Barely watchable nourish radiation-fear exploitation thriller about escaped convict (Vince Edwards) who is carrying a canister of radioactive Cobalt 60 that he thinks is heroin. Hilarity ensues. But really. If cops were this stupid, no crooks would ever get caught. ** SPOILER ALERT *** First, no photo of him? A convicted criminal? Really? Second, don't tell any of his accomplices how dangerous the canister is – they may not believe you, but so what? You have a chance, at least. Really. Third, don't bother to follow his accomplices, they might lead you to him! Really. Fourth, radiation from the canister would not leave the surroundings radioactive if none of the contents escaped. Really. Fifth, what the F is that canister made of? They said it was some sort of steel, but he can't dent it with chisels and sledge-hammers. Really? Sixth, after three days in direct contact with that canister, he should be totally helpless, not beating up his buddy and running around the streets. Really. Seventh, these cops are the worst interrogators in the world, they never ask a useful question. Really. 3/10 for the cool 50's cars and views of LA. And Edwards is eye candy. But really.

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.

City of Fear (1959),directed by Irving Lerner,is a representative of a presumably lost science or knowledge--that of making suspenseful thrillers.Todat, this science seems to have been lost.City of Fear (1959) is as straightforward as it is naive--and notice how its simplicity can be delighting and fit.Kathie Browne,a splendid blonde a la Kim Novak, very '50s in her dress and moves, is especially fine to watch.The film is very well paced, enviably well scored, and immensely suspenseful. It is naive and simple, yet not at all crap or stupid.It is a tale, effectually written, of the bomb threat,in the duck and cover era.It's one of the movies I wish I had seen as a boy.The _toxically murderous substance hovers above these people that hide or search it--striving to endure and prevail; the lead, a superior bum, is doomed. The toxic death lurks, looms. The looming, lurking, almost hidden danger. The atomic threat; the duck and cover naive slogans and fear.Irving Lerner was the director of only a few films, between '43 and '69 .Vince Edwards is the lead of City of Fear (1959),and fit for an action drama like this one.Because it is so tense and fast--paced and interesting and dynamic, the movie seems very short.

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.