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Absolutely Fantastic

A Masterpiece!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Like THE SNIPER and HE WALKED BY NIGHT, this film follows both the police and the serial killer they're trying to catch. And it lives up to that standard of quality. As usual, the procedural elements are the weakest parts, with nice attention to detail but rather dry and routine (the corny voice-over, the forensic evidence, the false confessions, the rounding up of the usual suspects, the psychological profiling, the dead-end leads and near misses). But the film absolutely shines when dealing with the killer. Adam Williams (recognizable as the baby-faced baddie from NORTH BY NORTHWEST) is creepy without being at all silly, an air of quiet danger hangs over him. There's a thick tension and dread as he stalks his victims and evades the authorities, with those conflicted moments when you almost don't want him to get caught. The supporting performances are not as memorable, but overall quite solid without anything to complain about. The photography is generally excellent, with terrific use of close-ups and a lot of good location work. Nice score as well. Well-paced and riveting film with some very fine qualities, a nice hidden gem. I'll be buying this one.

Film-Noir with less shadows. Really interesting for an early 1950s crime/thriller. Carl Mann(Adam Williams)seems to be an ordinary gardener going about his business and keeping his customers satisfied. He goes about his routine and the only real thing to make him stray is a beautiful blonde. Not just to be with them; murder is on his mind. Carl likes to pick up attractive blonde haired women that resemble his estranged wife. Lt. Hamilton(Ed Binns)and Detective Sgt. Warde(Harlan Warde)of the LA Police Dept. are baffled with the weapon being used by this serial killer. A small busted spring is what gives away Carl's secret. A spring belonging to a pair of gardening shears. Kind of creepy and very watchable. Also in the cast: Meg Randall, Angela Stevens, Marilee Phelps and John Maxwell. A little simple story line. No exuberant acting. Actually no standout acting at all; but still a flick worth watching.

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.

Without Warning has been one of the Holy Grail films for film noir addicts. For years it has been mentioned in passing, but never available for viewing. Finally we have a DVD from a very nice looking 35mm print.The film alternates between a police procedural with detailed forensic analysis, alternating with the meanderings of a psycho killer of beautiful blondes in early 50s LA. Adam Williams, memorable as Larry , the car bomber, in The Big Heat carries the heavy load acting duties here as Carl Martin, a mild mannered gardener, who likes to use his pruning shears on the backs of random blondes who remind him of his ex wife. Countering him is police detective Ed Binns. Unlike Dragnet's Jack Webb, Binns brings a relish to his duties, and a bemused enjoyment to his profession.The film has a quick pace, with nicely edited chase scenes that take place under the over passes of LA's unfinished freeway system, and over head tracking shots of Williams frantically running through the Produce Market area. Even in the early 50s we can already see the heavy smog that LA would become known for. Williams lives in a shack on a hill over looking LA in an area called Chavez Ravine. For generations this area was a largely Mexican neighborhood with dirt roads, where people grew their own crops. Literally a Mexican hill town in the middle of a large American city. While the film was being made there were people being evicted for what would eventually become Dodger Stadium. It's on this hillside, outside his shack, where the police finally corner Williams just before he is ready to add to his tally of dead blondes.Without Warning is a major rediscovery that now takes it's place in the noir canon. Slickly made, with all the actors turning in workmanlike performances, but especially ,this film is a time capsule to a vanished and lamented Los Angeles.