Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Damned Don't Cry Blu-ray Movie Review

All because of a bike.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 30, 2023

It's not quite Mildred Pierce... but hey, what is? Joan Crawford dons a serious face and fur coat once again for Vincent Sherman's The Damned Don't Cry, a briskly-paced and entertaining film noir that finds her headstrong character, Ethel Whitehead, on the fast-track to social prominence -- and a totally new identity! -- after a tragic accident and crumbling marriage send her packing to greener pastures. Supported by a solid script, memorable supporting performances, and an appropriately heavy atmosphere, it's the kind of film that's easy to get lost in once things get moving.

Luckily, things get moving fast: after the body of racketeer Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) turns up in the Californian desert, a murder investigation is launched and, while looking through some of Prenta's recently-shot home movies, the appearance of oil heiress Lorna Hansen Forbes warrants questioning. The problem is that Lorna's reverted back to her real name Ethel Whitehead (Crawford) and returned to her Texas hometown, a place she abruptly left years ago after the sudden death of her son Tommy (Jimmy Moss) ended her fragile marriage to husband Roy (Richard Egan).

Reliving her rise to independent success via extended flashback (what self-respecting film noir doesn't?), The Damned Don't Cry details it all: the events that caused her to leave Texas, Ethel's first steps towards success as a dress model, escorting wealthy out-of-town buyers to a local gambling club owned by Grady (Hugh Sanders), falling for handsome straight-laced accountant Martin Blackford (Kent Smith) and landing him a high-paying but dangerous job, cozying up to gambling syndicate boss George Castleman (David Brian) and, with things coming full circle, "Lorna" being sent to spy on Nick Prenta, Castleman's west-coast representative. It's all possible thanks to Ethel's headstrong attitude and sharp silver tongue, both of which are responsible for her sudden rise and eventual fall from grace.

Crawford's reliably strong presence is the glue that holds The Damned Don't Cry together, so enjoyment may hinge tightly on your personal opinion of the actress. It's a role tailor-made for her, with the only caveat that Crawford is perhaps a couple years too old for the constant head-turning of almost every male character. (That's not a knock on middle-aged women by a long shot, believe me -- just a subjective observation.) But you honestly don't even need to care for Crawford all that much to be consistently entertained by this one: The Damned Don't Cry's breakneck pace keeps the story briskly chugging along from start to finish, with only a few small speedbumps around the two-thirds mark where the revelation of several new names and identities gum up the works. The whole show is aided further by great dialogue, good supporting performances, and suitably eye-catching cinematography by Ted McCord, who takes every opportunity to show off the moody noir lighting and attractive era-specific production design.

It all adds up a solid genre effort that's perhaps been underrated in the wake of Crawford's most well-known films and a modest career highlight for all involved. Released on DVD twice, first by Warner Bros. in 2005 and again by Warner Archive more than a decade later, WB's boutique label returns to the well for this definitive Blu-ray edition, a perfectly well-rounded effort headlined by their reliably outstanding restoration work and a handful of DVD-era supplements. This is a great effort overall and perhaps Warner Archive's best disc of the month, pound for pound.

The Damned Don't Cry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Another day, another perfect score for Warner Archive, who give The Damned Don't Cry a white-glove treatment that makes this nitrate beauty shine like new. Sourced from a fresh new 4K scan of the original negative, its distinctly noir atmosphere is cleanly supported by their restoration efforts with outstanding fine detail and textures (that screen door shot up top, for example, would've been an absolute mess at lower resolutions), as well as an overall velvety-smooth appearance that retains authentic grain and ink-deep black levels, both of which are supported by the boutique label's typically great disc encoding. It's a fast-moving, story-driven film but one whose aesthetic goes a long way towards maintaining visual appeal, with moody indoor lighting and more than a few sun-baked shots of Nick Prenta's palatial estate in the flashback's final stretch. The Damned Don't Cry is quite the visual stunner at times and this reliably strong 1080p transfer supports it every step of the way, easily beating previous home video editions including two separate DVDs released by Warner Bros. and Warner Archive as far back as 2005. Fans will be pleased for sure.

The Damned Don't Cry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although not as immediately impressive as its visual presentation, Warner Archive's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix gets the job done with a purist-friendly port of its original one-channel elements. Dialogue is largely clean and crisp, though mild amounts of hiss and crackle can easily picked up along the way; it's certainly not enough to be overly distracting and may not even be noticed by die-hard fans of film noir. The original score, directed by Ray Heindorf and orchestrated by Maurice De Packh, is essentially a series of atmospheric cues that are on-the-nose but effective enough; they have a rich presence and solid dynamic range, despite a bit of strain at the high end. That said, like the visuals it's a marked improvement over previous home video editions, so I can't imagine anyone being disappointed here.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only, not the extras.

The Damned Don't Cry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed artwork and no inserts of any kind. The bonus features are well-rounded and seem to be fully ported over from both previous DVD editions.

• Audio Commentary - An invaluable DVD-era track with director Vincent Sherman (who died in 2006 at the age of 99, just one year after this session was recorded) that includes a variety of comments about the production and technical details, as well as other standard subject matter like the atmospheric original score, casting, and other films in Crawford's career. Sherman relies a bit too much on on-screen narration, but it's a small price to pay for first-hand observations about a film well over the half-century mark at that point.

• The Crawford Formula: Real and Reel (13:43) - Although a little too short and surface-level for its own good, this 2005 collection of talking-head interviews -- featuring the likes of Glenn Erickson AKA CineSavant, USC Hitchcock film professor Drew Casper, director Vincent Sherman, biographer Karen Swenson, and more -- offers plenty of good, basic info regarding Crawford's life and career as a whole.

• Radio Broadcast (59:14) - Originally broadcast on Thursday, April 5, 1951, this hour-long installment of The Screen Director's Playhouse was directed by Bill Cairn and stars Joan Crawford and Frank Lovejoy.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:12) - This terrific vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Damned Don't Cry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If any twisted film noir revolving around the rise and fall of a stubbornly headstrong character can be considered "fun" it's Vincent Sherman's The Damned Don't Cry, a briskly-paced and entertaining drama led by one of Joan Crawford's best performances post-Mildred Pierce. It's almost impossible not to be swept up in the saga of Ethel Whitehead / Lorna Hansen Forbes; even with a few slight pacing issues around the two-thirds mark, first-time and returning viewers will enjoy every leg of the journey. Warner Archive serves up another top-tier Blu-ray with their reliably strong restoration work and the DVD-era bonus features are all worth a look too. Highly Recommended for all genre fans.