From Robert Siodmak, the brilliant director of The Suspect, The Spiral Staircase, The Killers, Cry of the City, Criss Cross and Deported, comes this lush, noir-tinged melodrama set in 19th-century New England. Phyllis Calvert (The Man in Grey, Indiscreet) is young housekeeper Kate Fernald, who falls in love with Christopher Fortune, played by Robert Hutton (The Steel Helmet, They Came from Beyond Space). Christopher is a wealthy ship captain’s son who would rather study music than the sea. Aware that their union is not to be, Kate renounces her true love and encourages him to wed someone from his own social class. As the years go by, Kate is the mute witness to Christopher’s frustration and unhappiness, culminating in a fatal bout with alcohol. Ella Raines (Phantom Lady, The Web) is stunning as Christopher’s “sensible” sister Rissa, while Eddie Albert (Attack!), Leo G. Carroll (Spellbound), Helena Carter (Invaders from Mars) and John Abbott (Gambit) also give stellar performances in this sumptuous adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Rachel Field (All This, and Heaven Too).
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Video Quality
Time Out Of Mind makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 2K master. For a film that is over 70 years old, this presentation holds up really well despite some deficiencies escaping the remastering gauntlet. There is still a minor layer of faint nicks and scratches, but it is obvious that it has been cleaned up immensely. The sumptuous black-and-white photography shot by Maury Gertsman shines in high definition with natural grain intact. You get an admirable amount of detail present with textures on the clothing and within the period production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels are deep with no blatant occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and the track only experiences fleeting instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. Kino Classics has done some stellar work with this one.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a fairly sturdy DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie pretty well. This track only presents with a minor amount of age related wear and tear and some faint hissing. At worst, the track sounds a bit thin when it comes to the music, which likely dates back to the age of the source elements. The music never trounces on the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are represented in complete harmony with all competing elements. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. Kino Classics has brought stability to this one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Costume Historian Elissa Rose deliver a really informative commentary track in which they talk about how this film fit into the filmography of Robert Siodmak, the careers long and short of the creatives, how it compares to the source material, the uncertainty in the marketing, and, of course, the costumes featured in the film and how they provide characterization for certain figures, among other topics. This is a well-researched track that is worth checking out.
- Trailers: There are trailers for Enter Arsene Lupin, The Web, Cobra Woman, The Spiral Staircase and Cry Of The City.
Final Thoughts
Time Out Of Mind is a swelling gothic melodrama which finds Robert Siodmak bringing great style and atmosphere to this character-driven piece. This is not intended to be a horror film, but there are flourishes which make you uneasy that helps elevate the drama of the relationship. The performances are very strong across the board, even in the smallest roles which are given more development than you might expect. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports a wonderful A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you love a well-acted melodrama with style, try this one on for size. Recommended
Time Out Of Mind 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.