Independent U.S. distributors Olive Films will add two more titles to its Blu-ray catalog in January: Allan Dwan's
Woman They Almost Lynched (1953)m, starring John Lund, Brian Donlevy, and Audrey Totter, and Robert Aldrich's
World for Ransom (1954), starring Dan Duryea, Gene Lockhart, and Patric Knowles. The two releases will be available for purchase on January 20th.
Woman They Almost Lynched
n the waning years of the Civil War, the secluded Ozark community of Border City prides itself on its neutrality. But the town quickly becomes a convenient refuge for such violent renegades as Charles Quantrill (Brian Donlevy), Jesse and Frank James (Ben Cooper, James Brown), and Cole Younger (Jim Davis). Into this lawless town comes the innocent Sally Maris (Joan Leslie), whose brother (Reed Hadley) runs the local saloon. When her brother dies in a gunfight over Quantrill's wife, Kate (Audrey Totter), Sally takes over the Lead Dollar Saloon and braces herself for a showdown. Meanwhile, the opposing armies converge on Border City, each seeking lead from the mines owned by the domineering mayor (Nina Varela). Caught in the middle of these warring factions, Sally is accused of being a Confederate spy, and is taken by Union soldiers to the hanging tree, where an unexpected fate awaits her.
World for Ransom
An exotic film noir set against the backdrop of Cold War Shanghai, World for Ransom stars Dan Duryea (Scarlet Street) a roguish detective Mike Callahan, who is drawn into a plot to kidnap a nuclear scientist (Arthur Shields). But the deeper Callahan delves into the mystery, the more labyrinthine the conspiracy becomes, as military intelligence (led by Reginald Denny), a criminal mastermind (Gene Lockhart), and a cross-dressing femme fatale (Marian Carr) all vie to control his fate.
Directed (without credit) by Robert Aldrich, utilizing the resources of the TV series "China Smith," World for Ransom was initially dismissed as a low-rent von Sternberg film (parallels to Macao and Shanghai Express are obvious). Since then, however, the film has earned a new appreciation, being considered a trial run for Aldrich's influential Kiss Me Deadly, both films peeling back endless layers of deception and betrayal, while an atomic secret lies hiding at the core.