Blast of Silence (1961)
1961 · Feature film · 88 min · dir. Allen Baron
An unforgettable experience in suspense! ... as seconds tick off a timetable ... for murder!
- Crime
- Drama
- Thriller
Synopsis
A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York. But a special girl from his past and a fat gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.
Synopsis from TMDb
Details
- Director
- Allen Baron
- Writer
- Allen Baron
- Composer
- Meyer Kupferman
- Cinematography
- Merrill S. Brody
- Studio
- Magla Productions
- Released
- 1961-03-20
- Running time
- 88 minutes
Cast & crew
Allen Baron Director- Allen Baron
Molly McCarthy
Larry Tucker- Bill DePrato
- Peter H. Clune
- Danny Meehan
- Joe Bubbico
Gil Rogers
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · Raw, Stark, Gritty, Bleak - What's not to like?! · ArtRob123123 · 2025-12-26
A raw, unflinching neo-noir gem: gritty, existential, and profoundly bleak. Shot in stark black-and-white New York streets during Christmastime, it immerses you in the tormented mind of hitman Frankie Bono through Lionel Stander's venomous second-person narration—you feel his hatred, isolation, and futile longing. The holiday cheer of twinkling lights and festive crowds cruelly contrasts his mechanical preparations for murder. The party scene stands out: Frankie reluctantly attends a warm family gathering with old acquaintances, awkwardly dancing and connecting, only for the narrator to mock…
★★★★ · Innovative use of narration makes this '60s NYC noir tense and engaging · GH3K3 · 2026-07-03
I first found out about this obscure low budget neo-noir film from a book published by Re/Search called INCREDIBLY STRANGE FILMS which was published around 1988. Boyd Rice wrote a brief essay on BLAST OF SILENCE, and I was so intrigued by his description and review of the film, I looked for it for about 20 years before I finally got to see it. BLAST OF SILENCE was actually rescued from obscurity by the Criterion Collection DVD. It indelibly captures the bare and desolate loneliness of an impotent loser who broke bad as a young man, and chose as his vocation graduating from being a petty thug…
