I really, really.. wish I could remember where I first heard of this film. I go to so many crime blog's that when I forget to write things down I can't remember who to thank. That is a real shame because I owe someone a HUGE thank you. If you come across this story and it was you, then consider yourself thanked properly. The film I'm talking about is "Blast of Silence" from 1961, and written, directed and starring Allen Baron. The film is available via Criterion on Netflix and contains in addition to the film, a special addition entitled " Requiem for a Killer: The Making of Blast of Silence" from 2007. How this film has ridden under the radar for so long is a crime. Blast of Silence is the story of Frank Bono, a hit man from Cleveland who's come to New York to do a job at Christmas. This film is vintage N.Y. and was made on about a $20,000 budget. Frank deals with his feelings of alienation while waiting to complete the job and soon things start to spiral out of his control. Frank soon finds his profession is not one you can simply walk away from. Lionel Sandler gives voice to film in the role of narrator. I watched the film twice in one day & then viewed the extras and just fell in love with it the more I saw of it and learned of it. I highly recommend it to all my crime noir buddies out there.
Yes! Loved this movie. The fat guy, what's his name? was really great and sleazy. I think I could've done with less of the voice over, but great film.
ReplyDeleteJed, I think his name is Larry Tucker & he was in Shock Corridor as well if I'm not mistaken.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I saw it was at NoirCon 2008, in a real live movie theater. Damn! It was in conjunction with the Criterion release, I believe...Christa Faust was present, as Was Eddie Muller, in addition to many other luminaries.
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