Review: Mystery Street [Blu-ray] from WARNER ARCHIVE
Warner Archive delivers with this 1950's film noir B&W film "Mystery Street".
Ricardo Montalban is the leading man in this noir-influenced police procedural directed with style and panache by the great John Sturges.
This M-G-M production unwinds the tale of a wealthy, married, socially prominent Bostonian, a woman of loose morals pregnant with his child, the hapless bar patron she seduces so she can steal a car ... and the female skeleton that washes ashore on Cape Cod sometime later. Enter Lieutenant Peter Morales (Montalban), the detective assigned to the case.
With few leads and little evidence, Morales finds an ally in Harvard-based forensic criminologist Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) to help find the murderer. Striking cinematography from the legendary John Alton, and the exceptional screenplay by Sydney Boehm and Richard Brooks (based on a story by Leonard Spigelgass) make Mystery Street a taut, dark exciting thriller.
Overview:
The classic MGM Studios film Mystery Street makes its way to Blu-ray via Warner Archive. Presented on a BD-50 disc this 93 minute classic B&W truly stuns.
Mystery Street was the first ever Hollywood studio film to leave Hollywood and shoot on location. Film entirely in and around Boston and on the Harvard University Classic - Director John Sturges made film history 101 with this production.
The commentary track with film historians Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward will clue you in on all of the history surrounding this production including things the film got wrong and other fascinating BTS scoops.
The film had a budget of $763k back then which would be around a $9 million dollar budget today when adjusted for inflation.
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Visual
Presented in 16x9 1.37:1 with side mattes this HD transfer of Mystery Street looks fantastic with Warner Archive doing their usual with encoding standards giving the film the finest look for physical media.
I enjoyed all of the detail this HD transfer brought in the B&W from cars and lamp posts on the streets to bar and office decor. Even the articles of clothing were very clear to see. For a B& transfer from a film from 1950 - this a fantastic watch!
I even personally enjoyed the two bonus cartoons the film had that were available on from the disc’s menu. Wish they would bring those back and make them the norm in modern day film.
Audio:
Included on the BD is the original DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono Audio Track along with Commentary Track as previously mentioned.
Bonus:
Feature commentary by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward
Featurette MURDER AT HARVARD
Classic MGM Cartoons:
LITTLE QUACKER and TOM AND JERRY IN THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
Original Theatrical Trailer