6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
After helping to smuggle diamonds into the country and getting burned by her latest flame (and her sister!), Sheila Bennet decides to get even. But she unwittingly puts herself and millions of others at risk, requiring an all-out manhunt for a killer.
Starring: Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop (I), Dorothy Malone, Lola AlbrightDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 90% |
Crime | 45% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Noir Archive - Volume 1: 1944-1954.
While the frequently questionable “expertise” of Wikipedia asserts that film noir lasted from the early 1920s until the late 1950s, my
hunch
is at least some fans of film history would tend to proscribe the idiom’s heyday to a probably smaller window of time beginning at some
point in the
1940s and then extending into some other point in the 1950s. If that proscription is accepted, it might then be arguable that there was
no
better purveyor of film noir than Columbia Pictures during this period. While many of the undisputed classics of film noir came
from other studios, as
in the case of Paramount’s Double Indemnity
(released
on Blu-ray through Universal, due to the vagaries of film catalogs changing hands), or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s The Postman Always Rings Twice (released on Blu-ray through
Warner Brothers, due to — well, you get the idea), Columbia Pictures managed to churn out a rather significant amount of noir offerings,
albeit often in what would probably be termed the “B-movie” category. Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment have now assembled nine of
these rather interesting
Columbia offerings in one three disc package, and for noir fans, there are at least a couple of rather notable films in this first collection (it
looks like Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-
1956 is due in a few months), as well as some other outings which frankly might be best categorized as oddities.
The Killer That Stalked New York is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment and Kit Parker Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. This is another film in this set where my score of 4.0 should probably be seen within the context of the set, as I'm trying to indicate relative levels of excellence. For the most part, this is a very appealing looking transfer, one with typically very good to excellent fine detail levels, and mostly consistent contrast. Some of the location shooting tends to look just a trifle softer than some of the studio bound material, and the film does employ a number of montages where fine detail lapses and grain spikes, both understandably given the opticals involved. There are a few signs of damage, including some fairly noticeable scratches (pay attention during the big showdown between the doctor and Sheila late in the film and you'll see a rather large one toward the right side of the frame), but on the whole this is nice and organic looking transfer without any horrible damage to report.
The Killer That Stalked New York features a fine sounding DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. The film is narrated in fits and starts, and that element sounds fine, as does all dialogue. Some of the location sequences feature good representations of noisy urban environments, and a few sound effects, including a pistol shot, reverberate with sufficient force.
No supplements are offered on this release.
It's kind of funny that the art behind the film's main credits shows a wild woman holding a gun, while just a minute or two later the film's narrator announces that Sheila isn't killing with a gun or a knife. If you can get past the willful misdirection of the title, The Killer That Stalked New York is rather interesting, especially in the context of the current controversies about "anti-vaxxers". Technical merits are generally solid. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1949
1945
1950
1954
1944
1952
1947
Reign of Terror
1949
1955
1945
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1949
1948
4K Restoration
1948
1954
1950
Special Edition
1946
1947
1941
1950