ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN (1940) – Oscar winner Charles Barton directs the legendary Peter Lorre (M, The Maltese Falcon) in this sensational Noir that “pushes the censorship restrictions of the era as far as possible thanks to its elements of sadism, bondage, spousal abuse, and one very startling moment of (simulated) animal cruelty” (TCM, Nathaniel Thompson). Peter Lorre plays Stephen Danel, the owner of Dead Man’s Island, using the off-the-radar colony as a place to keep paroled convicts as slaves. Undercover agent Mark Sheldon gets sent to the island and becomes trapped himself as Danel’s sadistic guards maintain a tight circle around the house and grounds.

THE RED MENACE (1949) – This controversial noir (later re-released as Underground Spy) stars Robert Rockwell, Betty Lou Gerson, and Barbra Fuller, directed by R.G. Springsteen. When a disgruntled ex-soldier gets no help from the Veteran’s Bureau, he is ripe for the influences of Communists who lead him down the party line. But he soon meets up with disgruntled party members who attempt to break out.

THE BURGLAR (1957) – Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by David Goodis, The Burglar stars Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, and Martha Vickers. A burglar and his two associates set their sights on a wealthy spiritualist who has inherited a fortune – including a renowned emerald necklace – from a Philadelphia financier.

13 WEST STREET (1962) – Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger star in this thrilling adaptation of Leigh Brackett’s 1957 novel ‘The Tiger Among Us’. When Walt Sherill is brutally beaten by a gang of angry teenagers, he decides to track the teens himself — hiring a private detective, buying a gun, and stalking potential suspects.

For thoughts on Essential Film Noir: Collection 5, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/yU3bl8Lufgs?si=GfGY8Knvza-GZE9C&t=479]

Video Quality

Essential Film Noir: Collection 5 comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Imprint Films with four films each given their own disc. This label is based out of Australia, but these discs will play on all Blu-Ray players including those in the United States. These masters were supplied by Sony, who does not allow outside companies to do work on their titles, so Imprint is stuck with the latest master the company has created. Island of Doomed Men, The Burglar, and 13 West Street appear to be older masters that are pleasant enough with only occasional minor deficiencies. The Red Menace is noted as being from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Nitrate Negative conducted in 2013. This also happens to be the only title in the set that is not a worldwide debut on Blu-Ray, as it was released by Olive Films in 2013. That release is presumably from the same source, but we do not have it to compare.

These films share many of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them as a group while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. The quality of these four films ranges from “pretty good” to “great” with the occasional swing in either direction. Most of the films show off a minor bit of underlying print damage and other source anomalies to one degree or another, but by and large, these transfers are quite nice even without fresh remasters. The natural grain field appears to have been retained in most cases while resolving well. There are occasional moments that briefly spike, but not much has been managed or scrubbed of its texture. The exception appears to be 13 West Street, which has a bit of a scrubbed appearance with film grain not showing up as it should.

Throughout most of these features, there is a nice amount of detail present with textures on the outfits and in the environments and production design. The contrast is consistent with only a minor level of density fluctuation in the print. Black levels are mostly solid but could be given slightly more depth. There are no egregious occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts across the four films. The black-and-white photography holds up well across these films as they take advantage of their high definition presentation. Imprint Films has presented these as well as they possibly can.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray set comes with a good LPCM 2.0 track for each of these four films that presents them well even with a bit of age at play. The scores that accompany these films never overshadow the dialogue and other important information, but some moments can sound a little fragile at the highest peaks. Other minor deficits come in the form of some faint hissing, humming, and crackles that more than likely date back to the source elements. Dialogue comes through clearly without a hint of distortion or sibilance. It is balanced well with the environmental elements so necessary elements stay prominent in the mix. Imprint Films has provided a fine audio experience for these. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films.

Special Features

The Red Menace

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Samm Deighan provides a very illuminating commentary track in which she discusses the problematic nature of the narrative, the commentary on how we treat returning GIs, the work of filmmaker R.G. Springsteen, where this fits into various subgenres, the careers of the talent involved, the legacy of the film and more.

Hollywood On Trial – 1976 Documentary Narrated By John Huston: A 102-minute documentary is provided here in standard definition that chronicles the 1947 hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee including archival footage from the hearings and interviews with some of the figures impacted the most. This is a truly terrific addition that you should not pass by so quickly.

The Hollywood Ten: There is a 15-minute short film provided in which the Hollywood Ten make statements denouncing McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting.

The Burglar

Introduction By Martin Scorsese: A two-minute introduction from the legendary filmmaker in which he talks about why this is such an important film adaptation along with some background information about the production.

Theatrical Trailer: There is a two-minute trailer provided for this one.

13 West Street

Theatrical Trailer: There is a two-and-a-half-minute trailer provided for this one.

Final Thoughts

Essential Film Noir: Collection 5 collects four very entertaining films from the genre into a single box set which offers enough variety to avoid feeling like you are watching variations of the same film one after the other. The standout for us is 13 West Street, but there is not a dud in the set, even if The Red Menace is a bit blunt in its messaging. With three of these four films being worldwide debuts on Blu-Ray, this set has a lot going for it. Imprint Films has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a consistently good A/V presentation and some nifty special features. If you are a film noir fan, the quality of this series continues. Recommended

Essential Film Noir: Collection 5 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.

Note #2: This release is an Australian import that can be played on Blu-Ray players worldwide.

Disclaimer: Imprint Films 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.