Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 29, 2022

John Cromwell's "Dead Reckoning" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by film noir expert Alan K. Rode; new program featuring critic Tony Rayns; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Someone is cheating

You must see John Cromwell’s Dead Reckoning with a fresh mind. I must warn you because Dead Reckoning isn’t one of those very straightforward film noirs you enjoy in the wee hours of the night after switching your mind on autopilot. Its narrative dangles too many loose ends, and if your mind isn’t fresh, your experience with it won’t be good. If you ignore my warning and sit down to view Dead Reckoning with a tired mind, shortly after its opening credits disappear you will conclude that it is a very awkwardly scripted film noir that can’t quite decide where it wants to go. And, of course, you will be wrong because Dead Reckoning knows exactly where it wants to go and how to get there. It just requires the mind to do a bit more work than usual, particularly in the second half where Cromwell begins to carefully tie up the loose ends.

Dead Reckoning hits the ground running. Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) enters a church, approaches a priest (James Bell), and begins telling him a story. It is about a man he knew who turned up dead.

A series of flashbacks reveal how Murdock and Johnny Drake (William Prince), his best pal in the military, were at La Guardia in New York when they were ordered to board a train to Washington D.C. They did, but soon after something very strange happened. When their superior revealed that they are going to participate in an official ceremony where Drake would be presented with a Congressional Medal of Honor, his best pal got off the train and disappeared without a trace. Utterly perplexed, Murdock went looking for Drake and found out in an old newspaper that he had enlisted in the army under a false name. Why? Because some years ago Drake was accused of murdering the husband of the gal he had fallen in love with, Coral 'Dusty' Chandler (Lizabeth Scott), and got in some very serious trouble with a powerful gangster named Martinelli (Morris Carnovisky). Murdock quickly tracked down Dusty in Gulf City, the 'Tropical Paradise of the South', to see if Drake had reached out to her, but discovered that he had been killed. Then, while falling in love with Dusty, Murdock became a target, too.

Even though old reviews of Dead Reckoning claim otherwise, the only entirely predictable development in it is the inevitable romance between Murdock and Dusty. But even this predictable romance has some quite surprising nuances. For example, almost immediately after Murdock meets Dusty in the night club it becomes quite clear that the latter is required to stay in Martinelli’s orbit. At the right time, Murdock convinces Dusty to open up and explain her predicament, but it isn’t too long before she is forced to significantly alter her story. Can he still trust her? And, more importantly, is it safe to trust her? For a while, it is awfully difficult to tell because the more Murdock learns about her past with Drake and Martinelli, the more confused he becomes.

You will experience some of Murdock’s confusion as well, but for a slightly different reason, which has everything to do with the construction of the narrative. Indeed, a few of the flashbacks expand Murdock's investigation in unexpected areas and effectively prepare for a much more complex drama that just isn't there, and by the time it becomes perfectly clear that it is so Cromwell is already getting ready to wrap up the film. This is arguably the film’s biggest weakness because while the deceiving peripheral plays in these flashbacks are in progress it looks and feels like Cromwell is cooking up something pretty special. In the end, Murdock gets everything right and the film still arrives at its chosen destination with authority, but there is an excellent chance that you will be left with the impression that just a couple of strategic tweaks could have made a pretty big difference.

Bogart and Scott are wonderful together and unsurprisingly emerge as the undisputed stars before Cromwell's camera. However, it has to be said that both rather dramatically overshadow the supporting cast. Is this something that could and should have been avoided? It could have been avoided, but it is hard to imagine how Cromwell would have delivered a better film if Bogart and Scott did not shine as they do. Even if the aforementioned strategic tweaks were introduced to make the drama more complex, this film has an old-fashioned personality that is essentially built upon the powerful presence of its two big stars.

Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dead Reckoning arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an older master, so it is quite easy to tell that if in the future Dead Reckoning is fully restored it will look better in high-definition. But I don't think that the difference will be staggering. For example, while the grain structure can be slightly more even and healthier, it will not produce vastly superior delineation and depth. It will improve minor nuances and in darker areas reveal slightly better shadow nuances and backgrounds. Density levels are already very good, so at best there will be sporadic improvements in particular areas where now there are small signs of aging. What else? There is some room for improvement in the grayscale where black and gray nuances can be expanded a bit, but once again the difference won't be staggering. Also, there is some surface wear so various cosmetic adjustments can be made, but they will pretty be pretty insignificant as well. (I took screencapture #15 to demonstrate some of the most noticeable surface wear). Image stability is already very good. All in all, if Dead Reckoning is given the same treatment The Harder They Fall received there will be various improvements, but they will enhance the already quite pleasing organic appearance the film has on the current master. Of course, I would welcome such a makeover, but I think the current presentation is very pleasing. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any encoding anomalies or serious age-related imperfections to report in our review. My only complaint pertains to Humphrey Bogart's narration and some sporadic lines because it frequently feels like he chews up entire words, but this is how his voice was usually captured on many of these classic early films noirs. Dynamic intensity is very modest, but this isn't surprising either.

Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns: A Pretty Good Shot - in this new program, critic Tony Rayns discusses the conception of Dead Reckoning and some of its unique qualities, the era from which the film emerged from, and the some trends in the evolution of film noir. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Dead Reckoning.

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, film noir expert Alan K. Rode discusses in great detail the genesis of Dead Reckoning its placement in the cinematic oeuvres of its two big stars, the film's narrative construction and stylistic appearance, film noir's popularity and some of the timeless masterpieces it produced, etc. There are some quite interesting observations about different locations that are seen throughout the film.

• "Watchtower Over Tomorrow" - this documentary about the formation of the United Nations was directed by John Cromwell in 1945. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (16 min).

• Book - limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits.

Dead Reckoning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Obviously, Dead Reckoning is impossible to place among the iconic masterpieces Humphrey Bogart made. It is just not that kind of a big, brilliantly polished and visually stunning film. But it is still a very, very good film noir. As I was revisiting it the other night for the first time in many years, I felt that a few strategic tweaks in its narrative quite easily could have transformed it into a much more nuanced film, producing a more complex drama and superior characters, but as odd as it may sound I also think that its slightly deceiving peripheral action makes it very interesting to deconstruct. This release is sourced from an older but quite nice master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart six-disc box set. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.