6.2
An escaped convict gets a hold of some radioactive material after his escape. Authorities desperately try to find the man that unknowingly is threating the lives of everyone in the city.
Vince Edwards
Vince Ryker
Lyle Talbot
Chief Jensen
John Archer
Lt. Mark Richards
Steven Ritch
Dr. John Wallace
Patricia Blair
June Marlowe
Kelly Thordsen
Detective Sgt. Hank Johnson
Joseph Mell
Eddie Crown
Sherwood Price
Pete Hallon
Kathie Browne
Jeanne
Larry J. Blake
Jean Harvey
Kenner G. Kemp
Michael Mark
Vic Perrin
Director
Irving Lerner
Writer
Robert Dillon
Writer
Steven Ritch
September 22, 2015
7
It's all gone feverish in Los Angeles.
City of Fear is directed by Irving Lerner and stars Vince Edwards, Lyle Talbot, John Archer and Steven Ritch. The latter of which co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Dillon. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Lucien Ballard.
"Last night a convict by the name of Vince Ryker escaped from San Quentin. After stealing what he believed to contain a pound of pure heroin ..... does not contain heroin, it contains Cobalt-60 in granular form."
Cheap, compact but very effective "B" thriller from the tail end of the first noir cycle, City of Fear thrives on sweaty paranoia played out amongst Los Angeles locations. It's a ticking time bomb structure, convict man thinks he has a gold mine in his hands but actually holds something that is killing him by the hour. This lets in the police procedural aspects as the cops and scientists try to locate convict man and his radiation container. Urgent! Not only to save the convicts life, but also the city from probable disaster!
OK, the science does not add up, nor does the fact that convict man never once gets to open the container to inspect his supposed golden haul! But the claustrophobic feel is high and the sense of doom married up to the helplessness of the protagonist does bring it into the noir universe. Ballard photographing is always a plus, though he does not get to show his considerable talents that much here, while Goldsmith, in one of his first musical scoring assignments, couples dramatic thrusts with jazzy reflections to great effect. Edwards (Murder by Contract) makes for a good noir loser. 7/10
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00