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Reviews
City of Fear (1959)
Mixed Bag
This movie is a real mixed bag because, overall, the main story about an escaped prisoner in possession of radioactive material, and the police hunt to find him, is very badly done. There are so many loopholes in the plot that it's almost insulting. And all the scenes with the police and the investigation are just awful. However, the movie starts out fantastically with two prisoners driving away from a prison break and the one prisoner's reunion with his girlfriend whom he plans to hide out with. These are the kinds of scenes which everybody loves about film noir, and they are so well done that it's a disappointment when the rest of the plot kicks in. The dark photography of nighttime Los Angeles locations remains fantastic throughout the movie though. What else the movie has going for it is some really great film noir acting and characters. Vince Edwards is fantastic throughout, especially the scene where he poses as a doctor when he is stopped by the highway police during his getaway. And he's nasty and compelling throughout the movie. And in some smaller roles are some great characterizations of creepy shady characters that had me squirming with delight at their sleaziness. The best of all being Sherwood Price, in a performance of the kind you would expect to see in a modern Tarantino type movie, but certainly not in a 1950s movie. But all the actors who play the cops are stiff and unbelievable as they recite their horrible dialogue. If you can forget about the main plot and enjoy everything else that the movie has to offer, then this is well worth seeing.