User reviews

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.

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.

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.

In 1958, director Irving Lerner scraped together enough money to make two poverty row features that Columbia released. The first, Murder By Contract, is one of the fine sleeper classics of low-budget film-making, Vince Edwards as a professional hit-man.. By virtue of that film, Andrew Sarris includes a paragraph on Lerner in his seminal book on film directors and auteur theory, American Cinema.

Unfortunately, the second film doesn't measure up to the first. Still, City of Fear has its moments, particularly in the hand-held location shots that lend some much needed pacing. And that's a key problem with this thriller-- it stalls whenever the scenes shift to the offices where Archer and Talbot as police officials add little energy needed to rev up the chase. Thus we get a kind of jerky effect that can't sustain the story momentum.

And a good story premise it is, as the authorities try to track down Edwards before he can loose a big dose of radio-active cobalt on LA. In my book, Edwards was an interesting actor at this early stage, a genuinely commanding presence in a lot of better-than-average B-films. There's also the under-rated Kathie Browne who could be a pixie one minute and a hellion the next (though her part here is small). Steven Ritch too, is an interestingly obscure figure, collaborating on a number of B-level scripts as well as acting in them. And what guy could pass up a chance at the really luscious Patricia Blair-- move over Marilyn!

Anyway, it looks like Sarris was right-- Lerner was a one-shot wonder. Nonetheless, he manages a few neat tricks on display here. All things considered, this minor thriller is still worth a look-see, even 50 years later.

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 ****

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

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.

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.

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.

"City of Fear" is a 1959 B movie starring Vince Edwards, Patricia Blair, and Lyle Talbot. Directed by Irving Lerner.

Vince Edwards is the imaginatively named Vince, a prison escapee who believes he's carrying a lot of heroin in a cannister. He plans to sell it and then take off with his girlfriend (Blair).

There are a few people in his way, but in his drive from the person, he's able to dispatch them. One of them is his fellow escapee, who becomes very sick and dies.

Vince is actually carrying a lethal cannister of cobalt-6, and it's making him ill, though he persists with his plans. Meanwhile, city officials know what he has and are desperate to find him.

This script has been made I don't know how many times, most notably Panic in the Streets (1950). It's fairly well executed here by Lerner's touches, one where Vince drives away from a gas station and the cannister has rolled out of his car, and another where he's trying to open it, to no avail.

I never considered the brooding Vince Edwards to be much of an actor. He's Ben Casey gone rogue here. Patricia Blair is a knockout. The actress Kathie Browne has a nice cameo - she later appeared in many television shows and was married to Darren McGavin.

Finally, one of the great character actors, Lyle Talbot, enjoyed a 56-year career before dying at the age of 94. At the time of his death, he was working on his biography. A shame he didn't finish it - it would have been a great read.

An interesting late film noir based in L.A. It has a bit of the city "documentary" type filming. It starts out with an ambulance car racing down the street. We find out one of them is bleeding and they both escaped from jail. Vince, the driver, stole a can of what he thinks is heroine on his way out of jail. He feels like he can sell the drug and live off the money with his girlfriend.

The film also focuses on the police investigation which cuts into the development time of any of the characters, thus they all remain underdeveloped. The escaped criminal Vince does come of as menacing and we see him descend fast from his jail break "high." The audience finds out quickly that the canister is a radioactive powder form of Cobalt 60, while Vince thinks its full of highly price worthy drugs. The film, from Vince's perspective shows him trying to set up a sale of the drug, while from the police perspective, we see them trying to prevent a city wide panic.

There were good sequences and shots, like when Vince is trying to figure things out at night along a busy road and we see cuts of the cars passing by, Vince sweating and Vince holding on to the canister. But there is not enough to lift up the film from mediocrity. Interestingly, the musical score is conducted by the prolific Jerry Goldsmith. As far as noir films, it includes an interesting depiction of paranoia, egotism, violent consequences and illusions of grandeur. It is an inferior picture of Cold War, radioactive poisoning paranoia, but it will be an interesting film for fans of film noir movies who want to see the last throes of a great psychological cinematic movement.

This is a gritty low-budget thriller that reminded me of Panic In The Streets but with a faster pace and a no-frills b-movie tone. I'd consider it a lost classic in that I saw it once on a local TV station about 30 years ago and have been looking for it on TV or video ever since to no avail. The basic premise of a deadly little canister of radiological waste deserves another look in this day of weapons of mass destruction (another case of science fiction predicting the future). The deterioration of the unwitting thief as the radiation poisoning consumes him is macabre and compelling.

An escaped convict, played by Vince Edwards, steals a metal container of what he thinks is uncut heroin, but is really radioactive cobalt and, as he ventures through sparse Los Angeles, slowly dying in a kind of nuclear cautionary tale version of D. O. A., a cop (WHITE HEAT heat John Archer), a dame (Patricia Blair) and doctor (Steven Ritch from PLUNDER ROAD) are after him...

The edgy, stylized yet subtle nuance of CITY OF FEAR exceeds the somewhat sluggish pace when our ailing anti-hero, not on screen, is discussed by other cast members: a symbolic comparison to that lethal cobalt and the 1950's American male criminal... both are active, deadly...

One character warns Edwards that he can't show his face for fear of EXPOSURE: which means being seen, but also contagious as the police, not wanting to cause citywide panic, warns anyone involved about how dangerous he is while only we know what they're really after all along...

Proof that heavy-handed symbolism can usually work within a Noirish setting, but, like MURDER BY CONTRACT also by director Irving Lerner/starring Vince Edwards, where side-characters randomly distract from the edgy mainline, our man wields enough palpably emotional tension to let the audience figures things out on our... and his... own.

A completely awful film, from the wooden acting of the square-jawed, no-nonsense fat boys who are in search if the escapee, to the usual Hollywood plot device of not informing the public because "there will be mad panic!" (boy, has that one been milked over the years), to radioactivity that somehow leaves a contamination footprint behind even when the container was not opened. A lot of shots of police cars driving in formation, which I guess gives the appearance of men in action. But the low budget of this film meant a lot of actual street scenes of 1950s Hollywood, the cars, the stores, the people -- it is a nice time slip back a few decades, and fun to watch if for nothing else than the background.

Vince Ryker escapes from San Quentin and steals a sealed canister of dangerous Cobalt-60. He thinks that it's actually heroin. He is headed for Los Angeles. The police fears that it could kill the city.

It's a noir film riding on the backs of the new radioactive fears. It's overblown by today's standard. I'm sure the audience of its day bought into it all. It's fine in terms of B-crime noir. There is a lot of searching with geiger counters. It's not the most compelling exciting action. The limited budget probably kept the action shoots to a minimal. It needs more car chases and big car crashes.

So-so film noir, notable for Los Angeles locations and period cars. Vince Edwards made a great impression as the lead in the previous year's "Murder by Contract" (1958), another low budget film noir. This was his less memorable followup. Shot in seven days and released by Columbia Pictures, this is for fans of the actor, who later became a star on TV's "Ben Casey". This film would be best on a double bill at a drive-in theatre paired with another film noir cheapie.

Vince Edwards is an escaped con who thinks he has a canister of heroin, when it actually contains cobalt-60. Cops John Archer and Lyle Talbot have to track him down without alarming everyone in Los Angeles.

Steven Ritch, who co-wrote the script, appears as a scientist.

The L. A. locations are a plus, as is the presence of the sexy Patricia Blair as Edwards' chick. Edwards is less robotic than usual, and does a convincing job as a guy who is slowly croaking from cobalt poisoning. Maybe next time he'll try a medical career. I could have done without some scenes featuring his furry arms. On the other hand, I did appreciate a gratuitous scene of Kathie Brown adjusting her stockings.