Search - Classic Film Noir, Vol. 3 - 10 Movie Pack on DVD

A decent collection of obscure noir films

mrliteral | 06/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For every major noir film - an Out of the Past or Murder My Sweet - there are probably a dozen lesser known movies, films that (sometimes rightfully) are mostly forgotten nowadays. Classic Film Noir collects ten of these lesser known movies in a 3 DVD set.

Disc One has three movies: The Second Woman, Borderline and The Naked Kiss. The Second Woman is something of a whodunit, with Robert Young as an architect beleaguered by bad luck. Is someone out to kill him, or is it all a paranoid fantasy? Borderline has Claire Trevor and Fred MacMurray as two undercover operatives out to stop Raymond Burr; the twist is that neither knows the other is a cop. The Naked Kiss is an old Sam Fuller movie with a prostitute trying to start a new life and being distrusted by a local police captain. This final movie is actually the best in the set, and pretty gritty for its era (made in 1964, it is also the most recent of the ten films by eight years). The other two are passably entertaining.

Disc Two also has three movies. Devil's Sleep is the weakest in the bunch, something of a Reefer Madness sort of cautionary flick about drugs, but too dumb and preachy to be effective. The Bigamist is not the standard noir movie as the only crime is bigamy, with Edmond O'Brien married to both Joan Fontaine and Ida Lupino (who also directed); how he got into this mess is related in flashback. Postmark for Danger is reminiscent of Hammer's old film noirs with its British setting; the plot itself has a resemblance to Laura, with some diamond smuggling thrown into the mix.

Disc Three has four movies. Danger Street is one of those whodunits with a pair of intrepid reporters exchanging witty lines as they solve crimes. The light touch eliminates any real sense of danger for the heroes. Strange Illusion is a Hamlet-like story of a teenage boy who - guided by a dream - suspects his mother's new lover of killing his father. The Girl From Rio has the title character coming to New York to clear her brother of murder and singing a few cheesy tunes in the process. Finally, Tokyo File 212 has an American agent in Tokyo out to stop the Commies from taking over; it's actually a decent enough movie and one of the earliest American movies shot in Japan after WWII, though House of Bamboo is a nicer movie.

All the movies in the set range from two to four stars in quality, with The Naked Kiss, The Bigamist and Borderline towards the top and Devil's Sleep, Strange Illusion and The Girl From Rio towards the other end of the spectrum. Overall, I'm giving the set four stars: for the price, it's a good set, especially if you want to see some more obscure movies."

Not a Film Noir collection

T. Morris | Idaho | 05/10/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is not a collection of Film Noir. Perhaps the folks at St. Claire think all B&W movies from the 30's thru the 50's are Film Noir and Classic but they are wrong and this set is not worth the money. Volumes 1 and 2 are much better and not only are these movies not Film Noir but, except for about two, they are all bad movies. Save you time and money on this one!"

Great Bargain

Thomas Tunstall | 12/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I previously bought Volume 1 and 2, and was pleased with both. While there are some duds in all three, there is 13+ hours of content. A great cross-section of film noir for a great price."

Lots of movies for the money...

G. Stewart | Indialantic, FL | 11/09/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the film noir in this package were pretty good. The actors were good, the plots were good, and the production was ok. Since the movies that are produced today are in the F class, the movies in this package were in the A class!"