6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It was Leonora Eames' childhood dream come true. She had married Smith Ohlrig, a man worth millions. But her innocent dream became a nightmare once she realizes the truth about her husband - he is power mad and insane! Since he will not grant her a divorce, she leaves her life of luxury on Long Island and goes to work as a receptionist in an impoverished doctor's office in NYC's lower east side. After Smith deceives her into a temporary reconciliation, Leonora becomes pregnant. By the time she realizes she is expecting, she and one of the doctors, Larry Quinada, have fallen in love. But she is again lured backed to her wealthy husband to give her child financial security. Her sadistic husband is hell-bent on keeping her and her child prisoner. What will happen to Leonora?
Starring: James Mason (I), Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan (I), Frank Ferguson, Curt BoisFilm-Noir | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
As with several other of his American films, the “H” and umlaut didn’t make it into Max Ophüls’ surname on his Caught directing credit, but there’s little doubt that this is an Ophüls film. This penultimate American offering by the director who would soon return to France and give the world a string of classics like The Earrings of Madame de... and Lola Montès finds Ophüls in typically melodramatic mode, replete with the kinetic camera style which became one of Ophüls’ defining characteristics. Though the film is sometimes classified as a noir, it really has little true noir ambience, and instead might be better thought of as a cautionary tale which elucidates that oft quoted adage “be careful what you wish for”. The film offers a relatively rare lead performance from Barbara Bel Geddes, an actress whose oeuvre included everything from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway to Vertigo, but who, in one of those inexplicable vagaries of show business fame, is probably best remembered for her tour as matriarch Miss Ellie in the long running nighttime soap opera Dallas. Here Bel Geddes portrays a young and naïve girl who works as a car hop in Los Angeles, but who has dreams of hitting the big time, which of course in those days meant snagging a rich husband. Bel Geddes’ character changes her first name to Leonora while attending a “charm school” (run by future Gilligan’s Island “Lovey” herself, Natalie Schafer) in the hopes that it will help her secure the same kind of in store demonstration modeling jobs that her roommate Maxine (Ruth Brady) has been getting. It doesn’t take long for the newly rechristened Leonora Eames to find work modeling the sort of fur coats that would have PETA in an outrage some decades later, and during one of these department store stints she’s approached by a kind of oily little man named Franzi (Curt Bois), who invites her to a party that weekend being given by his boss. Leonora is initially uninterested, politely but firmly refusing Franzi’s repeated requests. It’s only after Franzi shoves his boss’ business card into the crook of Leonora’s arm that her interest is finally really piqued. Franzi works for one of the richest men in the world, the ruthless Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan).
Caught is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. This high definition presentation is pretty much completely in line with other catalog titles of this vintage that we've seen from Olive. The elements have manifold scratches, flecks and specks, but nothing that ends up being that distracting. Contrast is very strong, with inky blacks and decently modulated gray scale. Sharpness is perhaps a bit more variable here, not helped by frequent opticals including lots of lap dissolves during montages that only increase softness and grain. The image is stable, however, without any problematic compression artifacts. As with virtually all Olive releases, while no restorative efforts have been made, similarly no intrusive digital alteration of the image harvest has been done, and the result is a dated looking but filmic presentation.
Caught's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix isn't especially full bodied, but it delivers the film's dialogue and the sometimes intense score by Frederick Hollander quite well, with good fidelity and no problems worth mentioning.
As with most Olive catalog releases, there are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc.
Caught is an often effective melodrama that never truly falls within the traditional strictures of noir but which at least shares an oppressive and moody ambience with that genre. The film is a testament to the inimitable style of Ophüls, and lovers of film technique will delight in the director's many flashy but never intrusive camera moves. The cast is colorful (watch for a brief cameo by future June Cleaver Barbara Billingsley), with Robert Ryan giving one of the most impressive performances of his career. Technical merits here are very good, and Caught comes Recommended.
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