The Sin of Nora Moran/Prison Train

Description

Two of the best small independent feature films of the 1930s and both influences on Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane." In "The Sin of Nora Moran" (1933, 64 min.), Nora, convicted of murder, is facing death by electrocution. Her life is replayed in a series of flashbacks involving those who knew her in this complex, yet emotionally powerful story starring Zita Johann, wife of John Houseman, soon to be Welles' partner in the Mercury Theater. "Prison Train" (1938, 63 min.) also embodies the best qualities of the low-budget film with its tight story of a train transporting prisoners to the infamous Alcatraz. With great characters and the taut action driving the film, "Prison Train" stars Linda Winters, who three years later under her own name, Dorothy Comingore, played the role of Susan Alexander Kane.

Customer Reviews:

Sin is worth seeking out.......2005-08-31

I bought this DVD for the Nora Moran film & have yet to watch Prison Train. The Sin of Nora Moran is quite a work with a complex story told in a compact 64 minutes. A good example of a pre-Code that was made outside of the major studios and worth checking out. Transfer (this was a restoration project) is excellent and miles better than how other non-studio pictures from this period are handled on video (with the exception of Kino's product).

Odd Film but Innovative for its Time.......2003-06-29

The Sin of Nora Moran is an odd film about a woman (Zita Johann) who is about to be put to death for killing a man. The story is told through Nora's dreams, as she lapses into unconsciousness while awaiting her fate. Additional parts of the story are told by the district attorney (Alan Dinehart) who was involved in her case as he talks with the wife (Claire Du Brey) of Moran's lover (who is also the governor, played by Paul Cavanagh). The film uses the `narratage' technique first used the same year by Preston Sturges in `The Power and the Glory' which consists of voice-over narration and flashbacks and flashforwards. The film gets even more complex, with flashbacks within flashbacks, flashfowards within flashbacks, etc. Some of the visual techniques are quite impressive for 1933. An interesting story with an odd ending. The acting seems strangely unemotional considering the plot of the film or, perhaps, that was the point. Some of the conversations in the flashbacks indicate that the characters have been reliving the story again and again. Perhaps they are now devoid of most of their previous feelings. This film also includes several brief appearances from silent film legend Henry B. Walthall ("The Little Colonel" in Birth of a Nation) as Father Ryan. It runs a very fast-moving 65 minutes. An extra film is included with this DVD release.

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