Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Conflict Blu-ray Movie Review

'Til death do us part.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 8, 2024

It's impossible to watch Curtis Bernhardt's striking film noir Conflict and not think of another released just one year earlier: Fritz Lang 's The Woman in the Window, one of the best films of its kind and an absolute favorite of yours truly. Conflict may not reach the dizzying heights of its spiritual predecessor, but it shares a lot of the same qualities: story elements that deal with murder, infidelity, and guilt, a tense and surreal atmosphere, roots in German Expressionism, and an ending that needed to follow strict Hays Code requirements. It's a memorable production that's anchored by an unsympathetically dark role for Humphrey Bogart, who appears in almost every scene and absolutely commends our attention from start to finish. Released during the most productive period in Bogart's career and just one year before The Big Sleep, Conflict is entertaining as hell and something of a hidden gem in his dense filmography.

I'll keep both Conflict's synopsis and a few comparisons to The Woman in the Window mostly spoiler-free for anyone who hasn't seen one or the other (or both), but our story leads off with wealthy married couple Richard and Kathryn Mason (Bogart and Rose Hobart) who are well past the "honeymoon phase". Their upcoming five-year anniversary is seen by their friends, including party host Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet), as a celebratory occasion... but behind closed doors, Richard and Kathryn are often at each other's throats. One of the main reasons for this turbulent turn is another party guest: Kathryn's lovely younger sister Evelyn Turner (Alexis Smith), who Richard has obviously taken a liken to and isn't afraid to admit it. He's so captivated by Eve, in fact, that he's distracted while driving both of them home from the party and causes a bad car accident. The ladies make it out generally unscathed, but poor Richard is left with a broken leg and housebound for several weeks. Unfortunately for him, Kathyn's there as well.

Don't misunderstand me: Richard is clearly the aggressor in most situations and, from what Conflict shows, he's the reason that their marriage is on the rocks. But Kathryn seems totally unwilling to get a divorce, so he's basically stuck in a relationship that he's unwilling to salvage and needs to find a way out. Richard soon forms a plan: he's now able to walk with a cane but decides to hide his recovery from Kathryn and even his personal physician, slyly staying confined in his wheelchair in their presence. After he suggests she go on up to a mountain retreat ahead of him, Richard secretly takes an alternate route and confronts his wife on a particularly dangerous stretch of road. Once the surprised Kathryn mysteriously... goes missing, Richard appears to be home free to pursue the relationship he really wants.

The bulk of Conflict concerns the days and weeks after Kathryn vanishes, whereupon Richard plays the concerned husband while valiantly helping authorities with their missing person case. Meanwhile, Eve and her current boyfriend Norman Holsworth (Charles Drake), a kindly but naïve young professor, think towards their future while smitten Richard attempts to drive a wedge between them. Yet his devious plans are soon interrupted by odd little clues suggesting that someone might actually know the truth about Kathryn's fate, which including the discovery of personal effects that she supposedly took on that final drive to the mountains. Unless, of course, she still out there somewhere...

Enough can't be said about Conflict's setup and overall atmosphere, which maintains tension and viewer interest as its events fall into place. Bogart is at his best here, never earing our absolute trust or sympathy while retaining his usual amount of charisma and authority, and his central performance really helps to drive things forward. My only nagging complaint about Conflict is its ending, which doesn't fully deflate what comes before it but doesn't exactly hold up to scrutiny: whereas The Woman in the Window sidestepped its similar fever-dream scenario by using a clever method of storytelling (albeit a last-ditch one out of necessity), Conflict plays it straight and doesn't feel as satisfying in its final moments. This isn't a deal-breaker, of course, but slightly hampers the film's lasting impact; in contrast, I couldn't wait to watch The Woman in the Window again after the credits rolled. Either way, Conflict has plenty of strengths... and so does this new Blu-ray from Warner Archive, which includes a great A/V restoration and a slate of solid extras.

Conflict Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Built from a recent 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, this terrific new 1080p transfer of Conflict has all the hallmarks you'd expect from a Warner Archive Blu-ray: lustrous fine detail, rock solid blacks, stable contracts, and of course a visible amount of film grain. Given the genre and subject matter it's no surprise that Conflict is loaded with atmospheric mood and stylish compositions, many of course due to the director's roots in German Expressionism, and everything looks suitably clean, stable, and true to its source from start to finish. Only trace amounts of posterization could be spotted on a few very small occasions, but overall this is a superlative and authentic effort that's as close to a five-star presentation as you'll get on Blu-ray so I'm not afraid to round up by a quarter point. I've no doubt that fans and first-timers alike will be very impressed with this restoration and it'll undoubtedly stand alongside best-looking catalog releases from this era at the end of the year. Buy with confidence and be ready for a visual treat.

Conflict Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix isn't far behind and has likewise been carefully polished to preserve as much clarity and sonic detail as possible. As usual, there are occasional striations at the high end as wells as trace levels of hiss on occasion, but this was likely left alone so as not to compromise the source material's dynamic range. The original score by composer Frederick Hollander, known also for his excellent contributions to Here Comes Mr. Jordan just a few years earlier, sounds excellent as well and adds plenty of mood and atmosphere at critical moments. It's a very solid effort, all things considered, and likewise represents a pretty solid jump up from the earlier DVD edition.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature but not the extras listed below.

Conflict Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts of any kind. The bonus features are fairly well-rounded in terms of subject matter but only two of them are film-specific.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:03) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Merrie Melodies Shorts - A pair of restored cartoons from the WB vault. Nice and grainy!

• Life With Feathers (7:42) - This Friz Freleng short marks the debut of one Sylvester the Cat, who's reluctant to oblige a suicidal lovebird named Sweetypuss whose marriage is on the rocks.
• Trap Happy Porky (6:52) - Another 1945 short, this Chuck Jones-directed one features everyone's favorite pig (not Peppa) as he battles mice and a cat who refuse to let the poor guy sleep.

• Vitaphone / Variety Shorts - Likewise decently restored though without any extensive manual cleanup, this pair of vintage bland-and-white time capsules also make great pre-show entertainment.

• Peeks at Hollywood (8:56) - Directed by Irving Applebaum and narrated by Knox Manning, this short was filmed at the famous Griffith Observatory and features two young women stargazing for celebrities in Hollywood including Errol Flynn, who was working on Adventures of Don Juan at the time.
• Are Animals Actors? (14:11) - Knox Manning again narrates this fun piece, written and directed by James Bloodworth, that follows an assortment of amusing animal acts as they put on a show.

• Theater of Romance (24:50) - Colgate "tooth powder" and Halo shampoo present this condensed 9/11/45 radio adaptation of Conflict starring Humphrey Board dramatically reprising his lead role.

Conflict Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Curtis Bernhardt's Conflict may not rise to the level of its spiritual predecessor The Woman in the Window, but it's still a very entertaining production with an excellent lead performance by Humphrey Bogart. Warner Archive brings it to Blu-ray in style with a terrific A/V restoration and a solid mixture of extras, making it perhaps their best release of the month and an easy purchase for established fans and curious newcomers alike. Highly Recommended.