5 Film Noir Killer Classics

This fine, attractively-packaged set includes four exemplary film noir titles and one minor classic, plus a handful of entertaining and informative features underscoring the rich history of cinema's noir genre. Rudolph Maté's 1950 D.O.A. stars Edmund O'Brien as an accountant who discovers he's been fatally poisoned by a slow-acting chemical; he spends his remaining hours retracing his steps to find out who "murdered" him (this was disappointingly remade in 1988 with Dennis Quaid). Edgar G. Ulmer's 1945 Detour may be the ultimate B-movie, a dreamlike misadventure about a hitchhiker (Tom Neal) forced to pose as the affable gambler who gave him a ride. Orson Welles directs and stars in the 1946 The Stranger, playing a fugitive Nazi disguised as an American college professor in a small town. Fritz Lang's 1945 Scarlet Street features Edward G. Robinson as a miserable painter conned into an affair with Joan Bennett, who manipulates him into embezzling. Finally, the 1949 Killer Bait--the runt of this particular litter--stars Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy, and Dan Duryea in a fatalistic tale of theft, murder, and extortion. The print quality on the five films ranges from acceptable to very good, while the bonus disc includes the featurettes “What Is Film Noir?” and “Femme Fatale: The Noir Dame,” as well as 38 original film noir preview trailers. Offering outstanding value for the price, this set is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (T. Keogh)