Deadline - U.S.A.

Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: July 26th, 2016.
Director: Richard Brooks
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Ed Begley, Warren Stevens
Year: 1952
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The Movie:

A rare Humphry Bogart starring vehicle that never got a proper VHS or DVD release in the United Sates, 1952's Deadline U.S.A. sees the man playing Ed Hutcheson. Ed lives in New York City where he works as the editor of a newspaper called The New York Day. He's good at his job and takes it pretty seriously, so when he finds out that the heirs of the recently deceased owner are selling the hard-hitting paper to one of their rivals who specialize in softer, less poignant publications, he's understandably upset. He talks to the widow (Ethel Barrymore) about it, but it's no use.

The bright side of getting laid off, at least in Ed's case, is that he'll have time to try to win back the heart of his wife, Nora (Kim Hunter), but of course, that won't be easy. Ed's married to telling the truth, matters of the heart seem to come second to a guy like him. Once one of the reporters behind an expose on a gangster named Tomas Rienzi (Martin Gabel) turns up the victim of a hit, however, all bets are off. Ed isn't going let any of this go without a fight, especially once he comes across some clues that tie the gangster to the unsolved murder of a beautiful woman. However, the clock is ticking… in only a few days The New York Day will change owners and Ed is running out of time.

“20th Century-Fox savagely turns the spotlight of truth on revenge killings that shocked a nation!”

The performances make this work. Bogart is at the top of his game, playing his obsessive newsman with plenty of charm, using that crooked smile and those dark eyes of his to say more than any line of dialogue could convey. He's great here. Tough, smart and determined to the point where it's almost unhealthy, we want his quest for the truth to succeed even if it looks like it's going to cost him his marriage. It's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job in the role. Kim Hunter as said wife is also very good, although she's a bit underused, her story serving as more of a subplot to humanize Bogart's character more than anything else. Ethel Barrymore steals a few scenes here, and seeing she and Bogart share some screen time together will be reason enough for some to seek this out. As to Martin Gabel? He's perfectly villainous as the gangster who, like so many of his ilk, is trying to pass for a legitimate businessman. Ed Begley has a supporting role in the film as well, and also look for a quick early appearance from a young James Dean in a small uncredited role as a copyboy working the newsroom.

Although the story is a product of its time and while it might be hard to grasp the importance of daily printed newspapers in an age dominated by up to the minute updates via social and digital media outlets, Deadline U.S.A. still resonates. The script is smart enough to craft interesting characters, the kind that hook us, pull us in, make us want to know more. At the same time, the film does a fine job of emphasizing the importance of good journalism and in searching out not sensationalist headlines or scandalous gossip, but the little details that make up the bigger picture. It all feels very real, very possible - and if it gets up on a soap box once or twice before it's all over and done with, so be it. The cracking dialogue and quick pace of the film, coupled with some great photography and all of those fine performances make this completely worthwhile.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Deadline U.S.A. debuts on Blu-ray from Kino Studio Classics in a 1.33.1 fullframe transfer presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Detail here is pretty solid and while some minor print damage is present in the form of some small scratches and specks throughout the film, the source used for the transfer was evidently in surprisingly good condition. Grain is present throughout the presentation but it never gets so heavy as to distract from the generally solid detail and texture that the HD transfer offers. Black levels are really nice, quite strong, and contrast looks spot on. All in all this is a sharp and crisp image offering surprisingly good texture and contrast along with strong shadow detail. The movie looks great in HD, there's nothing to object to here at all. Fans should be quite pleased with the visuals on this release.

The English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono Audio track on the disc is pretty good. The score sounds quite strong here and helps to really ramp up the tension in the last twenty minutes or so. The hardboiled dialogue stays crisp and clear, it's never a problem understanding any of the characters. Levels are well balanced and there's as much depth as you could reasonably expect from an older low budget picture. As it is with a lot of older movies, the limitations of the source material do come through, as they should, but this is a clean track that suits the movie just fine and which doesn't suffer from any serious problems. There are no alternate language options or subtitles of any kind offered on this disc.

Film historian Eddie Muller provides the main extra feature on the disc in the form of another excellent and thorough audio commentary. As is the norm with Muller's tracks, this is fascinating stuff. We get all the background information that we could want on director Richard Brooks and plenty of insight into his style and his effectiveness in this particular film. Of course, there's loads of talk about the cast, Bogart in particular, but so too is there some interesting input regarding various real life events working their way into the story, the locations, the importance of the daily newspapers to the era in which the film was made and a lot more. This adds immense value to this release, it's top notch.

Outside of that we get a trailer for the feature, trailers for Shield For Murder and The Captive City, static menus and chapter selection.

The Final Word:

Deadline U.S.A. might not get the respect that a lot of Bogart's better known films do, but don't let that dissuade you - his performance here is perfect. The movie itself is pretty great, a nice mix of social commentary, character development and solid, noirish thrills. Kino's Blu-ray release looks great and sports another great commentary from Eddie Muller. All in all, a great release of film that really deserves a bigger place in Bogart's filmography.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!