Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Larceny Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 16, 2021

George Sherman's "Larceny" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Eddy Von Muller. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

This looks like the perfect place. It is expensive, but perfect.

It makes you wonder whether Bernie Madoff might have gotten the inspiration for his business while viewing George Sherman’s Larceny, because the shady practice that is described in it is exactly like the one he utilized. Madoff simply had a bigger pool of ‘investors’ and a larger network of trusted ‘assistants’. Of course, Madoff was a lot greedier than the four con men Sherman introduces at the fancy mansion in Miami Beach, which is why he eventually got caught.

Silky (Dan Duyrea) is the top guy and the one that always chooses their next target. Rick (John Payne), Max (Richard Rober), and Duke (Dan O'Herlihy) are then given specific instructions on how to approach the target, and make it feel comfortable ‘investing’ a large sum of money into their latest bogus project. If there is an opportunity to get multiple ‘investors’ involved, the target could be carefully conditioned to work on their behalf as well. It is a classic business partnership -- until the con men get direct access to the investment capital and disappear without a trace.

After a big fix falls apart in Miami Beach, Silky dispatches Rick to Mission City, California, to convince the wealthy widow Deborah Owens Clark (Joan Caulfield) to build a large and very expensive war memorial that will honor her late husband. Rick will become the fallen hero’s best war buddy and use his good looks to make Deborah believe that she is doing something truly special that the entire community will appreciate. After the project is greenlighted and the necessary funds secured, the con men will collect and quietly leave town.

The plan works until Silky’s girl, Tory (Shelley Winters), who is mad about Rick, refuses to wait for him in Havana and secretly arrives in Mission City. Tory warns Rick to keep his relationship with Deborah professional, but her man’s heart refuses to cooperate.

Larceny quickly heads down a familiar path and it is really up to Payne, Caulfield, and Winters to make the suspense and drama as exciting as possible. There is more of the latter, frequently evolving into good old-fashioned melodrama, which is why the film’s noirish identity isn’t very convincing. But the performances are very good and the great chemistry that emerges between the leads makes the film quite exciting. For example, there is some terrific role-play that introduces a few unexpected surprises, and even though it is still easy to guess what the resolution would be at the end, for a long period of time the complete character arcs remain elusive. Also, the film maintains the right type of attitude. Indeed, instead of going to work to produce cliched messaging about crime in a civilized society, the type of individuals that commit it, and their victims, it allows their thought processes and actions to highlight the legal loopholes and flawed values and norms that can be exploited. This even helps the dialog remain refreshingly casual and authentic.

There isn’t a shortage of good looking footage, but the work of cinematographer Irving Glassberg is hard to praise, especially when compared to his contributions to the likes of The Tarnished Angels, Bend of the River, Red Canyon, and Sword in the Desert.

Larceny Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Larceny arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This release is sourced from an older master that has very similar qualities to the one that was used for the recent release of Alias Nick Beal. What this means is that the film has a good organic appearance, but at the same time shows signs of aging. For example, while not disappointing delineation isn't optimal, and in various areas density levels aren't consistent. As a result, grain could appear either slightly overexposed or underexposed. But there are no traces of problematic digital work and this makes a huge difference because even with the above-mentioned limitations the film still looks good in high-definition. Some specks, black marks, and blemishes can be seen, but I did not find them distracting at all. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Larceny 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 audio is clear and easy to follow. However, just like the video, it reveals minor fluctuations that ideally should not be there. You will not find them distracting, but you will quickly conclude that they are what reveal its age. Obviously, this means that if at some point in the future the film is properly restored and the audio fully remastered, some meaningful improvements will be introduced.

Larceny Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - I listened to the entire commentary that Eddy Von Muller recorded for this release and found it to be quite interesting. I agree with his assessment that Larceny isn't a typical film noir, and that there are certain aspects of it that could have been handled better. There is plenty of good factual information in it about the era in which the film emerged as well as the careers of the people that made it.

Larceny Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I would agree with anyone arguing that Larceny isn't a top genre film, I think that its cast does just about everything right to make it as attractive as possible. I prefer John Payne's tougher characters, like the one he played in 99 River Street, but he looks very good here, and Shelley Winters is on fire. So, I had a good time with this film. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but nice organic master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. RECOMMENDED.