Stubs - Blast of Silence

Blast of Silence (1961) Starring Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, Peter Clume. Directed by Allen Baron. Screenplay by Allen Baron. Produced by Merrill Brody. Run time: 77 minutes. USA. Black and White. Film Noir, Christmas

If there was a holiday you wouldn’t associate with film noir, I would think it would be Christmas. However, there are several including Christmas Holiday (1944), Cover Up (1949), Roadblock (1951), I, the Jury (1953), and Blast of Silence (1961). One of the bleakest, is the last one on the list, Blast of Silence.

Shot without permits and made on a shoestring budget of $28,000, filmmakers used borrowed equipment and shot the film in twenty-two days spread over a four-month period, including during Hurricane Donna (September 10–12, 1960), the only hurricane of the 20th century to blanket the entire East Coast from south Florida to Maine. The film was written and directed by the lead actor, Allen Baron, who really had no film experience prior to this.

Baron hadn’t intended to be the lead either, having written the part for his friend Peter Falk, but a paid gig made him unavailable. In typical film noir style, the film is narrated. The difference is that it is not the voice of the main character, but rather an observer-type read by blacklisted actor Lionel Stander for a fee of $500. The narration, written after the film was completed, was the work of blacklisted writer Waldo Salt, using the name Mel Davenport.

An invited entry at the Cannes Film Festival, Universal would release the film with its premiere in Chicago on June 5, 1961. Blast of Silence would open in New York City on December 29, 1961.

Frankie Bono (Allen Baron), a mentally disturbed hitman from Cleveland, comes back to his hometown in New York City during Christmas week for a hit. Frankie, referred to as Baby Boy Frankie by the narrator, meets his contact on the Staten Island Ferry. He is told who is he is supposed to kill, a middle-management mobster, Troiano (Peter Clune). The assassination will be risky, with Frankie being warned that should he be spotted before the hit is performed, the contract will be reneged. He is paid half upfront and is promised the rest once the hit is done.

Frankie Bono (Allen Baron) arrives in New York at Christmas.

First, Frankie follows his target to select the best possible location, but opts to wait until Troiano isn't being accompanied by his bodyguards. Next, he goes to purchase a revolver with a silencer from someone he doesn’t particularly like, Big Ralph (Larry Tucker), an obese gun runner who keeps sewer rats as pets. He is promised the gun will be available a couple of days from now. The encounter with this old acquaintance leaves Frankie feeling disgusted.

Frankie meets his contact on the Stalen Island Ferry.

With several days left before the hit is to be performed, Frankie decides to kill time in the city, where he is plagued by memories of past trauma during his time living there, including being raised in an orphanage.

At a party, Frankie encounters an old flame, Lorrie (Molly McCarthy).

While sitting alone for a drink on Christmas Eve, Frankie is spotted by his childhood friend Petey (Danny Meehan), who invites the reluctant Frankie to a Christmas party he and his wife are throwing. Against his better judgement, Frankie decides to go. At the party, Frankie encounters his old flame, Lorrie (Molly McCarthy).

Frankie attempts to sexually assault Lorrie, but fails.

On Christmas Day, Frankie goes to Lorrie’s apartment to get better reacquainted with her, but the visit ends in disaster when an initially vulnerable Frankie suddenly attempts to sexually assault her. While Lorrie forgives Frankie for his actions, she calmly asks him to leave, to which he obliges.

Big Ralph (Larry Tucker) is an obese gun runner.

After spending Christmas with his family, Troiano takes his mistress to a jazz club in Greenwich Village. Frankie tails him there. However, he is spotted by Big Ralph, who now knows Frankie’s target is an important racketeer. Big Ralph demands more money and decides to blackmail Frankie. But Frankie doesn’t take it well. He, in turn, stalks Ralph back to his tenement. When Ralph, still very much drunk, falls asleep in his bed, Frankie attacks him with a fire axe. The two men get into a violent brawl and eventually Frankie strangles Big Ralph to death.

Frankie appears to be losing his nerve, and calls his contact to back out of the job. However, he is informed that not only is he in trouble for even thinking that, but that he has until New Year's Eve to perform the hit.

Frankie decides to make the hit in the apartment of Troiano's mistress (Milda Memonas). To learn more about the location, Frankie breaks into the apartment to look around.

Afterward, Frankie makes one last stop at Lorrie's apartment. He wants to both apologize for his behavior and to convince her to leave New York with him. However, after he professes that he wants her, he learns she has a live-in boyfriend (Don Saroyan). Frankie leaves angrily to finish the job.

Frankie lies in wait for his victim,Troiano (Peter Clune).

Franke lies in wait for Troiano and kills him.

Having successfully killed his target, Frankie narrowly evades someone cleaning up the floors below. He escapes via the rooftops. He then drives and throws the gun into the water before making his way to the docks to receive his payment.

Frankie is ambushed rather than paid for the hit.

However, the meetup is revealed to be an ambush and Frankie is riddled with bullets. He attempts to swim ashore with his remaining strength, but succumbs to his wounds, dying alone in the muddy banks of the river.

Frankie ends up dead in the river.

Talk about a depressing ending, but it is also one of the few moments were something remotely interesting happens. For the most part, there is very little going on during the film, making the relatively short run time seem excruciatingly long. The moments when there is action, they are fleeting and involve either murder or sexual assault.

The most interesting aspect of the film may be when Frankie is walking around New York City, including Harlem. It is an opportunity to look back and see what it was like in 1960.

There is very little dialogue, which makes sense since the protagonist is a loner and doesn’t talk to many people. The narration, which might fill in the gaps, doesn’t. In fact, the narration is somewhat repetitive and doesn’t always address what is actually happening on the screen but what is going on in Frankie’s head, but still addresses him in the third-person. A different use of narration in film noir and it doesn’t really work.

I saw this on a recording from TCM and while the host of the show was very complimentary about the film, I have to disagree. I have nothing against film noirs based during the holidays. When they’re well-done, I enjoy the juxtaposition of the genres. This is not the case with Blast of Silence. Dark and moody, there really isn’t much to recommend the film for the holidays nor for film noir fans.