Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Tight Spot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 4, 2021

Phil Karlson's "Tight Spot" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; new audio commentary by critic Nora Fiore; archival content; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

We both know you were a bad girl

If I were given the chance to go back in time and change two things about Phil Karlson’s film Tight Spot, they would be the casting of Ginger Rogers and the humor her character brings to its narrative. I like the film a lot, but I feel that it should have been a lot darker and definitely more cynical. It seems like Brian Keith is trying to act in precisely that kind of a film, but Rogers keeps pulling him back in the lighter version of the film that Phil Karlson shot. Of course, it is intentional, but it hurts the authenticity of their romantic relationship. I would have loved to see Ava Gardner take Rogers’ spot with the type of appearance she has in The Killers. Rogers’ polka-dotted dress looks fine, but is not a match for the elegant black dress Gardner wears in the hotel where she plays with Burt Lancaster’s mind. If you have not seen The Killers in a while you should revisit the film and see how Gardner completely defeats Lancaster in a sequence where he is supposed to be exuding confidence and strength. She does not say much, she just looks at him in a way only a true seductress can. Everything that happens between Gardner and Lancaster after that makes perfect sense because he is under her spell. A similar moment of quiet but irreversible seduction is missing in Tight Spot, yet Rogers awakens something deep inside Keith that later on initiates his transformation. It does make perfect sense and you can tell exactly what is going on in Keith’s head, but you are fully aware that you are watching a performance. It is different with Gardner and Lancaster. She is the kind of woman that can destroy a man and he won’t even consider walking away from her because he is convinced that she is worth dying for.

In Tight Spot Keith is Vince Striker, an overworked cop who has been given a new assignment -- transport Rogers’ character, a former bad girl named Sherry Conley, from her prison cell to a posh hotel room where she has to be convinced to testify against a notorious mobster (Lorne Greene). The girl is reluctant to do it because the prosecution’s previous key witness has just been murdered by the mobster’s goons, but is nevertheless tempted because she is told that she could strike a deal that would allow her to start a new life under a different identity. In the hotel room, Vince and his boss (Edward G. Robinson) begin negotiating with the girl, but very quickly realize that making progress will be a long and exhausting battle. While letting her wine and dine at taxpayers' expense, the cop and his boss discover that their guest is a very simple girl that will likely lose her life regardless of her decision. Meanwhile, even though the girl’s location is kept secret, paid informers tell the mobster where to look for her and he immediately dispatches a few of his assassins to take her out before she makes up her mind.

The evolution of the romantic relationship that is at heart of Karlson’s film is extremely easy to predict, so there are just a few minor details that can produce legit surprises. The best comes after the cop has an unexpected encounter with the mobster’s goons and is forced to meet him. After that it is just a matter of time before Karlson wraps up the film in the only way that feels right. (If you have seen a lot of film noirs, then you will probably guess the surprise long before the encounter. There are plenty of clues pointing to its inevitable arrival).

This film works primarily because of Keith’s performance, which is defined by two contrasting styles. Initially his cop struggles to tolerate the girl because his initial impression is that she is nothing but a waste of time, so he has to emphasize emotions that make him look like a jaded simpleton. Obviously, at this point Keith does a lot to turn off the audience. However, after the girl disables the cop’s resistance, he begins a transformation which can appear legit only if he finds a way to merge it with a powerful and, more importantly, detectable internal struggle. He does it well because he remains a jaded simpleton but reveals a beating hart, which is not as easy as it sounds. The potential for this transformation to be part of a seriously dull melodrama that collapses the film is enormous, but Keith’s attitude and presence before the camera are terrific.

Rogers is likeable too, but she plays a one-dimensional character that thrives only in humorous situations that are instantly forgettable. The memorable material is the one where the static and later on attraction between her and Keith make both of them appear vulnerable.

Karlson used the services of cinematographer Burnett Guffey, who could have done a lot more with a darker script. Giffey’s credits include such classic film noirs as In a Lonely Place, The Harder They Fall, and Human Desire.

Tight Spot 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, Tight Spot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an old master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. I like this master, but after going through all of the discs in the Columbia Noir #2 box set, I have to conclude that dual-layer discs with higher bitrates are needed for proper technical presentations. Why? Virtually all of these older masters have looser grain structures, so they need strong encodes to make the grain appear as tight as possible. On this release and especially on Murder by Contract -- and yes, there are other issues there as well -- the grain often becomes so loose that it actually impacts negatively delineation. This is simply way too obvious if you project, and it is not because the master has some severe limitations. On this particular master the biggest issue is some sporadic black crush; the rest looks very strong. However, because of the loose grain there are different areas where some minor limitations, like less than optimal density, can suddenly become notable issues. These issues are entirely avoidable with a stronger encode on a dual-layer disc. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Tight Spot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not notice any anomalies to report in our review. I had the volume on my system turned up quite a bit and all of the exchanges sounded very clear and crisp. I did not detect any distracting hiss or distortions in the upper register, where older films typically show weaknesses. Is there any room for improvement? Perhaps some cosmetic adjustments can be done, but on my system the audio sounded as good as I expected it would.

Tight Spot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a remastered vintage trailer for Tight Spot. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of original production and promotional materials for Tight Spot.

• The Senate Crime Investigations - the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was instigated in 1950 to look into organized crime. Chaired by Senator Estes Kefauver, the Committee held hearings in multiple U.S. cities, and secured the testimonies of more than 600 witnesses. Known as the Kefauver Hearings, they would influence a number of film noir productions, including Tight Spot. Presented here are four segments from the hearings that were originally prepared and distributed by the British Film Institute. In English, not subtitled. (62 min).

• Idiots Deluxe - a short film about the three stooges directed by Jules White in 1945. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (18 min).

• Commentary - new audio commentary by critic Nora Fiore.

• Book - limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Melanie Williams, Ellen Cheshire, Simon Abrams, Kulraj Phullar, Tara Judah, and David Thompson; extracts from interviews with director Phil Karlson, screenwriter Ben Maddow, and others; an extract from Vincent Sherman's autobiography; archival news articles, interviews, and reviews; new writing on the short films; and full film credits.

Tight Spot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Every time I revisit Tight Spot my mind immediately begins insisting that it would have been a much better film with a seductive femme fatale. Ginger Rogers' bubbly bad girl isn't disappointing, but she brings lightness and humor to the film that are not always right for it. I think that Brian Keith should have been paired with Ava Gardner and the romance and drama would have been spectacular. This upcoming release is sourced from an old but solid master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. However, I think that these masters need to be transferred on dual-layer discs with very strong encodes so that they can look as good as possible. Most of them have different limitations, and on single-layer discs many of them begin revealing issues that are easily avoidable. Tight Spot is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Columbia Noir #2 six-disc box set, which will be out later this month. RECOMMENDED.