Humphrey Bogart Collection Blu-ray review
Mar 12, 2026- Permalink
I like the various actor collections that Warner Archive put out. It’s a great way to see a series of films from one artist. In this case, we’re looking at the Humphrey Bogart Collection Blu-ray, which gives us a sampling of his work including 1940’s They Drive by Night, 1944’s Passage to Marseille, 1945’s Conflict, and 1950’s Chain Lightning. Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Warner Archive, I had a chance to take a look.
Directed by Raoul Walsh, 1940’s They Drive by Night stars George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as two brothers trying to make it in the cutthroat trucking industry. Along the way they encounter dangerous roads and a more dangerous woman. The cast also includes Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Gale Page, and Alan Hale Sr.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Based off a 4K scan of the original negative, the Blu-ray transfer has great clarity and detail from the facial features of the actors to the costumes on their backs. Blacks are deep and everything in the grayscale to the whitest whites looks good. The image doesn’t show any source scratches and digital artifacts and there’s a nice level of film grain.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The mono soundtrack is mixed well, with room for the score and clear dialogue.
The Blu-ray does not come with a digital code. We get a 44 minute radio play adaptation where Raft is joined by Lana Turner and Lucille Ball. “Divided Highway: The Story of They Drive by Night” examines the film and filmmakers with commentary by film historians Leonard Maltin and Robert Osborne and Bogart biographer Eric Lax. We also get the 1938 Technicolor short “Swingtime in the Movies”, a spoof where a frazzled director is working on a Western. Bogart appears in a cameo. Finally, there’s the theatrical trailer.
1944’s Passage to Marseille is directed by Michael Curtiz, who had worked with Bogart on Casablanca two years earlier. Through a series of flashbacks, we follow the story of newspaper publisher Jean Matrac, who had been framed for murder and sentenced to the prison on Devil’s Island. He and four others manage a daring escape and get picked up by a French ship just as France surrenders to the Nazis. Will Matrac be handed over to the Vichy government collaborators or will he be able to join the Free French resistance? Bogart is joined in the cast by Claude Rains, Michèle Morgan, Philip Dorn, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Helmut Dantine, John Loder, and Victor Francen.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Warner Archive’s transfer is from a 2K scan and it looks great. First off, kudos to the film’s design team and cinematographer James Wong Howe, who made a replica ship on a California soundstage look like it was shot on location. Details are sharp, though there is some softness when rear projection effects shots are used, but that’s the technology of the day. The image has a wide grayscale from deep blacks to crisp whites. There are no compression artifacts and it’s just a lovely presentation.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Despite its age, the soundtrack is absent of any issues. Dialogue is clear and the effects pack a punch. Max Steiner’s score also sounds great.
The movie does not come with a digital code. One extra, called “Warner Night at the Movies” contains 5 short pieces: a trailer for Uncertain Glory with Errol Flynn and Paul Lukas, newsreel footage of female Marines in training, the short “I Won’t Play” which stars Dane Clark as a soldier telling his buddies tales about Hollywood, “Jammin’ the Blues”, another short featuring a jazz jam session, and “The Weakly Reporter”, a Merrie Melody cartoon directed by Chuck Jones that spoofs war-time newsreels. Other extras include “The Free French: Unsung Victors”, which has historians giving us some context about the Free French resistance, “Breakdowns” which is a series of gag reels from various films, and finally the theatrical trailer.
Curtis Bernhardt’s 1945 film noir, Conflict, which stars Bogart, Alexis Smith, and Sydney Greenstreet, sees Bogart play an unhappily married husband who is accused by his wife (Rose Hobart) of loving her sister (Smith). When his wife dies after he sends her ahead on a trip, he begins to see signs that she may still be alive.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Warner Archive did the transfer from a 4K scan of the original negative. Details in faces, hair, clothing and locations are sharp. The grayscale is wide from deep blacks that still show detail all the way to light reflections on cars and rainy streets. The film grain is refined and natural.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear and overall there’s only the occasional bit of hiss. The score adds weight to this moody thriller.
There’s no digital code for this movie. We get a trailer plus two Technicolor Merrie Melodies shorts: “Life With Feathers”, which marks the debut of Sylvester the Cat and “Trap Happy Porky” which features our porcine hero trying to outwit a cat and mouse who won’t let him sleep. We also get two Knox Manning narrated shorts: “Peeks at Hollywood” which has two young women stargazing for Hollywood stars and “Are Animals Actors?” which features animal acts. Finally, we get “Theater of Romance”, a radio play adaptation of Conflict also starring Bogart.
Finally, the collection contains 1950’s Chain Lightning, directed by Stuart Heisler. It’s an aviation adventure with Bogart as Lt. Colonel Matthew “Matt” Brennan, a retired WWII bomber pilot who accepts a job as a test pilot of an experimental high-speed fighter jet. Along the way, Brennan also reunites with a WWII flame, Jo (Eleanor Parker), who works for the owner of the aircraft company played by Raymond Massey. Will Brennan crash in either situation? The aviation sections are part of that early Cold War era “look at our power and science” battle between the USA and USSR. It’s interesting to note that the story of the film is credited to J. Redmond Prior. That was a pseudonym for the blacklisted writer Lester Cole, a member of the so-called “Hollywood Ten”, a group of writers who were blacklisted by the studios after they refused to answer questions about left-wing affiliations before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Cole’s credit was officially restored by the Writers Guild in 1997. I digress a bit here, but if you want to understand Hollywood and the era Chain Lightning was made in, that’s a rabbit hole to jump down.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The detail in the transfer is sharp, from the faces to the textiles and locations. The grayscale moves easily from inky blacks to crisp whites. There’s one scene where the highlights off Jo’s sequinned purse are so crisp and bright. There’s rarely any digital artifacts to speak of. It just looks really good.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The soundtrack has a wide range, taking us from the roaring jet engine of the fighter plan to quiet moments between Bogart and Parker. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.
There is no digital code for this movie. In terms of extras, Warner Archive have included “Bear Feat”, a Technicolor Looney Tunes cartoon featuring the trio of Henry, Mama, and Junyer Bear as they try to become a circus act. We get the Joe McDoakes short “So You Want to Be an Actor”. Oart of a series of shorts that always sees McDoakes (George O’Hanlon) “behind the eight ball”, this one sees our hero trying to be an actor. The final extra is the film’s theatrical trailer.
I like these Warner Archive collections and the Humphrey Bogart Collection Blu-ray gives someone just learning about the actor a starter pack of four of his films from different times of his career. They all have great audio and video presentations and a nice selection of extras. Recommended.