SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

kidboots This movie was a major find for me - the fifties ushered in a more realistic noir genre (thanks to "He Walks By Night", "Dragnet" etc) zeroing in on loners, killers whose motivations were never fully explained, helped enormously by outside location shootings and casting unknown actors. Adam Williams is perfect casting as the fresh faced boyish loner, he is just appealing enough for it to be understandable why lonely women were taken with his charms.Carl Martin is a gardener whose creepy personality was enough for his blonde wife to look elsewhere. Toward the end he tries to justify his behaviour on his wife's abandonment but from the start, with his barely concealed gun it is so obvious that he enjoys killing. As the film opens, the police are baffled by yet another "blonde killing" but this time they have a clue - the killer left a calling card in a piece from a blue coat and as the forensics guy says, an expensive one!! Martin is always one jump ahead of the police - they have been combing men's clothing repair shops but Martin realises this is just what they expect him to do and burns it!!The pacing and editing keep you on the edge of your seat - usually with the expectation of violence that is always implied but never seen. As when a beautiful blonde gives him the "come on" in the bar, they get to talking in her car, the next scene shows her obviously dead. What follows is a really cracker of suspense - Carl and his "date" parked under a bridge are noticed by a passing policeman, he tries to drive off but the car becomes bogged in the dust - even that doesn't arouse the cop's suspicions. When the policeman wants to take a closer look at the girl who Carl says is just drunk, that precipitates a mammoth chase on foot along with gun play through unfinished freeways, zig zagging around the Produce Market where the killer thinks that by his fancy footwork with changing taxis, he has given them the slip!!As well as trying to track through a murderer's mind there is also a routine police investigation going on - from the discovery of the murder weapon being a pair of secateurs, it is concluded that they are looking for a gardener. Carl has already lined up his next victim - she is the daughter of the man where Carl buys his gardening supplies. Initially turned off because she is married, he can't resist his compulsions which end in a shoot out, outside Martin's ramshackle house amidst a poor Mexican hillside settlement, soon to be demolished for Dodgers Stadium.This definitely should be ranked along with "The Sniper" as one of the early 1950s best "unknown noirs"!!Very Recommended!!

robert-temple-1 This film noir is a typical Hollywood B picture of the early fifties, made on a low budget and with obscure talent. However, it works very well. It was the first film directed by Arnold Laven, whose subsequent career, which lasted until 1985, was mainly in American television series, although his second film was VICE SQUAD (1953), starring Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard, so he was moving up from B status already. None of the actors in this film ever achieved significant status. The story concerns a psychotic serial killer, well played with suitably demented expressions and a great deal of tension by Carl Martin, who was jilted by a blonde of a certain type, so he repeatedly seeks out blondes who resemble her, in order to kill them and thus get back at her. From the beginning of the film, there is no secret about who the killer is, and we see him at work, stalking and stabbing the women to death with his garden shears (he is a professional gardener). The film is thus all about how they can identify and catch him, since his fingerprints are not on file and there are so few clues. The film lapses from time to time into a 'police procedural drama', but only briefly, and I suspect it was originally designed as one but then they decided to cut most of that out and just get on with the story, which was a good idea. For those who like early fifties noir, this film has a great deal of interest, is well made, and holds the attention.

Noirdame79 "In the annals of crime of any great city, there is always one case that for sheer savagery will never be forgotten. No professional criminal could ever match its fury, for it is the record of murder without reason, of fear and of terror of a killer who strikes without warning." So begins the story of the garden shear wielding love-killer, at large in 1951 Los Angeles, who has a murderous penchant for blondes.Opening outside a motel with blaring jazz music, the police are investigating the murder of a lovely blonde who was killed by a large pair of gardening shears. It is determined that the woman was in her twenties and married, although her husband is clearly not in the picture. As the cops probe the scene, our love-killer, boyish gardener Carl Martin (Adam Williams, North By Northwest), collapses into bed, awakening the next day to head to a local gardening supply store, where he spots the owner's comely daughter Jane (Meg Randall) who is helping out her dad while her husband is overseas. (And let me just add, there is a little girl, Carmencita, who has the tendency to show up in some of the most inopportune moments for Carl). The police, meanwhile, think that the latest murder is linked to one a month earlier - the similarities are striking. While the authorities do everything and anything they can to stop and identify the murderer (including having pretty blonde decoys accompanied by plainclothed cops in an attempt to lure the psycho into a trap, studying torn fabric from the suit he was wearing at the time of the motel killing), Martin is still able to claim two more victims, but not before the police psychiatrist makes his diagnosis. The love-killer is a less than confidant guy who fell head over heels in love with, and married a woman (you guessed it, a blonde) who left him high and dry for another man. So the women he chooses as victims are prototypes of his ex-wife. Blonde, attractive, married but estranged from their husbands for whatever reason. He was unable to punish his wife so instead he punishes other women. Although Martin does pick up one of the decoys, while driving to an out of the way place, he notices that they're being followed and promptly drops her off - alive - but not before delivering a quick little speech regarding morals. It seems that he may be cunning enough at times to stay one step ahead of the law, but he's bound to be found out or exposed - it's just a question of when and how. By the time the detectives discover Martin's identity and that he is a gardener by profession, it may be too late for Jane, who finds herself alone with Carl as his murderous rage is about to explode - again.Adam Williams spent most of his career in television, and I can't help but think that had he had more film roles, if his portrayal here is any indication, he may have become a star in the Richard Widmark mold. "Without Warning" is also a very interesting viewing experience because it introduces some investigative techniques that have become much more prevalent and advanced in recent years - analyzing crime scenes, fabric fibers, cigarette butts, soil and criminal profiling. While not exactly what you'd see on CSI today, the determining of the type of suit the perpetrator was wearing and what motivates him to commit his crimes makes this early 50s noir a cut above the rest that I've seen. Also, Martin seems to get a perverse kick out of reading about his savage mayhem in the papers, and along with his clean-cut, seemingly "normal" exterior his inner rage simmers, his murderous intent could explode suddenly or could have him meticulously planning his next move. I couldn't help but think of Ted Bundy in that respect - Martin, like Bundy, seems on the surface to be last person you'd suspect to be capable of such savage killings.Of course, I can't review this film without addressing what critics and fans of the genre have debated - whether Without Warning should be considered film noir or not. And I'm going to answer that as honestly as I can - yes and no. At times, it seems that the movie can't decide what it wants to be - a noir, a detective story, or a documentary-style thriller. It has very strong elements of all three, but I do think that it does earn the title of noir, even if it is missing some of the better known ingredients (femme fatales, hard-boiled detectives), and only a handful of scenes take place at night - which is usually considered a noir staple. The rest of the action (including a dramatic chase as Martin evades police after claiming his third victim, and the climax) takes place in broad daylight. The police detectives, while dedicated to their jobs, seem to be rather average Joes apart from it and there is no insight into their personal lives. Even Martin's primary target, Jane, is a regular gal who just wants to help out her father and innocently bide her time until her husband returns. However I suppose it doesn't matter that Jane is not a two-timing dame, because all attractive blondes of that age are the same in Carl Martin's eyes. The narration is on hand pretty much throughout, giving the story an air of realism.Check it out if you can.

dhogan-2 I'd been aware of this film's existence for some years, and although I never imagined it to be a classic, it did seem promising, given the highly competent Levy-Gardner-Laven team (The Rifleman, The Monster That Challenged the World, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue), and Adam Williams, a young character actor (The Big Heat, North by Northwest, The Space Children)I've always enjoyed. On the most basic level, Dark Sky Films has put together a splendid, bargain-price DVD presenting a 35mm print that is flawless, except for a single, brief "cut" in the film stock late in the story. Otherwise, this b&w thriller is pristine, even shimmering, without speck, scratch or other visible flaw. Where has this print been all these years--Fort Knox? I was stunned by its beauty. A photo gallery is a pleasing extra, and the menu is imaginatively augmented with visual and audio snippets. Open the case and the inner sleeve is decorated with original ad art and a scene from the film. As a murder thriller with strong overtones of police procedural (complete with v/o narration by the fabulous Reed Hadley), Without Warning is superior stuff, with effectively understated performances, smart, concise direction and plenty of suspense and surprise, including a shock moment near the beginning that will knock you back in your chair. Williams is creepily attractive (or maybe attractively creepy) as the quiet, psychotic killer of women, with character vet Ed Binns appealingly dogged as the working-stiff police detective assigned to bring the monster to heel. Meg Randall is pleasant and convincing as the central female character(who ends up in considerable peril), and there's a nice turn (in this UA release) by pretty Columbia contract player Angela Stevens (Three Stooges shorts, Creature with the Atom Brain, lots of westerns), as a good-time girl who comes to a bad end. As other reviewers have commented, Without Warning also is an invaluable visual and aural record of vanished Los Angeles, particularly Chavez Ravine. As archaeology alone, then, the picture is fascinating. I can't emphasize enough the pleasure and satisfaction Without Warning provides. It's worthy on multiple levels; grab it!