6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A seriously disturbed misfit, Whit Whittier (William Campbell) begins a life of crime, culminating in sexual assault as the "Lover's Lane Bandit." Condemned to the gas chamber at San Quentin, Whit spends six years fighting his sentence, gradually winning the support and sometimes the respect of various legal experts.
Starring: William Campbell (I), R. Wright Campbell, Marian Carr, Kathryn Grant, Harvey Stephens (I)Drama | 100% |
Crime | 56% |
Biography | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
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.
Cell 2455 Death Row 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 a fairly variable looking presentation which, when it's not littered with specks, flecks and other damage, can look pretty darned good, with deep blacks, and a good accounting of textures like the various jackets Whit wears in flashbacks. The film has a perhaps unlikely amount of stock footage, some of which is not particularly artfully integrated into the film, and much of which looks sourced from smaller and/or older elements, some of which are not in great shape. There are occasional slight compression issues, as in a teargas scene at circa 22:00, which is another sequence with some pretty noticeable damage.
Cell 2455 Death Row features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which sounds just a tad boxy during the opening credits music, but which otherwise provides a good accounting of Campbell's frequent narration and sound effects and/or scoring like the recurrent tympani that beats out time "departing" on death row. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation.
None of the three discs in this set feature any supplements.
Fans of made for television fare may recall that Alan Alda portrayed Chessman in a 1977 opus called Kill Me If You Can, and for those wanting at least a relatively more factual accounting of Chessman's life, that would be the version to go with. This offers a kind of nasty take on the character by Campbell, but the film is weirdly lacking energy. Video has intermittent issues, but audio is generally fine, for those considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1967
1956
1957
1954
1956
2005
1995
1955
1931
1957
1950
...And Justice for All
1979
1973
1992
1973
1990
Losing Game
1930
1956
Choice Collection
1958
1971