The noir genre is known for its labyrinthine plots, but Arthur Ripley’s The Chase takes the “wrong man” premise to unexpected extremes. Robert Cummings (Saboteur) stars as Chuck Scott, a down-on-his-luck veteran who lands a job as a chauffeur to a sadistic millionaire (Steve Cochran, Private Hell 36) and his reptilian bodyguard (Peter Lorre, My Favorite Brunette). Scott plays white knight to his boss’s suffering wife, stealing her away to Havana. But when she is fatally stabbed in a crowded nightclub, Scott is accused of murder, and must flee the shadowy streets of Cuba in a reckless attempt to prove his innocence. Adapting a novel by Cornell Woolrich (author of Rear Window and The Bride Wore Black), screenwriter Philip Yordan (The Big Combo) introduced a number of twists to the original story, including a third-act surprise that transforms what might have been a conventional story of an ill-fated love into something truly mind-bending and surreal – making it one of the most unique entries in the hardboiled genre. Co-starring legendary French actress Michèle Morgan (Port of Shadows) and wonderfully directed by Arthur Ripley (Voice in the Wind).

For thoughts on The Chase (1946), please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Chase with a solid Blu-Ray in 1.37:1 from a restoration of 35mm elements conducted by UCLA and The Film Foundation completed in 2012. The film was previously released on Blu-Ray by Kino Classics in 2016 on a BD-25. This new disc uses the same transfer as the previous disc, but it has now been encoded at a higher bit rate on a BD-50 disc. We do not have the previous release to compare it to, but this looks pretty good throughout with some lingering wear and tear. Processes have seemingly improved in recent years, but this still looks mighty fine.

This transfer retains the natural film grain of the presentation with no moments ever seeming clumpy or swarming. We did not spot any unsightly softness in the transfer as the brilliant black-and-white photography has a firm grasp on the gradients. Some flickering occurs during the viewing, but it is not to extreme levels. Black levels hold up well enough with not much in the way of crush. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines have been cleaned up with overall clarity and detail remaining high. Kino Classics has treated this film well by bringing it back into circulation in a slightly improved form.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a consistent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that likewise handles the material well. This track shows no serious signs of age-related wear and tear such as dropouts, hissing, or popping. Dialogue and background noises are balanced favorably with all complementary elements. The score maintains a good fidelity as it enhances the atmosphere of the narrative. Despite the strength of this element, nothing ever overshadows the dialogue or other important information. All of the sound effects and music appear to be accurate to the intent of the creative team. Kino Classics has put forth good work. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Filmmaker Guy Maddin provides an informative commentary track recorded in 2016 in which he discusses how this film compares to the source material, how this fits into the career of Arthur Ripley, the background of the ensemble players, what makes this stand out as a noir, and much more.

Cornell Woolrich’s The Black Path of Fear – Radio Adaptation #1: A 30-minute radio adaptation starring Brian Donlevy from the Suspense series on August 31, 1944, on CBS.

Cornell Woolrich’s The Black Path of Fear – Radio Adaptation #2: A 27-minute radio adaptation starring Cary Grant from the Suspense series on March 7, 1946, on Armed Forces Radio Service.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for The Accused, Saigon, Force of Evil, The Lady from Shanghai, I Walk Alone, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Port of Shadows, and The Bride Wore Boots.

Final Thoughts

The Chase is a top-tier film noir that takes some of the classic tropes of the genre and executes them to perfection with more than a few twists along the way. Steve Cochran is fantastic as a despicable man with the serpentine Peter Lorre circling him at all times. The movie coasts at a good pace without sacrificing character development or suspense. This is a good entry point to the genre. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a cool couple of features. Fans of old-school film noirs should not pass the one by. Recommended

The Chase (Special Edition) 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.