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.

***SPOILERS*** A lot like the 1955 Mike Hammer film noir classic "Kiss Me Deadly" the movie "City of Fear" has to do with a stolen cylinder of highly toxic and radioactive cobalt-60 in granular form that was histed from the San Quentin infirmary, what it was doing there is never explained, by escaped convicts Vince Ryker and his partner William Dafner. Thinking that the cylinder contains pure heroin Ryker and Dafner, who died from radiation poisoning within hours after his escape, are in for a big surprise once they open it. In not only killing each other but exposing million of people in the L.A Metropolitan area to it's deadly radioactive rays!Not daring to tell the public what their facing the police under the command of Chief Jensen try to capture Ryker before he opens and expose himself as well as the entire city of L.A to the deadly cobalt-60! Ryker not realizing what he's got on him tries to get in touch with shoe salesman Eddie Crown who uses his store as a front for drug trafficking! It's Crown that Ryker wants to fence the drugs and make a cool million from the transaction in splitting the profits with him. While all this is going on everyone that Ryker comes in contact with including his girlfriend June Marlow are exposed to the deadly cobalt-60 and like him are not long for this world.A pre Ben Casey Vince Edwards is eerily effective as escaped hood Vince Ryker who's so obsessed in what he thinks is the heroin canister he has on him that he doesn't seem to realize that it's in fact slowly killing him. On the run through the entire film Ryker starts to sweat and cough as well as suffer internal bleeding from being exposed to the cobalt-60 that he never lets leave his sight. This doesn't stop Ryker from murdering some half dozen people, including Eddie Crown, in his mad dash for freedom, to Mexico or South America, with his by now also dying from radiation poisoning girlfriend June Marlow. ***SPOILERS*** The end comes for Ryker in this greasy spoon diner in downtown L.A as he's running from the police where he staggers in and collapses in his cup of coffee barley being able to get up and stand on his feet! Finally realizing what a jerk he was in actually killing himself, with the cobalt-60, and taking a number of people along with him Ryker crumbles to the street and finally passes away. The irony to all that is that Ryker is by now so contaminated from the effects of the cobalt-60 that no one not the police or even the ambulance staff on the scene would dare lay a hand on him!

Vince Edwards, two years before captivating female TV viewers as Dr. Ben Casey, plays an escaped con named Vince, who is unaware he has stolen a canister of radioactive powder known as Cobalt 60 instead of heroin. He is allusive outrunning police Chief Jensen(Lyle Talbot)and Lt. Richards(John Archer). The substance starts playing havoc on Vince's body and the police go into hyper mode to find him before he contaminates the entire wild eyed and terrorized citizens of Los Angeles. Vince convinces his girlfriend(Patrica Blair)that they have a worry free future if he can get out of the city. Filmed mostly on Melrose Avenue in L.A. and features an experimental jazz score by Jerry Goldsmith. Also in the cast: Steven Ritch, Kelly Thordsen and Sherwood Price.

I once saw City of Fear on the Late,Late Show when I was a kid and I think the experience has influenced my subsequent love of film noir. I have been trying to find this one but it doesn't exist on video. Strangely enough, I remember it vividly, so not seeing it doesn't really matter. Edwards is a nasty piece of work. He and a pal break out of prison after stealing what they think is a canister of pharmaceutical grade cocaine from the prison hospital. What they don't know is it's a canister of Cobalt 60, a highly dangerous radioactive substance. Of course it is harmless in it's lead-lined case, but they stole it so they can sell "the coke" once they get to L.A. Things go bad from the very beginning. Edwards and his partner have a falling out over the "drugs" and Edwards brutally murders him so he can keep the stuff for himself. Once Edwards gets to L.A. he tries to open the case and, of course, all hell breaks loose ... literally. If there was ever a tough-as-nails movie, this is it. Too bad it can't be seen today, it would put some of the so-called classic film noir films to shame.