''The Atomic City'' is a 1952

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Jerry Hopper Harold Hankins Hopper (July 29, 1907 – December 17, 1988), known professionally as Jerry Hopper, was an American film and television director, active from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s. Early life Jerry Hopper was born in Guthrie, ...

and starring

Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass, June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films ''The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of The World ...

and

Lydia Clarke Lydia Marie Clarke Heston (April 14, 1923 – September 3, 2018) was an American actress and photographer. Biography Clarke attended high school in Lexington, Kentucky, and graduated from Northwestern University. A comment by Carl Sandburg a ...

. The story takes place at

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...

, where a nuclear physicist (Barry) lives and works. Terrorists kidnap his son and demand that the physicist turn over the H-bomb formula. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Writing (Story and Screenplay),

Sydney Boehm Sydney Boehm (April 4, 1908 – June 25, 1990) was an American screenwriter and producer. Boehm began his writing career as a newswriter for wire services and newspapers before moving on to screenwriting. His films include ''High Wall'' (1947), ...

being the nominee.

Plot

Frank and Martha Addison live in Los Alamos, where he does top-secret work as a physicist. They have a young son, Tommy, who goes with school mates to Santa Fe for a carnival with their teacher, Ellen Haskell. During a puppet show he disappears but this is not noticed until his name is announced winner of a raffle for a bicycle at the end of the show. They await a phone call as they fear something has happened. They receive a ransom note assembled from words from different newspapers. They also get a phone call saying to stay silent. Ellen's boyfriend is an FBI agent, Russ Farley, and she passes along her concerns. Farley and partner Harold Mann begin tailing the Addisons. When a kidnapper instructs Frank to steal a file from the atomic lab and mail it to a Los Angeles hotel, he wants to inform the authorities, but Martha fears for their boy. A small-time thief, David Rogers, collects an envelope with the file at a post office, but they alert the FBI who follow him. He goes to a baseball game, followed by the FBI's agents who ask the TV cameras to zoom into him. After the match they are surprised when his car explodes, killing the man. However Rogers no longer has the envelope. The FBI watch the film footage as they presume he has passed the file to someone at the game. Watching the film footage the FBI spots a hot-dog vendor who is actually Donald Clark, a man with Communist ties. The FBI bring him in but are limited in what they can extract. However Dr addison is left in an adjoining room alone. He beats up Clark to ascertain where his son is... in Santa Fe. Tommy is moved by kidnappers to the

Puye Cliff Dwellings The Puye Cliff Dwellings are the ruins of an abandoned pueblo, located in Santa Clara Canyon on Santa Clara Pueblo land near Española, New Mexico. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Ancient pueblo dwellings Between 900 ...

in New Mexico, where they briefly encounter the Fentons, a family of tourists. The mastermind turns out to be Dr. Rassett, a physicist. He studies the file Addison mailed and determines it to be a fake. Rassett orders the boy killed, but Tommy has escaped and is hiding in a cave. The son of the Fentons finds the raffle ticket at the ruins, and back in Santa Fe tries to exchange it for the raffle prize. The area is being watched by the FBI and they ask where the ticket came from, receiving the vital clue to Tommy's whereabouts. FBI agents rush to the site, where Rassett is arrested after killing his accomplices, and Tommy is saved.

Production

This was the film debut for star Gene Barry and director Jerry Hopper. This was the first feature film allowed to be filmed on location in Los Alamos. Filming was also done at the

Cast

as Dr. Frank Addison *

as Martha Addison *

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

as Russ Farley *

Nancy Gates Nancy Gates (February 1, 1926Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. .P. 471. – March 24, 2019) was an American film and television actress. Early ...

as Ellen Haskell *

Lee Aaker Lee William Aaker (September 25, 1943 – April 1, 2021)Goldrup, Tom & Goldrup, Jim (2002) Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television', McFarland & Co Inc, , pp. 5–12 was an American child actor ...

as Tommy Addison *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone and the forme ...

as Insp. Harold Mann *

Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Life and career Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending P ...

as Emil Jablons *

Frank Cady Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s – ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ' ...

as F.B.I. Agent George Weinberg * Houseley Stevenson Jr. as 'Greg' Gregson *

Leonard Strong Leonard Alfred George Strong (8 March 1896 – 17 August 1958) was a popular English novelist, critic, historian, and poet, and published under the name L. A. G. Strong. He served as a director of the publishers Methuen Ltd. from 1938 to 1958. ...

as Donald Clark *

Jerry Hausner James Bernard Hausner (May 20, 1909 – April 1, 1993),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 122-123. known professionally as Jerry ...

as John Pattiz * John Damler as Dr. Peter Rassett * George Lynn as Robert Kalnick (as George M. Lynn) *

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

as Mortie Fenton *

Anthony Warde Anthony Warde (born Benjamin Schwartz; January 1, 1909 – January 8, 1975) was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964. Early years Born as Benjamin Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on New Year' ...

as Arnie Molter

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic City 1952 films 1950s thriller films American black-and-white films American thriller films Cold War films Films about nuclear war and weapons 1950s English-language films Films about child abduction in the United States Films directed by Jerry Hopper Films scored by Leith Stevens Films set in New Mexico Paramount Pictures films 1950s American films