Essential Film Noir: Collection 5 (BLU-RAY)

Collection Five of Essential Film Noir features four more acclaimed and much sought-after noir classics. Island Of Doomed Men (1940) 1.37:1 Oscar winner Charles Barton directs the legendary Peter Lorre (M, The Maltese Falcon) in this sensational Noir that “pushes the censorship restrictions of the era as far as possible thanks to its elements of sadism, bondage, spousal abuse, and one very startling moment of (simulated) animal cruelty” (TCM, Nathaniel Thompson). Peter Lorre plays Stephen Danel, the owner of Dead Man’s Island, using the off-the-radar colony as a place to keep paroled convicts as slaves. Undercover agent Mark Sheldon gets sent to the island and becomes trapped himself as Danel’s sadistic guards maintain a tight circle around the house and grounds. The Red Menace (1949) 1.37:1 This controversial noir (later re-released as Underground Spy) stars Robert Rockwell, Betty Lou Gerson, and Barbra Fuller, directed by R.G. Springsteen. When a disgruntled ex-soldier gets no help from the Veteran’s Bureau, he is ripe for the influences of Communists who lead him down the party line. But he soon meets up with disgruntled party members who attempt to break out. The Burglar (1957) Widescreen Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by David Goodis, The Burglar stars Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield and Martha Vickers. A burglar and his two associates set their sights on a wealthy spiritualist who has inherited a fortune – including a renowned emerald necklace – from a Philadelphia financier. 13 West Street (1962) Widescreen Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger star in this thrilling adaptation of Leigh Brackett’s 1957 novel ‘The Tiger Among Us’. When Walt Sherill is brutally beaten by a gang of angry teenagers, he decides to track the teens himself — hiring a private detective, buying a gun, and stalking potential suspects.