Five stars! They don't make them like they used to do. And reading through this compendium of some of the best `mystery, suspense, film noir and detective movies on DVD' reminded me of that. In many cases, these films were made under the studio system, whereby the scripts were tailored to the actors' strengths and personalities. This is one reason why many of the old films were so good. The author has brought together outlines of hundreds of them, each complete with a cast list, the major production staff, copyright and release notices, story synopsis, and his own personal comment about the film. Also embellishing some of the outlines are dozens of black-and-white photos, as well as a lengthy but well-written article on `noir, crime and mystery'. Several other shorter articles are included, aimed at those interested in the genres--the best Sherlock Holmes, and Raymond Chandler as adapted for the movies, for example. Reid has done a marvelous job putting these all together, thus ta
