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Wonderful character development!

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Robert Wise directs but without much enthusiasm and Lee Garmes, the cinematographer has little opportunity to show his skill. Indeed, this little B movie, I hesitate to use the much overused 'noir' tag, is most uninspired. Prompted, apparently, by the real life Senate Committee on organised crime and even sporting an afterword by the real life head of that committee, Senator Estes Kefauver, urging American citizens to play their part in stamping out such crime in their neighbourhoods, this still lacks a bit of 'life'. John Forsythe doesn't help with a lacklustre performance as the lead and Joan Camden even less so as his wife. The thing here is that this was clearly intended as a well meaning do good kind of a film, setting out the problem and urging everyone to help solve it. To help things along at one point the wife asks her husband, 'What is the mafia?' so there's little doubt at what level this film was aimed. Competent but far too uninteresting a story and with no violence the 'real life' message is about all this has.

In 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver headed a special committee to investigate organised crime and the committee's hearings (which were televised live), soon provoked a great deal of interest. This was the first time that most members of the general public had been made aware of the nature and extent of organised crime in the United States and although the committee's findings revealed a serious threat to society, they also became a source of fascination for many people. "The Captive City" is based on the actual experiences of Time magazine crime reporter Alvin M Josephy Jr (who co-wrote the screenplay) and is one of a number of movies (such as "The Enforcer" and "The Racket") which exploited the strong interest that existed in crime syndicates in the early 1950s.Jim Austin (John Forsythe) is the editor and co-owner of the local newspaper in a small town called Kennington and is surprised when a private investigator tells him that he's inadvertently discovered the existence of a major gambling operation that's run by one of the town's most prominent citizens. More shockingly, Clyde Nelson (Hal K Dawson) adds that the police and local politicians are also involved and it's for this reason that he's recently been harassed by having his telephone tapped and his investigator's licence withdrawn. Jim finds Nelson's claims hard to believe and after receiving some assurances from Police Chief Gillette (Ray Teal), takes no further action. After Nelson is killed in what's claimed to be a hit-and-run incident, Jim becomes suspicious and starts to make his own investigations.In a series of articles which Jim writes, he criticises the local police for their lack of action in pursuing Nelson's killer and soon finds that his actions bring him into conflict with the police and business people who stop advertising in his newspaper. The newspaper's press privileges are suddenly withdrawn and an attempt is made to tap his telephone. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that he's being followed by a car with Florida licence plates that fits the description of a vehicle that was known to have followed Nelson in the days shortly before his death.Jim's investigations confirm the veracity of Nelson's claims and reveal that the level of corruption in his town is widespread with most people either being directly involved in the gambling operation or at least supportive of it. He also finds other information that makes it far too dangerous for him and his wife to remain in Kennington and so they race off to Washington with the intention of giving evidence to the Kefauver committee."The Captive City" is a low budget docu-noir and the inclusion of a narration, scenes shot on location and a solemn message delivered by Senator Kefauver are typical of such movies. Similarly, the use of a mixture of scenes that are well-lit and others which have the more orthodox noir look is also consistent with the docu-noir style. The story, which is told in flashback, emphasises how pervasive the influence of the mob is and how easily the corruption that it generates can become an acceptable part of everyday life.Jim Austin's struggle against what seem like insuperable odds is made riveting because it's fact-based but also because he's continually in mortal danger. Furthermore, Robert Wise's no-nonsense direction adds so much clarity and pace to the action that its intensity remains high throughout.

Robert Wise directs this drama about crime in a small city. John Forsythe plays Jim Austin, a small town newspaper editor that is a crusader for all that is right, and is not afraid to fight what is wrong. A local private detective, Clyde Nelson(Hal K. Dawson), is working on a simple divorce case and uncovers something way more important. Nelson discovers a major gambling ring operating in the city. He believes that a small time mob boss Murray Sirak(Victor Sutherland) has his thumb on bookie joints that occupy almost every corner in town. Nelson brings this to Austin's attention, be doesn't put faith in the story until the detective is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Austin gets a somewhat cold shoulder when he goes to the police Chief(Ray Teal); its now up to him and his paper to rid the corruption and bring honest and respectable elements to his city. Other players: Joan Camden, Paul Brinegar, Ian Wolf and Martin Milner.

***SPOILERS*** Coming after the Senator Estes Kefarver Crime Committee hearings "Captive City" shows how organized crime reached not only into the major US cities like New York Chicago and Miami but small towns like Kennington. pop. 300,000, as well in the heart of middle America.This cancerous tumor in the American heartland was originally exposed by private detective Clyde Nelson, Hal K. Dawson, who at first didn't quite realize what he was getting himself and his wife , Geraldine Hall, into. It was Nelson's snooping around and talking too much that cost him as well as his old lady's life before the movie "Captive City" wasn't even half over! It was the local Kennington Journal editor Jim Austin, John Forsythe, who picked up the ball that Nelson dropped, by at first not heeding his warnings about police and political corruption, that finally got results. But only after a number of other people willing to testify against the criminal goings on in town ended up losing their lives like Mr. & Mrs. Nelson.Hard hitting documentary style expose that according Sen. Kefavrer himself, who's seen at the conclusion of the movie, really happened! With Jim Austin and his wife Marge, Joan Camden, running for their lives as their being chased by members of the Mafia Fabretti, Victor Romito, Mob all the way from Kennington to Washington D.C some 600 miles away! Fabretti a Miami mobster and former member of the notorious Brownsville Brooklyn Murder Inc. has taken over Kennington and installed a number of bookie joints in town who were being camouflaged behind legitimate business fronts. One of the bookie parlors was run out of insurance man Murray Sirak's, Victor Sutherland, storefront office. It was Clyde Nelson's bad luck to uncover what was going on behind the scenes at Sikak's place that had him go to the town's police chief Gillette, Ray Teal,that lead to his murder! Nelson didn't know that Chief Gillette was in on the corruption by being paid off, and in the pocket, by the Fabretti Mob.****SPOILERS**** Now on the run Jim & Marge Austin's only hope is to get to Washington D.C in time to testify against the mob that Fabrrtti is a member off in order to stay alive! That's before Fabretti's goons get them first. One of the first Hollywood movie that actually used the word "Mafia" a word that was never mentioned once in the 1972 mega mobster hit "The Godfather", that was released twenty years later, in describing the hoodlums that were trying to both undermine corrupt and finally takeover peaceful and crime free little Kennington USA. It was brave people like Clyde Nelson and later newspaper editor Jim Austin who put their lives on the line and in many cases lost them that put the likes of Fabretti with the help of the Kefarer Committee out of business and behind bars!