THE ATOMIC CITY is something of a misnomer of a title for an otherwise ordinary kidnap thriller with an interesting setting in the form of Los Alamos. Gene Barry, in his debut screen performance, plays a dedicated scientist who struggles with a real moral dilemma when his lad is kidnapped and he'll only facilitate his return by sharing top secret information. It's a nice premise for sure, and the film looks good for what is clearly a limited budget, but at the same time there's something lacking here: suspense. You can't fault the performances, but you never really care all too much about what's happening, and thus the extended chase climax never really draws you in as it should. Serviceable, but hardly great...
Review of The Atomic City
