My Name Is Julia Ross [Blu-ray]

Overview

My Name Is Julia Ross is the first film noir made by Joseph H. Lewis. Though made on a low-budget, the film contains a nice brooding atmosphere and some innovative camera work to tell the tightly woven story of Julia Ross, an unemployed woman who in desperation takes a job as the personal secretary to a socially prominent matron. On her first day, she meets the woman's son. Though his face is terribly scarred, he seems a charming fellow as he shows her around the mansion and into her room. Later he brings her supper. She eats and falls into a deep sleep. When she groggily reawakens, the woman finds herself in a completely different house wearing new clothing. To make matters worse, everyone assumes she is the wife of her boss's son. The son also tells her that they are married and that she has just been released from a mental asylum. She tries to leave, but finds the outside of the mansion surrounded by thick, high walls and locked with an immovable iron gate. Laura is occasionally allowed to visit it town and one day manages to surreptitiously slip a letter to her boy friend begging for help in the mail. Back in the mansion, she learns that the family are planning to murder her and make it look like suicide to cover up the fact that the son killed his real wife.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/19/2019
UPC:	0760137211587
Original Release:	1945
Rating:	NR
Source:	Arrow Video
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:05:00

Special Features

2k restoration of the film by Sony Pictures; High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray Presentation; Original uncompressed mono PCM Audio; Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; Commentary by noir expert Alan K. Rode ; Identity Crisis: Joseph H. Lewis at Columbia - The Nitrate Diva (Nora Fiore) provides the background and an analysis of the film; Theatrical Trailer; Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Nina Foch	Julia Ross
May Whitty	Mrs. Hughes
Ronald Varno	Dennis Bruce,Dennis Bruce
Doris Lloyd	Mrs. Mackie
George Macready	Ralph Hughes
Anita Sharp Bolster	Sparkes
Leonard Mudie	Peters, Butler
Joy Harrington	Bertha
Queenie Leonard	Alice
Harry Hays Morgan	Robinson
Ottola Nesmith	Mrs. Robinson
Olaf Hytten	Rev. Lewis
Evan Thomas	Dr. Keller
Marilyn Johnson	Nurse
Milton Owen	Policeman
Leyland Hodgson	Policeman
Reginald Sheffield	McQuarrie
Charles McNaughton	Gatekeeper
Anita Bolster	Sparkes
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	Composer

Technical Credits

Muriel Roy Bolton

Joseph H. Lewis	Director
Wallace MacDonald	Producer
Muriel Roy Bolton	Screenwriter
Lambert Day	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Fans of no-frills film noir with a gothic twist will have a field day with My Name Is Julia Ross, a humdinger of a little thriller. Ross is practically the definition of taut, coming in at a lean 65 minutes and moving along at a rapid pace without ever feeling rushed. Major credit for the film's success goes to director Joseph H. Lewis and cinematographer Burnett Guffey, who team up to give the picture plenty of suspense, tension, and chills. The visual is of special importance in noir, and Lewis and Guffey use the special qualities of black-and-white photography to great effect here, creating mood and anxiety through judicious use of angles, shadows, and lighting. There's a great 360-degree shot at a crucial point in the story, and an abundance of close-ups forces viewers to feel like they are immediate participants in the goings-on while also adding to a sense of claustrophobia appropriate to a story about a woman physically trapped and confined. This is not to ignore the contributions of Muriel Roy Bolton's screenplay, which is packed to the brim with twists and turns and is plotted within an inch of its life. Some, however, may feel that the emphasis on plot and atmosphere comes at the expense of character development, which is certainly true. However, Ross is such a fun roller-coaster ride that most will not object to this failing. While Dame May Whitty, cast against type, is not quite up to her usual standard, Nina Foch is aces and George Macready is a wonderful villain. A little gem, My Name Is Julia Ross deserves to be more widely seen.