7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A woman is caught in a love triangle between a sweet, normal bus conductor and an aloof but genteel gentleman who happens to be a serial strangler.
Starring: Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, Roland Culver, Stanley HollowayFilm-Noir | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cast a Dark Shadow / Wanted for Murder.
Considering their vaunted reputation as such a reserved and polite people, Brits certainly have a penchant for Murder Most Foul, if I might be permitted to co-opt a film title from one of the Margaret Rutherford
Miss Marple outings (a title which is itself lifted from Hamlet).
Miss
Marple's creator Agatha Christie may be the best remembered British author of murder mysteries, but this appealing double feature from Cohen
Media
Group's Cohen Film Collection imprint proves she wasn't the only one, and in fact wasn't the only female one. Both Wanted for
Murder
from 1946 and Cast a Dark Shadow from 1955 are based on stage plays, and in the case of Cast a Dark Shadow, a play
written by Janet Green, who also gave the world Midnight
Lace
. Wanted for Murder has a different claim to fame in its authorship department, albeit in this case regarding one of the adapters of
Percy Robinson and Terence De
Marney's play, co-scenarist Emeric Pressburger, who had already begun his vaunted partnership with Michael Powell, but who was here on a
"holiday"
of sorts, before returning to Powell to deliver the one-two punch of A Matter of Life and Death and Black
Narcissus.
Wanted for Murder is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. Cohen doesn't provide any technical information on the transfer, other than the front cover of this release stating it offers "two fully restored film noir classics" and the back cover listing "a new 2K restoration. . .from the Cohen Film Collection." Cast a Dark Shadow bore the imprimatur of the British Film Institute as among its restorers, something that's missing here, and that may account in part for a somewhat less consistent looking presentation. There is a somewhat blanched look here at times that can make blacks a bit on the milky side, and there is also a generally less consistent level of fine detail. Some of the dimly lit material, notably the whole carnival sequence and some "tube" scenes in London's subway system suffer from a lack of shadow definition. On the whole, though, this is a decently detailed looking transfer that doesn't offer any huge problems, though it definitely looks more worn and aged than its disc mate. My score is 3.25.
Wanted for Murder features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that is pretty noticeably boxy and thin sounding, something that is perhaps especially apparent with regard to the supposed "piano concerto" by composer Mischa Spoliansky that is utilized. The piano cues in particular can sound a bit brash and bright, as can some crowd scene clamor, as in the carnival sequence. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly, though, with no real problems to mention. Optional English subtitles are available.
Cohen has packaged these together on one disc with the following minimal supplements. Both of the trailers listed below are new, not archival, and advertise Cohen's restorations.
Wanted for Murder offers a great showcase for an imperious if emotionally unbalanced Portman, but the main story is pretty hackneyed and despite a few angst ridden moments, there's really not much suspense as to how things are going to work out. This transfer doesn't have quite the same consistent contrast and detail levels as Cast a Dark Shadow, and the audio is a little tinny sounding as well, for those who are considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1953
1949
1948
1955
1955
Warner Archive Collection
1958
1949
Warner Archive Collection
1947
1949
Warner Archive Collection
1953
1953
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1949
1949
1951
1945
1955
1946
I Married a Dead Man
1950
1954
1955