Film Noir - The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII: Chicago Confidential

Tampering with evidence?  Bullying witnesses?  Doctoring voice recordings?  Just what won’t the mob do?!  Looks like it is all in play in 1957’s Chicago Confidential, written by Robert T. Marcus, which is now on blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber’s ongoing Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema releases.

"shows just how the late Brian Keith... became the reliable character actor that we all know and love"


Chicago Confidential, directed by Sidney Salkow, shows just how the late Brian Keith, star of The Parent Trap (1961); Johnny Shiloh (1963); The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966); and The Wind and the Lion (1975), became the reliable character actor that we all know and love.  Here, he plays a very young State Attorney who tries to take down the organized crime syndicate in Chicago who like to murder their way out of tight spots in order to please their foreign interests and supply them with American girls.  

While confidently made, Chicago Confidential suffers from the docu-drama aspect, complete with a boisterous narration which actually becomes part of the movie (as characters turn off the narration via television sets) and go on with their own lives . . . or at least try to thanks to the long reaching arms of this syndicate.

This film noir offering, based loosely on tabloid true crime postings, gathers the usual suspects and shows them doing all sorts of shadowy things to witnesses and other members of a union leadership, all the while framing an anti-mob leader for their criminal activity.  When narratives begin to fail and eyewitnesses disappear, the whitewashing begins, and the mob wins again.

But Jim Freemont (Keith) is not done with the mob just yet.  Using terror as a threat really gets him pissed off, so he doubles down on trying to get union president Artie Blane (Dick Foran) out of the hot water he is now in, thanks to the mob’s tampering with justice.Film Noir - The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII: Chicago Confidential

Film Noir, as a genre in film, stems from the assault of way too many “Happy Endings” in Hollywood.  It’s a natural response full of pessimism and fatalism and, as a result, it butters this reviewer’s bread.  For about a decade, writers and directors could see that audiences weren’t interested in fairy tales anymore.  There was too much poverty; too much death and destruction; too many wars.  And the push to urban life had created an economic disparity that lingered long after any romantic ending did.  

People needed the darkness to be acknowledged and, from 1944 to 1955, it was cinema’s prime celebrity as highly cinematographic films - cheaply made - fell onto the rain-soaked streets of Home Town, USA.  But this one has a sappy ending and, even if there are sacrifices made, can’t help but feel a wee bit too artificial for its own good.

Chicago Confidential, now on blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII, is merely one offering from that defining era of filmmaking.  This set includes The Fearmakers and The Boss.

3/5 stars

 

Film Noir - The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII: Chicago Confidential

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Kino Lorber
Available on Blu-ray
- June 7, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 1.78:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; three-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

In the fast-paced, suspense-drenched Chicago Confidential, Brian Keith (The Rare Breed) battles corruption as hard-nosed State’s Attorney Jim Fremont. When union crooks in collaboration with a gambling syndicate try to pin a murder rap on uncooperative union leader Blane (Dick Foran, The Fearmakers), Fremont smells a set-up. Together with his co-worker fiancée Laura (Beverly Garland, D.O.A.), he launches an investigation to prove Blane’s innocence and to punish the true villains. Noir favorite Elisha Cook Jr. (The Killing) co-stars in this Windy City noir directed by Sidney Salkow (The Last Man on Earth) from the bestselling pulp novel by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer (New York Confidential).

Video:

With a crisp black-and-white 2K transfer, Chicago Confidential lands on blu-ray thanks to the crackling efforts of Kino Lorber.  Shadows, while not too terribly detailed, are thick and atmospheric throughout. Presented with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, the film looks marvelous and easily beats the poor appearance on television and on home video DVD that has previously dogged it. The blacks and grays are handled expertly by the transfer.  Beads of sweat are visible, wet city streets, textures in clothing, and even the dirt in the pavement is all visible with fine textures throughout.

Audio:

Bang! Bang! Bang!  Shots are fired on the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which accompanies this film noir flick.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None for this release.

Special Features:

There is a collection of trailers for future releases, including one for this release.

  • Original Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 3/5 stars
  Video  3/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 2/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

3/5 stars


Film Details

Film Noir - The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII: Chicago Confidential

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
75 mins
Director
: Sidney Salkow
Writer:
Bernard Gordon
Cast:
Brian Keith; Beverly Garland; Dick Foran
Genre
: Drama | Noir
Tagline:
Rough, Real... and RAW!
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor:
United Artists
Official Site:
Release Date:
August 30, 1957
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 7, 2022.
Synopsis: Brian Keith stars as Jim Fremont, an Illinois States Attorney fighting corrupt unions in Chicago. The union crooks in collaboration with a gambling syndicate try to pin a murder rap on an uncooperative union leader Blane (Dick Foran).

Art

Film Noir - The Dark Side of Cinema, Volume VII: Chicago Confidential