The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)

Director:

Earl McEvoy

Writers:

Milton Lehman (Colliers Magazine article)
Harry Essex (adaptation)

Release Date:

1 December 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Plot:

Police seek a smuggler while doctors, unaware she's the same person, desperately comb unprotected New York for a smallpox carrier.

Plot Keywords:

Smallpox | Doctor | Virus | New York | Smuggler

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Evelyn Keyes	...	Sheila Bennet
Charles Korvin	...	Matt Krane
William Bishop	...	Dr. Ben Wood
Dorothy Malone	...	Alice Lorie
Lola Albright	...	Francie Bennet
Barry Kelley	...	Treasury Agent Johnson
Carl Benton Reid	...	Health Commissioner Ellis
Ludwig Donath	...	Dr. Cooper
Art Smith	...	Anthony Moss
Whit Bissell	...	Sid Bennet
Roy Roberts	...	Mayor of New York
Connie Gilchrist	...	Belle - the Landlady
Dan Riss	...	Skrip
Harry Shannon	...	Police Officer Houlihan

Also Known As:

Frightened City (Philippines: English title) (UK) (USA) (copyright title)

Runtime:

USA:79 min | USA:76 min (Encore-Mystery Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #14252) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Robert Cohn Productions

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Sheila is convinced to go to the clinic, the nurse offers her a glass of water. That would not be done if her temperature had to be taken. It would possibly give a false reading. Plus, any good nurse would have spotted her as "sick" the moment she laid eyes on Sheila.

Quotes:

Sheila Bennet: I've been waiting for you Matt.
Matt Krane: I've got the stones.
Sheila Bennet: You're not going anywhere, Matt. You're not going anywhere again.

Decent Noir

Killer That Stalked New York, The (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

B-budget noir about a female diamond smuggler (Evelyn Keyes) who is trying to sneak some priceless diamonds into NYC from Cuba. While the police are tracking her down they learn that the woman also has smallpox, which threatens the entire city. The story here is a very interesting one but sadly the film never manages to do anything with it. The film really doesn't know if it wants to settle on the diamond story or the smallpox one and the two really don't mix well together. The biggest problem is the direction, which is also all over the place. With a story like this you'd expect some sort of tension or suspense but none never happens. Keyes is pretty good in her role but the screenplay really doesn't do her any justice as our feelings for her character are never really made clear. Charles Korvin, William Bishop and Dorothy Malone round out the cast. The ending is pretty good and picks the film up a bit but that's about all there is.