Blast of Silence

1961 "An unforgettable experience in suspense! ... as seconds tick off a timetable ... for murder!"
7.5| 1h17m| en
Details

A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York. But a special girl from his past, and a fat gun dealer with pet rats, each gets in his way.

Director

Producted By

Magla Productions

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Reviews

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.
Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Richard Chatten The most valuable asset to an ambitious young filmmaker of the 21st Century would probably be a time machine capable of returning you to the year 1960. Clocking in at just 77 minutes but seeming much longer, 'Blast of Silence' is further evidence that in those days it would have taken genius for an independent filmmaker NOT to create a classic city 'noir'. Just make sure there's film in your camera and take your pick from all the breathtaking compositions - complete with vintage cars and sharply dressed passers-by - constantly forming around you; even Michael Winner couldn't fail to turn in a black & white urban gem three years later with 'West 11' (1963).It certainly anticipates Jean-Pierre Melville's 'Le Samourai' (1967) - but then so do Kubrick's 'Killer's Kiss' (1955) and Robert Wise's 'Odds Against Tomorrow' (1959) - and plenty have been seduced by 'Blast of Silence's aura of monochrome period cool into extravagantly overpraising it. Allen Baron's inexpressive performance as hit-man Frankie Bono (he resembles a young George C. Scott) certainly provides a perfect blank slate on which to inscribe any profundities or angst that grab you. In his capacity as writer-director Baron at some point late in production evidently felt the need to do just that, calling upon two eminent blacklistees whose services at the time would have been available at an affordable price. The insistent narration reminiscent of Mark Hellinger's in 'The Naked City' was written under the pseudonym Mel Davenport by Waldo Salt (who later won Academy Awards for 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Coming Home'), while the rasping voice of Lionel Stander is uncredited but unmistakable on the soundtrack, providing the glue which with Merrill Brody's photography holds the film together. Unfortunately much of what Stander keeps telling us on the soundtrack doesn't really need to be spelled out so relentlessly; while Meyer Kupferman's jazz score is extremely effective in moderation, but gets very noisy in places.SPOILERS COMING: Despite supposedly being such a pro, Frankie Bono's murder of Big Ralph (played by Larry Tucker, who I recognised from Sam Fuller's 'Shock Corridor') is remarkably amateurishly executed, his long-anticipated hit of Troiano no big deal, and he proves remarkably easy to ambush at the film's conclusion.
calvinnme Blast of Silence is a late noir and a pretty good flick and maybe somewhat of a sleeper since it was a blind Criterion buy. It is the story of a hit man. The circumstances which comprise the plight of the average noir hero (or anti-hero) are probably many and varied. A guy might be living an ordinary life and suddenly be hurled into the mire by fate. Or another maybe a guy who has a dangerous life style but finally makes the mistake that begins the nightmare. In this case, however, the hero has apparently and seemingly been so afflicted since the womb. This is wonderfully depicted in an opening sequence that should go down as a classic, in my view. I shall not reveal it but it is immensely satisfying and an excellent way to begin the show.This movie made me appreciate the professionalism of what it might be like to be hit man. Not that it would appeal to me, personally, but this guy knows what he's doing. We follow the planning leading up to thing itself but the movie is less about the situation and much more the man, his mental state. To that degree that he is good at what he does, to that same degree perhaps, he is not so good at feeling good and being happy. This is dramatized by a rare second-person narration, which (as a reminder) goes something like this: You open your eyes and it's a new day and the same feeling comes over you just like yesterday, that clammy feeling, and that feeling of hatred, for your old man, for yesterday, for today, for tomorrow, for Christmas, for just about everything, and you wonder will this ever end ...This voice-over that work quites well and is mercifully not overdone or too overbearing. It works because it tells the viewer what's going through the guy's head and how he is experiencing it, an economical way time-wise of letting us know this guy.I had never heard of any of the players, and I found that refreshing, no hearkening back to any prior roles. The lead is not a veteran actor and his performance perhaps shows as he comes off rather stiff, even a little dull. The good news is that it works for the character, who is a loner and socially inept with women as well as with prior male buddy acquaintances he comes across, all serving to accentuate his obvious isolation. Some of his lines seem awkward, but as I say, it works. That's just the way Frankie Bono is.There is a greasy gun dealer that is played by a soft-spoken fat man, a small but juicy role. There is also a sweet girl who is sympathetic to Frankie but to only to a point, she is way too far on the right side of the tracks. I really liked her, both the character and the actress. There are no femmes fatales. Frankie is messed up enough, he doesn't need one of those to do him in.There is a neo-realistic element. The camera takes to the street of NYC, mostly Manhattan; Rockefeller Center at Christmas time (where everyone seems happy except Frankie), Staten Island (the Ferry) and elsewhere.I won't say much about the story except that given Frankie Bono's character, the norm for him would probably entail going the job site (if you will, whatever city) and carry out his dastardly task in the time allotted, spending most of his time in a hotel alone. But here, a chance encounter with a old friend from the orphanage leads to involvement with still others including the previously mentioned girl and this drives the story. New conflicts arise in the already troubled mind of Frankie Bono and he considers the possibility of change. Can he do it? This one probably doesn't rise to highest level of the noir genre (or maybe I'm not giving enough credit) but it's certainly a good watch, and again, the opening sequence is superb.
PimpinAinttEasy Dear Allen Baron,your film could have been named "The Portrait of the Assassin as a Reluctant Square". The beginning in the railway tunnel with the baby crying and the slap - it was almost like the emergence of some sort of childhood consciousness (I wonder if the beginning influenced one of the songs by the heavy metal band Tool). But then we see the adult walk out of the train. Almost as if you're saying that innocence does not last for long. The extremely cynical narrator adds to the air of decay and loneliness. The narrator is pretty sensational. He hits you on the head with the situation of the assassin. He is almost like the main character's patron. It is almost like he is talking to the assassin and not narrating a story (like in The Big Lebowski) Egging him along towards his inevitable destruction.I guess a young Martin Scorsese was watching this. All those scenes with Baby Boy Frankie Bono walking around the city all alone, the brightly lit Christmasy areas and the run down sleazy locations must have inspired his visual style. There is even a long sequence where Franky Bono works with a gun and even points it at the screen.Anyway, I liked the portrayal of Bono the assassin as a normal guy who longs for the regular life.The actors are not fantastic or anything. And there were instances when you went over the top with the music. I was wondering why it was called Blast of Silence. I mean, it was a pretty noisy film.I enjoyed it. It is definitely a very influential film. And very entertaining as well.Best Regards, Pimpin.(8/10)
MartinHafer If you watch "Blast of Silence", I strongly recommend you watch the accompanying making of featurette featuring Allen Baron reminiscing decades later about the film. This is because it really helps you appreciate how good the movie is. After all, although the film looks very professionally made, it was assembled with a shoestring budget. In fact, the budget was so tiny that the writer/director, Baron, was forced to act in the lead. This is pretty funny, as he was just perfect in this role--yet this was only his second (and last) acting credit! I would really love it if young filmmakers today watched BOTH to get an idea of economy in filmmaking and that you don't need huge budgets nor big names to make a decent film.As for "Blast of Silence", it's a wonderful noir-like film. I say 'noir-like' because it's a lot less like an American film noir picture and more like one of the next generation that including the French noir films. In many ways, this film is comparable to those of directors like Melville--very compactly told and with little in the way of filler or remorse. Additionally, I kept thinking to myself that Allen Baron sure bore a strong similarity to one of my favorite gangster actors, Lino Ventura--the look and the style were clearly similar.The story is simple. A cold assassin named Frank Bono (Allen) is in New York to make a hit for the mob. However, he's got a few days to kill. This along with a betrayal by one of his 'associates' take Bono off his game. While the hit goes off pretty much as planned, Bono uncharacteristically shows that his nerves are on edge and he's tired of the life--both things which make him a liability.The film is told very well and I loved most of it. However, like too many gangster films of the 1940s-60s, there is an unnecessary narration. While Allen must have been thrilled to get the character actor Lionel Stander to narrate (and his voice was perfect), I don't think it added anything to the film and could have easily been eliminated. Still, it is a much better than average crime film--and a marvelous example of inexpensive filmmaking. Ironically, Allen went on to have a very long career...but almost completely with television and not in film despite the quality of this production.