Hoodlum

Max Nosseck's The Hoodlum (1951) has been issued by Alpha Video in an edition that looks like it was mastered off of a fairly worn 16 mm television print. It's not the best representation of the movie, by a long shot, but it does improve slightly, with fewer blemishes, as the movie runs past the first eight minutes. There are scratches down the extreme right-hand side of the screen throughout, leading one to believe that this is simply a good transfer of a second-rate source. It's missing some contrast that becomes a moderate problem in the night shots, though you can still make out all of the significant details. As most of the movie's action takes place in daylight, the lack of contrast isn't a serious problem, except in one extended dissolve to black overlaying a character's demise. The sound is in better shape than the picture, which gives Darrell Calker's score a good showcase. The usual six chapters on Alpha Video releases are satisfactory on the 62-minute feature, which breaks down into just about six segments. The budget price is right, and considering how seldom this or any other Eagle Lion releases of the period are shown on television or anywhere else, it's just about the only way to see this movie.