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IMDbPro

La cité de la peur

Original title: City of Fear
  • 1959
  • Approved
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Vince Edwards in La cité de la peur (1959)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:55
1 Video
11 Photos
CrimeDramaThriller

A vicious killer escapes from San Quentin with a canister of what he believes to be heroin but is actually a radioactive substance that threatens all Los Angeles.A vicious killer escapes from San Quentin with a canister of what he believes to be heroin but is actually a radioactive substance that threatens all Los Angeles.A vicious killer escapes from San Quentin with a canister of what he believes to be heroin but is actually a radioactive substance that threatens all Los Angeles.

  • Director
    • Irving Lerner
  • Writers
    • Steven Ritch
    • Robert Dillon
  • Stars
    • Vince Edwards
    • Lyle Talbot
    • John Archer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Irving Lerner
    • Writers
      • Steven Ritch
      • Robert Dillon
    • Stars
      • Vince Edwards
      • Lyle Talbot
      • John Archer
    • 49User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    City of Fear
    Trailer 1:55
    City of Fear

    Photos11

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    Top cast15

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    Vince Edwards
    Vince Edwards
    • Vince Ryker
    Lyle Talbot
    Lyle Talbot
    • Chief Jensen
    John Archer
    John Archer
    • Lt. Mark Richards
    Steven Ritch
    • Dr. John Wallace
    Patricia Blair
    Patricia Blair
    • June Marlowe
    Kelly Thordsen
    Kelly Thordsen
    • Detective Sgt. Hank Johnson
    Joseph Mell
    Joseph Mell
    • Eddie Crown
    Sherwood Price
    Sherwood Price
    • Pete Hallon
    Kathie Browne
    Kathie Browne
    • Jeanne
    • (as Cathy Browne)
    Larry J. Blake
    Larry J. Blake
    • Police Sergeant
    • (uncredited)
    Jean Harvey
    • Landlady
    • (uncredited)
    Kenner G. Kemp
    Kenner G. Kemp
    • Passerby
    • (uncredited)
    Tony Lawrence
    • Sailor
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Mark
    Michael Mark
    • Restaurant Proprietor
    • (uncredited)
    Vic Perrin
    Vic Perrin
    • Radio Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Irving Lerner
    • Writers
      • Steven Ritch
      • Robert Dillon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews49

    6.41.8K
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    Featured reviews

    8secragt

    Taut Atomic Noir

    A tawdry low budget pot boiler featuring dynamite performances by Vince Edwards and a similarly game supporting cast. I know Edwards is probably most famous for his heroic Ben Casey role, but he sure chewed up a lot of upholstery in movies like this one and MURDER BY CONTRACT the year before. A lot of the charm comes in watching this police procedural unfold. Lots of seedy low lives generally keep up the off color flavor and the suspense builds nicely over the course of time.

    Some of the discussion of radioactivity is dated, but the cannister makes a great macguffin for the gruff talking' square-jawed Men of Law to pursue. It really wouldn't have taken much to raise this from a guilty pleasure and enjoyable cautionary tale to something along the lines of KISS ME DEADLY, but it's almost more quaint to see this mostly forgotten and obscure b-movie in its under-appreciated present form, if you can find it. The last shot of the movie is quite a hoot! Fine, jazzy musical score by a then-very young Jerry Goldsmith.
    6moonspinner55

    Possible germ warfare in Los Angeles...and Ben Casey in his undershirt

    Pulpy, wildly overwrought, but entertaining co-feature from Columbia has a pre-"Ben Casey" Vince Edwards starring as a convict who breaks out of San Quentin with a container he thinks is "a pound of 100% snow", but instead of heroin it's actually radioactive Cobalt 60 and any exposure could decimate Los Angeles. Not a compact thriller (even at 75 minutes!), this suspense film is full of behind-the-wheel montages and bits of generic police business. Edwards smolders like a reckless mad-dog stud, yet when he's required to disguise himself as a businessman with glasses, he's adept and convincing at this transition. The other actors in the cast aren't as versatile, and the mechanical writing and directing certainly doesn't liven them up (they're all stock figures, though Vince's girlfriend does get in a few funny wisecracks down at the police station). Photographed by Lucien Ballard, the movie has a great, gritty look full of L.A.'s neighborhoods and back streets, and the tension does manage to build successfully even though just about everything in the picture is second-rate. **1/2 from ****
    6thejcowboy22

    Lethal things come in small cannisters

    When I was five years old I developed a pain in my stomach. The pain would come and go for a few days. During the last afternoon of day camp, the pains got worse. The Nurse called my Mom as I began to wail in pain. The sharp pangs against my stomach wall were excruciating. They rushed me to the hospital. The Doctors examined me and asked if I ingested anything? They gave me sedative and took my blood, which became an issue. I finally let them prick my finger. The Nurse asked me what I like to do and I said to her that I enjoy playing in the sand, building castles and roads and such. The nurse's eyes open wide as if I solved the world problems. Along the genre of film noir despite the year, this movie is an excellent example of a period piece. Pre- Kennedy era Los Angeles with the cars and wardrobe of a bygone era our main Character Vince Edwards is on the run, Hiding holding a canister of death and unbeknownst to himself, leaving a trail of (rads) radiation and illness to whomever he comes in contact with. The few that he physically murders are the lucky ones; the alternative would be a slow cancerous death. Film plot will hold your interest. You are curious, wondering how long our star crook can hang on. Jerry Goldsmith's jazzy music adds to the flavor of the film. All in all Vince Edwards s shows his range of acting skill as a heavy as a race against time is essential in returning the deadly canister and sparing a city. This movie will hold your interest. The hook here is how long would our drug dealing convict hold on until the radiation from the cannister gets the better of him. This film reminded me of the pains in my stomach that happened more frequently as the days went on. I didn't know that a tape worm was growing inside of me and had to be addressed by a physician, but I was only 6 years old. Our Vince Ryker character didn't realize he was getting weaker by the hour.
    7arbesudecon

    Nicely crafted B thriller

    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.
    7Hey_Sweden

    A taut, entertaining thriller.

    Vince Edwards dominates the screen as Vince Ryker, a hard core criminal who makes a violent escape from prison. On his way out, he snatches a container that he mistakenly assumes to contain heroin, which he hopes to sell for a tidy profit. However, it actually contains "Cobalt 60", a dangerous radioactive substance. Cops played by the likes of Lyle Talbot, John Archer, and Kelly Thordsen have to track Ryker down before he can expose the city of L.A. to this substance. As it happens, any person who comes near the container does become seriously sick.

    Movies like "City of Fear" may be what they used to call "programmers", but that doesn't mean that they're devoid of entertainment value. This one is sufficiently enjoyable, with right-to- the-point, no frills filmmaking courtesy of director Irving Lerner and company. Tight pacing results in a movie that runs barely an hour and a quarter. Ryker is definitely an anti hero, to be sure, and Edwards portrays him in an appropriately sneering, punkish manner. But the story (co-written by co-star Steven Ritch, who plays Dr. John Wallace) dares to invite a bit of sympathy for Ryker, as he gets progressively more sickly and doesn't understand why. The rest of the cast is likewise solid: stunning Patricia Blair as Rykers' girl June, Joseph Mell as shoe store owner Eddie Crown, Sherwood Price as creepy Pete Hallon, Kathie Browne as salesgirl Jeanne, and Michael Mark in a cameo as a restaurant proprietor. The viewer can also have fun with the catchy, lively score composed by a young Jerry Goldsmith (in his first feature film credit). Cinematographer Lucien Ballard does excellent work as usual.

    "City of Fear" might not be anything "great", but it serves its purpose: it's good, straightforward fun, combining police procedural aspects with potential outbreak chills in a diverting way. Recommended to fans of old black & white crime flicks.

    Seven out of 10.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In 2000 cobalt-60 was unwittingly exposed in a scrap metal dump in Thailand. Several of the workers became ill and subsequently died. This was the only recorded incident involving the radioactive substance.
    • Goofs
      Cobalt-60 is easily shielded and would not have the adverse effects it does if kept in a lead container. Actually, cobalt-60 emits both both gamma rays and beta particles. While the beta is easily shielded by the canister (which did not appear to be lead), the high-energy gamma rays would have a serious effect on a human who carried a canister of cobalt-60 for several days.
    • Quotes

      Eddie Crown: [to Ryker] Those clothes you're wearing look like they were made by a hopped-up tailor. They're even pulling cops out of retirement to look for you.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Little Nicky (2000)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Pánico mudo
    • Filming locations
      • 7600 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA(Texaco gas station where Vince uses the drinking fountain, since demolished)
    • Production company
      • Orbit Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 21 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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