2 new box sets will delight those who love vintage film noir

Fans of vintage film noir should be in heaven this week with the release of no less than two box sets, each of which features plenty of 1940s and '50s films in the genre, most of them new to DVD, and quite a few new to home video. That both sets come from Sony is an indication that at least one major studio is dusting off archival titles for the general public.

"The Samuel Fuller Collection" (Sony, 1937-61, seven discs, b/w, $79.95). Fuller is finally getting the attention he deserves with a number of films recently released on DVD (though there are still plenty in home-video limbo). These fine black-and-white transfers are a wonderful addition.

Fuller's rough-and-tumble life as a journalist, pulp novelist and 1930s screenwriter helped him become a pithy storyteller and a gritty independent filmmaker. This set includes five early studio pictures showcasing Fuller the writer, plus two of his most famous pictures as writer-director-producer. And contemporary filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Tim Robbins, Wim Wenders and Curtis Hanson sing his praises in featurettes.

"It Happened in Hollywood or: Once a Hero" (1937). Fuller co-wrote this dated but fascinating insider-comedy/drama about a cowboy star (Richard Dix) who has trouble transitioning from silents to talkies (with a great Fay Wray performance).

"Adventure in Sahara" (1938) is a routine Foreign Legion yarn based on a Fuller story about Legionnaires revolting against an oppressive commander.

"Power of the Press" (1943) is very much a movie of its period, based on Fuller's story of a corrupt newspaper editor transforming an anti-war tabloid into a propagandistic paper.

"Shockproof" (1949). Co-scripted by Fuller and directed by Douglas Sirk, this sharp film noir stars Cornel Wilde as a parole officer who unwisely falls for an ex-con (Patricia Knight).

"Scandal Sheet" (1952). Fuller's novel "The Dark Page" provided the story for this nifty newspaper film noir about a sleazy editor (Broderick Crawford) who kills his wife and then tries to cover it up even as his best reporter (John Derek) is on the case. Donna Reed co-stars.

"The Crimson Kimono" (1959). This is full-throttle Fuller, a surprisingly provocative yarn for its day, as cops Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta investigate a murder in L.A.'s Japantown and find themselves drawn into an interracial love triangle.

"Underworld U.S.A." (1961). This Fuller crime drama has a young boy witnessing his father's murder by gangsters and vowing to get them. As an adult (Cliff Robertson), he insinuates himself into the gang and starts the machinery for his revenge. Tough stuff for the period.

Extras: full frame, seven films, featurettes, trailers