No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 30, 2019

St. John Legh Clowes' "No Orchids for Miss Blandish" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers for the film; new program with ex-BBFC examiner Richard Falcon discusses; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Bad surprise

You enjoy early crime films and have seen and own many of the classic American film noirs -- Double Indemnity, They Live by Night, In a Lonely Place, Night and the City, The Asphalt Jungle and Out of the Past are amongst your favorites. Then one day a friend suggests that you also check out French director Jean-Pierre Melville’s films because they are really cool. Cool? What does your friend mean exactly? You research a few of them and now you remember hearing about Le Samouraï. Aha. But this film is from the late 1960s, and you and your friend were discussing earlier films. What about Bob le Flambeur? Its English title, Bob the Gambler, sounds familiar, but you have not seen it. You do some additional research on it and learn about its plot; you even realize that it has inspired other classic crime films that you like. You decide to track it down and see it, but are still unsure what your friend meant when he used the word cool. Was he referring to characters, visual style, or both? Or, could it be that he was trying to describe something entirely different?

Believe it or not, St. John L. Clowes’ film No Orchids for Miss Blandish can answer all of your questions about Bob le Flambeur, and even clarify for you everything that makes Melville’s crime films special. Why? Because No Orchids for Miss Blandish is everything that Bob le Flambeur and the rest of Melville’s popular crime films that are frequently tagged cool are not. I will try to explain, so pay attention now.

The original material for No Orchids for Miss Blandish comes from British writer James Hadley Chase’s popular novel of the same name, which actually does a lot of what Melville’s films do. (It copies the style of the equally popular American crime novels from the 1920-1930s but adds even more machismo to make it stand out. Melville’s early crime films also borrow a wide range of stylistic elements from the classic American film noirs and then do certain things to make them more effective). In the film there are a few small alterations, but the key conflicts remain as they are described in the novel. A small-time gangster (Bill O’Connor) and his accomplices target Miss Blandish (Linden Travers), the daughter of the very wealthy businessman John Blandish, and craft a perfect plan to snatch her enormously expensive necklace. On paper the plan sounds great, but when they go to work complications arise and they end up killing Miss Blandish’s fiancée. Then a much bigger gang led by Ma Grisson (Lilly Molnar) and her brutish son Slim (Jack La Rue) intervenes and Miss Blandish’s elderly father is informed that he must pay a huge ransom if he wants to see his precious girl again. However, while being kept hostage in Ma Grisson’s club, Miss Blandish becomes attracted to Slim, and after a while the two fall madly in love. Slim then tries to figure out a way to call off the ransom negotiations, but the veteran detective Dave Fenner (Hugh McDermott ) who has been hired to solve the kidnapping case sees a perfect opportunity to finally take down Ma Grisson’s notorious gang.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish is like the big bully from your childhood years that used to give your neighborhood an awful name. It’s got a serious attitude, it frequently punches at will, and takes great pleasure in being a troublemaker. Yep, you remember the sucker now. But you also remember how the bully stopped being relevant once you realized that the ‘badness’ it exuded was just an act. You saw through it, and then stopped caring. No Orchids for Miss Blandish does a lot of the same showboating as well, the kind that is supposed to make it look and feel legitimately bad. (And when it was released theatrically, it absolutely did. The film became quite scandalous because of its awful attitude and attention-seeking violence).

Bob le Falmbeur is a different kind of baddie. First, it is not a street bully, it is a classy mobster. But it is grounded in reality, and follows a philosophy of life (and crime) with strict rules that cannot be broken. It is why its main character is a loner, because in order to continue to be effective in his work and remain ahead of his opponents he has to be a total pro. Also, this is the precise reason why in Bob le Flambeur as well as the other popular crime films that Melville directed often there are long periods of time where the main characters do not utter a single word -- their work speaks for them. So, the cool comes from the silent professionalism that Melville and his characters valued.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish looks and sounds quite dated now, and not in ways that work in its favor. A lot of the violence, for instance, is so grotesque that it makes the colorful characters and their dilemmas look unbearably artificial. The cliché-ridden conversations do plenty of damage as well, though it is probably fair to say that the bulk of the bad was unavoidable because it is an integral part of the bully that is described above.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, St. John Legh Clowes' No Orchids for Miss Blandish arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

I viewed the original No Orchids for Miss Blandish cut of the film (01.43.17). It can also be viewed as Black Dice (01.43.10).

I don't know when the film was remastered, but right now it looks very healthy and vibrant. There are a few areas where small nuances can be improved, but everything else, including the grading job, is about as good and/or convincing as I would expect it to be in an older film from the late 1940s. In fact, many of the close-ups reveal wonderful depth with wide ranges of beautiful nuances (see screencapture #5). Fluidity is very good as well. Density levels are also very pleasing and on a larger screen the visuals hold up quite nicely. Some very small fluctuations in terms of grain stability can be spotted, which is why a few segments could appear a tad softer, but overall I liked what I saw a lot. There are no distracting age-related anomalies. (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).

No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Unfortunately, the audio track for No Orchids for Miss Blandish is not as convincing as the video presentation. There are multiple examples throughout the film where the music reveals quite obvious stability issues -- some are essentially background thumps that affect its dynamic balance, and some are a tad like 'sound waves' that aim to overwhelm it. This is likely an issue that was retained from the element(s) that was used to produce the current remaster, so only very serious lab work would have likely resolved it. Interestingly, the dialog appears unaffected, so clarity and stability remain convincing.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Miss Blandish and the Censor - in this new program, ex-BBFC examiner Richard Falcon discusses the rather unusual history of No Orchids for Miss Blandish with the British censors. Also, there are interesting observations about the original novel by James Hadley Chase that inspired the film, including its sleaziness and brutality, and how it impacted crime fiction. In English, not subtitled. (42 min).

• Interview with Richard Gordon and Richard Nelson - in this vintage program, producer Richard Gordon and actor Richard Neilson recall how No Orchids for Miss Blandish was brought to America as well as some of the drama that ensued. The program was produced in 2010. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• Trailer One - vintage trailer for No Orchids for Miss Blandish. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer Two - vintage trailer for Black Dice. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for the film.

• Soldier, Sailor (1945) - this World War II docudrama was created by writer-director St John Legh Clowes. In English, wit optional English subtitles. (50 min).

• Booklet - an exclusive booklet with new essay by Robert Murphy, analysis of the different versions of the source novel, an extract from an essay on No Orchids for Miss Blandish by George Orwell, news accounts of the controversy surrounding the film's release, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't particularly care for this film. (I have James Hadley Chase's novel and even though it has quite a reputation it isn't a masterpiece either). It tries to be a legit baddie with an attitude, but once you see through its brash act -- which is basically a lot of character posturing and over-the-top violence -- there isn't a whole lot left to excite. This recent release from Indicator/Powerhouse Films is sourced from a very nice looking remaster, but the audio still has some issues that perhaps only a full-blown restoration can resolve. RECOMMENDED to fans of the film. Otherwise, RENT IT.