French Noir Collection II (Blu-ray) ***Preorder*** 12/9

This collection features four film noir classics from France. Rhine Virgin (1953) a.k.a. La vierge du Rhin – Screen great Jean Gabin (Port of Shadows) stars as Jacques Ledru, assumed killed during the war, who returns to Strasbourg to find that his wife Geneviève (Elina Labourdette, Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne) has taken control of his shipping company with her new husband (Renaud Mary, Fantômas). Femme fatale Geneviève will do anything to get rid of Jacques and keep his company. Directed by Gilles Grangier (Hi-Jack Highway, Speaking of Murder). The Beast Is Loose (1959) a.k.a. Le fauve est lâché / The Tiger Attacks – The distinguished Lino Ventura (Illustrious Corpses) portrays Paul Lamiani, an ex-gangster who has become a hero of the Resistance. He has now settled down for a quiet life with his family in the restaurant business. But the French Secret Service need him for one more mission, and when he refuses, they frame him and set up his escape from the police. Directed by Maurice Labro (To Catch a Spy) and featuring Estella Blain (The Diabolical Dr. Z) as a two-timing blonde. Trapped by Fear (1960) a.k.a. Les distractions – Film idol Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless, Cop or Hood) stars as Paul Frapier, a reporter and photographer who comes to the rescue of Laurent (Claude Brasseur, Band of Outsiders), his old army companion in Algeria, after the accidental killing of a police officer. With stunning co-stars Alexandra Stewart (The Destructors), Sylva Koscina (A Lovely Way to Die) and Mireille Darc (Icy Breasts). The Passion of Slow Fire (1961) a.k.a. La mort de Belle – Belle (Alexandra Stewart), a young American girl staying in Professor Blanchon’s villa near Geneva, is found strangled. Suspicions immediately turn to Blanchon (Jean Desailly, Le Doulos), who is not the culprit. As the cross-examining goes on, he realizes that Belle had secretly loved him, and as a result he is forced to reconsider the mediocre life he leads with his wife. Directed by Édouard Molinaro (Back to the Wall, The Road to Shame) from the novel by crime-writing legend Georges Simenon (Maigret).