Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Man in the Shadow Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 29, 2020

Jack Arnold's "Man in the Shadow" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film and exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I'm here to see Mr. Renchler

There is a long list of different action films from the ‘70s that imitate what Jack Arnold does in Man in the Shadow. They are set in or around small towns where the laws of the land are as easy to twist and bend as a piece of jerky, and they usually are by someone that has grown too big to be wasting time with them. Some sort of a conflict that threatens to disturb the status quo then produces an idealistic hero that goes on the warpath to right the wrongs, much like great gunslingers do in many classic westerns, and all hell breaks loose. So, in the ‘70s these action films were essentially scripted to impress as contemporary westerns. (The likes of White Line Fever, Mr. Majestyk, Breaker! Breaker! and High-Ballin' all fit the bill).

Arnold’s film comes from the late 50s, an era that produced a lot of conventional westerns, but it behaves almost exactly like its future relatives from the ‘70s. Indeed, it was scripted as a western but tasked to emphasize issues that would make it a socially relevant contemporary film. Frankly, had it been shot in color it would have been right at home with all kinds of different ‘kitchen sink’ westerns that emerged during the ‘70s.

The idealistic hero in Arnold’s film is named Ben Sadler (Jeff Chandler) and he is the sheriff of a small Western town where it seems like nothing exciting ever happens. From time to time the town’s penniless drunk does something silly so that he can get arrested and spend the night with a roof over his head, but on a regular day Sadler just reads the mail and then shuffles meaningless paperwork until it is time to go back to his wife. His dull routine is disrupted when an aging Mexican worker informs him that he has witnessed the brutal beating of another worker at The Golden Empire, a huge ranch run by the area’s most powerful man, Virgil Renchler (Orson Welles), and begs him to solve his disappearance. Skeptical but curious to find out of the worker’s story is legit, Sadler then travels to the ranch and requests to see Renchler, who welcomes him in his office but at the end of their short meeting warns him that he needs to stop what he has initiated because he is the last person that ought to be bothered by the authorities. The wealthy rancher’s hostility, however, has the exact opposite effect on Sadler and instead of dropping his investigation he vows to find out what has happened to his missing worker. While digging for information, Sadler then discovers that the rancher’s daughter (Colleen Miller) was secretly seeing the worker, but around the same time is also publicly warned by the town’s leaders to discontinue his detective work because troubles at the ranch can ruin the local economy.

The film’s main message about economic power and its ability to invalidate the laws that are supposed to protect civic rights is hardly original, so it is the context in which it is placed that produces a few surprises. For example, after the sheriff is scolded by the town’s leaders, it looks like he is facing a lose-lose situation because even those that do not approve of the rancher’s tactics are still not willing to support him. Also, it is revealed that everyone in town, including the sheriff, was fully aware that for a long time illegal foreign workers have been hired to do a wide range of jobs, and yet somehow breaking the law then was not considered an issue that could be linked to civic rights. In other words, the double standards that are exposed during the sheriff’s investigation are actually a key element of the town’s socio-economic structure, which makes the rancher only the most obvious member of a very large team of hypocrites and lawbreakers.

The film could have been longer so that Arnold has more time to craft superior character arcs. Welles in particular is underused, which is unfortunate because some of the most dramatic material features his rancher.

Oscar winner Arthur E. Arling was hired to lense the film, which really looks like a much bigger production than apparently it was.

Man in the Shadow Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Man in the Shadow arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

I will not be surprised to learn that the person at Universal that prepared this master also finalized the studio's master for The Tarnished Angels. Why? Well, it is not a brand new master, but it is really, really good. On a larger screen, this master actually produces a wide range of visuals that look every bit as impressive as some that I have seen on recent restored masters. Of course the nature of the photography matters, and so does the equipment that was used to shoot the film, but again, this is a very solid master with great organic qualities. There are two areas where a newer 4K -- but not 2K -- master would produce meaningful improvements. First, grain exposure can be slightly more refined, which is something that will also strengthen fluidity. Second, a slightly more careful grading will rebalance some darker areas where shadow definition can be more convincing (see the light crushing on the hair in screencapture #4). But I like the current presentation a lot. All of its characteristics are very solid. (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).

Man in the Shadow 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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is clear, stable, and nicely balanced. I viewed the film with the volume turned up quite a bit and did not detect any anomalies in the upper register either, which is usually where such older films reveal vulnerabilities. Dynamic intensity is good, but it is usually the dramatic score that produces the biggest dynamic contrasts.

Man in the Shadow Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Man in the Shadow. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new commentary, film historian Troy Howarth shares plenty of interesting information about the film's narrative construction and style, the careers of many of its cast members, Universal's management of the film's soundtrack, the moral dilemmas the film presents, etc. Very good commentary.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Broken Arrow
  2. Female on the Beach
  3. Foxfire
  4. Ten Seconds to Hell
  5. The Stranger
  6. Prince of Foxes
  7. Compulsion

Man in the Shadow Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is unfortunate that Jeff Chandler passed away so young because there is no doubt in my mind that he would have played many more memorable characters. I think that he is really good in Jack Arnold's Man in the Shadow, which is essentially a contemporary western with a social conscience of the kind that American directors loved to shoot during the '70s. It is a good film, but I wish it was a little longer so that Arnold could have had more time to craft superior character arcs. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but very solid master that was supplied by Universal Pictures, and features another excellent commentary by Troy Howarth. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.