The seventh volume in Kino's series of box sets features three independent pictures released by United Artists in the late 1950s. United Artists was unique among the major studios in that they did not have their own studio backlot or facilities. Rather, they provided financing and/or distribution for independent producers and production companies.
The most interesting feature of this set is Chicago Confidential (1957), starring Brian Keith as a crusading States Attorney targeting the Syndicate and Beverly Garland as the wife of the loyal union crusader (Dick Foran) who has been framed to take the fall. Like all the films in this volume, it plays out against cheap studio sets that look tossed together with generic props, but director Sidney Salkow brings it to life with the performances, especially the easy warmth and natural manner that Keith brings to his character and Elisha Cook Jr.'s commitment to a boozy derelict who looks he's been fished out of a sewer. And for a few standout scenes, Salkow puts a little extra time into framing and lighting to make the action pop.
John Payne gives a largely one-dimensional performance as The Boss (1956), a World War I vet with a chip on his shoulder who takes over an unnamed city as a crooked ward boss and is done in by his own hubris and bitterness. Directed by Byron Haskin and written by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo under a front, it plays like a gangster picture with political muscle in place of Tommy guns, but with TV style and production values.
The Fearmakers (1958), meanwhile, reaches for big ideas—manipulating public opinion, shaping political policy with fake front organizations, manufacturing fake news—in its story of a soldier (Dana Andrews) who returns home after being a POW to find his public relations business has been taken over by a shady owner. The film gets lost in a confusing plot and an unfocused screenplay and director Jacques Tourneur doesn't overcome the weaknesses but he creates an atmosphere of suspicion, acknowledges the PTSD of its returning war vet, and has Dana Andrews punch out an enemy of America on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
As with previous releases, the films are remastered from vault elements in 2K but not restored. You'll see some wear and minor damage in portions of the films but the image quality is strong and the films look like well-preserved vintage movies
Features commentary on The Boss by film historian Alan K. Rode and The Fearmakers by film professor and scholar Jason A. Ney.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
This is a collection of interest largely to devoted fans of film noir and American crime cinema of the 1950s.
What academic library shelves would this title be on?
Schools with film studies or American studies programs would find The Boss and The Fearmakers interesting for their exploration of social and political issues of their eras.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
In addition to being low-budget film noirs made at the end of the movement's prime, these are examples of independently-produced films made outside of the major studios and make interesting contrasts to the films made by the Hollywood system. Film studies professors should consider this title for their classroom syllabus.