Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Deported Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 3, 2021

Robert Siodmak's "Deported" (1950) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Eddy Von Muller. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The gangster

After wasting five years of his life in Sing Sing, American gangster Vic Smith (Jeff Chandler) is deported back to his native Italy. Shortly after the local authorities restore his real name, Vittorio Mario Sparducci, he is handed his new identification papers and informed that he must spend the next thirty days in Marbella, a small town about an hour away from Siena, where he was born. After the quarantine is over, he would be free to move across the country.

On the way to the train station, Vic shares a taxi with Gina (Marina Berti), who quickly warms up to him and invites him to her place to meet her mother. However, instead of meeting Gina’s mother, Vic is reintroduced to his angry former partner, Bernie (Richard Rober), who has arrived in Naples to reclaim his share of the $100,000 they stole together back in New York. After Vic gives him a black eye and convinces him that he left the money behind, Bernie calms down, but vows to keep an eye on him and figure out a way to get paid what he is owed.

In Marbella, Vic is enthusiastically greeted by his uncle, Armando (Silvio Minciotti), who thinks that he will be representing the American government’s interests in Italy. Vic is then introduced to some of the town’s most important residents, including the young and beautiful Contessa Christine di Lorenzi (Marta Toren), who has spent the last couple of years mourning the loss of her husband and helping the poor. Vic immediately makes a positive impression on the Contessa and a few days later asks her to go out with him.

While the Contessa interprets it differently, Vic’s interest in her turns out to be part of a simple yet brilliant plan to sneak into the county the $100,000 a friend is keeping for him back in New York -- at least until he unexpectedly begins to fall for the Contessa and realizes that the plan may require a major adjustment.

One does not have to look too hard to realize that Robert Siodmak’s Deported behaves like a close relative of Federico Fellini’s Il Bidone. There isn’t a legit connection between these films, but the manner in which they place their American stars in a foreign environment and then utilize crime and humor to reveal how Italy is evolving after WWII is practically identical. Of course, it quickly becomes obvious that Deported is directed by a foreigner too, which is why the social commentary that is channeled through it isn’t of the same quality as the one that emerges in Il Bidone.

The other obvious weakness of Deported is the chemistry between its stars. Chandler is quite good as the exiled American gangster who just wants to start a new life with the stolen money, but except for Rober the supporting actors behave as if the man behind the camera is the great Pietro Germi. To be clear, it is not that the narrative cannot absorb a small dose of old-fashioned melodrama, but Chandler shines in a very particular manner and the supporting actors very rarely respond to it as they should. As a result, from start to finish it looks like Chandler does his best to keep the film in noirish territory, while the supporting actors are working hard to legitimize it as a conventional melodrama.

The director of photography was William Daniels, who lensed such macho film noirs as Brute Force and The Naked City. However, his stylistic preferences in Deported are so different that it is virtually impossible to link these films in any meaningful way.

Deported Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Deported arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This film looks quite good in high-definition, which leads me to believe that it was remastered fairly recently. (To be clear, the work may not have been done during the last couple of years, but the master that was used to source the release isn't coming from the glory days of DVD). Indeed, despite some minor density fluctuations, delineation and depth range from good to very good, while clarity is consistently pleasing. The grayscale is lovely too, so on a larger screen, virtually all of the visuals boast strong organic qualities. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Yes, as implied above, in a few areas grain exposure could be a bit more even, but there are no troubling anomalies whatsoever. Image stability is good, but a few shaky spots can be observed. Also, you will notice a few small scratches and specks, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, marks, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, there is some room for minor cosmetic improvements, but the release offers a very solid organic presentation of the film. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Deported 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 provided for the main feature.

The lossless track sounded great on my system. I could not detect any signs of aging in the upper register, which further solidifies my conviction that the film was properly remastered. As far as dynamic intensity is concerned, you should expect to hear a good but modest range of dynamic nuances, which is typical for a film shot in the early 1950s. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.

Deported Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critic Eddy Von Muller discusses the production and release of Deported, the impact of Neorealism on the film's style and narrative construction, some the film noir overtones that can be detected in it, the nature of the main conflicts, etc.

Deported Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Here's what I think the original concept for Deported was: get some of the best that American film noir offers and blend it with some of the best that Italian Neorealism offers in a story about an American gangster who must rebuild his life in the place where he was born but barely remembers. Not bad. However, the party that was supposed to do the crucial blending did not quite get the formula right. I would not say that the film is a misfire, not at all, but it needed clearer vision and better polish work. As it is, it just feels like most of the time Jeff Chandler is struggling to keep it appear at least partially legit. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a slightly uneven but very solid organic master. RECOMMENDED, but you will need to be a Chandler fan to enjoy it.