The Columbia film, The 49th Man, was the bottom-half of a double-bill, the top-half being Fritz Lang's The Big Heat; which also was produced by Columbia Pictures; both films opened at the Roosevelt Theatre on Wednesday, November 18, 1953; an ad in the Chicago Tribune reads:
Espionage Ring Smashed! . . . "Secret War" plot against U.S. Revealed Clue by Clue!!!. Columbia Pictures' Shock Hit!, Split-second action! Split-atom impact!, starring John Ireland, Richard Denning
