Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Spy Hunt Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 6, 2023

George Sherman's "Spy Hunt" (1950) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by journalists/authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A train to derail

I must admit that I expected Howard Duff to play a different character. For approximately ten to fifteen minutes, after he agreed to have a drink with Marta Toren and then figured out that she would never show up, I was quite certain that he will evolve into that kind of a character as well. I expected Duff to become one of those macho loners that emerge in classic film noirs and then abruptly have their lives turned upside down because fate wanted to suffer. However, after Duff returned to the black panthers on the train, he gradually became a softie. I thought that this was not the right character transformation for him.

Duff and Toren meet at the busy train station in Milan. Duff plays an American who has been hired to look after three big black panthers that are being transported to a zoo in Paris. With the money that he will be paid, Duff intends to buy a plane ticket to go back home to America. Toren approaches Duff and introduces herself as a reporter interested in learning more about the black panthers and the two arrange to meet at a nearby restaurant an hour later. When Duff leaves the train, Toren returns and uses a concoction to put two of the black panthers to sleep, and then hides a microfilm in one of their collars. Soon after, the train leaves, with Duff fuming that his date never showed up.

Somewhere in the Swiss mountains, the train is derailed and the black panthers escape from their damaged cages. Duff wakes up at a posh inn where soon after several guests become very interested in tracking down and killing the wild animals. Torren reappears, too. However, this time she confesses to Duff that she is a spy and asks him to help her recover the microfilm because it can alter the balance of power in Europe. At first Duff refuses, but after Torren is attacked changes his mind.

Directed by George Sherman in 1950, Spy Hunt is a western trapped in the body of an espionage thriller. It makes perfect sense that it is. Sherman made a career of directing westerns and Spy Hunt might be the perfect film to screen for anyone that wishes to understand why – the wildlands and Sherman had a special connection and both took advantage of it. (Sherman directed a lot of ‘small’ westerns but they routinely revealed grand locations from the American West).

Interestingly, while it boasts plenty of footage that could have been perfect in a western, Spy Hunt has the attitude of a European espionage thriller of the kind that Fritz Lang and Carol Reed would have loved to direct. In fact, its final act produces suspense and drama that may very well have been scripted to mimic precisely what Lang and Reed accomplish in classics like Night Train to Munich (1940), Ministry of Fear (1944), Cloak and Dagger (1946), and The Fallen Idol (1948).

This is most likely why Duff does not evolve into the character I expected to see. A macho loner could not have been right for Spy Hunt because it would have instantly altered its personality and made it very similar to the many post-war American film noirs. This explains why after their initial encounter, Toren does not behave like a femme fatale either.

While the hunt is on, there are several outstanding sequences in which the hunting dogs go after the black panthers. In one of these sequences, there is a short but very intense fight that does not look to be managed at all. Given how engaged the animals are, the camera work is outstanding.

Sherman’s director of photography was Irving Glassberg, whose credits include such well-known films as Bend of the River (1952), The Duel at Silver Creek (1952), Backlash (1956), and The Tarnished Angels (1957).

Spy Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Spy Hunt arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very nice new 2K master. Even though there is some room for various improvements, the majority of which would be cosmetic, the visuals look either good or very good. The most obvious drops in quality emerge during panoramic shots, but some stock footage with native limitations is used as well. Virtually all close-ups boast wonderful delineation and clarity. The grayscale is very convincing, though this is one of the areas where minor yet meaningful improvements can be made to strengthen darker areas. Image stability is good. Some white nicks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no seriously damaged frames. (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).

Spy Hunt 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 dialog is clear and easy to follow. The upper register is healthy, but some small enhancements can be made to strengthen stability as occasionally small unevenness is present. Dynamic intensity is good for a film from the 1950s. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Spy Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by journalists/authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry.

Spy Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you start digging you could easily discover several major flaws in the plot of Spy Hunt. In an exclusive audio commentary that is included on this release, Bryan Reesman asks: Why didn't Marta Toren deliver the message herself? Well, because George Sherman did not shoot a straightforward, one hundred percent authentic espionage thriller. Spy Hunt is a western trapped in the body of an espionage thriller, so a lot happens in it that would not make perfect sense in the real world where real spies would have tried to outsmart each other. While not a masterpiece, Spy Hunt is a nice little film that could make a lovely double bill with the likes of Night Train to Munich, Ministry of Fear, and Cloak and Dagger. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a solid new 2K master and is included in Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIII, a three-disc box set. RECOMMENDED.