Overview: Two hard-hitting examples of the Film-noir genre, with newly restored HD versions, for the price of one!

Borderline - Two undercover agents embed themselves inside a Mexican drug-smuggling operation--each completely unaware that the other is working the same case.

D.O.A. - D.O.A. is the classic drama of suspense with Edmond O’Brien giving one of his finest performances. O’Brien plays, Frank Bigelow, a real-estate salesman whose life suddenly turns into a bizarre nightmare after he is mistakenly poisoned while on a business trip.

Blu-ray Verdict: Up first is Borderline (1950) - a crime thriller with a hint of sardonic humor starring Claire Trevor and Fred MacMurray. Trevor is a police officer (who is proficient in Spanish) who’s just been assigned to a high profile case of drug smuggling south of the border where she will infiltrate the drug peddlers crew, run by Raymond Burr, as a dancer at a club but her aim is set on the trafficker, played by MacMurray.

What Trevor doesn’t know is that MacMurray works for the government (with ties to the Mexican police) who’s out to get Burr as well but when Trevor comes into their orbit, and even though he starting to fall for her, he has to do his duty. So at the end of all this, she has to go down as they undergo a series of misadventures (one humorously with them catching a plane from Mexico to California); with the ever-present question mark over the heads (will they each come clean to each other before something goes wrong?) lingers right until the very end.

Both leads are wonderful with each contributing equally where need be (particularly Trevor’s linguistic prowess) except at the very end where the he-man, macho lead has to make the final arrest (and a gunfight ensues) where the ball is not so much dropped but misplaced!

Then we get D.O.A. (1949) - an exceptionally well thought-out and executed film noir. A man who is fatally poisoned with a slow-acting substance wants to discover who killed him -- and why. The answers seem pathetically insignificant compared to their repercussions. O’Brien provides a solid everyman type leading performance that puts Gary Cooper and Glenn Ford’s best attempts at the same to utter shame.

Bev Garland puts in a good show too as a sort of misunderstood femme fatale in a minor key. Credit should go to director Mate and photographer Laszlo, who match the words and feelings of the story perfectly, neither showing us too much or too little at any time. The narrative force of this story is strong because it is focused on one man, with whom we can identify, who has been placed in an exciting, intriguing, and terrifying situation by events out of his control.

Bonus Features:
D.O.A. Video Essay: Edmond O’Brien: The Man Who Made Every Second Count
D.O.A. Video Essay: Rudolph Maté: The Eye Behind the Shadows
D.O.A. Video Essay: Forgotten Stardust: The Short, Shining Life of Pamela Britton
Borderline Video Essay: Fred MacMurray: From Noir Shadows to Disney Light
Borderline Video Essay: Claire Trevor: The Toughest Dame with a Heart of Gold
Borderline Video Essay: William A. Seiter: Hollywood’s Hidden Craftsman

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