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A genuine ‘sleeper’ hit, this ‘all in the family’ noir pits innocent childhood against cold blooded murderers. Little Bobby Driscoll witnesses Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman committing a murder, and can’t get Mom and Dad to believe him because of a habit of crying Wolf. But the killers believe him … and they live right upstairs. The beautifully made film evokes a rough, broken-down block in New York City in great detail. Rko’s new boss Howard Hughes did what he always did with a hot feature ready to release: he shelved it for more than a year. The Wac’s restoration is eye-opening.

The Window

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 73 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date September 21, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman, Anthony Ross, Richard Benedict.

Cinematography: Robert De Grasse, William O. Steiner

Art Directors: Sam Corso, Albert D’Agostino,...

Crack-Up

Written by John Paxton, Ben Bengal and Ray Spencer

Directed by Irving Reis

U.S.A., 1946

A reoccurring question in the ongoing study and appreciation of art is whether art reflects life or vice versa. The real answer ostensibly lies somewhere in the middle, each informing and influencing the other, both embraced in seamless synchronicity. Knowing that, it stands to reason that art can, in effect, comment on itself and has at many a given opportunity in history. When done well one artistic medium may be utilized to comment on another, such as in the 1946 film Crack-Up, directed by Irving Reis. By no means a project lacking in potential, it misses the mark in some key respects, staying afloat with handsome visuals and capable leading actors.

George Steele (Pat O’Brien) arrives at the Manhattan art Museum one night in a state of severe intoxication. As is soon revealed,...

In 1942, at the age of 38, Val Lewton was named the head of Rko Studios’ horror unit.  As part of his job, he was to follow three rules.  His films had to cost the studio less than $150,000, his films had to run under 75 minutes in length, and his supervisor’s would be supplying the names of each film.  For the next four years, Lewton would write and produce nine horror films, each of them earning a status in history as black and white horror classics.Nine for nine.  That’s not a bad batting average for a young producer in Hollywood, particularly when dealing with horror films.  Of these nine films, Lewton had a hand in writing the screenplays for three of them.  Of these three, perhaps the most famous is 1945’s ‘The Body Snatcher.’

Based on the short story from the 1880s by Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘The Body Snatcher’ tells...