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THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940)
Labe: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 95 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Alan Hale, Roscoe Carns
Amidst the Great Depression independent truckers Joe and Paul Fabrini are barely making ends meet, and at the start of the film are three payments behind on their rig. Paul (Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon) dreams of spending more time with his wife, and holding down a corporate gig with steady hours and pay, while and Joe (George Raft, Scarface) has his eye on becoming a trucking bigwig someday. At a diner Joe encounters red-haired Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan, Angels with Dirty Faces), who is easy on the eyes and quick-witted, they start a relationship and shortly after Paul loses an arm in an accident after he falls asleep at the wheel. Joe ends up accepting a managerial job working for a trucking outfit run by Ed Carlson (Alan Hale Sr., Colt .45) but finds himself ducking come-on by the guy's wife Lana Carlson (Ida Lupino, The Big Knife), who is straight-up troub le from her first second on screen. Tired of her drunken husband she murders him and offers Joe a 50% stake in the company, with strings attached, 'natch. However, when Joe announces he's getting married she confesses to the crime, but she's gonna take Joe with her! Joe of her husband's murder in this hard-edged, classic drama directed by Raoul Walsh (High Sierra) starts off as an engrossing wildcat trucker melodrama and evolves into a damn fine noir-tinged thriller with Ida Lupino stealing the show as the increasingly unhinged Mrs. Carlson. Bogart is also terrific, but he plates third fiddle after Lupino's femme fatale and stand-up guy Raft, maybe even fourth after the wisecracking Sheridan who is fantastic as well, but he has presence to spare, and it's not surprise that he went onto Hollywood icon status not long after. The Blu-ray from Warner Archive looks impressive in HD, not a blemish to squint at anywhere, solid grayscale and largely filmlike. Extras include a Lux Radio Theater Broadcast starring George Raft and Lana Turner; a 11-min featurette with historians Leonard Maltin, Eric Lax, and Robert Osborne waxing nostalgic; a vintage 19-min musical-comedy short, plus the trailer.
Special Features:
- Lux Radio Theater Broadcast with George Raft and Lana Turner (6/2/41) (44:22)
- Featurette: Divided Highway - The Story of They Drive By Night (10:35)
- Vintage WB Short SWINGTIME IN THE MOVIES (1938) (19:09)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:51)
PASSAGE TO MARSEILLE (1944)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 109 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono wiht Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Michele Morgan, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Philip Dorn, John Loder, George Tobias, Vladimir Sokoloff, Eduardo Ciannelli, Victor Francen, Helmut Dantine
Humphrey Bogart reunites with director Michael Curtiz and other key Casablanca personnel (including costars Claude Rains, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet) for a tension-swept Passage to Marseille. Bogart plays Jean Matrac, a World War II French patriot who escapes Devil's Island, survives a dangerous freighter voyage and becomes a gunner in the Free French Air Corps. Passage sailed into theaters on stormy seas. Controversy surrounded the scene in which Matrac machine-guns the helpless survivors of a downed plane that attacked the freighter. That a soldier of freedom would act ignobly brought protests from religious and censorship groups. But, like Matrac facing a strafing dive-bomber, the studio held its ground. War could even dehumanize a hero. Domestic prints remained uncut.
Special Features;
- Warner Night at the Movies, Uncertain Glory Theatrical Trailer (2:13), Newsreel (40:56)
- I Won't Play (1944, 17:56)
- Jammin' the Blues (1944, 10:15)
- The Weakly Reporter (1944, 6:41)
- The Free French: Unsung Victors (16:51)
- Breakdowns (1944, 6:46)
CONFLICT (1945)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 86 Minutes 5 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, Rose Hobartm, Charles Drake
Conflict (1945), directed by Curtis Bernhardt (Possessed), is a suspense film with noir elements that tells the tale of a love triangle that leads to a haunting murder-melodrama. We have married couple Richard Mason (Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon) and Kathryn (Rose Hobartm, Tower of London) who are celebrating the fifth anniversary, but who are clearly quite unhappy together. How could they not be when Richard confirms his wife’s suspicion that he no longer loves her and has fallen in love with her younger sister Evelyn (Alexis Smith, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane), who is visiting with them on the occasion of their anniversary. Evelyn is not aware of the marital difficulties nor of Richard's illicit affection for her, and that night while driving home from their anniversary party Kathryn suggests that Ellen should return home to care for their lonely mother, Richard who is driving becomes so distracted by the suggestion that he crashes the car, breaking his leg.
While convalescing Richard hatches a plan to murder his wife, making it seem as though he is reliant on a wheelchair even though his leg has healed, later ducking out of a planned trip to a mountain resort at the last minute, and insisting that his wife continue on alone without him. While travelling up a dark and desolate mountain Kathryn encounters a car blocking the single lane road, and is even more surprised when a trench coat wearing Richard who emerges from the fog, killing her, sending her body down the steep mountain terrain inside the car, the wreckage covered by logs that the car dislodges along the way.
When Kathryn does not arrive at her destination Richard reports her missing, having established an alibi. As her vehicle has not yet been discovered it seems that the calculating Richard may have gotten away with murder. Ellen stays on with Richard while the search for her sister continues, they grow closer, but he is none to pleased when her persistent suitor Prof. Norman Holsworth (Charles Drake, It Came from Outer Space) proposes to her, causing him to lose his cool a bit, and to play his hand a bit sooner than planned, which is a miscalculation on his part. Also adding to the tension and suspense of the film are that it seems that perhaps Kathryn is not actually dead, with the wreckage and her body still not found, there are small clues left about that seems to indicate she's alive and slyly tormenting her would-be killer. At home Richard catches a whiff of his wife's distinct perfume, and jewelry and a key she had in her possession during the murder show up, and there's a mysterious phone call from a woman and a letter in her handwriting that turn up, which gives the film a ghostly quality. We also have psychoanalyst Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet, Casablanca), a mutual friend of Richard and Kathryn's who is ever-present, always there to lend an ear to Richard, engaging in conversations about what goes on in the mind of a killer and such.
This was a rare villainous role for Bogart, and he plays it so well, perhaps too well, even managing to garner some sympathy, which is quite a feat considering he's a wife-killer. The way he is sort of haunted by his wife and becomes quite paranoid is well-done. The film looks gorgeous, particularly two key set-pieces; the car accident is very stylized and look terrific, and then we get Ellen driving up the deserted fog-shrouded mountain road, to her death, which happens offscreen, but the aftermath of sending her car careening down the steep mountain slope is quite a stunning visual feat.
Audio/Video: Conflict (1945) looks terrific on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, framed in the original 1.37:1 fullscreen presentation, presented in 1080p HD. The transfer is very pleasing with excellent contrast, grayscale look solid, black levels are strong. The moody film has plenty of atmospheric noir styling and that translates quite well here. We get English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono for the sole audio option, it's clean and well-balanced, age related wear is not an issue, dialogue exchanges and atmospherics sounds natural and period accurate.
Extras include a pair of classic 1945 WB Cartoons by way of the 8-min Life with Feathers and 7-min Trap Happy Porky, both in HD, plus a pair of vintage WB 1945 Shorts, the 9-min Peeks at Hollywood, and the 14-min Are Animal Actors?, also both in HD. Additionally we get the 25-min audio-only
Conflict Radio Broadcast, which originally aired September 11th 1945, starring Humphrey Bogart, plus the Original Theatrical Trailer. I love it when Warner Archive includes these bonus shorts and radio broadcasts that are of the era, it really sets a time and place, which is terrific, knowing that some of these shorts could have screened before the film back in 1945.
Special Features:
- Classic 1945 WB Cartoons: Life with Feathers (7:42) HD, Trap Happy Porky (6:52) HD
- WB 1945 Shorts: Peeks at Hollywood (8:56) HD, Are Animal Actors? (14:11) HD
- Audio-only: Conflict radio broadcast (9/11/1945) starring Humphrey Bogart (24:50)
- Original Theatrical Trailer
Conflict is quite a haunting and suspenseful thriller, the cast is terrific, the stylized visuals are moody, and the seemingly ghostly elements come together quite nicely to deliver a thrilling noir-ish murder melodrama that I would easily recommend.
CHAIN LIGHTNING (1949)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 95 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen
Director: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf, James Brown, Roy Roberts, Morris Ankrum, Fay Baker, Fred Sherman
Synopsis: Matt Brennan knows how to open eyes to the potential of the experimental jet, the JA-3. He'll pilot it from Nome over the North Pole to Washington DC and land it on the Pentagon's lap. The distance is beyond the JA-3's tested range. Nor can the craft provide the pressurization needed for flight at 80,000 feet. But Brennan has some modifications in mind. And the courage to put them to the test. Humphrey Bogart plays Brennan in Chain Lightning's lofty mix of adventure and romance. Eleanor Parker, as a World War II flame who reenters Brennan's life, helps fuel the romance. And the adventure takes wing with a story that, like Breaking the Sound Barrier, The McConnell Story and other postwar films, taps into the era's fascination with jet aviation. Cleared for takeoff.
Special Features
- Looney Tunes Short: "Bear Feat" (8:23)
- Joe McDoakes Short: "So You Want to Be an Actor" (11:12) -
- Theatrical Trailer (2:08)
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From the pen of one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights comes a collection of four stage adaptations with this TENNESSEE WILLIAMS 4-FILM COLLECTION. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh lead the cast in the unforgettable A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor create screen electricity in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, and Newman co-stars with Geraldine Page in the poignant SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH. Karl Malden and Eli Wallach give supersuperb performances under the direction of Elia Kazan as Carroll Baker plays the titular role in BABY DOLL.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 125 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: THE ORIGINAL RESTORED VERSION is the film moviegoers would have seen in 1951 had not Legion of Decency censorship occurred at the last minute. Elia Kazan masterfully directs Tennessee Williams' masterpiece s tarring Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter. Nominated for an unprecedented 12 Academy Awards , including Best Picture, and a winner of four,* its contributions to film continue to be celebrated, and it holds a place on the AFI's list of Top 100 Films.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Laurent Bouzereau with comments from co- star Karl Malden, and historians Rudy Behlmer and Jeff Young.
- Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey (1:15:32)
- A Streetcar on Broadway (22:01)
- A Streetcar in Hollywood (28:10) o
- Censorship and Desire (16:21)
- North and the Music of the South (9:14)
- An Actor Named Brando (8:53)
- Marlon Brando Screen Test (5:06)
- Outtakes (SD; 15:38)
- Audio Outtakes (17:01)
- Trailers: Warner Brothers 1951 (2:35), 20th Century Fox 1958 Reissue (2:09) and United Artists 1970 Reissue (1:50).
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 108 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Richard Brooks
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates, Vaughn Taylor
"I'm not living with you," Maggie snaps at Brick. "We occupy the same cage, that's all." The raw emotions and crackling dialogue of Tennessee Williams' 1955 Pulitzer Prize play rumble like a thunderstorm in this film version, whose fiery performances and grown-up themes made it one of 1958's top box-office hits. Paul Newman earned his first Oscar nomination as troubled ex-sports-hero Brick. In a performance that marked a transition to richer adult roles, Elizabeth Taylor snagged her second nomination. Her Maggie the Cat is a vivid portrait of passionate loyalty. Nominated for six Academy Awards~ , including Best Picture, and also starring Burl Ives (repeating his Broadway triumph as mendacity-loathing Big Daddy), Judith Anderson and Jack Carson, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof sizzles.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Donald Spoto
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Playing Cat and Mouse (2006, 10:03)
- Trailer (2:20)
SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (1962)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 120 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Richard Brooks
Cast: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock
Handsome Chance Wayne never found the Hollywood stardom he craved, but he's always been a star with the ladies. Now, back in his sleepy, sweaty Gulf Coast hometown, he's involved with two of them: a washed-up, drug-and-vodka-addled movie queen and the girl he left behind and in trouble. Paul Newman, Best Actress Oscar nominee Geraldine Page, Rip Torn and Madeleine Sherwood re-create their stage roles, and Ed Begley gives an Oscar -winning* portrayal as the town's corrupt political boss in a bravura film version of Tennessee Williams' Broadway hit. Sex. Money. Hypocrisy. Financial and emotional blackmail. Familiar elements of Williams' literary realm combine powerfully as Chance battles his private demons in a desperate bid to redeem his wasted life and recapture his lost sweet bird of youth.
drama
Special Features:
- Sweet Bird of Youth: Chasing Time (2006, 11:44)
- Rip Torn and Geraldine Page Screen Test (2:56)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:54)
BABY DOLL (1956)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 114 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach
Times are tough for cotton miller Archie (Karl Malden), but at least he has his child bride (Carroll Baker), who'll soon be his wife in title and truth. The one-year agreement keeping them under the same roof -- yet never in the same bed -- is about to end. But a game with a sly business rival (Eli Wallach) is about to begin. In Baby Doll, as in A Streetcar Named Desire, director Elia Kazan and writer Tennessee Williams broke new ground in depicting sexual situations -- earning condemnation from the then-powerful Legion of Decency. They earned laurels too: four Academy Award nominations, Golden Globe Awards for Baker and Kazan, and a British Academy Award for Wallach. Watch this funny, steamy classic that, as Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide proclaims, "still sizzles."
Special Features:
- See No Evil (2006, 12:52)
- Theatrical Trailer (3:00)
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