THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET (1945)
Imprint Collection #273
Label: Imprint Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 minutes
Audio: English PCM Dual-Mono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Ralph Murphy
Cast: Nils Asther, Helen Walker
the film tells the tale of British scientist Dr. Karell (Nils Asther, Night Monster) who is engaged to ingenue Eve (Helen Walker, Nightmare Alley), the attractive daughter of Sir Humphrey Brandon (Edmund Breon, Gaslight). Eve is aware that Karell is working on some edgy experiments that push the boundaries of ethics but isn't quite aware that he, along with colleague Dr. Kurt van Bruecken (Reinhold Schünzel, Notorious) discovered that not only can he live forever by receiving surgical glandular transplants every ten years, but that he is actually 120 years old! She is also unaware that his experiments have a body count, and when one of the bodies is pulled from the Eve's father, former suitor Dr. Henry Latimer (Paul Cavanagh, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake) and Scotland Yard's Det. Insp. Ned Garth (Matthew Boulton, ) begin to suspect that there's more to Karell and his backstory than meets the eye.
A fun eternal youth through mad science flick that has a nice mix of noir, melodrama, mad science and horror, but pretty low-key when it comes to the horror, which is almost always implied. The main cast are terrific, Asther comes off as likable enough, considering he's a youth-obsessed murderer, and I liked his relationship with his aging accomplice Dr. van Bruecken, the two come to odds when the older man realizes that Karell's once humanitarian ambitions have evolved into just self-preservation at any cost.
One of my favorite parts of this is Karrell meeting an older woman named Lady Minerva Aldergate (Aminta Dyne) at a dinner party, it turns out that he dated her in his former life many years ago, he presents himself to her as the grandson of that man, and regales her with a surprisingly accurate account of how she met his "grandfather", which startles her to drink herself into a daze. I also liked how Karell was a painter, and a new portrait he unveiled of Eve strikes some as not just a gorgeous painting bordering on a masterpiece but is uncannily similar to that of a famous painting made many years ago. The film is more of a melodrama than actual thriller, the love story is front and center, and there are interesting discussions about the ethical implications of his experiments, the seedier elements are quite toned down, but the story and the strong performances carried me through without a problem. Sometimes older films like this can drag a bit or get bogged down in melodrama but that's not the case here, it's very brisk.
As far as effects go this is a mad science flick with precious few actual special effects, though we do get a pretty great fast-aging effect during one of the final scenes that brought to mind Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; achieved with make-up, dissolves and changing light that brought a smile to my face, I love the old school make-up effects, especially when they hold up this well!
The noir-ish mad science pic has a strong The Picture of Dorian Gray vibe about as well, which was adapted into film the same year as this, and notably the story was later remade by Hammer as The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959), and is also worth a watch.
Audio/Video: The Man in Half Moon Street (1945) makes it;s worldwide Blu-ray debut on region-free Blu-ray from Imprint Films in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.37:1 fullscreen aspect ratio, sourced from a new 2K scan. The source is in terrific shape, I only caught a brief vertical scratch and a cigarette burn late in the game, otherwise blemish free aside from some minor speckling. The B&W image is consistent and nicely detail, black levels are pleasing and clarity is modest but appreciable. Audio comes by of English PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, it shows some of its age via minor background hiss, and the fidelity sounds it's vintage, but otherwise quite a fine track, and the moody score from Miklós Rózsa (Double Indemnity) is terrific.
Audio/Video: The Man in Half Moon Street (1945) makes it;s worldwide Blu-ray debut on region-free Blu-ray from Imprint Films in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.37:1 fullscreen aspect ratio, sourced from a new 2K scan. The source is in terrific shape, I only caught a brief vertical scratch and a cigarette burn late in the game, otherwise blemish free aside from some minor speckling. The B&W image is consistent and nicely detail, black levels are pleasing and clarity is modest but appreciable. Audio comes by of English PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, it shows some of its age via minor background hiss, and the fidelity sounds it's vintage, but otherwise quite a fine track, and the moody score from Miklós Rózsa (Double Indemnity) is terrific.
The lone extra is a new Audio Commentary by film historian Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog, and it's a terrific listen. The venerable genre film fan Lucas knows his stuff and as I knew next to nothing about the flick I was rapt from start to finish as he gets into the cast and director, the score, and the special effects. The single-disc release arrives in a high quality clear keepcase with a two-sided, non-reversible sleeve of artwork, with a slipcover with unique artwork, both featuring striking original illustrated movie poster artworks. The slipcase edition is strictly limited to 1500 units, so act fast if you want this one!
While the extras are slim the flick looks terrific on Blu-ray, I am tickled pink that Imprint Films unearthed this and made it available in a great looking edition.
Special Features:
- 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a NEW 2K Scan (2023)
- NEW! Audio Commentary by film historian Tim Lucas
- Limited Edition slipcase with unique artwork
- 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a NEW 2K Scan (2023)
- NEW! Audio Commentary by film historian Tim Lucas
- Limited Edition slipcase with unique artwork