Two Films from Director Douglas Sirk: A Scandal in Paris and Lured

Douglas Sirk didn't only direct well-regarded "woman's films" like "All That Heaven Allows," "Written on the Wind," and "Imitation of Life." Years before his great melodramas (films that continue to inspire filmmakers today -- for example, last year's magnificent Todd Haynes film "Carol" has a definite Sirkian vibe to it) Sirk -- newly arrived in America after fleeing the Nazis -- was making movies like the two featured in this Cohn Media double bill Blu-ray release, "A Scandal in Paris" and "Lured," both starring George Sanders.

"A Scandal in Paris" (1946) is a lighthearted trifle in which Sanders stars as a fictionalized version of the 18th century criminal turned detective, Fran�ois Eug�ne Vidocq. The film purports to show the turning point in his career, when the love of a good woman (and her aristocratic family) helps him to reform his ways and turn his intellect and capabilities to positive uses. (A handily multi-layered metaphor involving St. George and the dragon he supposedly slew feeds quite nicely into this hackneyed storyline, giving the film a literary gloss.)

This Arnold Pressburger production thoroughly departs from the Vidocq's memoir (which itself was full of exaggerations), or so we learn from the audio commentary track, which is supplied by the eager and informative film critic Wade Major. Another revelation from Major: Guy Roe, the credited cinematographer, wasn't the one responsible for the film's German expressionist look. That was the work of uncredited Eugen Sch�fftan, another emigre fleeing the Nazis.

"Lured" (1947) reunited Sanders and Sirk, taking the duo to London, where the English actor stars as Robert Fleming, a nightclub owner and producer of revues. Lucille Ball co-stars in the role of American showgirl Sandra Carpenter, who becomes embroiled in a Scotland Yard investigation of a Jack the Ripper-like serial killer who sends the police mocking poetry before murdering his victims. Ball and Fleming meet in a manner that's as cute as anything from a screwball comedy, but the film's darker storyline propels the action, and eventually threatens their blossoming romance. (LGBT viewers who know anything about Hollywood's treatment of characters who were coded as being gay at that time will zero in on the killer instantly.) It's a sharp little romp that wends in and out of shadows and generates considerable atmosphere.

Like "A Scandal in Paris," "Lured" offers only one extra, that being an audio commentary track -- this time by film historian Jeremy Arnold, an amiable guide who points out interesting things about the film and seems to enjoy himself in the process.

The 2K transfers for both films are beautifully crisp and fault-free. Sir fans and cinephiles will love these two gems, which between them give a good hint at the breadth of Sirk's expertise.

"Two Films from Director Douglas Sirk: A Scandal in Paris and Lured"
Blu-ray
$55.99
http://cohenfilmcollection.net/films/scandal-in-paris