Tonight's Movie: Cloak and Dagger (1946) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

I'm gearing back up on disc reviews following my recent time off!

First up is Fritz Lang's CLOAK AND DAGGER (1946) from Kino Lorber's newly released Dark Side of Cinema XXI collection.

I previously reviewed the same set's SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955), which I thoroughly enjoyed, and CLOAK AND DAGGER was another winner for me.

CLOAK AND DAGGER is a lesser-known film which is considered by many to be "minor Lang," but I seem to like minor Lang films, another example being the following year's SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR (1947).

CLOAK AND DAGGER was produced by United States Pictures and released by Warner Bros. It's interesting to note that the story bears considerable resemblance to O.S.S. (1946), a Paramount Pictures film released the very same year, including featuring a multinational group of spies and a similarly uncertain ending. O.S.S. starred Alan Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald.

In CLOAK AND DAGGER Gary Cooper plays Professor Alvah Jesper, a nuclear scientist recruited by the O.S.S. to travel to Switzerland and make contact with a Hungarian counterpart (Helene Thimig) who has been working on a nuclear bomb with the Germans but has escaped into Switzerland. The Allies are hoping to learn the extent of German progress towards a bomb.

Although Jesper makes his initial contact with the scientist, she is tragically killed, and Jesper is next instructed to travel to Italy and make contact with another physicist (Vladimir Sokoloff).

While in Italy Jesper is aided by underground fighters Pinkie (Robert Alda) and Gina (Lilli Palmer). During the perilous mission Jesper and Gina begin to fall for one another.

As evidenced by its similarity to O.S.S., this is a fairly standard WWII spy story, but I nonetheless found it engaging and enjoyed watching it. It's a well-paced, interesting story with appealing lead actors.

I can run hot and cold on Cooper, but he struck me as just right here for a mild-mannered man of science turned action man in service of his country. Cooper believably develops from a man at home on a university campus to someone who must kill to survive. He would later play a somewhat similar character as a man who unexpectedly finds himself commanding a ship during the war in YOU'RE IN THE NAVY NOW (1951).

Earlier this year I really liked Lilli Palmer in my first viewing of BODY AND SOUL (1947), which incidentally I'll be revisiting soon thanks to Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray release. CLOAK AND DAGGER is my second Palmer film, and I continued to very much enjoy her; she's moving as a woman whose wartime work and losses have understandably left her emotionally troubled.

Second-billed Alda is dashing as an underground fighter but doesn't have much back story to speak of; he adds some color, but for the most part the movie relies on Cooper and Palmer's relationship developing against its wartime backdrop to carry this 106-minute film.

A trio of actors from the recently reviewed CONFLICT (1945) appear in the film, including Marjorie Hoshelle (seen here), Patrick O'Moore, and James Flavin. The cast is rounded out by Dan Seymour, Marc Lawrence, and J. Edward Bromberg. Among the bit players in the large cast are Robert Coote, Lex Barker, Rory Mallinson, Janet Shaw, and Ross Ford.

The script was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Albert Maltz based on a book about the O.S.S. cowritten by novelist Alistair MacLean. It was filmed in black and white by Sol Polito. The movie has an evocative score by Max Steiner.

Kino Lorber's print is from an HD master from a 4K scan. The print occasionally has faint vertical lines but overall is quite acceptable, especially given the film's relative rarity. I did note that I had to turn the sound on my TV up much higher than normal in order to hear the dialogue well.

Extras consist of a commentary track by Heath Holland (Cereal at Midnight) and Max Allan Collins, plus a gallery of three trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

It's worth noting that the cover art for the Blu-ray case insert, seen in the image near the bottom of this post, is especially outstanding.

CLOAK AND DAGGER may not be "film noir," per se, but who cares when we have the chance to own it for home viewing thanks to its inclusion in this set?! I liked it very much.

I'll be reviewing the final film in this collection, SHORT CUT TO HELL (1957), at a future date.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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