Without Warning!

Released the same year as Edward Dmytryk's ''the sniper" , "without warning! " suffers by comparison; directing is MTV style and no scene can equal the last picture of "sniper"; But the film is interesting thanks to its half documentary/half fiction artistic choice ;the police are looking for a needle in a haystack.Clues are given little by little , with the scientific police , the before -his-time psychiatrist -profiler , and the legwork which involves the witnesses ,the shops ;their work is thwarted by the wrong men (and women) who want their fifteen minutes of fame . The culprit is known since the very beginning ,like in Dmytryk's thriller :he is not a sinister-looking threatening man,but the nice boy-next-door :he looks as if butter would not melt in his mouth.We know almost nothing of him :he's a lonely young man,whose only friend is a little girl;his background is unknown ,but one can imagine his family left him to his own devices.

Found this on youtube--thought it might be campy and funny.... hardly! It's low-budget yes--but very well done. Wonderful to see what Los Angeles looked like in the very early 1950's!! Serial killer before that term was invented. Worth your time!!

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 story of a serial killer came out 55 years ago. It's dated primarily in that it isn't gory and graphic. At moments, it feels as if it's about to go that way. But of course the censors wouldn't have allowed it. The director, though not in anyone's pantheon, has great noir cred. "Down Three Dark Streets" alone is something to be very proud of. The pace is just right. The acting, by people wholly unknown to me, is professional and convincing. We know almost from the start who the killer is. It's a matter of whether and when he will be caught. The film languishes more on his bland good looks than on the appearance of any of his victims. He's nice enough looking: rather baby-faced. We see him without his shirt in a long, not extraneous, scene. The attention paid to the killer reminded me of "The Sniper," which came out at the same time. "The Sniper" is better known and was done on a higher budget. But I wouldn't say it's better. This is a very good, scary movie.