Columbia Noir #1 (1945-1958) Indicator

[Dailyan]

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: 16 November 2020
Limited Blu-ray Edition (4 x UK & 2 x World Blu-ray premieres)

This November, INDICATOR embarks on a major project – a deep dive into the murky, cynical, shadowy world of film noir that will comprise multiple releases across numerous volumes over the coming years. To begin, we dig into the Columbia vaults with COLUMBIA NOIR #1, the first in a series of collections devoted to the studio’s output, encompassing outright classics like Irving Lerner’s Murder by Contract, forgotten gems like Gordon Douglas’ Between Midnight and Dawn, and such major filmmakers as Edward Dmytryk, Nicholas Ray and Robert Rossen.

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:

2K restorations of Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man and The Garment Jungle
High Definition presentations of Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House and The Lineup
Original mono soundtracks
Audio commentary with film historian Pamela Hutchinson on Escape in the Fog (2020)
Audio commentary with writer and film programmer Tony Rayns on The Undercover Man (2020)
Audio commentary with critic Nick Pinkerton on Drive a Crooked Road (2020)
Audio commentary with critic David Jenkins on 5 Against the House (2020)
Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons on The Garment Jungle (2020)
Audio commentary with author James Ellroy and the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller on The Lineup (2009)
Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle and author and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner on The Lineup (2020)
Introduction to Drive a Crooked Road by Martin Scorsese (2014)
It’s a Jungle Out There (2007): archival interview with actor Robert Loggia conducted after a screening of The Garment Jungle
Appreciation of The Garment Jungle by Tony Rayns (2020)
The Influence of Noir (2009): appreciation of The Lineup by filmmaker Christopher Nolan
Two episodes of The Lineup radio series: The Candy Store Murder (1950), written by Blake Edwards and Richard Quine; and The Case of Frankie and Joyce (1951)
Screen Snapshots: Mickey Rooney, Then and Now (1953): Columbia Pictures promotional short featuring the famed performer looking back at his series of Mickey Maguire comedies
Man on a Bus (1955): short film directed by Joseph H Lewis for the United Jewish Appeal, featuring a star-studded cast, including Walter Brennan, Broderick Crawford, Lassie, and Ruth Roman, and presented in High Definition
Original theatrical trailers for Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle and The Lineup
The Lineup trailer commentary: short critical appreciation by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson
Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Iris Veysey, Paul Duane, Jill Blake, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Nathalie Morris, and Sergio Angelini; archival interview extracts with Budd Boetticher, Joseph H Lewis, Phil Karlson, and Robert Aldrich; extracts from the autobiographies of Don Siegel and Vincent Sherman; and film credits
World and UK premieres on Blu-ray
Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
MORE EXTRAS TO BE ANNOUNCED
All extras subject to change

[Jerry2345]

Haven’t seen any of these, but as a big Film Noir fan, I can see myself buying this sooner rather than later

[UnionJackMix]

I also have not seen any of these, and probably don't have them, unless they are in those cheap US noir boxes that come out once in a while.
I will definitely be ordering this. I couldn't have asked for anything better as next Indicator box set.

[bonehica]

Yea, I am gonna have to have this.

[Scottishguy]

Power House you magnificent b*stards.

[Si Parallel Universe]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

I also have not seen any of these, and probably don't have them, unless they are in those cheap US noir boxes that come out once in a while.
I will definitely be ordering this. I couldn't have asked for anything better as next Indicator box set.

The Sony Columbia Noir US Sets weren't exactly cheap or cheaply produced. In fact all four of them were (and still are) a little over-priced. As they were quite relatively bare boned.

I'm very happy to have with this upcoming PH Set about 25% of the content plus new stuff from PH and other labels on Blu now.

This set is pulling out all the stops though and could be one of the releases of the year.

[malcy30]

Buy direct from PH and get 10% off with code BUNDLE so £45 including free shipping in the UK. Valid until their next newsletter which is usually around a month.

[Wes M.]

I never picked up the US Columbia Noir sets so I'm thrilled with this announcement and the promise of more to come... In the meantime, I'm looking to my shelf right now and thinking this is a good time to revisit my old Warner sets...

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

The Sony Columbia Noir US Sets weren't exactly cheap or cheaply produced. In fact all four of them were (and still are) a little over-priced. As they were quite relatively bare boned.

I'm very happy to have with this upcoming PH Set about 25% of the content plus new stuff from PH and other labels on Blu now.

This set is pulling out all the stops though and could be one of the releases of the year.

Oh I wasn't thinking of those, but I have them actually, I think one on DVD and all on BD! Hahah I love them.
I went to pick it out from my collection, in my mind I was referring to VCI's Forgotten Noir & Crime collections.
I do have a couple of the WB box sets that Wes posted (lovely to seem them lined up like that).
I definitely must round them and see what I have so as not to double dip too much but this box would be worth a 100% double dipping!

[Trueblue63]

The good news, is that this is only the first in a series of Noir sets Indicator will be tantalising us with.

To quote Powerhouse Films email "we dig into the Columbia vaults with COLUMBIA NOIR #1, the first in a series of collections devoted to the studio’s output, encompassing outright classics like Irving Lerner’s Murder by Contract, forgotten gems like Gordon Douglas’ Between Midnight and Dawn, and such major filmmakers as Edward Dmytryk, Nicholas Ray and Robert Rossen."

Good news indeed.

[lilboyblu]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Oh I wasn't thinking of those, but I have them actually, I think one on DVD and all on BD! Hahah I love them.
I went to pick it out from my collection, in my mind I was referring to VCI's Forgotten Noir & Crime collections.
I do have a couple of the WB box sets that Wes posted (lovely to seem them lined up like that).
I definitely must round them and see what I have so as not to double dip too much but this box would be worth a 100% double dipping!

You might be thinking of the Mill Creek Noir Archive collections. And yes, some of the films in this #1 set (The Lineup, Escape in the Fog, 5 Against the House) are on those volumes. No doubt that some of the future Indicator releases will also include other films from those sets too. As with all the other Indicator versus Mill Creek releases though, I'm sure these will handily beat them.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

You might be thinking of the Mill Creek Noir Archive collections. And yes, some of the films in this #1 set (The Lineup, Escape in the Fog, 5 Against the House) are on those volumes. No doubt that some of the future Indicator releases will also include other films from those sets too. As with all the other Indicator versus Mill Creek releases though, I'm sure these will handily beat them.

Yes indeed it's those, I picked them up at initial price too and last time I checked they went down quite a bit. Actually I blind-bought them thanks to the incredibly detailed and enthusiastic reviews of them on amazon by John Fowler (is he on here by the way?).

I do however also have the first three Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics DVD sets, but never bought the fourth one, I think I wasn't aware of it.
I've now put it in my cart.

[Jerry2345]

Originally Posted by Wes M.

I never picked up the US Columbia Noir sets so I'm thrilled with this announcement and the promise of more to come... In the meantime, I'm looking to my shelf right now and thinking this is a good time to revisit my old Warner sets...

Funny, I was thinking exactly the same: I have all five Warner Film Noir DVD boxes (aah, those were the days), but never managed to pick up the US Columbia Noir sets. It seems that Indicator will remedy that

[Richard A]

Warner didn't exactly excel themselves in the on-shelf consistency stakes there, did they?

And I thought the (recent) BFI Flipside titles were bad.

[36crazyfists]

Such great news day one for me .

[fredzappa]

I want to be more excited about this but it seems that quite a few of the movies weren't particularly well reviewed back then. Hopefully just one of those cases where all it was needed was for a proper label to pick them up for them to be looked at differently?

[Frankinho007]

Would be great if they have access to other libraries too so that we can get other studio themed Noir sets as well. Shame that Warner is probably off the table since they have a vast library and great Noirs.

[FrazM865]

Originally Posted by Wes M.

I never picked up the US Columbia Noir sets so I'm thrilled with this announcement and the promise of more to come... In the meantime, I'm looking to my shelf right now and thinking this is a good time to revisit my old Warner sets...

I think I saw in the US section of this forum that there is an upcoming blu ray release of the boxset on the left of your pic

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by Frankinho007

Would be great if they have access to other libraries too so that we can get other studio themed Noir sets as well. Shame that Warner is probably off the table since they have a vast library and great Noirs.

The Imprint label from Australia is releasing this set in October. It also includes The Garment Jungle, but I believe the other 3 films are from Paramount Pictures:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Essen...lu-ray/273719/

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by FrazM865

I think I saw in the US section of this forum that there is an upcoming blu ray release of the boxset on the left of your pic

All 5 titles in Vol 1 are already out on blu in the States - 4 in the WAC and 1 from Criterion.

The Narrow Margin from set 2 tho, my that needs a HD release.....