Columbia Noir Volume 1

Region B, Limited Edition

ESCAPE IN THE FOG (Budd Boetticher, 1945)

THE UNDERCOVER MAN (Joseph H Lewis, 1949)

DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD (Richard Quine, 1954)

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE (Phil Karlson, 1955)

THE GARMENT JUNGLE (Vincent Sherman and Robert Aldrich, 1957)

THE LINEUP (Don Siegel, 1958)

 

Release date: 30 November 2020

Limited Blu-ray Edition (4 x UK & 2 x World Blu-ray premieres)

 

Six tough, no-nonsense noirs from six of the genre’s toughest, no-nonsense directors: Budd Boetticher’s Escape in the Fog, in which a nurse and a war veteran take on Nazi spies in San Francisco; Joseph H Lewis’ The Undercover Man, inspired by the real-life case against Al Capone; Richard Quine’s Drive a Crooked Road, which finds Mickey Rooney moving away from comedies and musicals to a tougher persona; Phil Karlson’s 5 Against the House, starring Kim Novak as a nightclub singer embroiled in a casino heist; Vincent Sherman’s The Garment Jungle, from which Kiss Me Deadly director Robert Aldrich was famously fired; and Don Siegel’s police procedural The Lineup, based on the radio and television series, and as brutal a film as he ever made.

 

All six films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, with The Undercover Man and Drive a Crooked Road making their world Blu-ray premieres. This stunning collection also boasts a 120-page book, and is strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.

 

INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

 

 

ESCAPE IN THE FOG

2K restoration

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with film historian Pamela Hutchinson (2020)

The Fleet That Came to Stay (1945, 22 mins): World War II documentary, compiled by Budd Boetticher from original combat footage captured during the Battle of Okinawa, and released shortly after Escape in the Fog

You Nazty Spy! (1940, 18 mins): World War II comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio satirise the Third Reich and help publicise the Nazi threat to American audiences

Image gallery: publicity and promotional material

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

UK premiere on Blu-ray

 

THE UNDERCOVER MAN

2K restoration

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with writer and film programmer Tony Rayns (2020)

Man on a Bus (1945, 29 mins): short film directed by Joseph H Lewis for the United Jewish Appeal, featuring a star-studded cast, including Walter Brennan, Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, and Lassie

Income Tax Sappy (1954, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio come under the scrutiny of the US Treasury Department when they get creative with their tax returns

Image gallery: publicity and promotional material

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

World premiere on Blu-ray

 

DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD

High Definition presentation

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with film critic Nick Pinkerton (2020)

The Guardian Interview with Mickey Rooney (1988, 83 mins): archival audio recording of the much-loved actor in conversation with Tony Sloman at the National Film Theatre, London

Introduction by Martin Scorsese (2012, 2 mins)

Screen Snapshots: ‘Mickey Rooney, Then and Now’ (1953, 10 mins): Columbia Pictures promotional short featuring the famed performer looking back at one of his childhood roles

Higher Than a Kite (1943, 18 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio play mechanics who find themselves in a situation that’s way out of their control

Original theatrical trailer

Image gallery: publicity and promotional material

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

World premiere on Blu-ray

 

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE

High Definition presentation

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with film critic David Jenkins (2020)

The Guardian Interview with Kim Novak (1997, 67 mins): archival video recording of the celebrated actor in conversation with David Robinson at the National Film Theatre, London

Sweet and Hot (1958, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio team up with a female singer in the hope of finding fame and fortune in the big city

Original theatrical trailer

Image gallery: publicity and promotional material

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

UK premiere on Blu-ray

 

THE GARMENT JUNGLE

2K restoration

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)

It’s a Jungle Out There (2007, 20 mins): archival interview with actor Robert Loggia, conducted by Alan K Rode of the Film Noir Foundation following a screening of The Garment Jungle

Law of the Jungle (2020, 15 mins): writer and film programmer Tony Rayns discusses Robert Aldrich and The Garment Jungle

Rip, Sew and Stitch (1953, 17 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio play tailors who find themselves caught up in criminal activities

Original theatrical trailer

Image gallery: publicity and promotional material

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

UK premiere on Blu-ray

 

THE LINEUP

High Definition remaster

Original mono audio

Audio commentary with author James Ellroy and the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller (2009)

Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle and author and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner (2020)

The Influence of Noir (2009, 7 mins): appreciation by filmmaker Christopher Nolan

The Streets of San Francisco (2020, 7 mins): video essay guide to the locations of The Lineup

Three episodes of The Lineup radio series: ‘The Candy Store Murder’ (1950, 30 mins), written by Blake Edwards; ‘The Case of Frankie and Joyce’ (1951, 31 mins); and ‘The Harrowing Haggada Handball Case’ (1951, 26 mins), written by Edwards and Richard Quine

Tricky Dicks (1953, 16 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio send up the police procedural

Original theatrical trailer

Trailer commentary: short appreciation by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson

Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials

New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

UK premiere on Blu-ray