Search - Dark Waters on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1944 DVD Release: 06/01/1999 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller

Adapted from a Saturday Evening Post serial by Frank and Marian Cockrell, Dark Waters stars Merle Oberon as heiress Leslie Calvin, a woman with a neurotic aversion to water. This stems from the fact that in her childhood, Leslie was one of four survivors of a torpedoed steamship. Preying upon Leslie's fears, conniving Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell), a guest at the Calvin family's Louisiana plantation, concocts a campaign of terror designed to drive the poor girl crazy so that he can claim her vast inheritance. Sydney and his cohorts also have the presence of mind to murder all of Leslie's closest relatives, leaving her utterly helpless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Merle Oberon - Leslie Calvin
Franchot Tone - Dr. George Grover
Thomas Mitchell - Mr. Sydney
Fay Bainter - Aunt Emily
Rex Ingram - Pearson Jackson
John Qualen - Uncle Norbert

André De Toth's Dark Waters (1944) was previously available in a laserdisc edition mastered from the same source as this DVD. The newer format, however, has fewer anomalies to impair the viewer's enjoyment, and the result is a somewhat better viewing experience for a lot less money. Although derived from a print taken from the U.C.L.A. film archive, the DVD image is somewhat soft at times and reveals a fair number of scratches in the opening segment. On the other hand, the image is clear enough to show the shadows resulting from the odd camera angles and the careful, sometimes disquieting lighting used by cinematographers Archie Stout and John Mescall. The audio is mastered at a slightly low volume level, which was also a problem with the laserdisc. The audio mastering, apart from a very rough final fade out, does justice to Miklos Rozsa's score; though not in a league with his work on such films as Spellbound or The Lost Weekend, it was still a step in establishing himself as Hollywood's resident master of the psychological, suspense-oriented music score. The 13 chapters cover the 90-minute plot more than adequately. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide