Cry Vengeance (1954)

Violent ex-cop Vic Barron comes to Ketchikan, Alaska seeking revenge on an old enemy.

Director:

Mark Stevens

Writers:

Warren Douglas, George Bricker

Stars:

Mark Stevens, Martha Hyer, Skip Homeier

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mark Stevens	...	Vic Barron
Martha Hyer	...	Peggy Harding
Skip Homeier	...	Roxey Davis
Joan Vohs	...	Lily Arnold
Douglas Kennedy	...	Tino Morelli
Cheryl Callaway	...	Marie Morelli
Mort Mills	...	Johnny Blue-Eyes
Warren Douglas	...	Mike Walters
Lewis Martin	...	Nick Buda
Don Haggerty	...	Lt. Pat Ryan
John Doucette	...	Red Miller
Dorothy Kennedy	...	Emily Miller

Storyline

Ex-cop Vic Barron crossed the wrong mobsters; his wife and child were killed and he himself scarred, framed and imprisoned. On release, Vic has but one desire, revenge on still-hiding Tino Morelli. The trail leads to the isolated city of Ketchikan, Alaska, where Vic finds his enemy...also the latter's charming little daughter...and tavern owner Peggy Harding, who's fascinated by the soft-spoken but volcanic Vic. And someone they're not expecting has violent designs on them...

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Plot Keywords:

ex cop | revenge | alaska

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Taglines:

The call of the avenger . . .

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grito de Vingança

Filming Locations:

KTTV Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Though Mark Stevens' character is named Vic Barron, his pinky ring clearly has his real initials, "MS."

User Reviews

The Alaska stuff is a nice aspect in a routine crime noir

Cry Vengeance (1954)

Leading man Mark Stevens falls something short of a cult figure. He is director and first actor in four movies from 1954 (this one, his first) to 1963. He plays his roles as if he is in control, which he is, literally, from the director's chair. He's the hardened type, and here he is bitter bitter bitter, to the point that he is not quite a fully developed character and it's hard to get absorbed in his problem.

The rest of the movie is functional. It doesn't lack interest--for one thing, it's shot in Alaska, mostly (the exterior shots)--and the supporting cast is middling to good, filling roles we've seen before from pretty girl befriending the unlikely hero to chatty bartenders to a sweet kid who turns the man around through her innocence. And the filming (William Sickner, a routine cameraman with nearly two hundred B-movies to his credit) and editing, likewise, are workaday...the job gets done, but it lacks some kind of richness or aura or plain old drama.

Then to make it a little more disappointing, a couple of the main themes are taken a little too directly from earlier noirs, namely "The Big Heat" which came out the year before. The theme, established right away, is a cop who is out for vengeance against whoever killed his wife and child in a car bomb meant for him. Stevens plays this part with cold certitude. It's an interesting film in some ways, but a clunker in many others. Take it for what it was, and what it is.