FORGOTTEN NOIR VOL 4 DVD - THE MAN FROM CAIRO (1953) & MASK OF THE DRAGON (1951)

Description: Here are TWO rare crime dramas from the 1950's, together in this SPECIAL DOUBLE FEATURE from KIT PARKER FILMS......... FORGOTTEN NOIR, VOLUME 4 First we have this rare gem starring GEORGE RAFT and the lovely GIANNA MARIA CANALE from November of 1953.... THE MAN FROM CAIRO (1953) "The Man from Cairo", a Michaeldavid production for distribution by Lippert, with Ray Enright the only credited director on the film print, finds Mike Canelli, the man from Cairo, nosing around Algiers with mystery surrounding the people he meets and the things he does and has done to him, all deriving from the war-time theft of $100,000,000 in gold which lies somewhere in the adjacent desert. People representing many nationalities and reasons are also seeking the gold. It boils down to a battle between Canelli and the original looter aboard a speeding train. The Man From Cairo (Italian: Dramma nella Kasbah/Avventura ad Algeri) is a 1953 British, Italian American international co-production film-noir starring George Raft, who plays a man that is mistaken for a detective by the French and is sent to find lost World War II gold in Algiers, despite the film's title.The 1953 picture was the last completed film in which Raft had top billing and the last of three films he made for Lippert Pictures. It was the final feature film of director Ray Enright.The film was produced by Bernard Luber, who had just made Loan Shark with Raft.Irene Papas made her American film debut.The film was shot on location in Algeria and Italy.The film was made for $155,000 with $80,000 in deferrals.Gianna Maria was runner-up in the Miss Italia contest of 1947 to Lucia Bose Next we have this rarely seen film from 1951 with the spectacular SHEILA RYAN.... MASK OF THE DRAGON (1951) Lt. Dan Oliver, an American soldier in Korea, agrees to deliver a jade dragon statuette to a curio shop in Los Angeles. Soon after his arrival, he is murdered. Phil Ramsey and Ginny O'Donnell trace the murder to the shop of Professor Kim Ho. Ramsey receives a package mailed to him by Oliver from Honolulu that contains the jade dragon, and takes it to the curio shop to force a showdown with Kim Ho. He is attacked by Ho's hoods and is about to be killed when Ginny arrives with Police Lt. McLaughton and the police Mask of the Dragon is a 1951 American film directed by Sam Newfield for Lippert Pictures.Part of it was set in a television studio, which was novel at the time. Something about the series title 'Forgotten Noir' suggests that these films were somehow unfairly overlooked - that while some of these movies may deserve the amnesia treatment, there may also be some real gems awaiting rediscovery. Well, 'Man from Cairo' isn't one of those gems, nor is the second bill, 'Mask of the Dragon'.I can only recommend these two selections to film buffs who have seen everything else from this time period and still can't get enough. For everyone else, there are simply too many other films that deserve your attention first - enough probably to last a lifetime.'Man from Cairo' stars George Raft at the tail end of his career and Gianna Maria Canale, a pretty edition to many sword-and-sandal Italian films of the fifties and sixties. A case of mistaken identity and 100,000 dollars in stolen gold hidden in the Algerian desert cause all the fuss here, but Raft seems to be just going through the motions, and there's more chemistry between the leads on the film's poster than in the film. A brief moment with Irene Pappas in an extra-bubbly bathtub is worth perking up for, but neither bath time nor her screen time last long enough to hold my interest.'Mask of the Dragon' is technically a worse film, though I didn't seem to mind it as much. Maybe I was fooled by the star power in the main feature, but for 'Mask', I didn't have my expectations as high. Looking back on this film from our PC-future, 'Mask' has stereotypical elements that viewers might find offensive, mostly in its portrayal of Asians, though few actual Asians show up onscreen - Caucasians play the majority of those roles. This film isn't really what I would think of as a noir, rather its just a low-budget mystery with a private eye and his girl Friday trying to get to the bottom of a smuggling racket and the murder of his partner.Bottom line is that, aside from blips now and then, neither of these films are hardly exciting or involving at all. In 'Mask of the Dragon', there is a moment when the P.I. is investigating the smuggling shop, and he sees people who look all the world like junkies coming in and buying 'special' souvenirs, though later we find out it was uranium all along. The junkie angle seemed kind of daring for the times, but someone must have chickened out, and made it about spies and espionage instead. Unless, of course, they were snorting that uranium.For two forgettable films, I'll have to give KIT PARKER FILMS props for putting together a nice package. Both films are in a 4X3 aspect ratio, and are only minimally cleaned up, but there are some entertaining extras if one were really into these films. A fellow name Joel Blumberg provides commentary for 'Mask of the Dragon', and quickly gives us the rundown on every no-name and partial name actor that floats across the screen. He has a wealth of detail, although there can only be a handful of people that are that interested. I liked it.There are also some written bios, and a video bio on Sid Melton (the comedy relief in 'Mask'), but you get the same info in the commentary that he gives in the bio. Also there are three vintage trailers, 'Man from Cairo', 'Portland Expose', and 'Motor Patrol', all of which are probably more interesting than the films themselves, though 'Portland Expose' does look like something I might try to find someday. Last there is 'The George Raft Story', which succinctly gave me all the info I think I'll ever need on Mr. Raft.The quality of the extras make me believe that if there were a specific film in this series that someone anxiously wanted to see, then this would be a nice format in which to pick it up. Fortunately, these two films encourage me to take any chances on any of the other 'Forgotten Noir' titles. Two stars for the films, and another half for the extras. But we get to see GIANNA MARIA CANALE , IRENE PAPAS and SHEILA RYAN....so not all is lost!! HAPPY SLEUTHING!!!! This DVD is BRAND NEW...NEVER OPENED...STILL SEALED!!! Will be shipped VERY SECURELY!!!!! Payment thru PayPal THANKS FOR LOOKING!!!!!!

Price: 11.95 USD

Location: Lake Stevens, Washington

End Time: 2024-09-11T00:10:40.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.95 USD