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The Man in the Dark (1953)

posted 11 years ago by ironjade
9 replies | jump to latest

Columbia's "The Man in the Dark" is one of the movies which kicked off the brief 50s golden age of 3D, released after "B'wana Devil" but before "House of Wax". This is one of only two 3D film noirs, the other one being "I, the Jury".
Edmond O'Brien is the imprisoned thief who volunteers for a risky brain operation to reduce his sentence but ends up with amnesia and thus can't remember where he stashed the loot. This doesn't sit very well with the cops, insurance investigators or his hoodlum ex-colleagues.
Beautifully restored and with excellent 3D, this is a decent little thriller in its own right with a genuinely terrifying climactic chase on top of a rollercoaster.
The myth that it was shot in only 11 days is perpetuated by the enclosed booklet but apart from that, the restorers and distributors, Screen Archives/Twilight Time, have done a great job.
Only 3,000 copies available!
Highly recommended.

"Make me a baby!
Make me a star!
Leave my coffin slightly ajar!"
- Lesley Gore

[–] SinemaGirl 11 years ago

It doesn't help that many old 3D movies are pretty bad but even so, I'd watch them.

From the 3-D Film Archive page on 3-D Myths:

6. Too many bad movies killed off 3-D in 1950s.

Not true. There were exactly 50 movies made (in English) in 3-D during the Golden Age. While there were certainly some bad and mediocre films in this group (ROBOT MONSTER, CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON, and HANNAH LEE, to name a few), there was also: KISS ME KATE, HOUSE OF WAX, DIAL M FOR MURDER, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and so on. The 3-D movies of the Golden Age were certainly no better or worse than any other group of films.

http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/top-10-3-d-myths