''Without Warning!'' is a 1952 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Arnold Laven Arnold Laven (February 3, 1922 – September 13, 2009) was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a ...

and starring Adam Williams,

Meg Randall Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts;''The Milwaukee Journal'', September 18, 1949, Jesse Daniels, Hollywood, "It Paid Her to Do Nothing", Milwaukee, WI, p. 5. August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in motio ...

, and

Ed Binns Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...

. The film is shot in a

semidocumentary A semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary. Characteristics Stylistically, it h ...

style with police procedural voice-over narration in parts. ''Without Warning!'' was first released commercially on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in 2005. Initially, it was considered lost and unavailable for viewing.

Plot

Carl Martin resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He makes his living tending gardens. He also murders young blondes with a pair of shears. Despite police efforts, Martin continues waging his killing spree. Detective Lieutenant Pete Hamilton is assigned the case, assisted by Sergeant Don Ward. They thumb through official files, putting together a list of recent unsolved cases. The victims were all blonde women. They met their deaths around the end of various months. Since it is now the end of the next month, the detectives anticipate another killing. And they are correct. But this time, the elusive murderer is identified by multiple witnesses, including two motorcycle officers. Yet they remember very little regarding the suspect's physical appearance. One officer was knocked out from behind; the other was wounded while chasing the fleeing suspect. Afterwards, Martin returns to his residence, a shack on a hill overlooking

Chavez Ravine Chavez Ravine is a shallow canyon in Los Angeles, California. It sits in a large promontory of hills north of downtown Los Angeles, next to Major League Baseball's Dodger Stadium. Chavez Ravine was named for a 19th-century Los Angeles councilm ...

. He feels lucky that the police know little about his identity. In the days that come, it will take the death of one additional woman plus the manhandling of another before Hamilton and Ward are able to nail Martin.

Cast

* Adam Williams as Carl Martin *

as Jane Saunders *

as Lt. Pete Hamilton *

Harlan Warde Harlan Warde (born Harlan Ward Lufkin; November 6, 1917 – March 13, 1980) was a character actor active in television and movies. Career Warde showed up in supporting roles as detectives, doctors, and ministers. Warde made five guest app ...

as Police Detective Sgt. Don Warde * John Maxwell as Fred Saunders *

Angela Stevens Angela Stevens (born Ann Evelyn Allen, May 8, 1925 – March 17, 2016) was an American film actress and singer. Biography Stevens was born in Eagle Rock, California. She appeared in several Three Stooges films, such as '' He Cooked His Goose'', ...

as Janet Collier (Blonde) *

Byron Kane Byron Kane (May 9, 1923 – April 10, 1984) was a radio and film actor and producer. He was known for his collaborations with Blake Edwards and for his voice work."Obituaries". ''Variety''. May 9, 1984. 315, 2. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archi ...

as Police Chemist Charlie Wilkins * Charles Tannen as Wolf * Marilee Phelps as Virginia * Robert Foulk as Wilson, Motel Manager * Connie Vera as Carmelita *

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

as Dr. Werner, Police Psychiatrist * Lee Phelps as "Doc," the Police Coroner * Arthur Gardner (movie's co-producer) as Jackson, Rapid Transit Cab Co. Driver

Production

The film marked the team's first collaboration, consisting of Laven, Gardner, and Levy, who met in the army. Sol Lesser liked the film and picked it up for distribution.

Release

Home media

''Without Warning!'' was released for the first time on

MPI Home Video MPI Media Group is an American producer, distributor and licensor of theatrical film and home entertainment. MPI's subsidiaries include MPI Pictures, MPI Home Video, Gorgon Video, and the horror film distributor Dark Sky Films. The company is ...

on August 30, 2005.

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' rated the film two out of five stars, calling it "A capable first feature by the production team, with talented unknowns as actors".

References

External links

* * * {{Arnold Laven 1952 films 1950s crime thriller films American black-and-white films American police detective films Film noir Films directed by Arnold Laven Films scored by Herschel Burke Gilbert Films set in Los Angeles United Artists films 1952 directorial debut films American crime thriller films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Rediscovered American films 1950s rediscovered films English-language crime thriller films