Foreign Intrigue / Quiet American

Fair prints of two smart '50s thrillers
TGG, a distributor known for re-releasing a number of films in the MGM catalog with often shoddy results, presents a pair of surprisingly cerebral thrillers from the late 1950s in this single-disc set.

First up, the generically titled 'Foreign Intrigue' (premiering on a Region 1 DVD) is actually a very stylish, Sheldon Reynolds-produced Technicolor mystery-noir that owes much of its appeal-- via quirky characterizations, rich and exotic locales, glamorous women, the juxtaposition of peril and humor and the use of abstract camera angles in service of a red-herring-filled plot-- to Hitchcock. Lead Robert Mitchum rarely has embodied the kind of vitality he showcases here; it's his 'Charade' and, as such, is lots of shifty fun. 4-plus stars.

Second we have Joseph Mankiewicz's adaptation of Graham Greene's 'The Quiet American.' It's a fantastic Cold War character study that skewers the West's Communist-sympathizing intelligentsia and its unwillingness to...

A no-brainer for any fan of classic cold war intrigue
Especially at this steal of a price. "Quiet American" (the 1958 version here, not to be confused with the recent remake) has been issued on DVD in the U.S., but not "Foreign Intrigue." Excellent widescreen transfers. Keep 'em coming, MGM-UA!

Excellent quality
This is a great double feature of two 50s movies starring Robert Mitchum and Audie Murphy. First of all, the quality of the images are great with both of them being in Widescreen. There are no special features, trailers, no other languages (subtitle and audio) and only one sided disk. TGG Direct has some deal with MGM & Fox to put some titles on DVD and they haven't disappoint me yet. "Foreign Intrigue" (1956/color/100mins), stars; Robert Mitchum, Geneviève Page, Ingrid Thulin, Frédéric O'Brady and Eugene Deckers. "The Quiet American" (1958/b&w/122mins), stars; Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin, Giorgia Moll, Bruce Cabot and Richard Loo. Overall this a great set of movies and I would recommend it.

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