This collection features three film noir classics. LADY ON A TRAIN (1945) – The delightful Deanna Durbin (It Started with Eve) stars in this noir-flavored murder-mystery with a delicious comedic twist. A young woman (Durbin) on a New York-bound train is witness to a murder outside her compartment window. With a penchant for reading mystery novels and the help of a mystery writer (David Bruce, The Mad Ghoul), she sets out to solve the case after police refuse to believe her story. The plot thickens when she’s caught at the victim’s estate and mistaken for his showgirl fiancée. Adopting the ruse, she soon discovers that the deceased has willed her most of his vast fortune! The wonderful cast includes Ralph Bellamy (Hands Across the Table), George Coulouris (Where There’s Life) and Dan Duryea (Johnny Stool Pigeon).
TANGIER (1946) – The beautiful Maria Montez (Cobra Woman, Gypsy Wildcat) is determined to bring a Nazi collaborator to justice in this exotic, suspense-filled noir. In the North African city of Tangier, where every secret has its price, Rita (Montez), a café dancer from Madrid, catches the eye of down-and-out war correspondent Paul Kenyon (Robert Paige, Son of Dracula). Together with the help of Pepe (Sabu, Arabian Nights), a young, local entrepreneur, they battle a Nazi war criminal (Preston Foster, Love Before Breakfast) who’s working incognito as a military governor. Featuring Louise Allbritton (Pittsburgh) and Reginald Denny (Skinner’s Dress Suit) with taut direction by George Waggner (The Wolf Man).
TAKE ONE FALSE STEP (1949) – Married college professor Andrew Gentling (William Powell, The Thin Man) is inveigled by old flame Catherine Sykes (Shelley Winters, He Ran All the Way) into a midnight drive. The very next day, Catherine vanishes. Andrew’s friend Martha (Marsha Hunt, Raw Deal) convinces him that he’s a prime suspect and should investigate before he’s arrested. But this only puts Andrew in a deadlier kind of danger when the trail leads him to the crime-ridden streets of San Francisco. This edge-of-your-seat, twist-filled mystery-noir from author Irwin Shaw (The Young Lions) features Dorothy Hart (Larceny), James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan) and an uncredited Tony Curtis (Flesh and Fury).
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Video Quality
Lady On A Train, Tangier and Take One False Step come to Blu-Ray with the three films each given their own disc. 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. Lady On A Train and Tangier have been given new 2K scans, while Take One False Step has been provided with a 4K master. While the latter is the strongest of the bunch, all of these presentations allow the films to look the best they ever have on home media. The quality stays in the “great” to “really good” range throughout with not a genuine stinker in the bunch. Every film retains a bit of underlying print damage and other source anomalies to one degree or another, but nothing that would constitute a dealbreaker.
Black levels are fair for the most part, but could stand to be a bit deeper. That being said, there are no substantial occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts across the three. Take One False Step provides the best example of shadow detail, while the others leave room to be enhanced a bit more. The aforementioned print damage is omnipresent, yet the degree to which it is shifts throughout. Mostly you have some underlying faint lines or small specks, and thankfully you will not spot big unsightly tears of splotches. The black-and-white photography holds up favorably across these films as they shine in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field can run a bit thick or coarse, but this is preferable to the transfers being managed and scrubbed of their texture. You will not find many moments where the grain appears swarmy or unnatural. There is a lovely amount of detail present throughout with distinct textures on the costumes and in the environments and production design. The contrast is balanced with only a minor level of density fluctuation in the print. Kino Classics has once again delivered an effort that should please classic film fans.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray set comes with a fairly solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track for each of these three films that presents them pretty well considering their age. Dialogue comes through with a pleasing sense of clarity that aids the journey. It is balanced well with the environmental elements so no information gets lost in the mix. These tracks do show some amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing, humming and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. The three scores that are provided never really overpower the dialogue or other important information, but they can sound a little weak at the highest peaks. Kino Classics has delivered a pretty good audio experience for these. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary for Tangier: Film Critic Felicia Feaster delivers a very entertaining and informative commentary track in which she discusses the Universal logo of the time, the expediency of the exposition, the performances in the film and the careers of the talent involved, how the history of the region at the time, how this fits within the genre and more.
- Audio Commentary for Take One False Step: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller delivers a sturdy and informative commentary track that is a bit more low key than the previous track but delivers great historical information about the production of the film, the talent involved, the thematic beats of the story, interesting trivia and much more.
- Trailers: There are trailers provided for Lady On A Train (2:16) and Tangier (1:51). There are also trailers provided for The Woman In The Window, It Started With Eve, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Cobra Woman, Cry Of The City, He Ran All The Way and The Raging Tide .
Final Thoughts
The Film Noir: The Dark Side Of Cinema IX set once again offers a fine array of features from this expansive genre. You will not find much in the way of a thematic connection between these three, but they are similar in the way they are very entertaining all around. Tangier feels like the biggest outlier here, and it is personally my least favorite of the bunch, but even it has elements to appreciate. Take One False Step is the highlight of the set with really strong performances from William Powell and Shelley Winters. This set will treat you well if you decide to give it a go. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a great A/V presentation and some informative commentary tracks. If you are a fan of the genre, you should be satisfied. Recommended
Film Noir: The Dark Side Of Cinema IX [Lady On A Train/Tangier/Take One False Step] 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.