Forgotten Noir Collector's Set [3 Discs] [DVD]

This is a nicely put together triple-DVD package from VCI and Kit Parker Films -- the three discs, which are also available separately, fit well together as crime-related dramas, though they're not all necessarily examples of film noir. There are commentary tracks on Portland Expose and Loan Shark, and a two-part biography of about the production company Lippert Pictures and its founder, Robert L. Lippert, Sr., by Robert L. Lippert, Jr.. Each disc has a completely different menu design, and the one on the second DVD, Loan Shark/Arson Inc., is a lot easier to maneuver than the menu on Portland Expose/They Were So Young. Lindsley Parsons, Jr.'s commentary on Portland Expose is more informative than the one by Richard M. Roberts on Loan Shark, though Roberts is more entertaining. The tranfers are uniformly clean and surprisingly crisp, given the age of the movies involved and the low budgets on which they were shot -- only Shoot To Kill seems deficient in quality, with softness to its detail, but even it is eminently watchable on a technical level. Portland Expose and They Were So Young are letterboxed (1.85-to-1), while the other films in this collection are full-screen (1.33-to-1). Disc Three, containing Shadow Man/Shoot To Kill -- a pair of British crime pictures -- is unusual for offering the original UK version of Shadow Man, entitled Street of Shadows and running seven minutes longer than the US version. The bonus features, in addition to the commentary tracks and production company history, include original trailers, shooting scripts, bios on the stars and crew, and filmographies., all accessiible in clearly delineated blonus sections on each disc.
: Language:English
: Program Type:Movie
: Screen Format:Black & White
: Studio:Vci Video
: Region Code:0
: Sound Features:stereo
: Aspect Ratio:1.33:1
: Format:DVD
: Product Name:Forgotten Noir Collector's Set [3 Discs] [DVD]
: Product Tags:3 Discs
Loan Shark was one of several independently-produced films made by George Raft in the early 1950s. Raft plays Joe Gargan, a good guy who pretends to turn bad to trap a gang of usurious loan sharks. In order to convince the crooks that he's on their side, Gargan is forced to call it quits with his sweetheart Ann Nelson (Dorothy Hart). Once he's accepted by the villains, Gargan dreams up an elaborate new method of siphoning money from an unsuspecting public. Inevitably, however, the villains get wise to Gargan's subterfuge, and for a while it looks like curtains for our hero. One of the most appealing aspects of Loan Shark is the no-frills cinematography of Joseph Biroc, who went on to such loftier pursuits as The Towering Inferno.~Hal Erickson
Name : George Raft: Role : Joe Gargen
Name : Dorothy Hart: Role : Ann Nelson
Name : Paul Stewart: Role : Donelli
Name : Helen Westcott: Role : Martha Haines
Name : John Hoyt: Role : Phillips
Name : Henry Slate: Role : Paul Nelson
Name : William Phipps: Role : Ed Haines
Name : Russell Johnson: Role : Thompson
Name : Charles Meredith: Role : Rennick
Name : Harlan Warde: Role : Lt. White
Name : Seymour Friedman: Role : Director
Name : Bernard Luber: Role : Producer
Name : Eugene Ling: Role : Screenwriter
Name : Martin Rackin: Role : Screenwriter
Name : Joseph Biroc: Role : Cinematographer
Name : Al Joseph: Role : Editor