Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)

[Hoke Moseley]

HELL ON FRISCO BAY (1955)
Run Time 98:00

DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English; English SDH ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 2.55:1, 16 X 9 LETTERBOX COLOR BD 50 Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer (HD)

Screen icon Alan Ladd produces and stars in this crime spectacle, shot on location in noir central - San Francisco. Steve Rollins (Ladd) is both ex-cop and ex-con, recently sprung from the stir. Spurning both love (Joanne Dru, as a songstress spouse who strayed) and friendship (William Demarest as his ex-police partner), Steve has one singular quest: Kill whoever set him up for murder, or die trying. Blending adult drama, detective story and noir, Hell on Frisco Bay is a cinema stew that's heavy on the savor and the flavor, thanks to its colorful CinemaScope and a top-notch supporting ensemble. Heading that ensemble is Edward G. Robinson, delivering one of his most unforgettable mobsters, the utterly repulsive and remorseless Vic Amato. Fay Wray nearly steals the show as a faded screen queen, while Paul Stewart serves up one of his finest performances as Joe Lye, Amato's hired killer with a conscience.

Sounds great to me, so I thought it deserved it's own thread. Out 10/24.

[javi92]

Never seen this one, on TCM or otherwise. Sounds like a Day 1 pickup for me though.

[movieben1138]

Anything with Edward G.!

[octagon]

The cast alone pretty much makes it an autobuy but I just skimmed the crew and John F. Seitz was the cinematographer.

I'm not really familiar with his 50s color stuff but Double Indemnity, This Gun for Hire, Sullivan's Travels, Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend, The Big Clock...

Damn

[MartinL]

This is the holy grail of Alan Ladd movies. This film was independently produced and it's been somewhat of a question as to whether a wide screen master of this film was even intact. Aside from bootleg full screen versions, this film has never even been out on DVD.

[CinemaScope]

I've never seen it, but it's going to be one of my rare blind buys, with a score by Max Steiner, I hope it's in stereo.

[javy]

Edward G. baby!

Never seen this though, but I will.

[Le Samourai]

Seen a bootleg, a reasonable colour noir. Shocked to see this announcement!

[SeanJoyce]

Edward G. gets surprisingly overlooked when discussing noir icons.

I mean...Double Indemnity, Scarlet Street, Woman in the Window, The Stranger, The Red House, and Key Largo...

[BluBonnet]

Just two more weeks!!

[Alfred E. Neumann]

It's a fresh 4k scan but looks like the 6k scan and restoration of "An American Werewolf in London".
Grain is scrubbed away.

[cousineerie]

I wasn't expecting a classic but this was disappointing. A couple of murders and then a failed assassination occur off screen. A few linking shots feature a lovely SF backdrop but scene after scene take place in drab hotel rooms and a kitchen. Two stunt men duking it out on The Bay was too little too late. Perhaps this color widescreen production had to cut back in other areas.

[PowellPressburger]

True not a lot happens in the film.. and doesn't hold ones attention as much as I had hoped. I still liked it and glad it got a true good widescreen presentation finally.

I will revisit it in a few years... it may be a decent sunday lazy afternoon film to watch.

[UseY0ur1llusi0n]

Originally Posted by Alfred E. Neumann

It's a fresh 4k scan but looks like the 6k scan and restoration of "An American Werewolf in London".
Grain is scrubbed away.

I agree, something isn't right here. Are we sure the 'vaseline-like' blurriness isn't a product of the source material? It doesn't make sense to be heavily filtered; it goes against everything we've seen from Warner Archive's output so far, and I can't imagine they'd get a sudden urge to start now.

[Alfred E. Neumann]

Originally Posted by UseY0ur1llusi0n

I agree, something isn't right here. Are we sure the 'vaseline-like' blurriness isn't a product of the source material? It doesn't make sense to be heavily filtered; it goes against everything we've seen from Warner Archive's output so far, and I can't imagine they'd get a sudden urge to start now.

I have no idea why they are doing that, it's sad.
It looks like Photoshop-filters, de-graining and automatic sharpening.
Edges and lines (lines of a face for example) are sharp but the rest is soft and scrubbed.
Really disappointing, I bet the actual 4k scan with the grain intact looks nice. Probably similar to "Wizard of Oz" or "Rebel Without A Cause".

[javy]

Originally Posted by cousineerie

I wasn't expecting a classic but this was disappointing. A couple of murders and then a failed assassination occur off screen. A few linking shots feature a lovely SF backdrop but scene after scene take place in drab hotel rooms and a kitchen. Two stunt men duking it out on The Bay was too little too late. Perhaps this color widescreen production had to cut back in other areas.

Your description of "drab hotel rooms" make it sound mouth watering. But I did read this review earlier on IMDb and found it interesting.

[Show spoiler]

Robinson outshines a wooden Ladd and the wide open spaces.

5/10
Author: Rico-34 from Norwich, England
17 July 1999

Edward G Robinson dismissed this one with a passing comment in his autobiography and it's not hard to see why. He exudes menace in the classic 'Little Caesar' manner and his interplay with the underrated Paul Stewart does have a touch of real quality. However, Cinemascope is not a process designed for urban thrillers and the wide open spaces rob the film of any sense of tension or claustrophobia. The greatest weakness, however, lies in Ladd's robotic performance. His boredom is evident throughout and the lacklustre supporting cast do little to help. In the end Robinson is left out on his own, gat in hand, the true professional giving it all he's got.

I'll still be buying this movie though.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Alfred E. Neumann

Grain is scrubbed away.

The site review is live, and it shows that this is not true.

[Simon Lewis]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

The site review is live, and it shows that this is not true.

It looks like its been DNR'd on some of those frame grabs.

[Se.Vero]

these screen grabs are much too small to tell anything.

i just ordered it from wowhd as it looks like an interesting noir-ish crime movie to me.

[kmhofmann]

To be honest, the screen grabs look terrible. Certainly DNR'ed to hell.