This collection features three film noir classics. UNDERCOVER GIRL (1950) – The Inside Story of America’s Daring Police Women! NYPD cop Christine Miller (the wonderful Alexis Smith, Conflict, The Turning Point) goes undercover to investigate her father’s killing in this electrically charged thriller directed by noir master Joseph Pevney (Shakedown, Female on the Beach). Posing as a drug buyer named Sal Willis, Christine infiltrates a narcotics ring in order to take down the crooks responsible for her father’s death. But blackmail, gunplay, murder and other duplicities await her as she embarks on her most dangerous case. The sterling cast also features Scott Brady (Undertow), Richard Egan (Violent Saturday), Gladys George (The Maltese Falcon), Edmon Ryan (Topaz), Gerald Mohr (Gilda), Royal Dano (Man in the Shadow), Connie Gilchrist (Flesh and Fury) and Regis Toomey (The Big Sleep).

ONE WAY STREET (1950) – Menacing Mason vs. Dangerous Duryea! Screen great James Mason (Odd Man Out, The Man Between, North by Northwest) stars in this south-of-the-border film noir about a stolen fortune, a borrowed woman and a man too many. After stealing an L.A. gangster’s money—and his girlfriend—the crooked Dr. Frank Matson (Mason) hides out in a small Mexican village. When the townspeople take him in, he decides to live an honest life in Mexico. But, in true noir fashion, destiny awaits the doc in fatalistic Los Angeles. Co-starring Dan Duryea (Scarlet Street, Storm Fear) as the maniacal mobster and Märta Torén (Spy Hunt, Deported) as his moll, One Way Street was the first U.S. picture from prolific Argentine director Hugo Fregonese (Blowing Wild, Black Tuesday, Marco Polo).

APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW (1957) – Was This the Man They Hunted…or the Killer Who Hunted Them? Alcoholic reporter Paul Baxter (George Nader, The Female Animal, The Unguarded Moment) has drowned his career in liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Baxter is a bystander at the arrest of a notorious criminal. But he suddenly finds himself up against a wall and at the wrong end of a deadly set-up in Appointment with a Shadow, a compelling CinemaScope noir co-starring Joanna Moore (Touch of Evil, Ride a Crooked Trail), Brian Keith (Chicago Confidential, The Rare Breed) and Virginia Field (Waterloo Bridge, The Earth Dies Screaming), helmed by Richard Carlson (director of Riders to the Stars and star of Creature from the Black Lagoon) and co-written by suspense specialist Alec Coppel (Vertigo, Moment to Moment).

For thoughts on Film Noir: The Dark Side Of Cinema XIV, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Undercover Girl, One Way Street and Appointment with a Shadow come to Blu-Ray with the three films each given their own disc. These films share a lot of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them as a group while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. Appointment with a Shadow debuts with a new master from a 2K scan of the 35mm Fine Grain which provides a fetching viewing experience. The other two films are not listed as stemming from new masters, but they maintain a pretty decent aesthetic. The quality amongst these three mostly stays in the “pretty good” range with the new master understandably making the best impression. Every film shows off a fair bit of underlying print damage and other source anomalies to one degree or another, but there is nothing even close to disastrous within this set.

There is a nice amount of detail present throughout with clear textures within the environments, clothing and production design. This can be attributed some to the natural film grain which resolved naturally with only small moments of inconsistency. Even when things get a bit more thick, nothing ever appears swarmy or unnatural. Specks and scratches are pretty common, especially in the older masters, but these sources appear to have been maintained over the years. The black-and-white photography looks good across every film as they make the most of their high definition debut. The contrast is firm with only a minor amount of flickering and density fluctuation in the print. Black levels could be a bit more robust, but you do not experience much in the way of black crush or compression artifacts across the three. Kino Classics keeps up the high quality here.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray set comes with solid enough DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio tracks for each of these three films which could be improved but delivers an acceptable listening experience. Dialogue comes through clearly without sounding muffled or thin. It remains in harmony with the environmental elements so information is easily discernible in the mix. The three scores that accompany these films never overpower the dialogue or other important information, but they can sound a little fragile or shrill at the highest peaks. The age can be felt some in the faint hissing, humming and crackles that more than likely date back to the source elements. While we would not pass up a higher quality source, these mostly do the trick. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films.

Special Features

Audio Commentary for Undercover Girl: Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo delivers a very relaxed and informative commentary track in which she discusses this film within the noir genre, the careers and lives of the talent involved, her theories for why the film is somewhat overlooked, the thematic beats of the story, the film’s reception upon its release and more.

Audio Commentary for One Way Street: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Costume Historian Elissa Rose provide a swell commentary track in which they discuss how the film falls in the latter side of the gangster popularity, the themes of the feature, how this fits into the era in which it was released, the backgrounds of those in front of and behind the camera, the shooting locations, how the costumes inform the characters, the legacy of the film and more.

Audio Commentary for Appointment With A Shadow: Film Historian David Del Valle and Filmmaker David DeCoteau return for another commentary track in which they discuss the production history of the picture, the work of filmmaker Richard Carlson, the depiction of alcoholism, the careers of the talent involved, the legacy of the film and more.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for One Way Street (2:12) and Appointment With A Shadow (1:57). There are also trailers provided for The Midnight Story, Female On The Beach, The Turning Point, Step Down To Terror, Lady On A Train, The Female Animal and The Unguarded Moment.

Final Thoughts

The Film Noir: The Dark Side Of Cinema XIV collection is a pretty sturdy entry within this long-running series. There are moments within some of these films that are somewhat underwhelming, but largely they keep up the quality with some captivating narratives and memorable performances. Appointment with a Shadow is the MVP of the set, but Undercover Girl is not too far behind it. The grouping of these three feels cohesive as a unit, and fans of the genre should have fun with it. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a fine A/V presentation and an array of informative commentary tracks. This set keeps up the quality of the series. Recommended

Film Noir: The Dark Side Of Cinema XIV [Undercover Girl/One Way Street/Appointment with a Shadow] 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.