Five Film Noir Claics Coming to DVD For First Time Ever from Turner Claic Movies-

Five film noir classics from Columbia Pictures are coming to DVD for the first time ever in the latest home video collection from Turner Classic Movies (TCM), The Film Foundation and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The fourth in an ongoing series of film noir collections, Film Noir Classics IV includes five feature films - So Dark the Night (1946), Johnny OClock (1947), Walk a Crooked Mile (1948), Between Midnight and Dawn (1950) and Walk East on Beacon (1952) - each of which has been fully restored and remastered. The collection features a special video introduction by Academy Award -winning director and Film Foundation founder Martin Scorsese. Available only through TCMs online store (http://shop.tcm.com), Film Noir Classics IV will be released as part of the TCM Vault Collection on Sept. 16. The films in the collection showcase the work of Joseph H. Lewis, Robert Rossen, Gordon Douglas and Alfred L. Werker, directors who were masters at creating taut and atmospheric visions from morally-strained hard-boiled stories. The collection also highlights the genre-defining cinematography of Burnett Guffey and George E. Diskant and iconic performances by such film noir mainstays as Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb, Dennis OKeefe and Edmond OBrien, who each excelled at revealing the raw heart that beat beneath noirs tough exteriors.

Complete descriptions of the movies in the Film Noir Classics IV collection are included below.

Film Noir Classics IV

So Dark the Night (1946)

Director Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy, 1950) established his reputation as a talented stylist by wrangling a complicated story - of a Parisian detective (Steven Geray) who falls in love while on vacation, only to see the woman murdered - into a taut and atmospheric film noir. Overcoming the challenges of recreating the French countryside in Canoga Park, Calif., and working with a cast of virtual unknowns, Lewis and noir cinematographer extraordinaire Burnett Guffey craft one of the genres great surprise endings, inspiring such films as Possessed (1948) and Memento (2000).

Johnny OClock (1947)

Johnny OClock (Dick Powell) is a junior partner in a posh casino with Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez), but hes senior in the eyes of Nelle (Ellen Drew), Guidos wife and Johnnys ex. This love triangle leads to a web of complications, leaving Police Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb) to unravel the threads of deceit and a murdered casino employees sister (Evelyn Keyes) to tug on Johnnys heartstrings before its too late. Applying Raymond Chandlers dictum that a good plot is an excuse for a series of exciting scenes, rookie director Robert Rossen strings together tense vignettes, brought vividly to life by cinematographer Burnett Guffey.

Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)Director Gordon Douglas drew on mounting anti-Communist hysteria to create one of the first Cold War films - the tale of an FBI agent (Dennis OKeefe) and a Scotland Yard detective (Louis Hayward) who must bust a spy ring led by a ruthless agent (Raymond Burr) working to infiltrate an atomic research facility. Producer Eddie Small stood tall in a battle against FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to produce the film without interference, arguing the Bureau was fair game for fictionalization. But Hoover had the last word, writing The New York Times to say the FBI had not sanctioned the film.

Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)

Dan Purvis (Edmund OBrien) and Rocky Barnes (Mark Stevens) are lifelong pals who survived WWII and continue their armed service as uniformed prowl car boys on the night shift in L.A. But their friendship is tested by their ongoing battle with a ruthless racketeer (Donald Buka), the love they share for a beautiful radio announcer (Gale Storm) and Dans uncompromising and exaggerated sense of justice. Often seen as the first example of the now commonplace buddy cop movie, this film demonstrates that the genre has always been rife with tension.

Walk East on Beacon (1952)

The Red Scare had reached a fever pitch when director Alfred L. Werker (He Walked by Night, 1948) adapted this tale of Communist spies stealing secrets about the Manhattan Project. The source material was a Readers Digest article by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and the movie shares Hoovers obsession with surveillance, creating an atypical noir focused on technology rather than obsessed with character psychology. The film makes abundant use of location shooting throughout the northeast, thus providing a rare snapshot of an era in American life - its physical locations and its mental state.

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. TCM, which is available in more than 85 million homes, features the insights of hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. Currently in its 20th year as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials; film series like The Essentials, hosted by Robert Osborne and Drew Barrymore, and Friday Night Spotlight; and annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar in February, Summer Under the Stars in August and TCM Essentials Jr. during the summer. TCM also connects with movie fans through such events as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the TCM Classic Cruise and the annual Road to Hollywood tour, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City. In addition, TCM produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs, and hosts a wealth of online through the TCM website, which includes the TCM Movie Database, message boards, blogs and more.

TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. Turner Broadcasting creates and programs branded news;

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