Dark Film Mysteries IV DVD review

May 12, 2026- Permalink

Film Chest Media Group has released Dark Film Mysteries IV on DVD. A collection of 12 film noir titles, it has over 17 hours of guns, gangsters, femme fatales, and bad life decisions. The twelve films in this three-disc set are: The Big Combo, Borderline, The Chase, The Second Woman, Too Late for Tears, The Naked Kiss, Please Murder Me!, St. Louis Bank Robbery, Dishonored Lady, The Kennel Murder Case, The Man with the Golden Arm, and The Man Who Cheated Himself. The casts of these dozen movies include Mary Astor, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Lee J. Cobb, Cornel Wilde, Fred MacMurray, Raymond Burr, Robert Cummings, Peter Lorre, Robert Young, Angela Lansbury, and Steve McQueen.

Dark Film Mysteries IV coverart
  • The Big Combo, from 1955, was directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stars Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte and Brian Donlevy, and Jean Wallace alongside Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, and Helen Walker. Wilde plays a police lieutenant obsessed with bringing down a sadistic gangster.
  • Borderline, from 1950, was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor as two agents both working undercover to take down a smuggler (Raymond Burr).
  • The Chase, from 1946, was helmed by Arthur Ripley and stars Robert Cummings, Steve Cochran, Michèle Morgan, and Peter Lorre. Cummings is a veteran with PTSD who ends up as driver for a mobster. Things go further downhill when he tries to help the mobster’s wife get away from her cruel husband.
  • The Second Woman, from 1950, was directed by James V. Kern and stars Robert Young, Betsy Drake, John Sutton, and Florence Bates. Young plays a successful architect whose fiancée died in a mysterious car crash. When a series of accidents begin happening around him, the question arises: Is someone trying to kill him or is his mental state imagining these dangers?
  • Too Late for Tears, released in 1949, was directed by Byron Haskin and stars Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, and Dan Duryea. When a couple has $60,000 tossed in their car, he wants to turn it in and she wants to keep it. She ends up working with a tough guy on her plan, but how will that work out for all involved?
  • The Naked Kiss, a 1964 film directed by Samuel Fuller, stars Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, and Virginia Grey. In this Sixties noir, Fuller explores themes of prostitution, corruption, and child abuse.
  • Please Murder Me!, from 1956, was directed by Peter Godfrey and stars Angela Lansbury, Raymond Burr, and Dick Foran. Burr plays a suave defence attorney who is involved with a woman (Lansbury) accused of murdering her husband. As the case concludes, layers of greed and deception become evident.
  • The St. Louis Bank Robbery, also known as The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery, is a 1959 film directed by Charles Guggenheim that stars Steve McQueen as a college dropout hired as a getaway driver. The film also stars Crahan Denton, David Clarke, and Martha Gaye.
  • Dishonored Lady, a 1947 film directed by Robert Stevenson, stars Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O’Keefe and John Loder, and William Lundigan. Lamarr plays a fashion editor. When a former lover is found dead, she becomes the prime suspect.
  • The Kennel Murder Case, from 1933, was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars William Powell, Mary Astor, and Eugene Pallette. Powell plays detective Philo Vance, who is investigating the murder of a dog show competitor with more enemies than trophies.
  • The Man with the Golden Arm, a 1955 film, was directed by Otto Preminger and stars Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker, and Darren McGavin. Sinatra plays Frankie Machine, a card dealer and recovering addict who finds himself tempted when he’s released from prison. He has dreams for his life, but the old life beckons. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards.
  • The Man Who Cheated Himself, from 1950, was directed by Felix E. Feist and stars Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, and John Dall. Cobb plays a homicide detective, Ed Cullen, who’s romantically entangled with a wealthy socialite. When she kills her abusive husband, Cullen covers it up and attempts to misdirect the investigation.

The twelve films are all presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. They have all fallen into the public domain due to lapsed or incorrect copyright filings and can be found in many outlets in varying states of quality. Film Chest has collected these films into these good budget collections, but as they themselves state in the line notes, the films having varying quality in their source materials. Film Chest has done their best to do some restoration but the films do have some issues. Some have visible scratches. Some scenes have dropped frames. Some of the scenes are very dark and lose detail. While this isn’t a perfect, and expensive, frame by frame restoration done from original negatives, I do applaud Film Chest for curating these film noir films and presenting them in an easily accessible and affordable collection that allows someone exploring film noir to get their foot in the door.

On the audio side of things, the films come with English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtracks. Subtitles are available for English, but note you have to choose the captions from your player’s menu as a subtitles option is not on the DVD menu screen. As with the video, source quality does fluctuate, so the audio does have the occasional hiss and pop.

Dark Film Mysteries IV presents the twelve movies in a three-disc DVD set. There is no digital code and there are no supplemental materials. There is a four-page glossy insert with synopses and poster art. The film posters are also displayed in the DVD menus.

Dark Film Mysteries IV is a budget-friendly way to get an introduction to the film noir genre, giving you twelve films and seventeen hours of entertainment. Yes, the audio and video quality can fluctuate, but I’m still able to tip my hat to Film Chest for compiling these films that most streaming services would just ignore in favour of the latest franchise flick.