DEAD
RECKONING ($25) is an entertaining film noir that tries to emulate the
"Bogie and Bacall" classics that Humphrey Bogart made over at
Warner Bros., but this Columbia Pictures release comes up a bit short in
creating the same kind of screen magic. Bogart is Bogart, and for my
money, he is always terrific, however, as much as I like leading lady
Lizabeth Scott, she just doesn’t have the same chemistry with Bogie, as
did Lauren Bacall. Still, I found DEAD RECKONING to be a highly
enjoyable mystery that keeps one guessing until the final reel.
The
plot of DEAD RECKONING concerns war veteran Captain Warren Murdock
(Bogart), who is returning to the states with Sgt. Johnny Drake (William
Prince), a paratrooper whom Murdock has recommended for the Congressional
Medal of Honor. While on their way to Washington DC, Johnny learns that he
is about to receive the medal and disappears off the train before coming
under the scrutiny of the press. Of course, Murdock needs to know why
Johnny has gone AWOL, and decides to look for the missing paratrooper in
his hometown. Murdock's investigation leads him right into a mystery
involving a high profile murder case and a beautiful chanteuse named Coral
Chandler (Scott), whom the war hero left behind. The cast of DEAD
RECKONING also includes Morris Carnovsky, Charles Cane, Marvin Miller,
Wallace Ford, James Bell and George Chandler.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made DEAD RECKONING available on
DVD in a nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. However, the black and white film element
used for the transfer does evidence the fact that DEAD RECKONING
is well over a half a century old. There is some minor print damage and
blemishes do crop up throughout the course of the movie, although none
of them are particularly bothersome. The image itself is fairly crisp
and provides more than respectable definition. A grain structure is noticeable
almost continuously, which give the presentation a film-like quality,
instead of making it appear too much like video. Blacks are deep and inky,
while whites appear crisp. Contrast is quite good, and the picture displays
a nice grayscale. Digital compression artifacts are well camouflaged on
this cleanly authored DVD.
As
with the picture, the Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack does show a few
signs of age. The limited fidelity of the track keeps it from having any
significant highs or lows, but then again, DEAD RECKONING is
primarily dialogue driven movie. The film’s score and sole musical
number sound decent, although Lizabeth Scott’s vocals are obviously
dubbed on the latter. Dialogue is always completely understandable, and
the distinct voices of the film's two leads maintain their sense of
character. No other language tracks are provided on the DVD, but English,
French, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese subtitles are included. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as a couple of extras. A Bogart Collection
retrospective, with vintage advertising materials is the featured extra.
Additionally, trailers for THE CAINE MUTINY, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER
KWAI and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA are also included on the DVD.
While
not of classic stature, DEAD RECKONING is still high profile Bogart
entertainment. If you are a movie buff or a fan of the cinema icon, you
will want to add DEAD RECKONING to you collection.
DEAD
RECKONING ($25) is an entertaining film noir that tries to emulate the
"Bogie and Bacall" classics that Humphrey Bogart made over at
Warner Bros., but this Columbia Pictures release comes up a bit short in
creating the same kind of screen magic. Bogart is Bogart, and for my
money, he is always terrific, however, as much as I like leading lady
Lizabeth Scott, she just doesn’t have the same chemistry with Bogie, as
did Lauren Bacall. Still, I found DEAD RECKONING to be a highly
enjoyable mystery that keeps one guessing until the final reel.
The
plot of DEAD RECKONING concerns war veteran Captain Warren Murdock
(Bogart), who is returning to the states with Sgt. Johnny Drake (William
Prince), a paratrooper whom Murdock has recommended for the Congressional
Medal of Honor. While on their way to Washington DC, Johnny learns that he
is about to receive the medal and disappears off the train before coming
under the scrutiny of the press. Of course, Murdock needs to know why
Johnny has gone AWOL, and decides to look for the missing paratrooper in
his hometown. Murdock's investigation leads him right into a mystery
involving a high profile murder case and a beautiful chanteuse named Coral
Chandler (Scott), whom the war hero left behind. The cast of DEAD
RECKONING also includes Morris Carnovsky, Charles Cane, Marvin Miller,
Wallace Ford, James Bell and George Chandler.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made DEAD RECKONING available on
DVD in a nice looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. However, the black and white film element
used for the transfer does evidence the fact that DEAD RECKONING
is well over a half a century old. There is some minor print damage and
blemishes do crop up throughout the course of the movie, although none
of them are particularly bothersome. The image itself is fairly crisp
and provides more than respectable definition. A grain structure is noticeable
almost continuously, which give the presentation a film-like quality,
instead of making it appear too much like video. Blacks are deep and inky,
while whites appear crisp. Contrast is quite good, and the picture displays
a nice grayscale. Digital compression artifacts are well camouflaged on
this cleanly authored DVD.
As
with the picture, the Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack does show a few
signs of age. The limited fidelity of the track keeps it from having any
significant highs or lows, but then again, DEAD RECKONING is
primarily dialogue driven movie. The film’s score and sole musical
number sound decent, although Lizabeth Scott’s vocals are obviously
dubbed on the latter. Dialogue is always completely understandable, and
the distinct voices of the film's two leads maintain their sense of
character. No other language tracks are provided on the DVD, but English,
French, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese subtitles are included. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as a couple of extras. A Bogart Collection
retrospective, with vintage advertising materials is the featured extra.
Additionally, trailers for THE CAINE MUTINY, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER
KWAI and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA are also included on the DVD.
While
not of classic stature, DEAD RECKONING is still high profile Bogart
entertainment. If you are a movie buff or a fan of the cinema icon, you
will want to add DEAD RECKONING to you collection.