Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Man on a String Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2019

Note: This film is available as part of Noir Archive Volume 3: 1956-1960.

Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment continue their deep dive into what might be thought of as the substratum of film noir with this third collection culled from the Columbia catalog. The fact that this latest offering supposedly spans the years of 1956 through 1960 may give some indication of just how deep this particular dive is, since many film fans will probably (rightly or wrongly) feel like the late fifties and first year of the sixties are decidedly past the heyday of film noir. (That "supposedly" is in the previous sentence because the earliest actual release date for the films in this set seems to actually be 1957, not 1956, which perhaps makes my point even better.) Still, as with the first two collections, there are some really interesting films in this set, and genre aficionados will most likely find at least a few titles in this set, including some more British productions, that may well spark interest.

For an overview of the previous two releases in this series, please click on the following review links (which, like this one, will contain links of their own pointing to reviews of the individual films in the set):

Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 Blu- ray review

Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956 Blu- ray review

Man on a String is the “newest” film in this third Noir Archive set, having been released in 1960, but in a way it’s at least a little old fashioned, harkening back about a decade or so to when the “Red Scare” was front page news, especially with regard to the supposed infiltration of Communists in Hollywood. Man on a String posits Ernest Borgnine as a Russian emigre named Boris Mitrov, who is in Hollywood but who may be in cahoots with those nasty Soviets. A Russian agent named Kubelov (Alexander Scourby) seems to be interested in not just Mitrov, but a wealthy couple named Adrian (Ed Prentiss) and Helen Benson (Colleen Dewhurst). While the underlying foundation here may seem patently ridiculous, it's actually (rather incredibly) based at least partly on the life of Boris Morros, whose name may be familiar to classic film credits readers for his many music credits in Paramount films. Man on a String actually manages to build up a fair amount of suspense once Mitrov is forced to walk a tightrope of sorts as he attempts to navigate treacherous territory between Soviet and American intelligence agencies.

Man on a String Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Man on a String is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While a lot of this transfer looked rather dark to my eyes, something that perhaps exacerbates the grittiness of the grain field at times and tends to lead to crush in some darker moments, on the whole this is another generally pleasing transfer in terms of overall detail levels and clarity. The film's opening credits offer information on different units at various locations utilized, but my hunch is at least some of the establishing shots of various locales were culled from stock footage, as they can look significantly rougher than the bulk of the presentation. Damage is rather minor, with typical age related wear and tear like small nicks and occasional speckling.

Man on a String Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Man on a String features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which offers good support for this rather talky film, one which includes quite a bit of narration to help bridge various sequences and explain background and what's going on. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and the nicely suspenseful score also sounds full bodied. I noticed no issues with regard to damage or dropouts.

Man on a String Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

None of the three discs in this set feature any supplements.

Man on a String Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was actually kind of gobsmacked to find out that this film was based on the memoirs of Boris Morros, since I was well acquainted with his name due at least in part to my research into Paramount actress Frances Farmer, since Morros has credits in several Farmer films from the 1930s and 1940s. Morros' backstory, even if it's probably sensationalized here, is still unusual and often quite exciting. Technical merits are generally solid, and Man on a String comes Recommended.