Kino Lorber unleashes their second volume of forgotten film noir classics with Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema II which includes three distinctly different titles from the 1950s, including Thunder on the Hill (1951), The Price of Fear (1956) and The Female Animal (1958), each containing their own notable nuggets among their cast members and directors.

The gem of the collection is Thunder on the Hill, a 1951 melodrama from Douglas Sirk, which by comparison’s standards is noir-light. The German émigré is of course most noted for a string of 1950s melodramas which would set the inspirational standards for a host of future international auteurs, with items such as Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955), Written on the Wind (1956), and his 1959 swan song Imitation of Life (the first and last of those being remakes of John M. Stahl films).

The 1940s saw Sirk, previously Detlef Sierck, delivering several obscure noirs, including the Lucille Ball headlined Lured (1947). Here, Sirk reunites with Claudette Colbert, who previously starred in his noir Sleep, My Lovely (1948). Of the four titles he released in 1951, Thunder, based on a play by Charlotte Hastings, finds Colbert as the empathetic nun Sister Mary Bonaventure in Norfolk County England, who, while during flood season finds herself drawn to murderess Valerie Cairns (Ann Blyth of Mildred Pierce, here twinning with Natalie Portman). Cairns is stuck at a convent hospital during the storm while Sister Mary sets out to prove her innocence before it’s too late. Glady Cooper also stars as, of course, a miserable Mother Superior.

Next up, The Price of Fear is perhaps the purest example of film noir in the collection, one of a handful of films directed by actor Abner Biberman (of His Girl Friday, 1940) in the 1950s. Merle Oberon is cast against type as a successful business woman Jessica who runs a man over while drunk driving only to flee the scene. As she resolves to call the police, she crosses paths with Dave (Lex Barker), a man who co-owns a dog racing track the mob wants to muscle in on and steals her car in his effort to avoid his own dilemma. This gives Jessica an excellent alibi, but when the police try to pin a murder on Dave that happened across town the same time as the car’s theft, too many open-ended questions force Jessica to build a faux romance with Dave. But things get complicated. The title was shot by Irving Glassberg (of Sirk’s The Tarnished Angels). Previously, this title was included in the noir collection Women in Danger: 1950s Thrillers from Universal.

Lastly, 1958’s The Female Animal is perhaps an example of how noir went to seed, demanding new permutations of neo-noir by the 1960s. Premiering on a double bill with the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil (the B-side picture), it would be the last on-screen appearance of Hedy Lamarr, here starring as fading Hollywood star Vanessa Windsor. When she’s saved from an accident on the set of her latest film by handsome extra Chris Farley (George Nader), she forces a one-sided affair on the lusty neophyte. But Farley has eyes for her alcoholic daughter Penny (Jane Powell in her first non-singing role). To escape them both, Farley accepts a gig on a Mexican film about man-eating orchids. Tawdry and salacious for its time, it’s hardly the titillating extravaganza of Lamarr’s signature role in 1933’s Ecstasy.

Nader isn’t enigmatic enough to capture the attentions of either woman (with Lamarr not being old enough to be Powell’s mother), and the role was originally meant for John Gavin (known for his supporting role in Psycho and who would headline Sirk’s A Time to Love and a Time to Die, 1958). Still, The Female Animal does offer a wicked, entertaining appearance for Jan Sterling as another fading star vying to steal the dwindling limelight and the men from Vanessa.

Thunder on the Hill (1951)
Film Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆

The Price of Fear (1956)
Film Rating: ★★½/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆

The Female Animal (1958)
Film Rating: ★★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆