Written by / 8/03/2022 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VINCE EDWARDS IN THE ATOMIC AGE LATE NOIR 'CITY OF FEAR'

Title: CITY OF FEAR Stars: Vince Edwards, Steven Ritch Year: 1959 Rating: ***

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...

Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR

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.

Steven Ritch in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR
Vintage but then new radio from CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR with Patricia Blair

John Archer in CITY OF FEAR
Noir and Western staple Kelly Thorsden from CITY OF FEAR
The Werewolf actor Steven Ritch in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR
Kathie Browne in CITY OF FEAR
Kathie Browne in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR
Poster Art for CITY OF FEAR
Atomic radar Steven Ritch and cop John Archer in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwwards in CITY OF FEAR
Vince Edwards in CITY OF FEAR
Kathie Browne in CITY OF FEAR
John Archer and Steven Ritch in CITY OF FEAR

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

LANCE GUEST WITH ROBERT PRESTON IN 'THE LAST STARFIGHTER'

Title: THE LAST STARFIGHTER Year: 1984 Rating: ***1/2 The connection of THREE AMIGOS, GALAXY QUEST and TROPIC THUNDER... of actors thinking ...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "He was unique; and he was dead." Craig Stevens, Peter Gunn

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year