Stadt in Gefahr

This film begins with a guy breaking out of prison. This man (Vince Edwards) is incredibly ruthless--even for an escaped prisoner. He kills several folks throughout the film--such as a prison guard, an innocent guy in a car and several others. This coldness really was excellent--making the character very compelling.

There is a strange (and VERY unbelievable twist). On his way out of prison, he stole what he THOUGHT was heroin from the infirmary--and he plans on selling it and making a fortune. However, it's actually a super-radioactive substance and if it's released from its steel case, it could kill thousands. Now what would heroin or super-radioactive stuff be doing in a prison in the first place?! I have no idea and it IS a huge plot problem. However, because the rest of the film is so good, it's something you can overlook. Taut--with great music and tense moments. The DVD case says it's film noir--and it is definitely noir-ish. Worth seeing.

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

Irving Lerner, who worked far less as director than editor and cameraman, has the merit of making the most of a shoestring production with Vince Edwards - never a major star - as the male lead of a cast of otherwise character actors.

Steven Rich and Robert Dilton present a credible script of a prison convict escaping with what he believes to be a cocaine-laden cylinder but which does in fact turn out to be Cobalt radioactive material, which inevitably places in danger the residents of the Californian cities he goes through, mainly Los Angeles.

Vince Edwards convincingly plays Vince Ryker aka Vince Justin as the no-nonsense straight killer who wants a million bucks for the "cocaine" while police are chasing shadows with radiation detectors. Vince, short for Vincent, means victorious, but this triple Vince plays a complete loser.

Though a cheaper production and with production values a few notches beneath 1950's PANIC IN THE STREETS, CITY OF FEAR remains a very watchable film, particularly in these times of Covid and other viruses causing havoc around the globe.

As ever, excellent cinematography by Lucien Ballard. 7/10.

Nice and well paced B thriller , one of those in which you enjoy the way the directors manage to overcome the obvious script and budget limitations to create a personal piece of work , as much as the film itself . It happened in the past and still happens today , what could have turned into a routine movie it's saved by an skilled director who is able to add some spark to what otherwise could be an unremarkable film

Lerner was an absolute expert on this task and It's quite appealing to see this in action and how he manages to create and maintain the tension throughout this film . Literally he builds it out from nothing , no budget and based on a script that you probably came across on a dozen of movies before . All action and trouble comes from an small cylinder allegedly containing heroine worth 1 million USD , which has been stolen by a convict during his prison break . It contains a highly radioactive material instead which causes the alarm and the relentless pursuit of the convict .

Don't get any wrong impression , this is a classic man on the run B thriller , and as such there are some incongruences but mostly it's filmed imaginatively enough to offset the lack of budget and keep the interest It can be compared to what happened with Budd Boetticher , both get some attention when they received some props from Scorssesse himself , so that shed some light to their careers which thus far have been quite neglected by the general public.

It's not a classic by any means. But it has its virtues - the black and white cinematography, the great jazzy soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, and particularly the extensive on-location shooting in and around Los Angeles. There are lots of scenes of 1950s cars cruising the street, store fronts and interiors - more than average, because they're looking for the protagonist. Living in LA, I especially enjoyed that. As for the plot, I've seen three or four similar plotted stories the last year - someone is contagious and threatens the city, or is carrying something radioactive, etc. This one had a slightly less plausible plot line, since the police weren't particularly protective. But I soaked up the ancillary elements - the acting was passable, the camera-work and lighting were above average - and I'm a sucker for the '50s.