black angel edge of the axe

An obscure title from Universal sure to satisfy film noir fans, 1946's Black Angel stars Dan Duryea as Martin Blair, a lovesick alcoholic songwriter whose ex-wife winds up murdered in her penthouse apartment. The guy fingered for the crime is sent to death row, but his wife, Catherine (June Vincent), searches desperately for clues that will clear his name. Blair agrees to help, taking her under his wing as a nightclub act to get information on the owner, Marko (Peter Lorre), who was also at the scene of the crime. Together they race the clock to stop an innocent man from facing the electric chair.

Based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich (whose Phantom Lady has a similar ticking clock structure), director Roy William Neill's picture has a great time doling out alibis and red herrings. Of course, Lorre's character is the prime suspect and the actor delivers his deadpan performance with cigarette-dangling panache. But Duryea, who played mostly psychos and heavies throughout his career, keeps the audience off-balance with equal aplomb.

There is a pair of catchy songs, some creative camerawork (check out that opening miniature effect!) and a cast full of reliable character actors who elevate the movie all around. The only hiccup is a slow-burning climax that limps to the finish line just when things should be getting frantic. Otherwise, this is a noir people should be getting excited about.

Arrow Films' new restoration is as good as it gets: a pristine B & W transfer that really pops with detail. Extras include a detailed commentary by Alan K. Rode and a rather rambling video appreciation by film historian Neil Sinyard, plus a trailer, stills, promotional material and illustrated collector's booklet.

A slick Spanish-lensed slasher from Jose' Larraz, better known for his atmospheric horror like Vampyres and Symptoms, 1988's Edge of the Axe plays like work for hire, which is exactly what it is. But that doesn't mean this bloody who-dun-it doesn't have a few things to recommend it to fans desperate for more undiscovered masked killer flicks from the '80s.

Gerald is a suspiciously quiet computer nerd who falls hard for Christina, a waitress at the local bar / restaurant / bait n' tackle store (again, Spain subbing in for California). But the quiet mountain town has been hit with a rash of axe murders and everyone is a suspect. A clueless Sheriff tries to keep things quiet while the script meticulously knocks off every secondary character in sight, saving up for a big psychological twist ending.

Edge of the Axe does a competent job of structuring its almost giallo-like plot, although the final reveal calls into question the body double hired to play the blank-masked killer. The kill scenes are satisfyingly original (as much as the budget allows) and Larraz seems to find the beauty in their brutality. But the sheer number of one-and-done suspects, most who never interact with one another, is almost laughable, pointing at a pieced together foreign production trying to make the most of its multi-national cast (Fred Holliday's dialogue as the Sheriff is particularly painful and useless to the overall narrative). That said, the American leads are likable in a late '80s way, surrounding themselves with pop-culture detritus (Coca Cola Classic, Max Headroom posters) but never suspecting they'd be part of it themselves.

Arrow Video's new 2K restoration will likely defy any expectation you have about how good this film could look; it makes the quickie hack-n-slash entry look far flashier than you'd expect. There's an English or Spanish option along with interviews with lead actor Barton Faulks and effects artist Colin Arthur. You also get two commentary tracks, one from Faulks again (an excitable guy who seems to have found a new appreciation for his underground fame) and another from The Hysteria Continues podcast. First pressing buyers also get a collectors booklet with new writing on the film.