FILM NOIR THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA XXI Collection
Runtime 4 hours and 35 minutes
Available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, here

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief

In celebration of Noirvember, MovieJawn is showcasing many notable motion pictures within the genre (read all our Noirvember articles here). Each week we invite you to join us down the dark alley to explore a different theme within noir. To help honor this wonderful time of year we have partnered with Erik J. Kreffel of print publication, Noir Crazy who has graciously created artwork specifically for MovieJawn (as shown here). Here’s a peek between the blinds one of the latest disc offerings from Kino Lorber. For under thirty-five bucks, one can get lost in the shadows of not one, not two, but three noir pictures with The Dark Side of The Cinema XXI collection.

Cloak and Dagger (1946)
Written by Albert Maltz, Ring Lardner Jr. and Boris Ingster
Directed by Fritz Lang
Starring Gary Cooper, Robert Alda, and Lilli Palmer
Runtime 1 hour 46 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:
The moment he fell in love was his moment of greatest danger! From legendary director Fritz Lang (Scarlet Street, The Big Heat), one of the grand architects of film noir, comes an engrossing WWII spy thriller years ahead of its time. The great Gary Cooper (High Noon) is an American nuclear physicist, recruited by the Office of Strategic Services and parachuted into war-torn Europe to obtain military secrets. But the deeper he probes, the deadlier his mission becomes… especially when his involvement with a mysterious resistance fighter (Lilli Palmer, Body and Soul) catapults him into an intense maelstrom of danger, betrayal, romance, and murder. The fourth and final of Lang’s classic anti-Nazi films, following Man Hunt, Hangmen Also Die! and Ministry of Fear, Cloak and Dagger is the quintessential wartime suspense picture, elevated by Sol Polito’s (Sergeant York) terrific black-and-white cinematography and Max Steiner’s (Gone with the Wind) rousing score.

Features that make it special…

2020 HD Master from a 4K Scan
Audio Commentary by Heath Holland, Host of Cereal at Midnight podcast with Max Allan Collins, the Author of Road to Perdition
Theatrical Trailer

Why you need to add it to your video library…

No matter what the genre, I’ll always give a Fritz Lang motion picture a chance. Typically, even with a lackluster story, Lang is the type of director that has a keen sense behind the camera and knows how to offer the thrills. Unfortunately, Cloak and Dagger ended up being the dud of the trio within the collection. It was not poorly made by any means, but the plot itself basically put me to sleep. Not even Gary Cooper flying down the steps to attack a person could hold my attention. The transfer itself looks exquisite and there is no doubt that care went into this release. However, this is not one that I will likely be revisiting and would only recommend giving it a watch if you are a Lang completist.

Shack Out on 101 (1955)
Written by Edward Dein and Mildred Dein
Directed by Edward Dein
Starring Terry Moore, Lee Marvin, Frank Lovejoy, and Keenan Wynn
Runtime 1 hour and 20 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:
On the shady side of the highway! Check into a hotbed of lethal cloak and dagger with the great Lee Marvin (Prime Cut), Terry Moore (Come Back, Little Sheba) and Frank Lovejoy (The Hitch-Hiker) in Shack Out on 101. An attractive waitress (Moore) at a seaside café gets caught in a web of treacherous intrigue when she discovers that her workplace is a secret station for spies. It seems that the café is close to an experimental lab that harbors national defense secrets, and a ring of sinister spies has come to steal them. Now it’s up to the desperate waitress and a network of undercover FBI men to stop the diabolical scheme. But not before they all stop along the way for a sizzling round of passion and romance! Featuring Keenan Wynn (Point Blank) and Whit Bissell (He Walked by Night), this one-of-a-kind potboiler comes stylishly directed by cult filmmaker Edward Dein (Curse of the Undead) and beautifully shot in glorious black-and-white by Floyd Crosby (High Noon).

Features that make it special…

2021 HD Master from a 4K Scan
Audio Commentary by Professor and Film Scholar Jason A. Ney
Theatrical Trailer

Why you need to add it to your video library…

I could not help but feel I was watching a play, given that the majority of the gritty tale takes place in the location of a greasy spoon diner. The performances are a standout in this eighty minute caper that apparently was made to play on the public’s fears of a Communist invasion. Even with the plot being a bit thin, the tale still manages to make for some memorable characters and zany scenes, particularly when a duo decides to test out a harpoon and swim gear in the middle of the restaurant. Or the moment in which George (Keenan Wynn) and “Slob” (Lee Marvin) pump weights at the soda counter before opening the doors for the day. Overall, this is a well made noir that may not have the tightest knit story, but still manages to get the grit done. Shack Out on 101 is worth a watch and one can’t go wrong with the Kino Lorber transfer, which offers an exquisitely crisp picture and informative commentary track.

Short Cut To Hell (1957)
Written by Graham Greene (novel), Ted Berkman and Raphael Blau
Directed by James Cagney
Starring William Bishop, Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, and Yvette Vickers
Runtime 1 hour 29 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:
Professional Killer... with a gun for hire! The first and only directorial effort by legendary actor James Cagney (White Heat, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye), Short Cut to Hell is a steamy, gritty remake of the Alan Ladd starrer This Gun for Hire, based on a novel by the great Graham Greene (The Third Man). Hardboiled hitman Kyle Niles (Robert Ivers, The Delicate Delinquent) is hired to commit two murders, only to be double-crossed by his employer Bahrwell (Jacques Aubuchon, Thunder Road). On the lam and seeking revenge, Kyle kidnaps singer Glory Hamilton (Georgann Johnson, Midnight Cowboy), the girlfriend of the police detective in charge of his pursuit (William Bishop, The Boss). Glory tries to convince him to surrender before it’s too late, but Kyle’s humanity is buried deep, and his thirst for vengeance is unquenchable. Destiny joined them… The Devil took over from there! As Cagney himself states in the film’s opening, Ivers and Johnson are two “fresh, exciting young talents” who anchor this fiery film noir.

Features that make it special…

2023 HD Master from a 4K Scan
Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Screenwriter Gary Gerani
Theatrical Trailer

Why you need to add it to your video library…

“That’s a lot of lettuce for peppermint patties…”

Well as the old adage says… save the best for last, and in this case it is the 1957 thrilling noir Short Cut To Hell. This was one hell of a feature debut, and I am quite shocked that James Cagney never stepped behind the camera after this endeavor. Apparently, the only reason he took the job to helm the picture was due to a favor to his friend A.C Lyles, who served as a producer on the project. It was also said that Cagney really did not enjoy telling others what to do. Regardless of this, he certainly did a bang up job, as many of the scenes are blocked well, deliver thrills, and showcase incredible performances, specifically from Robert Ivers and Georgann Johnson. After watching I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole looking up Ivers’s filmography and found a new flick to add to my watchlist: I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958).

Out of the three films in this collection, Short Cut to Hell is the most effectively told story and the runtime is swift. I knew things were going to cook when a murder occurs within the first few minutes. I also found myself completely enthralled with the audio. I have never in my life heard a physical media disc with such clear sound. Many motion pictures made today have muffled dialogue that is hard to understand, particularly in lines that are key to the story itself. This causes me to engage the subtitles when I view it. This is not the case with Short Cut to Hell. There is no mistaking the characters’ intentions or conversations due to the exquisite transfer from Kino Lorber. This brings me to the script itself, which made for exciting tale based on a Graham Greene novel A Gun For Sale. Greene is one of my favorite writers, as he is responsible for penning one of my favorite noirs, the superb Carol Reed motion picture The Third Man (1949). Not only did Greene include a Batman style villain with a dictaphone, but he also had hitman Kyle Niles (Robert Ivers) refer to money as lettuce. Damn, I wish I could be that cool. Why don’t they make pictures with script lines such as this anymore? Also, I am also struggling to find where I can score a set of monogrammed handbags like Glory Hamilton (Georgann Johnson) sported. All in all, if you are a fan of noir, you truly can’t go wrong with this set.