UHD Review The Long Wait UHD/Blu-ray Combo Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Victor Saville’s The Long Wait might not have the lure of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer to draw one to the proceedings, but star Anthony Quinn does a fine job making his two-fisted protagonist a suitable replacement for the brutish tough guy antihero.



The Long Wait (1954)



Released: 26 May 1954
Rated: Approved
Runtime: 94 min




Director: Victor Saville
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama



Cast: Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans
Writer(s): Mickey Spillane, Alan Green, Lesser Samuels



Plot: An amnesiac finally learns his true identity...as a murder suspect. And he doesn't even know whether he is guilty...



IMDB rating: 6.5
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information



Studio: Studio Canal
Distributed By: ClassicFlix...

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[Keith Cobby]

Thanks for the review Matt, looking forward to this, glad it's a good one. I'm a fan of Max Allan Collins commentaries, the first time I heard him was on the Slightly Scarlet DVD, wish ClassicFlix would release this, although unfortunately I think it's a Warner title (RKO).

 

[borisfw]

Thanks for the review. Not familiar with this film but will be picking it up.

 

[lark144]

Thanks for the review, Matt. I've always been a big fan of the novel. Beyond the pulpy, two-fisted battering that is par for the course with Spilliane, the novel has a quirkiness to it, a haunted and phantasmal quality, as well as a focus on memory, that in the context of a hard-boiled detective tale, seems almost strangely Proustian, as well as poignant, and differentiates it from the typical Mike Hammer. I'm a little disappointed to find that aspect--and some of the plot revelations--was smoothed over a bit for the adaptation to film, but your review has convinced me to pick up the Blu-Ray.

 

[Camps]

Just received my copy and it looks great. Here's my own brief review for (the likely many) folks unfamiliar with this title:

It's a crucial addition to anyone's '50s noir lineup... not to mention any Mickey Spillane fan's collection. It makes great use of light and shadow -- yes, that noir staple of chiaroscuro -- not to mention tough, Spillane-style dialogue, violence, plot twists & turns, cynicism .... and downright nihilism.

Victor Saville wasn't a great director, but he was a highly experienced one and a far better one than I, The Jury's neophyte director Harry Essex. And Anthony Quinn of course was a far more experienced and better actor than the nevertheless likeable and decent Biff Elliott. Of course, Quinn is a bit swarthy to be playing a guy named McBride (like Mike Hammer, merely another tough-guy-fantasy incarnation of Spillane himself)... but then again, if we didn't know him so well, would he look like a guy named... Quinn...?

Depending on your vantage point, The Long Wait could be either a breezily enjoyable slice of pulp fiction... or a hilariously -- maybe appallingly, even infuriatingly -- misogynistic curio of a time capsule.

If you liked I, The Jury -- or, like me (as you can guess from my avatar), the sublime Kiss Me Deadly -- you're sure to like this. Me... I love it. (Mea Culpa... )

Thanks, David at ClassicFlix, for completing the Spillane '50s movie canon on disc and enabling me to jettison my old muddy boot.

In terms of finally seeing this on blu ray, a Long Wait indeed... but it was worth it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your fine review. My Blu-ray arrives today and I plan on watching it this weekend.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I liked this movie more than I, the Jury. It’s not great cinema, but I found it thoroughly entertaining. Classicflix produced a fine release. I’m looking forward to listening to the audio commentary. By the way, Peggy Castle just took a step up in my previous evaluation of her.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, Anthony Quinn's dynamism and charisma give us a solid protagonist unlike Biff Elliott's rather stiff and uninvolving hero in I, the Jury. The commentator thought so, too.

 

[Camps]

Yes, I subsequently watched with Spillane expert/friend Max Allan Collins' once-again very informative & entertaining commentary and he (pardon the pun) pulls no punches.

You also learn what is Collins' favorite scene in any filmed Spillane adaptation. He compares the skill of lighting, camera work, framing, editing and downright surrealism in this scene favorably to not only I, The Jury, but the acclaimed noir great Kiss Me Deadly! I agree it's a standout scene. You'll know it when you see it even without Collins' commentary to guide you.

 

[Bartman]

The regular Blu-ray has an acceptable picture quality. Anthony Quinn's performance was a bit wooden and one dimensional. His performance reminded me of Across 110th Street, where 20+ years later it worked better for him. Good to see Bruno Vesoto from Dementia!

 

[Dan McW]

I watched this the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. One thing I noticed, after having recently watched Donovan's Brain: the car-wreck crash-and-burn footage in DB appears to be recycled in The Long Wait.