D.O.A.
by Rudolph Mat?
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DVD details
Actor: Beverly Garland, Edmond O'Brien, Luther Adler, Lynn Baggett, Pamela BrittonDirector: Rudolph Mat?
Cinematographer: Ernest Laszlo
Editor: Arthur H. Nadel
Producer: Harry M. Popkin
Producer: Joseph H. Nadel
Producer: Leo C. Popkin
Writer: Clarence Greene
Writer: Russell Rouse
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 83 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-03-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of D.O.A.
DVD Review: The Film Noir Without Peer!
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd love to give this wonderful film full marks(as it deserves),but this DVD release comes up a bit short on the technical and the extras side,as you will see.
D.O.A.,directed by Rudolp Mate'(his directorial debut)is my favourite film noir of all I have seen and the passage of time has not diminished its' punch at all.
It concerns the story of a notary public/accountant by the name of Frank Bigelow(Edmund O'Brien).The film opens with the camera following him into a Los Angeles police station.Like the last mile,he is walking through(and has walked)very long and windy corridors to reach the exact room and this moment.When he enters he explains in a very low key but deliberate manner that he wants to report a murder.When asked whose murder,he replies that it is HIS!!He proceeds to relate his story which now turns into the rest of the film.Just a few days previously he had flown to San Francisco for a weekend away,leaving behind his secretary and fiancee Paula(Pamela Britton).He has mixed feelings about their relationship and after checking into the St Francis Hotel(the very same hotel Roscoe Arbuckle was falsely accused of raping Virginia Rappe'in,that turned into the trial of the century!),he is already eyeing the pretty girls that are awash around him.Accompanied to his room by the bellhop(Jerry Paris,better known in later years as Dick Van Dyke's dentist neighbour Jerry on the show of the same name),he gets settled in and before he knows it is invited to a party across the hall.So involved does he become that he is soon invited out with the group to a local jazz bar,The Fisherman(watch for a quick shot of actor Hugh O'Brian-no relation to the star- sitting at a table).There the music is hot and so is one man's wife whose attention to Bigelow has the attendant husband a little on the jealous side.To get away from her Bigelow sidles up to the bar and orders a drink.Spying another lovely lady he goes and sits next to her.Realizing he has left his drink he asks the bartender to fetch it over to him.A man with his back to the camera in an overcoat,spotted scarf and with a hat who was on a seat behind Bigelow when he first came up to the bar,switches his drink.When the bartender grabs the drink the unknown man gets up and leaves.Bigelow takes a swig of the drink and realizes right off something is not right.Another swig and he asks for another one.He returns to his suite and next morning is feeling off.He goes to a doctor who confirms to a totally shocked Bigelow that he has ingested some kind of toxic luminous poison and he has only a couple of days to a week on the outside to live.In disbelief he seeks out another opinion at a local hospital only to have the same diagnosis confirmed.When Bigelow says that he has no idea as to how he came to ingest the liquid the doctor says the police must be called as this is now a murder! He runs from the hospital and at one point he stops and leans up against a newsstand(watch for the "Life" magazines placed deliberately beside him!)to catch his breath and weigh his options.He comes to the realization that he must and WILL find out what happened to him,why and just who is responsible.From here the movie takes him from one lead to another,some false some positive.Here is a man that was leading a rather mundane life and in fact was unsure about anything really,including himself.Now we see that though he is dying he is more alive with self realization and purpose than he has ever been before.As he tracks down his killer he goes full tilt as he is in essence a dead man walking with nothing to lose.I won't give away the ending to this film but Bigelow finds himself being shot at,kidnapped and almost murdered for the answers he is seeking and through much tribulation,finally succeeds in finding out the answers to the entire bizarre situation.
A secretary at an import/export business he attends run by one Halliday(William Ching),is none other than Beverly Garland(here Beverly Campbell);the on-TV future husband of Fred McMurray in My Three Sons.And Chester,a thug on the payroll of a local gangster/businessman Majak (Luther Adler),is played with a beautiful sadistic/psychotic twist by Neville Brand.
From the first unique opening and set up of this movie,this film has you in its' grip.You're with Bigelow from the beginning to the very end, empathizing with him,urging him on and are watching him asking the same questions and behaving in the same manner you might if you were in his shoes.They certainly could not have cast anyone better than Edmund O'Brien to play the lead.It is filled with gritty,sometimes erotic,some heart wrenching and some violent moments all wrapped in a mood of constant desperation as Bigelow tries to find answers;answers he MUST and will have.Just a wonderful film from beginning to end.
On the technical side of things the outside packaging tells us this print was made from a negative in the possession of the producer,Leo Popkin.I would like to know if this was a camera negative negative or a negative from(what generation) a print.I suspect the latter as this film, while good in contrast and generally fairly crisp,does have its' less than stellar moments.It can be a little on the scratchy/dirty side at times quite grainy.Also there is a very short scene where Bigelow confronts Beverly Garland just outside her office later in the picture; the film is suddenly washed out and the sound is not good.In the next scene in the office the picture is back to normal.It seems the producers' negative was missing this scene so it was inserted from a rather poor source.Besides this is the issue of the extras:simply said,there are NONE.This a bare bones release and I don't think they should be asking the price they are for it.
In concluding then,because of the technical deficiencies,I unfortunately have to deduct one star.However this is the best print available at this time and it is well worth getting,if the cost doesn't bother you.The film unfortunately fell into the public domain sometime I believe in the late 70s.It was made for a very small independent company originally but picked up and distributed by United Artists.It is quite possible MGM,who now own the UA catalogue,may come out one day with a very fine print for us to savour;we'll cross our fingers.
In the meantime there are very few film noirs that can come up to the level this film gets to in my opinion.It's a sharp,smart and gritty film that grabs you from its' first few minutes and never lets go.If you like the film noir genre or just dig a great suspense filled thriller/action picture then there can be no other film to get than D.O.A.!
DVD Review: A Better Print Helps This Unique Noir Story
Summary: 4 Stars
When I started watching all the film noirs I could find, I was a bit disappointed in this. However, after three viewings I now find it decent. It's nothing super, but certainly better than what I though at first. A big help is having a better print of the film. This is one of those movies that always had a poor VHS quality transfer and many times the same on DVD.
Finding a good print is hard, although I finally got a decent one with the "Killer Classic DVD set" that includes this movie.
The story is not always easy to follow even though the premise is very simple. A man discovers he has been poisoned and there is no hope for recovery. Before he dies, he retraces his steps to find out who "murdered him" (even though he's still alive when saying that) and why.
The story gets a bit complicated. Like a Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan mystery, there are a number of suspects that keep popping up. Many of them are hard to figure.
This is an odd film noir for several quirky things in this movie. The lead character, "Frank Bigelow" (Edmund O'Brien), is strange and kind of stupid in the beginning. There are a half dozen of these dumb whistle-like wolf call sound-effects that come out every time he sees a pretty woman. It just doesn't fit in a tough film noir. Then there is his possessive girlfriend/secretary "Paula," (Pamela Britton) who is constantly calling him and paranoid about his whereabouts. She acts more like an insecure, nagging wife but she obviously cares a great deal about him. But, man, give the poor guy some space!
The dialog in this film ranges from incredibly stupid to very clever and solid film noir material.
We also see one of the most sadistic people I have ever seen on film: "Chester," played by the nasty-looking Neville Brand. Wow, is this guy sick or what? He reminded me of "Vera" (Ann Savage) in "Detour." Those two would have made an interesting couple! Brand's character is only interested in one thing in life: inflicting pain and the slower and more brutal, the better.
Anyway, if you find a good print, tolerate some of the goofy things in the film, this is an interesting film noir that gets better with each viewing, as you understand the story better.
DVD Review: One of the best film noirs not from Warner or Fox
Summary: 5 Stars
DOA is one of my favorite Film Noirs with Edmund O'Brien & Beverly Garland - told in flashback its a dark depressing tale, with no happy ending in sight (or is there?) There is a lot of action suspense, a great story, well written. A great who done it, just a great film...highly recommended. My favorite Edmund O Brien movie, where he plays a victim whose life is doomed after drinking a drink that contained a poison that will kill him. How he finds out who did this and what happens before the inevitable is just outstanding. Great SF & LA locations. If you want to get this on DVD look for the Roan Group one. It has an intro with the late Beverly Garland. I was told the Alpha DVD has a decent print too, but Roan is easily better. Image has a DVD of it out there as well that is slightly (just a tad) cleaner than the Roan Group. I would still get the Roan Group DVD for the Beverly Garland intro. DVD Review: Great Film Noir
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the best film noir flicks of all-time (along with The Killers). DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH THE REMAKE!! The film stars our unattractive hero, O'Brien, as the man who has been poisoned and is told he has only 24 hours to live. He has no idea who did it and spends almost the entire film tracking down the dirty rat that done him in. It's amazing how many wonderful noir films O'Brien appeared in over the years.
The pacing is good, acting top-rate and very noir-ish, and it manages to pull so much out of a very simple plot with minimal sets. In other words, it gives a fantastic "bang for the buck" and modern filmmakers would really benefit from learning a lesson or two from DOA.
DVD Review: Classic Film-Noir...
Summary: 5 Stars
Some films, like people, "wear" better than others. For me, "Shawshank Redemption " is a film I like better each time I've viewed after its original release; conversely, "Forrest Gump" is one I've never enjoyed as much subsequently as I did initially.
"DOA" is one which I've grown to like more each time I've seen it over the years.
Edmund O'Brien was an actor who was often the 2nd or 3rd male lead, portraying characters who were a friend, confidante or adversary of the primary star(s). And where he was the lead, as in "DOA," it was usually a lower-budget work. However, his performances were always well-done, and provided convincing portrayals of the characters assigned.
"DOA" provides the nostalgic, "noir" feeling of this type of drama, as filmed 5 or 6 decades ago. Viewed now, in addition to an interesting story and plot, it provides an often amusing glimpse of the way stories were approached, and techniques utilized -- then, versus the way they'd be done today. (The supposed remake of this film - with Dennis Quade - is far below the level of this film, despite have today's technical advantages. It bears a resemblance to this original solely in that the lead male ingests the fatal substance early-on, and the plot deals with the dilemma and how he addresses it.)
In this film, O'Brien is the sole proprietor of a small bookkeeping service, with only a "gal Friday" in his employ, in the southern California town of Banning, who has misfortune upon visiting San Francisco.
And it is not his primary function of keeping books and doing taxes which generates his problem -- it is his collateral function as (of all things!) a notary public which brings his serious problem upon him (and can anything be more "serious" than having been slipped a fatal "mickey" for which there is no antidote??).
Edmund scurries around San Francisco to seek the perpetrator of his impending demise, moving about like a Sikh running barefoot over a bed of hot coals. There are several over-the-top, slightly cornball aspects to his character's actions, as well as with regard to other characters and his interaction with them. Neville Brand plays the psychotic, hotheaded goon to perfection (also with humor as well as malice) the kind of role for which this character actor was perfect.
The scene where his hotel room is adjacent to convention revelers, with the married lady trying to seduce him, is hilarious, These folks looked like, say, a group of small-town convenience store owners, loose for the first time in the big city.
I've been to the "Bay Area" on extended visits a few times, and while the traffic and overall bustle might have been a bit less in this film than I encountered in later years -- from my experience in this crowded, busy city, it would have taken Edmund's character about two weeks to have done all the hurrying and scurrying, and visiting all his many destinations, whereas he accomplished all of this in a matter of hours in this story.
Still, a very entertaining movie, with these features adding to the enjoyment of its story.
Description of D.O.A.
A businessman who has been given a lethal dose of radium by a hired assassin tracks down his killer in a chase through the streets of Los Angeles.A faceless figure marches down an endless hallway as dark, driving music underscores his doom. It's stocky, stalwart Edmond O'Brien, who plows through the police detective's office like he's got nothing to lose. "I want to report a murder," he demands, grim and sleepy-eyed. Who was killed? "I was." It's a brilliant opening to a memorable film noir classic. O'Brien is a CPA who flees his dull job and small California town for a wild weekend in San Francisco, only to be poisoned and doomed to certain death. With only days to live, his incredulity morphs into a searing drive to find his killers and stinging regrets for what might have been. O'Brien is a familiar noir face, but he usually plays figures of authority: a cop in White Heat; an investigator in The Killers. He's a little stiff here, but his blunt, unglamorous persona is perfect for the Everyman who is randomly visited by death. Rudolph Mat?, a cinematographer turned director, moves from sun-bright day scenes to busy nighttime locations with few visual flourishes, but when he takes the camera into the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco the film is energized with a gritty, restless vigor. It's one of the most relentlessly dark films noir ever made--taut, edgy, and low budget. Watch for the Bradbury building in the film's climax, made famous by its memorable use decades later in the sci-fi noir classic Blade Runner. --Sean Axmaker
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