Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

A Strange Adventure Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 19, 2018

William Witney's "A Strange Adventure" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan and Jay Dee Witney. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

And then we'll live the good life

Republic Pictures did not spend a lot of money on A Strange Adventure, this much is clear. It is a small film that does just enough to deliver as many of the proper thrills that its targeted audience would have expected. As far as the noir genre is concerned, it is very fair to say that it is a minor entry there that would be of interest only to seasoned aficionados.

The opening sequence is very promising. A friendly ‘doll’ named Lynn Novak (Marla English) is seen sunbathing in a small motel and then allowing the owner’s son, Harold (Ben Copper), wipe her back with a soft towel. The boy thinks that he has a treat coming up, but shortly after the seductress is seen playing with the mind of local armored car driver Carl Johnson (Paul Smith). He is so in love with her that he has foolishly agreed to assist her two partners from out of town, Al Kutner (Jan Merlin) and Phil Davis (Nick Adams), rob his truck and at an undisclosed location split the money with him so that he can start a new life with ‘his girl’.

But this isn’t the real plan. Lynn and her partners have agreed to use Carl, steal the money, and then ditch him.

At the right time the robbers go to work, but when Harold figures that he has been taken for a ride the complete plan is altered. He is forced to become their driver and after Carl is removed slowly led to believe that he is the one that actually has a future with Lynn. However, after they get out of town and hide in a secluded mountain used by a young meteorologist and his sister (Joan Evans and Peter Miller), the robbers suddenly realize that their plan no longer makes sense and begin improvising.

The film has a bit of an attitude and this is where all of its charm comes from. It isn’t afraid to get a tad more cynical than usual and as a result the otherwise predictable drama that unfolds becomes more attractive.

However, all of the heavy lifting is done by Merlin and English, and after awhile it becomes too obvious that the entire film relies on their charisma to survive. So whenever the two are not in front of the camera or remain passive, the quality of the material instantly drops.

William Witney’s direction is confident and effective. It is also refreshingly loose, allowing beautiful and elegant close-ups for instance to emerge naturally, not as timed moments that need to occur because the style of the film needs them. Frankly, with a bigger budget and a better cast this film quite easily could have been a minor gem.

*This recent release of A Strange Adventure is sourced from a brand new 4K remaster that was completed by Paramount Pictures Archive.

A Strange Adventure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, William Witney's A Strange Adventure arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K remaster that was prepared by Paramount Pictures Archive. It is a wonderful remaster and there is no doubt in my mind that the film has never looked this fresh and vibrant on a home video release before. Clarity, depth, and fluidity are simply terrific, and the competent grading ensures that solid and very nicely nuanced appearance that makes these types of black-and-white films look very stylish. There is room for some minor encoding optimizations, but for the most part grain is nicely exposed and resolved. Image stability is terrific. A few minor flecks and blemishes remain, but there are no large cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report. (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).

A Strange Adventure 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 not provided for the main feature.

If there ever were any serious background anomalies now it is impossible to tell. Balance is also good, but there are a couple of segments where the male characters mumble a bit so the exchanges could be a bit tricky to understand. Dynamic intensity is excellent. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

A Strange Adventure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - presented here is an exclusive new audio commentary featuring film historian Toby Roan and Jay Dee Witney. It offers a lot of information about the specific locations in LA where A Strange Adventure was shot, the careers of the cast that made the film, director William Witney and his body of work, some of the vintage beauties/cars that were used in the film, Republic Pictures and its business practices, etc.

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for other Kino Lorber catalog releases.

A Strange Adventure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Strange Adventure is a small film that Republic Pictures produced with a fittingly small budget. So, even though two of its stars, Marla English and Jan Merlin, are quite good, it does not really flourish in the same way that some of the popular film noir titles from the same era do. However, I found this 'weakness' to be quite attractive because it helps its realism without the stylization that the big classics are typically praised for. Give it a try, maybe very late at night, and you might end up enjoying it as much as I did. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very nice new 4K remaster that was prepared by Paramount Pictures Archive. RECOMMENDED.