Dial 1119

You know the audience is in for a bumpy ride when the all-night bus arrives in a place called Terminal City. Actually it's the luckless driver who ends up terminated, with a slug in the belly from ungrateful, wacko passenger Gunther Wykoff (Thompson) who has not yet learned how to blink or turn his head. So, now the crazy guy is loose in the city, headed for a late night bar sporting that new-fangled invention called television. (I suspect this 1950 production was one of the first to integrate TV into the storyline.) There, he holds hostage a motley crew of barflies who, needless to say, don't help his condition at all. He'd like to whack 'em all, but first he has to meet with his head-doctor (Levene) who's obviously done a pretty rotten job so far. Meanwhile, the cops, a TV crew, and a few hundred on-lookers have taken a real interest in Gunther's where-abouts and are waiting outside to greet him if he ever comes out. So, the stage is set, but how will it play out.

This may be big-budget MGM's cheapest production on record (basically one set and a $20 lighting bill), but they do get their money's worth. This suspenseful little crime drama is well acted and packs a pretty good punch. Baby-faced Thompson plays against type and is excellent in the pivotal role of the stare-happy wacko. William Conrad is a stand-out too, as the no-nonsense barkeep, but I guess it's only logical that he would have to exit early— too bad. On the other hand, make-out artist Earl (Ames) and the classy what's-she-doing-in- this-dump Helen (King) are none too believable, and I kept hoping Gunther would spare us the bad seduction dialog and put a fist in Earl's syrupy mouth. Apparently, young father Skip (Brasselle) was added so there would be at least one sympathetic person among the collection of compromised characters. Anyway, it's a good, tight little B-film, with the novel idea (for its time) that movies and TV might get along, after all.

This seldom seen, nearly forgotten gem stands out as a precursor to many movie motifs now taken for granted. A deranged young man, Gunther Wyckoff (whacko with a gun, played menacingly by Marshall Thompson in perhaps his best performance), shoots a city bus driver with the driver's own pistol, then holds up in a local bar using the patrons as hostages. In those long ago days when such occurrences were rare, there were no professional police negotiators. Ironically, Wyckoff does his own negotiating with the law, demanding to see the psychiatrist that is in charge of treating him.

What a crew of hostages: A barfly willing to bed anyone who buys her a drink, an old married fool making arrangements for a weekend tryst with a sweet young thing, a young man whose wife is in delivery at the hospital, a zealous reporter whose newspaper editor thinks he's a joke, and Chuckles, the bartender, played by the dour William Conrad of radio's "Gunsmoke" and later TV's "Cannon" fame. Maybe he got his moniker for being the opposite of chuckles, such as calling a big guy, Tiny. The interaction of this motley crew with each other and with the criminally insane killer makes up the biggest part of the flick. An alternate title was "The Violent Hour," which basically describes the plot of the film, approximately an hour's standoff between the psycho and the police who work to free the hostages unharmed. A young André Previn provides the appropriate atmospheric music.

What a splendid cast. Even workhorse Charles Lane, who is today 101 and says he is still available to do a show, is seen briefly on the tube in a man-on-the-street interview. And don't blink and miss June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley) in a walk on part.

Items you don't see around anymore: A cigarette machine, a weight scale on the sidewalk, a pay telephone that costs a nickle to dial 1119 (no push buttons). Items that were curiosities at the time but are now part of everyday life: A flat-panel big screen TV, TV news hype, and, alas, crazies that for no reason shoot patrons who are total strangers.

The chosen title, "Dial 1119," which today reminds the viewer of "Call 911," is a fitting one. Labeling the location Terminal City, however, is a bit much.

The film follows a disturbed young man who kills without remorse. It is surprisingly disturbing considering the period in which it was filmed. After killing a bus driver, the baby faced young man seeks refuge in a bar and holds its patrons hostage. All he wants is to see the psychiatrist who committed him three years before. The film is notable for its stark and unflinching portrayal of someone completely unable to feel remorse. The film is also notable as it was one of the first movies put out by MGM under new management which turned the company away from solely making big budget events. This B-movie thriller marked a new territory for MGM. It is well-worth watching - IF you can find it!

Dial 1119 is directed by Gerald Mayer and collectively written by Hugh King, Don McGuire and John Monks Junior. It stars Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field, Andrea King, William Conrad and Sam Levine. Music is by Andre Previn and cinematography by Paul C. Vogel.

The Killing Hour.

A compact suspenser, Dial 1119 can be seen as very much a prototype of future thrillers where a hostage situation takes place. Here the story basically sees Thompson as escaped mental patient Gunther Wyckoff, who takes a bus to Terminal City, grabs hold of a gun and holes up in a bar with a small group of hostages. His aim is to reap revenge on the doctor who spared him the electric chair and had him committed instead.

In the bar is the barman, the busboy who is an expectant father, a barfly broad, a Lothario and the young lady he had coerced into having a fling with him. As tensions rise in the bar, outside the crowd gathers and so does the press, who sensationalise the situation. The cops scratch around for a solution, one of which seems to be kill Wyckoff at any cost! The narrative has caustic observations on these outside parties, while it also brings into play the delusions of the troubled Wyckoff who believes he is a war torn ex squaddie. The film doesn't shy away from violence either, there will be blood, as it were.

It's acted and directed commendably and Vogel's black and white photography is crisp and perfectly in keeping with the tone of the picture. All in all it's a good and suspenseful way to spend 75 minutes. 7/10

Marshall Thompson stars in this interesting thriller as Gunther Wyckoff, a mentally unstable young man who has escaped from an asylum, killed a bus driver with a gun he acquired, then holds a bar hostage with several people inside. Both the authorities and hostages try to work with and understand why Gunther is so crazed, with little success, though it does have something to do with his war record... William Conrad is good as the bartender affectionately named Chuckles, who has a most surprising big screen TV in the bar, where they can see their drama play out live. Intriguing film with good performances makes thoughtful and prescient commentary on how live television coverage can affect the outcome of a crime, and the impact it has on all concerned.