A steady balancing act between hard-bitten crime and mawkish melodrama casts Robert Ryan as an angry, brutal Manhattan cop on a manhunt for a murderer in a snowbound mountain town. “On Dangerous Ground” (Warner Archive, 1951, b/w, audio commentary, trailer). Both are solid classics, however - Gregory Peck’s Oscar-winner, the beloved “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and the thriller “Cape Fear,” in which Peck’s family is harassed by a very scary Robert Mitchum.

From the “Centennial Collection” title you might think this Blu-ray set contains several movies but it’s actually just two. “Gregory Peck: Centennial Collection: To Kill a Mockingbird, Cape Fear” (Universal, 1962, b/w, two discs, two films, documentary: “A Conversation with Gregory Peck,” audio commentary for “Mockingbird,” featurettes, excerpts from TV tributes, photo gallery for “Cape Fear,” trailers, note from Peck’s daughter, six poster/photo postcards). (Note the use of the term “pixilated” in a key scene this film popularized the word as meaning eccentric or whimsical.) When he decides to give the money away by establishing a unique welfare program, his sanity is questioned. Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) is a small-town working stiff who inherits $20 million during the Great Depression, is whisked off to New York City and finds himself surrounded by greedy opportunists. A heartfelt film, it also signaled Capra’s entry into so-called “goodwill fantasies,” a string of films he made about the little guy prevailing over political corruption. Frank Capra won three Oscars as best director in the mid-1930s, and this hilarious, romantic comedy-drama marked the second (after “It Happened One Night” and before “You Can’t Take it With You”). Deeds Goes to Town” (Columbia, 1936, b/w, audio commentary, featurette, poster gallery, trailer).

Deeds Goes to Town” is on Blu-ray for the first time, and a variety of other classic films have also been released on new high-definition discs.

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