Cry Terror! (1958)

Duped by former army pal Paul Hoplin into building a time-bomb, New York shop owner Jim Molner and his family become hostages of Hoplin who uses bomb-threats to extort money from airlines.

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone

Stars:

James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Mason	...	Jim Molner
Inger Stevens	...	Mrs. Joan Molner
Rod Steiger	...	Paul Hoplin
Neville Brand	...	Steve
Angie Dickinson	...	Eileen Kelly
Kenneth Tobey	...	Agent Frank Cole
Jack Klugman	...	Vince, a thug
Jack Kruschen	...	F.B.I. Agent Charles Pope
Carleton Young	...	Roger Adams
Barney Phillips	...	Dan Pringle
Harlan Warde	...	Bert, Operative
Ed Hinton	...	Operative
Chet Huntley	...	Self
Roy Neal	...	Self
Jonathan Hole	...	Airline Executive

Storyline

Yesterday Jim Molner was an ordinary guy. Today he's a desperate man, frantically trying to save himself and his family, held hostage by a demented terrorist who's demanding $500,000 not to detonate a bomb he's planted on a domestic airliner.

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Plot Keywords:

child hostage | fbi | mad bomber | extortion | ransom | 

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Taglines:

TERRIFYING...as the time-triggered explosive of a mad bomber ticking-ticking-ticking!

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The subway sequence near the end actually was shot at and in the old Hudson & Manhattan Railroad system (now better known as the PATH Trains), operating in Lower Manhattan, lower midtown, and New Jersey, which was in bankruptcy at the time. (Ridership had shrunk to 30 million a year, and one imagines the operators were happy for whatever access fees and publicity the production carried with it). The station or stations used seem to be the Christopher Street station in the far west of Greenwich Village, and possibly the 9th Street station north and east of the former.

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Goofs

The $500,000 would equal 25,000 $20 bills and would weigh about 55 pounds. In bulk, it would be the equivalent of 11 reams of 20# copy paper. It would be too large to fit into the flimsy dress box and Joan could not carry it so easily.

User Reviews

Piling It On

One look at a lustful Neville Brand (Steve) in heat darn near sent me under the bed. He's high on Bennies and it's a cowering Joan (Stevens) who's going to pay, except maybe she's got a surprise for the plug-ugly thug. In a movie filled with tense situations, this may be the scariest. Anyway, if it's not a woman menaced by a nutcase, it's Joan driving in traffic to meet a deadline, or her hubby (Mason) clambering around an elevator shaft, or both Dad and Mom keeping a nasty extortion gang from taking their toddler. If anything, there may be too many of these sweaty palms to keep up the effect. Whatever the case, this may be first film of the '50's to utter the word 'rape'.

The plot's a version of a '50's favorite, the home invasion, where an unwary American family is suddenly under attack inside the apparent safety of the home. It's also likely a reflection for the movies of a growing suburban audience. Here the invasion is part of a complex plan to extort money from an airline under threat of an airliner bomb. Of course, that brings in the feds and a lot of police procedure, while we hang in there with the little family under siege.

It's an unusually fine cast, with Brand as the standout, at least in my little book. Also, check out the fetching Angie Dickinson as a sadistic gang moll—real casting against type. There's also the tragic Inger Stevens showing her fine acting chops, along with a rather restrained Rod Steiger as the gang mastermind. It's all put together by the Stones, husband and wife, noted for their documentary style and dedication to location filming, from which the story gains helpful credibility.

All in all, the movie's a 90-minute exercise in relentless tension that seems ironically topical, given how thorough bomb detection is now fifty-years later.

(In passing—I expect the movie's premise was inspired by the real life case of John Gilbert Graham. In 1955, he blew up an airliner over Colorado for insurance money on his mother, of all people, killing 44 passengers in the process. Needless to say for the law and order 1950's, he was swiftly executed. But perhaps most interesting for our day is that there was no federal law at the time covering bombs aboard airliners—apparently the possibility seemed too remote! As a result, Graham was tried and convicted under a different statute. Yes indeed, how times have changed.)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Third Rail

Filming Locations:

Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$482,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Andrew L. Stone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1