cult film freak: VINCE EDWARDS ATOMIC ERA LATE NOIR 'CITY OF FEAR'

Written by James M. Tate / 9/11/2018 / No comments / fifties , film noir or melodrama , jazz score , vince edwards

VINCE EDWARDS ATOMIC ERA LATE NOIR 'CITY OF FEAR'

9/11/2018 | No comment

Year of Release: 1959 rating: ***

CITY OF FEAR: An escaped convict, played by Vince Edwards, steals a metal container of what he thinks is uncut heroin, but is really radioactive cobalt. As he ventures through the city, slowly dying, the cops are after him.

The edgy, underlined brilliance of this film... trumping the somewhat sluggish pace when our ailing anti-hero, not on screen, gets discussed by other cast members, especially the cops... is the symbolic comparison to the cobalt and the criminal...

One character warns Edwards that he can't show his face for fear of exposure: which means being seen, but can also mean contagious. And the container itself is liken to a fugitive criminal: the police, not wanting to cause citywide panic, warns anyone involved about how dangerous he is... And only we know what they're really talking about. Proof that heavy-handed symbolism can only usually really work within this genre.

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Tags : fifties , film noir or melodrama , jazz score , vince edwards

James M. Tate

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FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)THE CROWDED SKY 3)JUNGLE STREET4)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)HELL IS A CITY 7)VIOLENT SATURDAY 8)HOT CARS 9)NIGHT CREATURES 10)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 11)HARDCORE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)ASH WEDNESDAY 15)PULP 16)THE SYSTEM 17)THE FEARMAKERS 18)THE SERGEANT 19)AL CAPONE 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)THE DEFECTOR 24)DUEL IN THE JUNGLE 25)A PRIZE OF ARMS 26)AIR PATROL 27)WHITE HEAT 28)BEAT GIRL 29)EASY LIVING 30)ATLANTIC CITY 31)COMPULSION 32)THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN 33)THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY 34)MADISON AVENUE 35)THE SHARKFIGHTERS 36)DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS 37)MY BLOOD RUNS COLD 38)ROYAL FLASH 39)SWAMP WATER 40)THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND 41)THE BREAK 42)THE HIJACKERS 43)THE HEARSE 44)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 45)CANYON RIVER 46)KILLER FISH 47)FRENZY 48)LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN 49)THE KILLING 50)FORCE TEN FROM NARAVONE 51)BULLITT 52)WICHITA 53)WAR OF THE WORLDS 54)KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE 55)LAURA 56)THE LINEUP 57)DEATH WISH 58)SORCERER 59)THE STONE KILLER 60)WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)MARLON BRANDO 4)JACK NICHOLSON 5)ORSON WELLES 6)PETER O'TOOLE 7)TOM COURTENAY 8)CHARLES BRONSON 9)STANLEY BAKER 10)VICTOR MATURE ACTRESSES 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN CARPENTER 7)VAL GUEST 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)MICHAEL WINNER 10)SAM PECKINPAH