Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX [Dark City / No Man of Her Own / Beware, My Lovely] Blu-ray Review

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX continues this series from KL Studio classics, bringing together the lesser-known film noir gems from the 1950s. The underbelly of the urban jungle, the domestic dystopias and suburban peccadilloes that crept up in the wake of World War II.

This collection gathers three films, Dark City (1950), No Man of Her Own (1950), and Beware, My Lovely (1952), each different but also similar within the confines of this genre. Dark City, directed by William Dieterle features Charlton Heston in his debut role as a crooked professional gambler who takes advantage of an out-of-towner who ends up hanged. With a hot check on their hands, Heston and his crew now turn on each other and find themselves being stalked by someone seeking vengeance for the death. In No Man of her Own, the powerful Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) turns in a stunning performance as a pregnant woman fleeing her abusive boyfriend who finds herself mistaken for a dead pregnant fiancé of a man, also dead, whose family is wealthy. Having died in a rail accident, and with the family never having met her, Stanwyck decides to pose as the dead woman to create a better life for her baby, but her past catches up to her. Lastly, Beware, My Lovely is set in 1918 after World War I. A mentally unstable man (Robert Ryan) takes a job as a handyman working at the home of a war widow (Ida Lupino) and it does not take long before his paranoia leads to him terrorizing her and her family.

The films in this collection are all moody, visually stark, and put at their center, some strong women. Even in Dark City, the seeming protagonist Heston has his fate sealed by two women, Lizabeth Scott and Viveca Lindfors. Stanwyck is the driver of her own fate in the nearly gothic melodrama of No Man of Her Own, while Beware My Lovely gives us the unsuspecting yet equally solid performance of Ida Lupino. They all put twists on the classic femme fatale in interesting ways.

Purchase Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX [Dark City / No Man of Her Own / Beware, My Lovely] [Blu-ray] on Amazon.com

The Video

All three films are new HD masters by Paramount Pictures – all from 4K scans. All three are presented in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratio in AVC 1080p encodements. The best looking of the three is the very first film in the collection, Dark City, which looks the cleanest, but by no means is free from issues with source damage, wavering black levels, and some inconsistent grain and detail. The poorest looking of the three is the second film, No Man of Her Own, which has the most issues with flicker and underlying source damage like scratches, tramlines, sparkle, and faded blacks. Lastly, Beware My Lovely, falls somewhere between the two although the contrast looks a little flat and white levels are sometimes a bit clipped.

The Audio

Each film in the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX collection gets an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track. There is nothing exciting here and all three films sound basically the same, with little dynamic range, but intelligible dialogue and minimal noise.

The Supplements

Each film gets an excellent audio commentary, with No Man of Her Own getting two! My personal favorite is the one from Imogen Sara Smith who always gives interesting insight from a female point of view.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary for Dark City by Author/Film Historian Alan K. Rode
• Audio Commentary for No Man of Her Own by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith
• Audio Commentary for No Man of Her Own by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff
• Audio Commentary for Beware, My Lovely by Film Scholar Jason A. Ney
• Dark City – Trailer (1080p; 00:02:13)
• No Man of Her Own – Trailer (1080p; 00:02:19)
• Beware, My Lovely – Trailer (Low-Res) (SD; 00:02:00)

The Final Assessment

Another enjoyable collection of some forgotten noir gems from Kino Lorber that should be a boon for fans of classic film noirs. Keep ‘em coming Kino.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX [Dark City / No Man of Her Own / Beware, My Lovely] is out on Blu-ray June 18, 2024 from Kino Lorber

Purchase Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX [Dark City / No Man of Her Own / Beware, My Lovely] [Blu-ray] on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: Approved
• Studios & Distributors: Paramount Pictures | Kino Lorber
• Directors: William Dieterle (Dark City) | Mitchell Leisen (No Man of Her Own) | Harry Horner (Beware My Lovely)
• Run Time: 273 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Video Format: AVC 1080p
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 18 June 2024