Without Warning! (1952)

Quiet, unobtrusive LA citizen Carl Martin picks up look-alikes for his estranged blonde wife and murders them with garden shears.

Director:

Arnold Laven

Writers:

William Raynor (story), William Raynor (screenplay)

Stars:

Adam Williams, Meg Randall, Edward Binns

Cast

Cast overview:
Adam Williams	...	Carl Martin
Meg Randall	...	Jane Saunders
Edward Binns	...	Lt. Pete Hamilton
Harlan Warde	...	Police Detective Sgt. Don Warde
John Maxwell	...	Fred Saunders
Angela Stevens	...	Blonde
Byron Kane	...	Police Chemist Charlie Wilkins
Charles Tannen	...	Wolf
Marilee Phelps	...	Virginia
Robert Foulk	...	Wilson, Motel Manager
Connie Vera	...	Carmelita
Robert Shayne	...	Dr. Werner, Police Psychiatrist

Storyline

Carl Martin is a morose and deranged Los Angeles gardener, who,in retribution for the infidelity of his unfaithful wife, sets about to kill as many blonde's as he can. From the time the film opens, to the sound of a radio turned up full-blast over the still-warm corpse of a blonde, the audience knows the identity of the killer. The film depicts, with documentary realism as it was shot on location in and around Los Angeles, how the police, using laboratory techniques against the few clues they have, track down Martin. Their key clue is a spring from a pair of garden shears. The police move in just as Martin is about to add Jane Saunders, the daughter of a greenhouse owner, to his long list of victims.

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Plot Keywords:

blonde | clue | garden shears | radio | greenhouse | 

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Taglines:

The high-voltage shock story that shows how he picked them up... how he kissed them... how he killed them! (US one-sheet)

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Without Warning

Filming Locations:

Chávez Ravine, Elysian Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allart Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Fox's first film.

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Goofs

As Lt. Hamilton and Sgt. Warde talk to the police captain, they hand him a neat police file which he opens. As the camera cuts for a closer look, he's suddenly holding a bunch of papers.

User Reviews

Great DVD transfer not necessarily a great noir

This is a virtually spotless transfer and for Film Noir fans who have to put up with beaten up prints of unjustly forgotten films that alone I think perhaps has lead other writers here to rate the movie a bit too highly. It is a police procedure picture (with a surprising amount of forensics used for the time) that unfortunately comes to an obvious ending that reduces what came before it. It is especially well scored and photographed on real(and unique) locations that make it seem very fresh.

It is like THE SNIPER, though that film deals with wider issues and has a harder edge and most distinct style, where this plays out like a really good episode of something like THE NAKED CITY, or DRAGNET. The ending is safe and small. The characters although well acted are really stock "types" and don't really become three dimensional.

That said the first half of the film is very good and all the positives other writers on IMDb have said are true. But this doesn't ever become a drama, staying safely in melodrama land and that keeps it as mostly by the numbers B picture. Everybody does their job well but also safely within the confines of a programmer. The script just can't let them break out into a real classic noir.