- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
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- 18,272
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Hell on Frisco Bay is another of those miracle titles, much like The Sea Wolf, and it's appropriate that both should become available in the same time period, courtesy of Warner Archive.
Produced in 1955, at time during when CinemaScope had taken off, it was released by WB, but was an independent production (Jaguar Productions), owned by the Ladd family.
Since it wasn't Warner owned, elements were beyond the studio's control.
It was seen on TV in pan & scan, apparently from a 35 dupe flat conversion, and was rumored to have had an extremely limited home video release -- possibly Beta -- but has never been seen in any real quality in the past six decades, no less in CinemaScope.
Enter the Warner Archive, which somehow found the original camera negative, and did their magic.
The new Blu-ray is a magnificent representation of the film. Audio is monaural, as no quality 4-track archival element is available on the original mix. But that mono track is full-bodied, and plays beautifully.
This is actually the first time that I've seen the film in scope, and it's an interesting experience, as it was shot by John Seitz, whose career behind the camera began in 1916.
As a connection, he photographed This Gun for Hire, which also starred Mr. Ladd. The other connection here is that director Frank Tuttle was also brought in for this Ladd production. Apparently, Mr. Ladd took care of those with whom he had worked.
If you need more reference for Mr. Seitz, go with Sullivan's Travels, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek, Lost Weekend, and that noir wonder, Sunset Boulevard.
While I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Ladd's work in this particular film, Edward G. Robinson shines. You'll find and early appearance from Rod Taylor, and a great small performance from Fay Wray.
Hell on Frisco Bay is literally a production that has been saved from some unknown fate, and is ours to view, discuss and enjoy.
Music by Max Steiner, who did a few other films.
Image - 4.5
Audio - 4.5
4k Up-rez - 4.75
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
Produced in 1955, at time during when CinemaScope had taken off, it was released by WB, but was an independent production (Jaguar Productions), owned by the Ladd family.
Since it wasn't Warner owned, elements were beyond the studio's control.
It was seen on TV in pan & scan, apparently from a 35 dupe flat conversion, and was rumored to have had an extremely limited home video release -- possibly Beta -- but has never been seen in any real quality in the past six decades, no less in CinemaScope.
Enter the Warner Archive, which somehow found the original camera negative, and did their magic.
The new Blu-ray is a magnificent representation of the film. Audio is monaural, as no quality 4-track archival element is available on the original mix. But that mono track is full-bodied, and plays beautifully.
This is actually the first time that I've seen the film in scope, and it's an interesting experience, as it was shot by John Seitz, whose career behind the camera began in 1916.
As a connection, he photographed This Gun for Hire, which also starred Mr. Ladd. The other connection here is that director Frank Tuttle was also brought in for this Ladd production. Apparently, Mr. Ladd took care of those with whom he had worked.
If you need more reference for Mr. Seitz, go with Sullivan's Travels, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek, Lost Weekend, and that noir wonder, Sunset Boulevard.
While I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Ladd's work in this particular film, Edward G. Robinson shines. You'll find and early appearance from Rod Taylor, and a great small performance from Fay Wray.
Hell on Frisco Bay is literally a production that has been saved from some unknown fate, and is ours to view, discuss and enjoy.
Music by Max Steiner, who did a few other films.
Image - 4.5
Audio - 4.5
4k Up-rez - 4.75
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH