| | |  | SCOTLAND | Home » » Forgotten Noir Collector's Set 3 | | | | | | | Description: | | VCI's popular FORGOTTEN NOIR series collected here on 3 DVD. Volumes 7,8 and 9 of the series. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Willard Parker, Audrey Long, Hugh Beaumont, Edward Brophy, Glenn Langan | | Director:
| Ray Nazarro | | Format:
| Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 3 | | Studio:
| VCI Entertainment | | Run Time:
| 554 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| April 29, 2008 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 5 reviews |
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19 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Didn't make the cut for meSep 30, 2008
By Christopher Gordon
"cmgventura11"
I bought this because of the words FILM NOIR and the low price for 9 movies. I thought I'd be watching these more than once, but I was wrong. I judge a movie many ways but one big thing I look for is repeatability. I don't ever want to see these again.
Some were drawn out like RingSide, which didn't have much of a story so you watch long boring rounds of bad boxing. Same for Hi-Jacked, except this time it's scenes of driving (although I did like seeing Sid Melton). Another big loser is Danger Zone, obviously 2 half-hour plots for television put together. The Big Chase was a short 3D movie with a non-speaking Lon Chaney stuffed into an hour format. Dull.
There are some familiar faces but overall this is just not up to good standards. The films are in good condition at least but there is nothing to give this package a higher rating. The acting, plots, direction, etc. are just mediocre. True, it is 50's black and white "noir" crime dramas but that doesn't mean it's good noir. I'll probably pass on the other collections just because of this one experience.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Fun with some lesser known filmsSep 18, 2008
By mrliteral
The bottom of the barrel: this seems to be the appropriate term for Series 3 of Forgotten Noir (consisting of volumes 7, 8 and 9). Not that all these films in the set are bad, but it's obvious that the supply of available material from the Lippert vaults must be almost at an end. As a result, this set contains a few movies that are at best, borderline noir.
Volume 7 has David Harding, Counterspy; Danger Zone and The Big Chase. David Harding, Counterspy is based off a radio show and relates a story of espionage, with the title character leading a group of individuals out to stop Nazi spies. A soldier is brought in to help after his best friend is murdered; is the widow involved? Danger Zone is a pair of half-hour episodes of a TV series that never took off: A pre-Ward-Cleaver Hugh Beaumont plays a boat shop owner who always winds up being framed for murder, giving him a chance to spout standard hard-boiled wit. The Big Chase tells the story of a rookie cop who gets involved in a big chase with crooks including Lon Chaney (while his wife is about to give birth). Amusingly, the big crime which supposedly takes months to set up, involves little more than a standard stick-up of an armored car.
In Volume 8, Mr. District Attorney (also based on a radio series) relates the story of a young assistant D.A. who falls for a murder suspect. Ringside is reminiscent of the James Cagney vehicle City for Conquest with the subject of two brothers, one a musician, the other a boxer. When the boxer is blinded in a fight, his brother puts on his gloves, intent on making the money necessary for eye surgery and getting revenge for the incident. Finally, Hi-Jacked is about an ex-con trucker who is trying to go straight but runs afoul of a hijacking ring; framed for the crimes, he becomes a fugitive to try and clear his name.
In Volume 9, Scotland Yard Inspector has a misleading title, as the hero - played by pre-Joker Cesar Romero - is an American journalist who helps a pretty lady find her brother's killer. This one has its share of humor and also has the original Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. Pier 23 is another pair of back-to-back episodes with the same characters as Danger Zone. Case of the Baby Sitter sounds a bit like a Nancy Drew story, and it isn't much darker. It is a story of private eyes who are recruited to babysit an infant and unwittingly protect a stolen jewel This final movie clocks in at 43 minutes!
In fact, none of these films even reach the 90 minute point, and four (including Case of the Baby Sitter) are an hour or less. Then again, we don't always need epic-length movies; these are quick to watch and - while certainly not Oscar material - are all reasonably entertaining. Plus, it gives you a chance to enjoy some obscure fare that you've probably never even heard of before.
12 of 14 found the following review helpful:
More great film noir fun from VCIApr 06, 2008
By calvinnme
Ed Brophy as a professor, Hugh Beaumont as a hard-boiled private detective, and B-rated noir that is great fun if you like the genre continues this series by VCI. The films included are:
David Harding, Counterspy (1950) 7/10 - Stars Willard Parker and Audrey Long. Based on a radio show that ran from 1942-1957. Harding (Howard St. John) causes the interruption of a radio broadcast to announce disinformation. Harding then tells the radio announcer the story that is the movie's plot. It has lots of twists and turns and spy tricks just like the original radio show.
Danger Zone (1951) 6/10 - Stars Hugh Beaumont and Ed Brophy. A private detective is hired by a woman to bid on a locked suitcase at an auction. He is also working with another detective doing surveillance for a pending divorce. However, his partner in the second case is setting up him to take the fall for a murder. It's a little strange to see "The Beaver's" dad (Hugh Beaumont) as a detective, and stranger still to see supporting tough guy Ed Brophy as a professor.
The Big Chase (1954) 5/10 - Stars Lon Chaney Jr., Glenn Langen, and Adele Jergens. A Korean War vet becomes an L.A. policeman whose wife has developed health problems late in her pregnancy. The highlight of the film is our hero's pursuit of a gang of payroll robbers through the streets of L.A. This film was shot in 3-D during that particular craze in the 50's. You'll also be perplexed by the standard of self-care for pregnant women 55 years ago. Apparently bourbon and cigarettes were not discouraged.
Mr. District Attorney (1947) - Stars Dennis O'Keefe and Adolphe Menjou. Adapted from a popular NBC radio program of the time.
Ringside (1949) 6/10 - Stars Don Barry and Tom Brown. Joe O'Hara wants to win a boxing title so he can use the prize money to finance the concert pianist career of his brother Mike. Joe's opponent uses the info that Joe has a bad eye to blind Joe and win the fight. Brother Mike swears revenge and begins training as a fighter himself. Eventually he does face Tiger Johnson, the fighter that blinded his brother Joe. This film reminded me a little bit of "City for Conquest", which had some of the same plot elements.
Hi-Jacked (1950) 7/10 - Stars Jim Davis and Marcia Mae Jones. A truck driver is hijacked using the old "stranded motorist" ruse. When he comes to his truck is gone and the police immediately suspect him since he has a criminal past. Other events happen that make him look like a party to crime, so he sets out to determine who is really behind all of the truck hijackings. One of the better films in the set.
Scotland Yard Inspector (1952) 7/10 - Stars Caesar Romero and Lois Maxwell. What starts out as a hit and run spawns a routine murder investigation that seems to uncover a crime motivated by jealousy. However, the plot soon moves into the Cold War and the world of espionage and government secrets.
Pier 23 (1951) 6/10. Stars Hugh Beaumont and Ed Brophy. Like "Danger Zone", this movie actually has separate parts to it and appears to perhaps be a failed TV pilot that was turned into a film since the whole thing is under an hour in length. In the first half, private detective Dennis O'Brien becomes involved with a gang that uses a wrestling match as a cover for murder. In the second story O'Brien discourages a convict from trying to escape from Alcatraz. Later O'Brien mistakes another man for the convict, and winds up charged with a murder.
The Case of the Baby-sitter (1947) 6/10. Stars Tom Neal and Allen Jenkins. Members of royalty hire a detective agency to babysit their infant. It turns out the royalty and the child are just a ruse for a jewel robbery. It's only forty minutes long, so there's not much time for plot complexity.
Extras include:
The Big Chase: Robert L. Lippert Jr. interview with Tom Weaver (reenactment)
Lord of the Radio Part 1
Jean Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts, Trailers
Lord of the Radio Part 2 - Jean Lord Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts
Mr. District Attorney - Radio Program
Scotland Yard Inspector Featurette by Joel Blumberg
Pat Novak for Hire - Radio program and source for "Pier 23"
Normally VCI puts out excellent restorations of old films, so I expect the video and audio to be very good in this case too. The extras put the total value of this package at about 4/5 stars.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 "Kit Parker Films ... Forgotten Noir Collector's Set - Series 3 ... VCI Ent (2008)"May 19, 2008
By J. Lovins
"Mr. Jim"
VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "FORGOTTEN NOIR COLLECTOR'S SET - SERIES 3" --- (1947-1954) (554 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Film noir has sources not only in cinema but other artistic mediums as well...the low-key lighting schemes commonly linked with the classic mode are in the tradition of chiaroscuro and tenebrism, techniques using high contrasts of light and dark developed by 15th- and 16th-century painters associated with Mannerism and the Baroque --- film noir's aesthetics are deeply influenced by German Expressionism, a cinematic movement of the 1910s and 1920s closely related to contemporaneous developments in theater, photography, painting, sculpture, and architecture --- opportunities offered by the booming Hollywood film industry and, later, the threat of growing Nazi power led to the emigration of many important film artists working in Germany who had either been directly involved in the Expressionist movement or studied with its practitioners --- Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael Curtiz brought dramatic lighting techniques and a psychologically expressive approach to mise-en-scène with them to Hollywood, where they would make some of the most famous of classic noirs --- Lang's 1931 masterwork, the German M, is among the first major crime films of the sound era to join a characteristically noirish visual style with a noir-type plot, one in which the protagonist is a criminal (as are his most successful pursuers) --- M was also the occasion for the first star performance by Peter Lorre, who would go on to act in several formative American noirs of the classic era --- featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together --- another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems
Excellent review posted by fellow reviewer - "Calvinnme: The Texan Refugee from Fredericksburg, VA --- Check his story line and plot which saved me the review space, is right on.
Films with titles, date released, time, director and some of the cast inclusive:
First up we have "DAVID HARDING COUNTERSPY" (13 July 1950) (71 mins/B&W) - Ray Nazarro (Director)
Willard Parker ... Jerry Baldwin
Audrey Long ... Betty Iverson
Raymond Greenleaf ... Dr. George Vickers
Harlan Warde ... Hopkins
Alex Gerry ... Charles Kingston
Howard St. John ... David Harding
Second we have "DANGER ZONE" (20 April 1951) (56 mins/B&W) - William A. Berke (Director)
Hugh Beaumont ... Dennis O'Brien
Edward Brophy ... Prof. Frederick Simpson Schicker
Richard Travis ... Lt. Bruger
Tom Neal ... Edgar Spadely
Pamela Blake ... Vicki Jason
Virginia Dale ... Claire Underwood
Third we have "THE BIG CHASE" (18 June 1954) (60 mins/B&W) - Arthur Hilton (Director) Glenn Langan ... Officer Pete Grayson
Adele Jergens ... Doris Grayson
Lon Chaney Jr. ... Henchman Kip (as Lon Chaney)
Jim Davis ... Brad Bellows
Douglas Kennedy ... Police Lt. Ned Daggert
Fourth feature "MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY" (20 February 1947) (81 mins/B&W) - Robert B. Sinclair (Director)
Dennis O'Keefe ... Steve Bennett
Adolphe Menjou ... Craig Warren
Marguerite Chapman ... Marcia Manning
Michael O'Shea ... Harrington
George Coulouris ... James Randolph
Jeff Donnell ... Miss Miller
Fifth feature "HI-JACKED" (7 July 1950) (65 mins/B&W) - Sam Newfield (Director)
Jim Davis ... Joe Harper
Marcia Mae Jones ... Jean Harper (as Marsha Jones)
Sid Melton ... 'Killer'
David Bruce ... Matt
Paul Cavanagh ... Hagen
Ralph Sanford ... Stephen Clark
House Peters Jr. ... Hank
Sixth feature "RINGSIDE" (14 July 1949) (68 mins/B&W) - Frank McDonald (Director)
Don 'Red' Barry ... Mike O'Hara aka King Cobra
Tom Brown ... Joe O'Hara
Sheila Ryan ... Janet 'J.L.' Brannigan
Lyle Talbot ... Radio Announcer
Margia Dean ... Joy White
Joseph Crehan ... Oscar Brannigan
Seventh feature "SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR" (31 October 1952) (73 mins/B&W) - Sam Newfield (Director)
Cesar Romero ... Philip 'Phil' O'Dell
Lois Maxwell ... Margaret 'Peggy' Maybrick
Bernadette O'Farrell ... Heather McMara
Geoffrey Keen ... Christopher Hampden
Campbell Singer ... Inspector Rigby
Alastair Hunter ... Detective Sergeant Reilly
Eighth feature "PIER 23" (11 May 1951) (58 mins/B&W) - William A. Berke (Director)
Hugh Beaumont ... Dennis O'Brien
Ann Savage ... Ann Harmon
Edward Brophy ... Prof. Shicker
Richard Travis ... Inspector Lt. Bruger
Margia Dean ... Flo Klingle
Mike Mazurki ... Ape Danowski
Final feature "THE CASE OF THE BABY-SITTER" (26 July 1947) (41 mins/B&W) - Lambert Hillyer (Director)
Tom Neal ... Russ Ashton
Allen Jenkins ... Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
Pamela Blake ... Susan 'Susie' Hart
Virginia Sale ... Veronica Hoopler
George Meeker ... Phil Russell, alias the Duke
Rebel Randall ... Mamie Russell, alias the Duchess
Keith Richards ... Silk (henchman)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. The Big Chase: Robert L. Lippert Jr. interview with Tom Weaver (reenactment)
2. Lord of the Radio Part 1
3. Jean Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts, Trailers
4. Lord of the Radio Part 2 - Jean Lord Greenlaw interview, with Richard Roberts
5. Mr. District Attorney - Radio Program
6. Scotland Yard Inspector Featurette by Joel Blumberg
7. Pat Novak for Hire - Radio program and source for "Pier 23"
8. Trailers (all the above film noir)
Hats off and thanks to Robert Blair and his staff at VCI Entertainment --- VCI was named in Variety and Hollywood Reporter as the first company to produce and release motion pictures directly to the home marketplace --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- VCI are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector -- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections.
Total Time: 554 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video KPF-600 ~ (4/29/2008)
Not Seen For Over Half A Century!Jun 11, 2008
By R. Neuman
"Classicrob"
Here's another fantastic release from Kit Parker Films and VCI. Many of the movies in this set haven't been seen in over fifty years which makes them all the more interesting to film noir buffs, although one could argue the noir status of some of them. There are nine films in this collection: two are from Columbia Pictures (David Harding Counterspy, Mr. District Attorney,) six are from Lippert Pictures (Pier 23, Hi-Jacked, Scotland Yard Inspector, Danger Zone, The Big Chase, Ringside,) one from Screen Guild Productions (Case of the Baby Sitter.) There is nothing to distinguish any of these productions from the many films with similar story lines being made in the forties and early fifties, however imparted through these movies is a picture of how our society and culture was at that time, with more hope and less crassness. The films star a fine group of actors including Lon Chaney Jr., Jim Davis, Marguerite Chapman, Hugh Beaumont, Don "Red" Barry. There are plenty of special features in this set too. In these stories, the good people won and the bad people went to jail!
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