The 49th Man

Others have commented about the Red Scare and the proliferation of this type of film in the '50s, so I won't.

The 49th man stars John Ireland and Richard Denning and involves the search for pieces of the atom bomb which are being smuggled in to the U. S.

I won't go into a lot of detail about the plot, but it was very far-fetched and simplistic.

I do, however, like both John Ireland and Richard Denning. Also, I noticed "Touch Connors" in the credits. He of course became Mike Connors, and it was fun to see him.

Many of these films that involved the armed services or some government office contained narrations and tended to be on the dry side. This film had more action.

Nowadays, it's easy for folks to make fun of the Cold War era--and in particular the paranoid 1950s. However, given the proliferation of atomic weapons and a vow from Stalin to destroy the West, it's understandable why so many films of the time were about Communist plots or giant mutant creatures created through atomic fission. So when I see "The 49th Man", I see its plot as a definite product of these scary times--a time when it seemed very possible that the human race would wipe itself out sooner or later. Because of this, the film is a lot more tense than most films--even if the plot is a little far-fetched.

The film begins with a scary discovery--a portion of an atomic bomb is found amidst car wreckage! And, scientists examining it have determined that the weapon has been broken down into dozens are pieces--and each can be easily transported by an enemy agent (i.e., a Commie!). So, it's up to John Ireland (a great Noir actor) to track down the agents and get to the bottom of this plot against America.

Taut action and good acting carry the day here. While this is not a fancy big-budget film, it is entertaining and a great window into a very tense era.

None of the other reviewers seem to realize that this movie was "remade", using a somewhat different premise, but very similar in many aspects of the plot, including the last minute, down-to-the-wire ending. It was called "The Fourth Protocol", released in 1987, starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.

Of course "The Fourth Protocol" had much bigger stars, bigger budget, better writers and better production values, and was certainly more believable. But we are comparing it with an early 50s B movie. It seems to me that the makers of the later movie must surely have seen this early one.

The 49th Man deals with attempts by some un-named nation to smuggle the components of an atomic bomb into the U. S. It is thus one of the many "red menace" films that were popular in the fifties.

This film was produced by Sam Katzman during his time at Columbia. Like most of Katzman's films it was filmed quickly and cheaply. There is a great deal of stock footage. One brief snippet of such footage is actually used on two different occasions. Several scenes, mainly during the first half of the film, contain no dialogue. Voice over narration is used to comment on the action and push the plot forward. The acting is adequate but not very impressive.

The best part of this flick is the plot. It moves quickly from the US to a submarine to Marseille and then back to the US. In the process enough tension develops in the plot to hold the interest of viewers.

The 49th Man is not a bad film but also nowhere near a great film. I would recommend it mainly to people who are fans of films of the fifties and/or films about commie subversion.

Federal agents get wind of a nefarious plot by enemy agents to smuggle components of an atomic bomb into the United States. The enemy agents plan to then assemble it and blow up a major American city. The feds try to hide the fact that they have captured several of the smugglers in order to find the meeting place and capture the ring leader.

This "B" grade thriller is of interest for its moderately interesting plot. John Ireland gives a good performance as a federal agent determined to catch the enemy agents. Everything else is pretty standard.