a gritty but very cool look that is just perfect for its macho attitude. There is something very casual about it that makes it attractive, without creating the impression that a lot of work was done to get the visuals right. It appears that Karlson and Planner simply picked the right locations for the story and then shot them at the right time.

The appropriately dramatic orchestral score was composed by Emil Newman (Laura) and Arthur Lange (The Woman in the Window).

*Kino Lorber’s release of 99 River Street is sourced from a remaster that was prepared by MGM.

99 River Street Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, 99 River Street arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Phil Karlson's excellent film noir made its high-definition debut with this release, also produced by Kino Lorber, in 2016. This new Special Edition is sourced from the same remaster that MGM provided for the first release, but it is encoded differently. Also, the previous release used a single-layer disc, while this release uses a double-layer disc. I am a big fan of 99 River Street, so I decided to take a look at the new release.

On my system, select close-ups tend to look marginally more convincing, primarily because whatever grain is present on the current remaster is exposed a tad better. However, the most obvious softer areas, which all have outdoor panoramic footage, look as they did on the previous release. I went back and forth comparing several such areas and I cannot say that there is more to see on this release. To be honest, I expected this to be the case because the remaster, which is mostly decent, does not have the strengths that would have dramatically benefitted from a superior encode. Still, while revealing plenty of fluctuations, delineation is mostly pleasing. Depth is about average. The grayscale is convincing, but a proper 4K master struck from a notably healthier element, if such exists, will undoubtedly produce various meaningful improvements. Image stability is good.

Should you consider an upgrade if you have the previous release? Probably not. However, I would like to mention one more thing. Once I was done comparing the two releases, I did a bit of 4K upscaling as well. I think that this release might be performing a little bit better when upscaled to 4K, but I am unsure if all 4K Blu-ray players would output identical quality. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

99 River Street Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The previous release of 99 River Street did not offer optional English SDH subtitles, so if you need them, this release is for you. Obviously, the lossless track is identical to the one that was included on the previous release. The dialog is clear and easy to follow, but in a few areas some unevenness can be noticed. Also, extremely light background hiss tries to sneak in.

99 River Street Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for 99 River Street. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - a predictably excellent audio commentary by film noir expert Eddie Muller, who offers a great deconstruction of the film and provides plenty of interesting information addressing some misconceptions about its style (promoted by archival reviews of the film), its characterizations, and overall tone and attitude. Mr. Muller also brings up some interesting facts about the careers of director Phil Karlson and some of the stars that made the film, which he apparently knew personally.

• Additional trailers - additional trailers for the following tittles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Hidden Fear
  2. Shield for Murder
  3. He Ran All the Way

99 River Street Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even without the effective twists that Robert Smith's script introduces 99 River Street still would have been one hell of a film. Why? Because Phil Karlson was the man behind the camera, and because the top cast that was assembled for it had the right attitudes a film noir of this caliber requires to be legit. So, Eddie Muller is entirely correct to point out in his audio commentary that the old reviews where the film was trashed for its lack of authenticity were written by critics who did not know what they were looking at. 99 River Street works as well as it does because it is mean, brutal, and fast, a streetwise firecracker that is determined to leave its own trail. Macho film noirs do not get any better than this, folks.

This recent Special Edition is sourced from the same remaster that was used to prepare the original release of 99 River Street, but is encoded differently. I was able to see some minor, mostly insignificant improvements on my system, so the Special Edition should only be on the radar of folks that need optional subtitles when they view films. The previous release did not have optional subtitles. RECOMMENDED.