I'm always on the lookout for Film Noir releases -- great old black and white dramas from the forties and early fifties, largely forgotten today, but still worth watching.

One just out is "Contraband" from 1940. It's described as a comedy thriller set in England in the early days of World War II. It stars Conrad Veidt, who often played Germans, since that’s what he was. Veidt also played "Major Strasser," in his penultimate movie, "Casablanca," written by the Epstein twins (the grand father and grand uncle of world champion Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, a little pause for the cause.)

But to return to "Contraband." It also costars Valerie Hobson of "The Bride of Frankenstein.” Veidt, a Danish sea captain and she, his mysterious passenger kidnapped by Nazi spies operating in London's Soho district.

Freddie Young, a three-time Oscar winning cinematographer (“Lawrence of Arabia" "Dr. Zhivago," and "Ryan's Daughter" -- one of the first films I reviewed professionally in 1970) was behind the lenses. Leon Genn, a fine English stage and screen actor, costars in this 88 minute long movie, eight minutes longer than the theatrical version.

“Contraband” is an otherwise-forgotten Film Noir minor classic from Kino international, available on DVD. More Film Noir treats in coming days and weeks.