Under the Radar DVD of the Week: "The Bad Girls of Film Noir"

This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is:

“The Bad Girls of Film Noir, Volumes 1 & 2”

Back in the 1940s and ’50s, when double features were the norm, some of the juiciest movie roles for women came in playing femmes fatale in shadowy film noir crime sizzlers. These black-and-white B-pictures were generally low-budget programmers concerning some poor sap of a male who falls prey to the wiles of a sultry, calculating vamp.

This week marks the release of two DVD volumes featuring some steamy hallmarks of the hard-boiled genre. Volume 1 includes “The Killer That Stalked New York,” “Two of a Kind,” “Bad for Each Other” and “The Glass Wall.” Volume 2 features “Night Editor,” “One Girl’s Confession,” “Women’s Prison” and “Over-Exposed.”

The roster of the deadly dames slinking through these choice roles includes the likes of Lizabeth Scott, Gloria Grahame, Evelyn Keyes, Cleo Moore, Audrey Trotter and Ida Lupino. And the male actors who fell victim to their murderously seductive ways ranged from Edmund O’Brien to Charleton Heston to Vittorio Gassman.

The films are newly restored, re-mastered and available for the first time on DVD, while still retaining all the grit and smoky, bad-girl vibe of the originals. Bonus features include original theatrical trailers, an interview with “Two of a Kind” co-star Terry Moore, a vintage TV episode of “The Payoff” with Janet Blaire and Howard Duff and more.

Both four-film sets release on Tuesday and retail at a suggested $25 each.

– Dennis King