7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Stan, a drive-in owner with a gambling problem, falls for Joanie, a carhop working at his restaurant. When Joanie’s brother, Frank, comes into town, he offers Stan a sweet deal — the chance to get a cut of $200,000 worth of gold hidden in Germany. What Stan doesn’t know is that Joanie and Frank are undercover cops trying to nail him for a murder he may have committed during the war.
Starring: Richard Denning, Mari Blanchard, Frank Lovejoy, John Mylong, Harry LauterFilm-Noir | 100% |
Drama | 38% |
Crime | 21% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956.
Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment mined an interesting nonet of features for their Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954, and now a second volume is forthcoming, with
another nine outings that show what a reliable purveyor of noir or at least noir-ish films Columbia Studios continued to be through
the mid-fifties. As the subtitle for the first volume made clear, that collection spanned a decade, from what was arguably the apex of noir
in the mid-forties to the arguably somewhat less fertile era of Eisenhower. This second volume picks up in 1954 and continues forward two years,
assembling a rather diverse collection of writers, directors and stars, some of whom at least many would probably consign to the so-called “B list”,
though others, like Kim Novak, Jack Finney and even William Castle, certainly have claims to "A list" fame. One way or the other, though, there are
some
interesting titles in this second collection, and noir fans may well find this as appealing a set as the first outing.
The Crooked Web is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There's a fairly heavy grain field throughout this presentation which can look a little gritty at times, but this is on the whole a very nice looking presentation that preserves some of the fun location photography, while also supporting fine detail on elements like Denning's houndstooth jacket. There's one brief establishing shot at a beach that has one of the worst matte paintings I've personally seen. There is also some minor crush in several dark scenes, notably some inside cars. This presentation doesn't really have any major age related wear and tear other than some very minor speckling.
The Crooked Web features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that, like several in this set, can sound just a bit shrill when music is playing, but which delivers dialogue and effects well enough. There's a kind of funny expositional "Moishe the Explainer" sequence mid-film where Denning's narration sounds just a tad boxy, but other elements, like a song offered later in the film, sound full bodied, without any damage or distortion.
None of the three discs in this set feature any supplements.
There's some fun cat and mouse play in this film, though as innovative as a couple of early reveals are, I kind of wondered if the shock would have been elevated had they been delayed, if only a bit. Performances are generally excellent, and this presentation offers generally solid technical merits. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1952
2002
Special Edition
1953
1951
1956
1950
1946
Limited Edition to 3000
1947
1990
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1955
1954
1932
Special Edition
1947
1957
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1950
Deluxe Edition
1949
1996
Special Edition
1946
2001
1955