FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA XXV - Collection Featuring John H. Auer's The Flame (1947), City That Never Sleeps (1953) And Hell's Half Acre (1954)

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Product Description: This collection features three film noir classics from Republic Pictures and director John H. Auer (A Man Betrayed):

THE FLAME (1947) – George MacAllister (John Carroll, Flying Tigers) is the black sheep of a wealthy family who has squandered his share of the family inheritance and lives in constant resentment of his rich, terminally-ill half-brother Barry (Robert Paige, Tangier). So George gets his girlfriend, Carlotta Duval (vivacious Vera Ralston, The Lady and the Monster), a job as Barry’s nurse with the plan that she will eventually marry him for his money and then dispose of him. But the scheme turns complicated when Carlotta finds that she is really in love with Barry. Co-starring Broderick Crawford (Human Desire), Henry Travers (Shadow of a Doubt) and Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind).

CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS (1953) – The Creeps, the Hoods, and the Killers Come Out to War with the City! In the vein of William Wyler’s popular Detective Story of two years earlier, this gritty noir gem juggles around five characters through a particularly bad night in a Chicago police precinct: stressed-out cop Johnny Kelly (Gig Young, Wake of the Red Witch); lounge singer Sally “Angel Face” Connors (Mala Powers, Outrage); thug-for-hire Hayes Stewart (William Talman, Crashout); corrupt district attorney Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold, Johnny Eager); and Sgt. Joe (Chill Wills, Giant), an honest cop trying to keep Johnny on a straight path. Striking urban cinematography by John L. Russell (Psycho) and another great bad-girl performance by noir goddess Marie Windsor (Force of Evil).

HELL’S HALF ACRE (1954) – City of Sin…Toughest Spot in the Pacific! This Hawaii-set noir tells the twisting tale of ex-racketeer Chet Chester (Wendell Corey, Desert Fury), who is being blackmailed by his former partners-in-crime. When Chester’s gal Sally (Nancy Gates, Suddenly) kills one of his enemies, he assumes that he has enough clout to get a lighter sentence and takes the rap. Meanwhile, a visitor from L.A. (Evelyn Keyes, 99 River Street) comes to believe that Chester is the husband she thought she had lost at Pearl Harbor. Written by Steve Fisher (I Wake Up Screaming) and shot by ace D.P. John L. Russell (Moonrise), this offbeat crime yarn features standout support from Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein), Jesse White (Witness to Murder), Leonard Strong (The Naked Jungle), Keye Luke (Gremlins), Philip Ahn (Macao) and the great Marie Windsor (The Killing).

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New on Blu-ray: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957) Starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton

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Product Description: Screen legends Tyrone Power (The Mark of Zorro), Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel) and Charles Laughton (The Suspect) star in this splendidly entertaining courtroom classic about a man on trial for a wealthy widow’s murder after he suspiciously profits from her will. His only hope for acquittal is his wife’s testimony, but his airtight alibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own. In order to maximize the film’s effect upon its audience, producers kept the set carefully guarded to prevent its crucial plot twists from leaking to the public. Directed by the brilliant Billy Wilder (Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment), scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz (A Shot in the Dark) and based on the hit London play by mystery master Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile), this thunderbolt of a film “crackles with emotional electricity” (The New York Times) and continues to keep movie lovers riveted until the final, mesmerizing frame. Boasting 6 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Laughton) and Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester, Bride of Frankenstein).

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New on Blu-ray: BUCCANEER'S GIRL (1950) Starring Yvonne De Carlo

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Product Description: Starring Yvonne De Carlo (Criss Cross), Philip Friend (Thunder on the Hill) and Elsa Lanchester (Witness for the Prosecution), Buccaneer’s Girl is an exciting adventure beautifully shot in glorious Technicolor by legendary cinematographer Russell Metty (Spartacus, Touch of Evil). When brave Boston stowaway Deborah McCoy (De Carlo) is captured by the notorious pirate Frederic Baptiste (Friend), she stealthily escapes to New Orleans and uses her talents to get hired as an entertainer. However, she soon discovers that Baptiste has a secret identity—aristocratic playboy Captain Robert Kingston—and must decide whether to assist him in his daring schemes or turn him over to the law. Frederick De Cordova (Bedtime for Bonzo) directed this rip-roaring swashbuckler filled with romance and intrigue, co-starring Robert Douglas (Tarzan, the Ape Man), Andrea King (The Beast with Five Fingers), Norman Lloyd (Saboteur), Jay C. Flippen (The Lemon Drop Kid), Douglass Dumbrille (The Lives of a Bengal Lancer) and Peggie Castle (99 River Street).

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