Tonight's Movie: Outside the Wall (1950) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

It's time to review another film from the Kino Lorber Dark Side of Cinema XII collection!

As I circle through the many excellent Dark Side of Cinema volumes, I hope my reviews will serve as reminders of how many interesting "underseen" films are included in these collections. As I think my reviews over time will support, classic film fans should pick up each and every Dark Side of Cinema box.

I previously reviewed UNDERTOW (1949) from this collection. Today I watched OUTSIDE THE WALL (1950), which I had previously seen several years ago, at the 2016 Noir City Film Festival. Indeed, the commentary track on this Blu-ray disc is by the Film Noir Foundation's Alan K. Rode, whose tracks are always excellent.

I enjoyed OUTSIDE THE WALL as much on this viewing as I did in 2016. The story, about an ex-con trying to stay on the straight and narrow, may be somewhat familiar, but it's also unpredictable and has some interesting plot turns. I also really like the cast.

Richard Basehart plays Larry Nelson, released from prison 15 years after accidentally killing someone as a teenager.

Like Steve Cochran in the following year's TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY (1951), Larry initially has trouble adjusting to the "outside world." He's innocent about things like dealing with women, while on the other hand his prison experiences have made him physically formidable despite his average build.

Larry quickly leaves big city life in Philadelphia in order to work at a quiet small-town TB sanitarium. While there he meets two nurses, scheming Charlotte (Marilyn Maxwell) and kindhearted Ann (Dorothy Hart), in whom Larry eventually confides.

Larry's plans for a period of gradual readjustment to normal life working at the sanitarium are disrupted by the arrival of an incognito -- and very ill -- gangster, Jack Bernard (John Hoyt). Bernard's cronies (including Harry Morgan) want to know where Bernard has stashed some loot and will stop at nothing to find it...

This is a diverting 80 minutes with a strong cast. Along with the names already mentioned, the movie features Signe Hasso, Mickey Knox, Lloyd Gough, and future Universal Pictures director Joseph Pevney, who plays an obnoxious orderly.

Peggie Castle shows up very briefly as a roadhouse waitress; her disinterested character serving up "horse's necks" somewhat echoes Janet Shaw's deadpan Louise in SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943).

Basehart and Hart are each quite sympathetic and give the audience characters to connect with. Hart is a real favorite of mine, and I'm always a bit sad that she left acting in 1955.

Maxwell was only 29 when this was released but looks far worse for the wear, though it fits the character. I would have guessed she was 40. Maxwell was only 51 when she died of a heart attack.

Hoyt has a particularly interesting part as a terrible person who has moments where he's strangely sympathetic, and Morgan plays the type of psycho henchman he essayed several times during this phase of his career.

Hasso is seen only briefly in the second half of the film, but she similarly conveys a very wicked woman in her limited screen time. This is the third film I've seen her in this month, following A DOUBLE LIFE (1947), in which she was most impressive, and TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (1948).

OUTSIDE THE WALL was written and directed by Crane Wilbur, who I recently learned was the cousin of Tyrone Power. The movie was filmed in black and white by Irving Glassberg.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray is from a new 2K master. The picture and sound quality are both great.

In addition to the previously mentioned commentary track, there is a trailer gallery for three other films which are also available from Kino Lorber.

The final film in this set is HOLD BACK TOMORROW (1955).

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

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