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Out of the shadows
"Murder, My Sweet" hardly needs an endorsement. But Warner Archive Collection's new Blu-ray ($22, warnerarchive.com) gives fans a reason to rediscover the 1944 film noir classic. Known previously for starring in musicals such as "42nd Street," Dick Powell plays against type — "in an amazing new type of role!" as the included trailer pitches it — as private eye Philip Marlowe. He becomes trapped in a snowballing mystery peppered with sultry dames (Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley), a missing necklace and a growing body count. Warner's new, luminous high-def transfer renders the shadows that much darker in key scenes. Film noir expert Alain Silver's commentary is the only stuffy thing about this essential disc.
