The Looters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Looters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 22, 2024

Abner Biberman's "The Looters" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Toby Roan. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A small plane crashes somewhere amid the snowy hills of Colorado. Shortly after, Jesse Hill (Rory Calhoun), an experienced climber who lives alone in the area, and Pete Corder (Ray Danton), his visiting friend, head toward what they assume to be the crash site looking for survivors. A few hours later, Jesse and Pete spot the plane and then meet the only survivors -- a beautiful lingerie model (Julie Adams), an aging sailor (Frank Faylen), and a veteran bank officer (Thomas Gomez).

While Jesse describes the best strategy to get the survivors back to his cabin, the bank officer accidentally discovers $250,000 in the briefcase of a government employee and hides it amid the rubble. When Pete becomes aware of the fortune, he forces the bank officer to split it, leaving Jesse and the other survivors speechless. Later, despite Jesse’s warning that Pete has a very different plan in mind that does not involve the bank officer, the two partners, now holding loaded rifles, announce that it is time for the group to leave the crash site.

Directed by Abner Biberman in 1955, The Looters is a film noir disguised as an adventure film from Universal’s vaults. It is one of many such hybrid projects that the major produced during the 1950s as it sought to diversify its output and help new and future stars expand their appeal. (While not well known, one of the best of the bunch is Andre De Toth’s Day of the Outlaw, an incredibly atmospheric film noir disguised as a classic western).

Biberman breaks the narrative into two contrasting parts. The first creates the impression that Calhoun and Danton will work together and become heroes while helping the survivors in a brutal, truly unforgiving place. Calhoun leads because of his experience as a climber, but he and Danton are army veterans who have been through many difficult situations during WWII, so it seems logical to assume that both have the necessary skills to deal successfully with Mother Nature’s caprices. The second shatters their friendship and irreversibly alters the identity of the film. As the fortune is revealed, Danton undergoes a dramatic transformation that introduces a completely different person who cannot possibly be a friend of Calhoun. Also, Gomez and Adams undergo serious transformations resetting the remaining important relationships, and this is where the narrative effectively moves into film noir territory.

However, it is also where it becomes obvious that Biberman and Universal wanted The Looters to remain a safe, smaller film. For example, there isn’t enough great authentic outdoor footage that could have been used to infuse The Looters with excellent atmosphere, which is unfortunate because this is exactly what its second part requires. (Day of the Outlaw uses outstanding, brilliantly lensed authentic footage from Arizona and Oregon). There are only a few good panoramic visuals and the rest is simulated material that was shot on the Universal lots. Additionally, the editing reveals inconsistencies that are quite common in similar smaller films that emerged during the same period.

But the solid acting makes up for everything that could have been done better. Interestingly, even though Calhoun and Danton play the strongest characters, there are no real stars because Adams, Gomez, and Faylen are just as good. So, it appears that Biberman and Universal misjudged the potential of The Looters and settled for a small film, while the cast showed up ready and willing to contribute to a proper big genre film.

Biberman’s director of photography was Lloyd Ahern, who lensed Robert Siodmak’s classic film noir Cry of the City in 1948.

Kino Lorber’s release introduces an exclusive new 2K makeover of The Looters that was sourced from 35mm fine grain.

The Looters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Looters arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release introduces an exclusive new 2K makeover sourced from 35mm fine grain. Despite some minor fluctuations in terms of density and delineation, I liked the overall appearance of The Looters a lot. It has a strong and often quite attractive organic qualities, and while the fluctuations I mentioned are easy to see, on a larger screen the entire film looks very good. The grayscale is managed very well, too. The daylight and the darker nighttime footage reveal plenty of similarly good detail, though when the fog appears, there are additional minor fluctuations. Image stability is excellent. I noticed a few blemishes, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

The Looters 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.

If you turn up the volume of your system enough so that you can hear clearly absolutely everything that is said throughout The Looters, you will hear extremely light background hiss trying to sneak in. It is never distracting. However, it is there, so I must mention it. Sharpness and stability are excellent. Dynamic intensity is unimpressive, but this is to be expected given that The Looters was completed in the early 1950s.

The Looters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Toby Roan. It follows a familiar format and provides plenty of good factual information about the production of The Looters, director Abner Biberman's career, the work and legacies of the main actors, the film's narrative construction and style, etc.

The Looters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the 1950s, Universal produced a lot of film noirs that were disguised as different genre films, typically westerns or adventure films. The Looters emerged from this practice. It is a good film with solid performances, but not as beautifully shot and polished as Day of the Outlaw and Man in the Shadow. Kino Lorber's release introduces an exclusive new 2K makeover of it with a good new audio commentary by critic Toby Roan. RECOMMENDED.