I could rave all day and night about the great Film Noir sests coming from Powerhouse (though we do not sadly get to review them), Kino Lorber and Eureka. Arrow last outing into this wasnt a box set but was rather good (cast your mind back and maybe look at my reviews!) This set, the sequel to a personal fave of mine, is every bit as good as that first one was and on par with the great sets out there from many another label.  Here you get a foursome of dexterity. THE SUSPECT (1944) a bigger frame and starrer sees Charles Laughton play shopkeeper, Philip Marshall. He is constantly nagged by his awfully annoying wife, Cora (Rosalind Ivan). When he starts to eye up pretty young stenographer Mary (Ella Raines) and Cora falls to her death, well you cant blame the police for their suspicions. Directed by Robert Siodmak, its a slow burning belter. THE SLEEPING CITY (1950) sees Richard Conte as an undercover policeman investigating murder and narcotics racketeering at New York’s Bellevue Hospital. THUNDER ON THE HILL (1951) sees Claudette Colbert  as a nun with a case of hope as she sets out to free a convicted murderer. Director by Douglas Sirk, with style and drama to match his best. Finally in SIX BRIDGES TO CROSS (1955) a streetwise delinquent is shot and rookie policeman Eddie Gallagher who stays with him through his life as he becomes a man and Tony Curtis.

Arrow have given us a lot of lovely things. More HD transfers that hold up (if not actually granting the films a better life than they deserve). Farran Smith-Nehme commentary on THE SUSPECT is the best thing there, being both padded to excess and also light as a snow drop in talking. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas visual essay on THE SLEEPING CITY talks Veritie but in a nicer, less pretentious way than say other well known gas bags (I mean commentators). She has a wit and charm but also a bullshit meter that keeps things strictly pointed and no guff or filler. José Arroyo piece is the box sets highlight. This might be because it is from an esteemed film scholar and also about a film that frankly deserves more attention. Either way, you leave it knowing the film and loving it more than you did on going in, which is the reason for and the rational why, the extra is there in the first place!!

Product Features

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all four films
• Original lossless mono audio on all films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all films
• Audio commentaries by leading scholars and critics Farran Smith-Nehme (The Suspect), Imogen Sara Smith (The Sleeping City), Josh Nelson (Thunder on the Hill) and Samm Deighan (Six Bridges to Cross)
• It Had to be Done, a new interview in which author and scholar Alan K. Rode takes a detailed look at the life and work of Robert Siodmak director of The Suspect and other classic noirs
• The Real Deal, a new visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas looking at realism and reality in The Sleeping City
• José Arroyo on Thunder on the Hill, a new appreciation by the esteemed film scholar and critic
• Style and Place, a new visual essay by film critic Jon Towlson examining the work of celebrated cinematographer William H. Daniels
• Vintage radio play versions of The Suspect and Thunder on the Hill starring Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Claudette Colbert and Barbara Rush
• Theatrical Trailers
• Poster and stills galleries
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
• Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
• Hardback collector’s book featuring new writing on the films by film critics Kat Ellinger, Philip Kemp and Jon Towlson [Limited Edition Exclusive]