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:

Doctor | Smallpox | Smuggler | Cuba | New York

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Backus	...	Willie Dennis (uncredited)
Jay Barney	...	Angry Man in Tenement (uncredited)
George Baxter	...	Drug Company Executive (uncredited)
John Bleifer	...	Walda's Uncle (uncredited)
Gail Bonney	...	(uncredited)
Peter Brocco	...	Tom the Wino (uncredited)
Barry Brooks	...	Policeman (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	...	Vaccinated Man (uncredited)
Walter Burke	...	Danny - Bellhop (uncredited)
James Bush	...	Hennick (uncredited)
Angela Clarke	...	Mrs. Dominic (uncredited)
Paul Dubov	...	Intern, Phil (uncredited)
Richard Egan	...	Treasury Agent Owney (uncredited)
Edythe Elliott	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Colonel (uncredited)
Charles Evans	...	General (uncredited)
Robert Foulk	...	Cop (uncredited)
Alex Gerry	...	Drug Company Executive (uncredited)
Everett Glass	...	Elderly Doctor (uncredited)
Billy Gray	...	Pinkie (uncredited)
Reed Hadley	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Alvin Hammer	...	Worried Man (uncredited)
Timmy Hawkins	...	Kid (uncredited)
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Patricia Iannone	...	Girl (uncredited)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Boy Outside Willie's Place (uncredited)
Tommy Ivo	...	Jerry - Blond Boy (uncredited)
Anthony Jochim	...	(uncredited)
Louise Kane	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Paul Keast	...	Drug Company Executive (uncredited)
Guy Kingsford	...	Manning (uncredited)
Don Kohler	...	Ted James (uncredited)
Norman Leavitt	...	The Photographer (uncredited)
Celia Lovsky	...	Mrs. Kowalski (uncredited)
Sydney Mason	...	Sober Man (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick	...	Man on Telephone (uncredited)
Carl Milletaire	...	Cynic (uncredited)
Frances Morris	...	Housewife (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Gary Pagett	...	Baseball Kid (uncredited)
Paul Picerni	...	Health Department Investigator (uncredited)
James Pierce	...	Police Commissioner (uncredited)
Warren Schannon	...	Kid (uncredited)
Lester Sharpe	...	Mr. Kowalski (uncredited)
Arthur Space	...	Dr. Penner (uncredited)
George Spaulding	...	Borum (uncredited)
Peter Virgo	...	Joe Dominic - Milkman (uncredited)
Ray Walker	...	Wise Guy (uncredited)
Helen Wallace	...	Mother Superior (uncredited)
Beverly Washburn	...	Walda Kowalski (uncredited)
Charles Watts	...	Charlie - The Mailman (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Man on Street at Suicide Scene (uncredited)
Gayne Whitman	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Earl McEvoy

Writing credits
Milton Lehman		(Colliers Magazine article)
Harry Essex		(adaptation and screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Cohn	....	producer

Original Music by
Hans J. Salter		(as Hans Salter)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Jerome Thoms

Art Direction by
Walter Holscher

Set Decoration by
Louis Diage

Costume Design by
Jean Louis

Makeup Department
Helen Hunt	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jack Fier	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Nicholson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Russell Malmgren	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Victor Scheurich	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Seckler	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Pat Sutherland	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director
Harold Byrns	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Arlene Cooper	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Robert Cohn Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films of Malaya (1950) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1950) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1950) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Consorzio Cinematografico (1950) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Christiaan van der Ree (1950) (Venezuela) (theatrical)
• Medal Fim Exchange (1950) (Puerto Rico) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures de Cuba (1950) (Cuba) (theatrical)
• Kamera Film (1950) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1950) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1950) (Panama) (theatrical)
• Hosh Posh Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Hosh Posh Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Collectibles (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Collectibles (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Bad Girls of Film Noir Vol. 1)

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 (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Robert Cohn Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: The suspect Sheila is described to the police as being 5 feet, 4 inches, but when the bulletin is sent out on the teletype, it is given as 5 feet, 2 inches.

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.

Panic in the Streets it Ain't

There must have been a sale on this storyline back in the 40's. An epidemic threatens New York (it's always New York) and nobody takes it seriously. Some might say that Richard Widmark and Jack Palance did it better in Panic in the Streets, but I disagree.

There is always something about these Poverty Row productions that really touch a nerve. The production values are never that polished and the acting is a little rough around the edges, but that is the very reason I think this movie and those like it are effective. Rough, grainy, edgy. And the cast. All 2nd stringers or A list actors past their prime. No egos here. These folks were happy to get the work. Whit Bissell, Carl Benton Reid, Jim Backus, Arthur Space, Charles Korvin, and the melodious voice of Reed Hadley flowing in the background like crude oil. By the way, I've been in the hospital a couple of times; how come my nurses never looked like Dorothy Malone? In these kind of movies they don't bother much with make-up and hair, but they really managed to turn Evelyn Keyes into a hag. Or maybe they just skipped the make-up and hair altogether. Anyway, it was pretty effective. She plays a lovesick jewel smuggler who picks up a case of Small Pox in Cuba while smuggling jewels back for ultra-villain Charles Korvin (who is boffing her sister in the meantime). You got the Customs Agents looking for her because of the jewels, and the Health Department looking for her because she's about to de-populate New York. No 4th Amendment rights here. Everybody gets hassled.

You gotta have the right attitude to enjoy a movie like this. I have a brother who scrutinizes movies to death. If they don't hold up to his Orson Wellian standards, he bombs them unmercifully. They must have the directorial excellence of a David Lean movie, the score of Wolfgang von Korngold, the Sound and Art of Douglas Shearer and Cedric Gibbons respectively. This ain't it.

But I have the right attitude, and if you do as well, you'll love this movie.