They Raid By Night

As old and creaky as They Raid By Night looked on its best day -- which was probably the day it hit theaters in 1942 -- the Alpha Video DVD makes it look even worse. Tranferred from a scratched, grainy print that is missing frames at various points, the full-screen (1.33-to-1) image also seem to be minor authoring errors in the disc itself which, if it were made from a better source, might be a serious cause of distress. Instead, because it starts off at such a low level of quality, the playback flaws aren't nearly as jarring as they might otherwise have been. So in that sense, there's a certain balance and consistency to this release, albeit of poverty at every level (indeed, going right back to 1942 and the circumstances of the movie's production and, especially, June Duprez's presence in the cast). The usual six-chapter breakdown for Alpha titles are here with, as always, no frills of any kind.