Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Framed Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 26, 2020

Richard Wallace's "Framed" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage production and promotional materials for the film as well as an exclusive new audio commentary by film noir expert Alan K. Rode. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The clueless loner

A few extra minutes of footage with Mike Lambert (Glenn Ford) struggling to control the big truck as he heads down the mountain road would have been enough to make me speculate that Henri-Georges Clouzot might have found his inspiration for The Wages of Fear in it. But Mike crashes the truck too quickly and by the time he orders his first drink in the lousy bar the intensity from his dangerous ride is virtually impossible to recall. The atmosphere is very different now. Instead of a veteran driver Mike looks like an authentic looser who is ready to give up on life, which is precisely why he attracts the attention of the unusually elegant waitress, Paula (Janis Carter), who exchanges a few quick pleasantries with him. He brushes her off, but when the cops pick him up for reckless driving and damaging another truck, the gal unexpectedly appears in court and pays his hefty fine. Without her money, Mike would be spending more than a week in jail.

At this point I already knew that a set-up was in progress, and that the clueless Mike would eventually get in some serious trouble. I just wasn’t sure precisely what role Paula would play. It was way too obvious that she wasn’t cut out to be a waitress.

Later on, in the same bar, Mike gets so drunk that eventually Paula drags him out and books a room for him in a nearby hotel. She pays his bill as well. Then she goes to work to ensure that he falls hard for her, while her real boyfriend, a married banker named Steve Price (Barry Sullivan), reveals the complete set-up. They will rearrange a deal that would allow them to steal a very large sum of money from the bank, kill Mike in a car ‘accident’, and frame him as the thief.

This very fine film noir directed by Richard Wallace somehow never popped up on my radar over the years, so needless to say I am glad to have finally discovered it. I would like to highlight a couple of things that made a big impression on me.

Its story is simple and free of wild twists and yet the suspense is great. The catalyst for it is actually the lack of timed misdirection plays, which allows the main characters to react exactly like normal people would. In other words, they are all ‘reading’ the same situations the audience does, so when the perfect set-up begins to fall apart they feel entirely organic.

Carter is a fantastic femme fatale, but not in that classic glamorous way Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner were. You see the transformation on the screen and it is spectacular yet very casual. There is a short sequence in which she fixes her hair before a big mirror and in a matter of seconds the ordinary waitress becomes an extraordinary lady. After that it is even easier to understand how Ford’s lonely driver keeps falling for her lies. Imagine being alone with such a beauty in the real world and hearing from her that she cares about you. Any guy with a proper head on his shoulders would instantly consider giving her multiple chances to prove that she is sincere, which is exactly what Ford’s character does -- he rolls the dice over and over again until he eventually figures out the truth. You can’t blame him. It makes perfect sense.

While not one of his greatest hits, this film is yet another reminder that Ford was a true star. Indeed, it never looks like he overshadows Carter and Sullivan, but his multiple transformations -- a jaded truck driver, drunkard, naïve bachelor, and man of reason -- make it impossible not to conclude that he is leading in a big way. It is just an all-around very solid performance that powers up the entire film.

Wallace was able to book cinematographer Burnett Guffey, whose credits include such hits as In a Lonely Place, From Here to Eternity, Bonnie and Clyde, and The Harder They Fall.

Framed Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Framed arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It shows some traces of aging, but it has a strong and quite pleasing organic appearance. For example, delineation and depth range from good to very good, though there are a few areas with notable density fluctuations that have a negative impact on both. Clarity is very good as well. Also, there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections, which is one of the key reasons why the master looks so attractive. However, this release could have been encoded better to strengthen grain exposure. As it is, it is on the verge of producing some noticeable compression artifacts that are entirely avoidable. Image stability is good, but there are a few shaky frames. The grading job is very convincing -- the blacks are solid but do not appear boosted, while the grays and whites produce goo nuances. A few white specks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Framed Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Sony's master might be old, but when it was prepared it was clearly done right. Indeed, the lossless track is stable, clear, and very healthy. Even if you turn up the volume a lot, you won't hear any distracting hiss, or other similar imperfections. Perhaps some cosmetic cleaning could enhance the audio a bit, but I think that as it is it sounds very good.

Framed Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this is another great new audio commentary from film noir expert Alan K. Rode, who offers a terrific deconstruction of Framed and discusses some interesting genre trends, the careers of its stars, and the evolution of film noir. It is a commentary worth listening in its entirety.

• Photo Gallery - a collection of archival production and promotional materials for Framed. (1 min, 1080p).

Framed Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I just saw Richard Wallace's Framed for the first time ever and was quite impressed how it did a lot of great things with a very simple story. I could tell exactly where it was heading and how it would get there and yet its suspense was terrific, plus a few aspects of the character transformations were actually a bit surprising. It is a small but very fine film. The release we have reviewed is sourced from an old but good organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in this four-disc box set from Australian label Via Vision Entertainment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.