NOIR ARCHIVE, VOLUME 3 (1957-1960) [Blu-ray]

If you’re a fan of noir movies, you’ll love this 9-film–3 disc–collection of noir classics in high definition with their original aspect ratios.

The Crimson Kimono (1959) Directed by Samuel Fuller
Starring: Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta
The Lineup (1958) Directed by Don Siegel
Starring: Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Warner Anderson
Man on a String (1960) Directed by Andre DeToth
Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Kerwins Mathews, Colleen Dewhurst, Alexander Scourby
The Shadow in the Window (1956) Directed by William Asher
Starring: Phil Carey, Betty Garrett, John Barrymore, Jr.
The Long Haul (1957) Directed by Ken Hughes
Starring: Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen
Pickup Alley (1957) Directed by John Gilling
Starring: Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard
The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) Directed by Paul Wendkos
Starring: Darren McGavin, Maggie Hayes, Bobby Helms
She Played with Fire (1957) Directed by Sidney Gilliat
Starring: Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price, Bernard Miles, Ian Hunter
The Tijuana Story (1957) Directed by Leslie Kardos
Starring: Rodolfo Acosta, James Darren, Robert McQueeney

How many of these noir movies have you seen? GRADE: B+

23 thoughts on “NOIR ARCHIVE, VOLUME 3 (1957-1960) [Blu-ray]

  1. Prashant C. Trikannad

    George, while I have watched quite a few noir films on TCM (when it was around) and on YouTube, I haven’t seen any of these. I will start with “The Lineup” and “Man on a String” mainly because of Eli Wallach and Ernest Borgnine whose films I watched after they were much older.

    Reply
      1. Todd Mason

        I keep forgetting that Patti formerly couldn’t concentrate on a film on television. Though I’d only seen THE CRIMSON KIMONO, THE LONG HAUL and THE LINEUP on their repeated appearances in often battered copies on television, except I’m pretty sure I first saw KIMONO on TCM.

        THE LINEUP is a spinoff of the CBS radio and tv series.

  2. Deb

    I’ve seen several. I really liked “She Played with Fire” which is, iirc, either an English film or set in England about an arson investigation. I think there was a book too—and I may have read that at some point.

    Reply
      1. Jeff Meyerson

        The original British title of this was FORTUNE IS A WOMAN, which was the title of the novel by Winston (Poldark) Graham it was based on.

  3. Jeff Meyerson

    Cool. One correction: the director of THE TIJUANA STORY is Leslie Kardos. Gotta check these out. I’ve seen only a couple.

    Reply
  4. Michael Padgett

    When I first glanced at the list I assumed I’d seen most of these since I’ve been watching virtually every noir film that pops up on TCM for years now. But when I checked out the titles I was shocked to find I’d only seen one–“The Lineup”. Now I’m wondering how many of these have been shown on TCM. There’s probably a way to find out, but it’s probably too much trouble.

    Reply
  5. Steve Oerkfitz

    Out of the ones I’ve seen I would say The Lineup is the best. The Crimson Kimono second. The Tijuana Story I find pretty dreadful.

    Reply
  6. Steve Lewis

    There is a reason most commenters are unfamiliar with these movies. Mostly very minor films, in my opinion. The Lineup is the only exception. This set is for fans of noir who’ve already seen the best.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Steve, I set the bar low for NOIR ARCHIVE, VOLUME 3. You’re right, other than THE LINEUP, the other movies are in the “fringe noir” category.

      Reply
  7. wolf

    I’ve probably seen a few of them but don’t remember. Anyway I would have seen them in German – in our university town there was a cinema that had late shows for students really cheap.
    They also showed most of the British Hammer horror film productions like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and their sequels – those we preferred.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, many of the “cheap” cinemas around here have closed. Netflix and HULU and the other streaming services rendered them obsolete.

      Reply
      1. wolf

        It’s a pity in a way – those cinema visits together were an important part of our student life – totally different from everybody in a group sitting in front of their computer and watching “their” movies.
        PS and a bit OT:
        Have you seen this?
        Lee Child
        Jack Reacher series author Lee Child ‘quits and lets brother step in’
        Child had initially been searching for a way to kill off the popular character
        https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/18/jack-reacher-series-author-lee-child-quits-and-lets-brother-step-in

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *