Scream great John Carradine (The Black Sleep, House of the Long Shadows) stars in this eerie film noir version of the oft-told Bluebeard legend. Carradine is masterful as the dastardly Gaston, an artist and puppeteer in 19th-century Paris with a ghastly penchant for strangling lovely young models and surreptitiously slipping their bodies into the Seine. Gaston’s latest model, Lucille (Jean Parker, Black Tuesday), learns of his shocking secret and bravely vows to bring him to justice. Directed by the master of the strange and the spellbinding, Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat, The Man from Planet X), who sustains a steady level of suspense throughout this most sinister of love stories. A dread-soaked dream for connoisseurs of classic horror and noir! Co-starring “the male Garbo” Nils Asther (By Candlelight).

For thoughts on Bluebeard (1944), please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Bluebeard arrives on Blu-Ray thanks to Kino Classics with a 1080p transfer derived from a 4K scan courtesy of Paramount conducted in 2020. While we are sure this looks better than any previous release, expectations should be kept firmly in check. The good news is that this does not appear to be a victim of Paramount’s tendency to use DNR to obliterate natural detail. The natural film grain remains intact with only a bit of noise interfering with the gorgeous black-and-white photography. Where the film comes up short can likely be traced back to the source. It would not surprise us to learn the original elements were in very poor shape, as there is consistent damage and intermittent shots that are so soft that they look like poor DVD quality.

This new disc maximizes the potential of the transfer, and things are not all bad as you do get a solid amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Contrast is adequately defined with an expected level of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. Black levels showcase some acceptable depth with no obvious occurrence of crush or compression artifacts. When the source is in better shape, you get an admirable amount of texture on the clothing and within the production design. It is good that this film is not lost to time, but it would have been nice to have it in more consistent quality.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray provides a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that delivers a listening experience better than the visual one. Dialogue and background noises play well with all competing elements so that everything maintains the proper prominence. This track shows little in the way of age-related wear and tear, but what is present is not too distracting. The track can sound the slightest bit thin when it comes to its brightest moments, but even this is not as problematic as some older feature films. Kino Classics has delivered a good effort. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentaries: There are two new commentary tracks provided by film historians in which they discuss the development of this film during a fruitful period for horror films, the career of Edgar G. Ulmer, the background of the performers, how this compares to history, and more.

- Audio Commentary #1: Film Historians Gregory W. Mank and Tom Weaver

- Audio Commentary #2: Film Historian David Del Valle

Trailers: There are trailers for The Mad Doctor, The Undying Monster, The Spider Woman Strikes Back, The Lodger, The Man From Planet X, Beyond the Time Barrier, The Amazing Transparent Man, and Black Tuesday.

Final Thoughts

Bluebeard is a somewhat underwhelming chiller due to the inconsistent execution of Edgar G. Ulmer. The film starts off on an eerie enough note, but the tension soon dissipates as all the mystery surrounding who is committing these crimes blows away in the wind. Knowing the identity of the killer could work, but there is a lack of mounting tension when it comes to each victim, leaving each act of violence feeling a bit lifeless. There are moments of intrigue and some decent performances, but this is a weaker effort overall. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that delivers an inconsistent A/V presentation and a couple of welcome commentary tracks.

Bluebeard is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.