Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

With more film noir classic bad girls, this second volume includes Night Editor (Janis Carter, William Gargan. 1946/68 min.), One Girl's Confession (Cleo Moore. 1953/74 min.), Over-Exposed (Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna. 1956/80 min.) and Women's Prison (Ida Lupino, Cleo Moore. 1955/79 min.). 2 DVDs. B&w/NR/fullscreen.

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • One Girl's Confession
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Remember To Live - All Star Theatre Episode
  • Women's Prison
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Over-Exposed
  • Original Theatrical Trailer

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Cleo Moore - Lila Crane
       Hugo Haas - Dragomie Damitrof
       Cleo Moore - Mae
       Audrey Totter - Joan Burton
       Anthony Jochim - Father Benedict
       Burt Mustin - Gardener
       Don Randolph - Coco Fields
       Barry Kelley - Warden Brock
       Gertrude Michael - Sturgess
       Jack Albertson - Les Bauer
       Gayne Whitman - District Attorney
       Edna Holland - Mrs. Gulick
       Adele August - Grace
       Don C. Harvey - Capt. Tierney
       Dick Crockett - Jerry
       Edna Holland - Sarah
       Charles Marsh - Swanson
       Joan Miller - Frank
       Mary Newton - Enright
       Diane DeLaire - Head Nurse
       Frances Morris - Miss Whittier
       Robert B. Williams - Sergeant
       Betty Hill - Elaine

• Director:

  Henry Levin, Hugo Haas, Lewis Seiler

• Producer:

  Ted Richmond, Hugo Haas, Bryan Foy, Lewis Rachmil

• Screenwriter:

  Hal Smith

• Screen Story:

  Scott Littleton

• Screenwriter:

  Hugo Haas, Jack de Witt, Crane Wilbur, James Gunn

• Screen Story:

  Mary Loos

• Screenwriter:

  Gil Orlovitz

• Cinematographer:

  Burnett Guffey, Philip Tannura, Paul Ivano, Lester White, Henry Freulich

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Vaclav Divina

• Editor:

  Richard Fantl, Merrill White, Henry Batista, Edwin H. Bryant

• Art Director:

  Robert A. Peterson, Rudi Feld, Cary O'Dell, Carl Anderson

• Set Designer:

  James Crowe, Louis Diage

• Costume Designer:

  Jean Louis

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  George Cooper

• First Assistant Director:

  Carter De Haven, Jr.

• Short Story Author:

  Richard Sale

REVIEWS:

• Intended as the first in a series of films, Night Editor turned out to be a one-shot, which is too bad; however, it must be admitted that the weakest part of Editor is the framing sequence, which is the only section that would have tied in to the proposed series anyway. The main body of Editor is a taut, gripping film noir thriller that features one of the most compelling, fascinating femme fatale in a genre that is littered with them. Janis Carter is nothing short of sensational, giving a definition to "icy blonde" that would make Alfred Hitchcock break out in a cold sweat. Her erotic intensity when confronted with a dead body early in the film is wonderfully disturbing, and the manner in which she exercises her cool control is mesmerizing. Opposite her, William Gargan doesn't stand a chance, and he's a bit of a weak link in the film. The character has to be manipulated and give in to his fatal flaw, but Gargan's performance lacks a badly needed steely undercurrent; it's better to watch an iron man bend and break than a straw man. Still, his work is by no means fatal. Henry Levin's tight direction and Hal Smith's equally tight screenplay overcome this, aided by Burnett Guffey's evocative camerawork. The film is stunted a bit by the low budget, but it doesn't let the lack of money keep it from being memorable. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• The camp meter goes sky high in Women's Prison, a "dames behind bars" flick that is an over-the-top delight. That is not to say, it should quickly be pointed out, that Prison is in any way a good film; it's just a bad, even trashy, film that is immensely entertaining. There are plot holes that the largest tractor trailer in the world could drive through, and the screenwriters clearly never met a cliche they didn't like. They also obviously never met a character that they couldn't transform into a caricature. There are some interesting touches in the writing, such as the way in which a prisoner's fondness for impersonations is set up early so that it can be utilized later in the film. But most of the writing is pure camp heaven. Ida Lupino, a wonderful actress, doesn't try to find a way to play this material as Oscar bait; she instead goes for the jugular, throwing herself into the spirit of the piece and giving a no-holds-barred performance that is as exhilarating as it is grotesque. There's also delightful work from Audrey Totter, Jan Sterling and Cleo Moore as various of the inmates. Lewis Seiler's direction is of the "get out of the way and let it steamroll" variety -- which under the circumstances is probably the best approach to take. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi