Now that's interesting. I was expecting a hail of abuse!
I too agree that the narration added an 'atmosphere' - echoing a 40s/50s detective B-movie. There were dozens of references to the 40s/50s in the film and the narration worked well. It was a little cheesy but I think deliberately so...
The original cinematic release is available on DVD.
So, there must be some DC snobs in here?!