Widower Walter Mitchell, the anti-union owner of Roxton Fashions (played to the hilt by the great Lee J. Cobb), is shocked when his pro-union business partner mysteriously dies in a freak elevator accident following a heated argument over whether or not to let the sweat shop workers go union (somehow, the argument allows Lee the opportunity to rip off the dress of one of his models).

A few days later, Walter’s son Alan (Kerwin Mathews) shows up fresh from Korea, eager to join his pops in the garment business.  Instead, Alan finds himself sympathizing and fraternizing with local union boy Tulio Renata (a very young Robert Loggia) and his hot, hot wife Theresa (Gia Scala)…much to the dismay of Artie Ravidge, the thug that dad has on the payroll to prevent those pesky union lads from picketing outside the factory (another brilliant performance by Richard Boone).

Also starring Valerie French, Joseph Wiseman, and Harold J. Stone, The Garment Jungle is a highly enjoyable film with great performances by all and it’s a joy for everyone to see some of their favorite actors in their early years (the few fans of Sid Melton out there will want to keep an eye out for him as a factory worker when Robert Loggia shows up).  The movie also has some truly remarkable photography that any fan of film noir will appreciate courtesy of directors Vincent Sherman and Robert Aldrich (the latter of whom was fired two weeks before the production wrapped…and is probably the guy with the eye responsible for many of the impressive visuals).

OK, kids, let’s connect the actors of The Garment Jungle to James Bond movies: Dr. No starred Joseph Wiseman as title villain.  It also featured Jack Lord as CIA agent Felix Leiter.  Lord is perhaps best known for “Hawaii Five-O”, which once featured Harold J. Stone, who was in Mitchell with Joe Don Baker, who played in three 007 movies including The Living Daylights, which featured Timothy Dalton as James Bond…who had starred in Flash Gordon (1980) seven years earlier with Max Von Sydow who, aside from co-starring alongside Lee J. Cobb in The Exorcist, also portrayed Bond nemesis Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, the remake of Thunderball, wherein Anthony Dawson played the character of Blofeld.  Dawson co-starred with Joseph Wiseman in The Valachi Papers, a film directed by Terence Young, who also directed Dr. No.

No, I don’t have a life.  Got a problem with that?

Presentation
The Garment Jungle is another title in the first wave of Sony’s “Martini Movies”, a collection of all-but forgotten dramas, noirs, and crime capers that either are the perfect excuse to indulge in a cocktail or two.  Newly mastered in High Def, the movie looks remarkably clean and sharp (considering it’s over a half of a century old) and the black levels in the movie’s many atmospheric shots look absolutely perfect. 

The movie is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen ratio with English and French Mono Stereo soundtracks accompanying.  Subtitles are also included for each of those two languages.

Extras
The Garment Jungle features the same “Martini Minutes” Featurettes that are on The Anderson Tapes (another of the first wave “Martini Movies” titles): “How To Play The Leading Man” (1:32) and “How To Hold Your Liquor” (1:28).  The Original Theatrical Trailer (2:36), which is comprised of a few alternate takes, is included on the DVD.  The cocktail on this face of the disc is for a Manhattan (a classic drink that sadly, you youngsters have buried underneath the mounds of trendy Red Bull-based concoctions…which is dumb, by the way).

The Bottom Line
Welcome to The Garment Jungle.  Who knew making dresses was such a difficult job?