Kino Lorber has now released 25 sets in its Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema series. At three films per set, that’s 75 films. I’ve reviewed 15 of the sets, or 45 films. That’s a lot of noir-darkened alleyways, femme fatales, smokey jazz clubs, back-stabbings, and betrayals. I hope they release a hundred more. For this set, they are releasing three films from Republic Pictures, all directed by John H. Auer.
Buy Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXV Blu-rayThe Flame (1947) is the first and worst of the bunch. It starts out strong with a Double Indemnity-inspired opener where a man with a bullet hole in him narrates how he ended up that way. Then it moves into a gothic melodrama before moving back once again into classic noir territory. The man is George MacAllister (John Carroll) and he’s talked his lover Carlotta (Vera Ralston) into being nursemaid to his rich, sick brother Barry MacAllister (Robert Paige). Naturally, the idea is for him to fall for her, for them to get married, and then for George and Carlotta to get all his money once Barry has died (by murder, of course).
Naturally, things don’t go according to plan. One day, George notices Ernie Hicks (Broderick Crawford) skulking around outside his apartment building. Fearing he might be a detective or somebody else clued into his nefarious plans, George confronts him. Turns out Ernie is in love with George’s neighbor Helen Anderson (Constance Dowling) but she only gives him the time of day when he’s got money, something he rarely has.
Ernie gets clued into George’s nefarious plans and decides to blackmail him. To complicate matters, Helen has the hots for George. To complicate matters further, both Carlotta and Helen are similarly looking blondes. I honestly had trouble telling them apart, which completely confused me for half the movie. The best parts are the blackmailing schemes, and Crawford is great at playing Ernie like a dumb oaf until he proves to be smarter than anyone. But the rest of the film is dull and confusing.
City That Never Sleeps (1953) feels like a B-movie version of The Naked City (1948) that literally starts with voice-over narration from “The City of Chicago” that introduces its citizens, both people and animals, before getting down to business. That business involves a disillusioned cop, a crooked lawyer, a dude who pretends to be a robot inside a storefront window, a magician turned pickpocket, an exotic dancer femme fatale, set-ups, robberies, double-crosses, and murder. It is told in that documentary style that was fashionable at the time. It is the best film out of the three.
Johnny Kelly (Gig Young) is a Chicago cop who never wanted the job and has become disillusioned with it. He became a police officer because his father is on the force and he didn’t know how to tell the old man “no.” His wife is kind and loving, but his mother-in-law is a nag. The life he lives is not the one he would have chosen. Enter Sally “Angel Face” Connors (Mala Powers). She’s the exotic dancer who offers Kelly a sense of excitement and possibly a way out. She connects him to Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), the crooked lawyer who is setting up a would-be thief for a fall. Complications ensue.
It is a bit slow to get going, and the romantic entanglements never really gel, but the crooked lawyer adds interest. It is fantastically shot by John L. Russell who gives it the full-on noir treatment with smoke-filled alleys, dark shadows, and expressive lighting. The back half springs to life with some good action and a sentimental ending.
Hell’s Half Acre has got to be the only film noir to ever take place in Hawaii. A tropical island seems antithetical to the general noir aesthetics, but thankfully after a few establishing shots on the beach, most of the action leads us to the shady part of the city dubbed “Hell’s Half Acre.” There, we find Chet Chester (Wendell Corey), a racketeer who got rich after World War II and is trying to go legit. When one of his old pals tries to blackmail him, his girlfriend shoots the blackmailer dead. Our main villain, Roger Kong (Philip Ahn), steps up to take revenge.
Meanwhile, Donna Williams (Evelyn Keyes), who married Chet just before Pearl Harbor and believed he died in that incident, learns that he’s still alive and living in Hawaii. She flies in to investigate. Complications ensue. The film is a lot better than my little plot summation makes it sound. It is tightly scripted by Steve Fisher and nicely shot by John L. Russell. The only weak spot is Wendell Corey who is just a wet, limp towel.
Kino Lorber presents all three films with HD scans from Paramount Pictures.
Extras include:
- 2017, 2024, and 2017 HD Masters by Paramount Pictures from 4K Scans
- NEW Audio Commentary for The Flame by Heath Holland, Host of Cereal at Midnight Podcast
- Audio Commentary for City That Never Sleeps by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith
- NEW Audio Commentary for Hell’s Half Acre by Heath Holland, Host of Cereal at Midnight Podcast
- Optional English Subtitles
As I wrote in the opening, I’ve watched and reviewed most of these film noir sets from Kino Lorber. As I’ve said in most of my reviews, these aren’t the greatest film noirs ever made. None of these sets are for beginners. They are for film-noir diehards looking for deep cuts. But they also aren’t the dregs of the genre either. These three films are surprisingly good. Twenty-five sets in and they are still making me come back for more.
