Four films (2 on each disc) in new fine
transfers from Sony-Columbia Pictures cool Film Noir series. In Volume
One they gave us Evelyn Keyes,
Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Grahame. In Volume Two they start with the
forgotten gem, the Film Noir B crime drama:
Night Editor 1946 Direction: Henry Levin
We are at a Newspaper's Night editoring department and
one of the men is telling in Flashback the tragic story about the unlucky
crime cop
Tony Cochrane (woodenly William Gargan), a family father with
a mousy wife (Jeff Donnell) and kids. Tony looked tired and seemed to
always
work late, but actually he spent his
evenings with the high society woman Jill Merrill (a
fantastic Janis Carter), married to an
elderly millionaire.
Janis Carter - Very Good as Bad Rich Girl
One night when the lover couple sits in a car on the
beach for some making out, they see how another couple in a car drives
up into the Lover's
Lane and they witness the man killing
the woman. Tony is about to grab the fleeing killer but stops when he's
thinking about how scandalous it
would be if their love affair with Jill would be known. But, the Film
Noir crime movie But, the murdered woman is the famous millionaire Elaine
Blanchard and the police goes into overdrive to find
the murderer.
Tony feel extra bad about it as the amoral Jill not just knew the dead
woman but also recognized the killer, as the bank man Loring (Frank
Wilcox)
and .... she has absolutely no intention to tell this to the
police, as - that was a handsome man, totally in my taste" she
says.
This is Glorious B and withnmany bad actors in the smaller
parts, but Wilcox is good and Janis Carter RULES, she's
very entertaining as the
morally rotten rich woman. She's certainly a Bad Girl of Film Noir.
Very recommended!
The film was presented in 4:3 fullscreen
original ratio, black & white, english audio mono
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Disc One film 2: One Girl's Confession 1953
Direction: Hugo Haas
A charming Feel Good type of crime-drama and tall tale
about a young woman's dreams, life and misadventures with
the lovely Cleo Moore.
Voluptuous blonde Mary
Adams (Cleo Moore) lives a shitty life, slaves as a waitress and cleaning-lady
at a greasy joint. She steals a box with
25 000 USD in it, hides the loot and then confesses to the police, without
saying where the money is, and spends 3 years in jail.
Free again, she yet again takes work as a waitress, this time
for card-shark and restaurant owner Dragomir Damitrof (played
by the director, Hugo
Haas). She meets fisherman Johnny, and when will she dare to start using
her hidden money?
Cleo Moore may not be a Femme Fatale here or even that
bad but she's a likeable tough girl. This film is not really a Film
Noir either, but enjoyable.
The film was presented in 4:3 fullscreen original ratio, black &
white, english audio. Extra: Short film Remember
to Live 1954 directed by James Neilson
(22 minutes) with Cleo Moore, Barbara Hale and Dane Clark. Joe
returns from the Korea war and tries to take up his
painting, goes out with slutty
model Lana. Cleo Moore plays a small part and Judy Nugent performs one
of the worst and most annoying child roles i've ever seen as
Katy,
Original theatrical trailer and some Columbia Classics trailers

Cleo Moore, was said to be the poor man's Marilyn Monroe.
Picture from the Web
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Disc 2: Women's Prison 1954 Direction:
Lewis Seiler
This is a WIP movie and not a film noir, a drama with
a great Ida Lupino as the to harsh Prison Guard Boss.
Two new prisoners arrives to the women's prison, where Amelia van Zandt
(Ida Lupino) rules with an Iron Fist, they are Brenda
(Jan Sterling) and
Helene (Phyllis Thaxter) and among the other inmates we can see Mae
(Cleo Moore) and Joan (Audrey Totter). Next to the Women's prison is
the
mens prison and when Joan's husband sneaks in for a date, and Joan ends
up pregnant, all Hell breaks loose.
Amelia is ordered by her bosses to find out what happened and she uses
all means. Is Amelia van Zandt supposed to be the Bad Guy here?
Bad Amelia, really? Maybe the beauty
of Ida Lupino confuses me, makes me ambivalent, but her insecurity and
fear which can be seen in Amelia's
eyes makes me feel for her, and the one who's supposed to be the Good
Guy, the smug prison doctor (Howard Duff) comes on as a sadistic bully
when he almost lustfully degrades her. It could be due to the enormous
differences in acting ability, the GREAT legendary Ida Lupino vs. the
Woodlike slob Duff. This film was OK no more and then only because of
Ida.
The film was presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1, black &
white, english audio with an theatrical trailer as extra
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Disc 2: Over-Exposed 1956 Direction:
Lewis Seiler - again!
Not really a Film Noir this film either as it starts
out as a melodrama and with some crime elements at the end. With Cleo
Moore - again! So with
this 2 disc and 4 films DVD we have 1 Film Noir out of 4 and 3 Cleo
Moore out of 4.
Lily Krenska (Cleo Moore) is bitter over having no money
and decides to get herself a real Career. She makes an older photographer
learn her
his art and then she leaves for NY where she meets boring journalist
Russ (wooden piece Richard Krenna) and becomes The Flashgirl, a
photographer at the mob sponsored nightclub La Bamba. She is a success
with her career and earns a lot of money, and the question the
A-hole filmmakers pits to us - should Lily stay at home and wash Russ
disgusting dirty socks instead as any true american woman?
Hopelessly dated garbage. Anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1 black & white
mono english audio, original theatrical trailer