Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1961
Blast of Silence
Buy Blast of Silence now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Blast of Silence' is a 1961 American neo-noir written, directed by, and starring Allen Baron. The film also stars Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, and Peter Clume. It was produced by Merrill Brody, who was also the cinematographer.Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). 'Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style' (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press.
Plot
Frankie Bono, a mentally disturbed hitman from Cleveland, comes back to his hometown in New York City during Christmas week to kill a middle-management mobster, Troiano. The assassination will be risky, with Frankie being warned by a fellow enforcer that should he be spotted before the hit is performed, the contract will be reneged.
First, Frankie follows his target to select the best possible location, but opts to wait until Troiano isn't being accompanied by his bodyguards. Next, he goes to purchase a revolver from Big Ralph, an obese gun runner who keeps sewer rats as pets. The encounter with this old acquaintance leaves Frankie feeling disgusted. With several days left before the hit is to be performed, Frankie decides to kill time in the city, where he is plagued by memories of past trauma during his time living there.
While sitting alone for a drink, Frankie is spotted by his childhood friend Petey, who invites the reluctant Frankie to a Christmas party, where Frankie later encounters his old flame, Lori. The following day Frankie goes to see Lori at her apartment to get better reacquainted with her, but the visit ends in disaster when an initially vulnerable Frankie suddenly attempts to sexually assault her. Lori forgives Frankie for his actions and calmly asks him to leave, to which he obliges.
That same day, Frankie tails Troiano and his mistress to a jazz club in Greenwich Village. However, he is spotted by Big Ralph, who decides to blackmail Frankie out of the hit. In turn, Frankie stalks Ralph back to his tenement and strangles him to death following a violent brawl between the two. Losing his nerve, Frankie calls up his employers to tell them he wants to quit the job. Unsympathetic, the supervisor tells him he is in trouble for even thinking that and that he has until New Year's Eve to perform the hit.
Having settled on using the apartment of Troiano's mistress as the location for the murder, Frankie makes one last stop at Lori's home to both apologize for his behavior and to convince her to leave New York with him, only to learn she has a live-in boyfriend. Frankie leaves angrily to finish the job. Later, having successfully killed his target, Frankie narrowly evades being caught by Troiano's mistress via the rooftops before making his way to the docks to receive his payment. However, the meetup is revealed to be an ambush setup by his supervisors and Frankie is riddled with bullets. He attempts to swim ashore with his remaining strength but succumbs to his wounds, dying alone in the muddy banks of the river.
Production notes
According to Turner Classic Movies web site, the "fist fight" scene was filmed on Long Island during Hurricane Donna (September 1012, 1960), the only hurricane of the 20th century to blanket the entire East Coast from south Florida to Maine. The narration was written by blacklisted Waldo Salt (using the name Mel Davenport) and read (uncredited) by blacklisted Lionel Stander.
Release
'Blast of Silence' was released in Chicago on June 5, 1961.
The Criterion Collection released 'Blast of Silence' on DVD in 2008. The disc's special features include a new, restored digital transfer, a making-of featurette ('Requiem for a Killer: The Making of Blast of Silence),' rare on-set Polaroid photos, and images of locations as they existed in 2008. Also included is a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty and a four-page comic by Sean Phillips ('Criminal', 'Sleeper', 'Marvel Zombies').
Reception
Eugene Archer, of 'The New York Times', wrote that the film was "awkward and pretentious" due to the film trying to hew to American conventions of filmmaking while also attempting to be "offbeat and 'arty'", although Archer praised the filming of places in New York City.
Janet Graves in 'Photoplay' concluded that the "unpretentious air" clashes with the style of the narrator, described by the writer as "both fancy and too-too tough". - Cited: p. [https://archive.org/details/photoplayjuldec100macf_16/page/n121/mode/2up 16]
Richard Brody, in 'The New Yorker', wrote "many of the images deserve to be iconic."
J. R. Jones in 'Chicago Reader' felt that the film "might seem comical if it werent so rooted in existential dread."
References
Buy Blast of Silence now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1961