Blast of Silence

1961
Approved
1h 17m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

5.9K

YOUR RATING

Allen Baron and Molly McCarthy in Blast of Silence (1961)

A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a fat gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.

Play trailer1:45

1 Video

90 Photos

Crime Drama Thriller

A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

5.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Troiano
(as Peter H. Clune)

Danny Meehan

Petey

Howard Mann

Body Guard

Charles Creasap

Contact Man

Bill DePrato

Joe Boniface
(as Bill Da Prado)

Milda Memenas

Troiano's Girl Friend

Joe Bubbico

Body Guard

Ruth Kaner

Cleaning Woman

Gil Rogers

Gangster

Jerry Douglas

Gangster

Don Saroyan

Lori's Boy Friend

Dean Sheldon

Night Club Singer

Bill Chadney

Pianist
(uncredited)

Ernest Jackson

Gangster
(uncredited)

Erich Kollmar

Bellhop
(uncredited)

Director
- Allen Baron
Writers
- Allen Baron
- Waldo Salt
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

6.5

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes

6.6

6.8

7.4

6.9

5.8

6.5

7.3

6.6

7.4

7.5

6.5

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Part of the movie was shot during the middle of a real hurricane --- the wind and snow seen during the final scenes is not artificial. The exterior chase that ends the film was filmed at the Old Mill on a Jamaica Bay estuary on Long Island during Hurricane Donna (September 10-12, 1960), the only hurricane of the 20th Century to strike the entire East Coast from south Florida to Maine.

Goofs
The "silencer" (or suppressor) that Frankie Bono attaches to his revolver could not have worked due to the gap between the cylinder and barrel of the gun. They are only effective on semi-automatic or automatic weapons, except for one special revolver (when the film was made), the Nagant M1895. The Nagant had a 7-round cylinder, but Frankie's gun was a 6-shooter. This is a very common mistake in films.

Quotes
Narrator: You're alone. But you don't mind that. You're a loner. That's the way it should be. You've always been alone. By now it's your trademark. You like it that way.

Crazy credits
The MPAA seal appears on the bottom right corner of the Universal-International logo instead of its usual place in the credits.

Alternate versions
The Criterion Collection edition of this movie includes a director's commentary.

Connections
Edited into Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 9 (2002)

Soundtracks
Dressed in Black
(uncredited)
Performed by Dean Sheldon

User reviews89

Review

Featured review

9/10

Baby Boy Frankie Bono

Blast of Silence is a short tense jewel of the genre. The story of a lonesome hitter coming back to NY on Christmas Eve to perform yet another job. Except this time, with NY, there comes back a whole lot of personal moments too. I won't unveil the plot, it's actually very simple and straightforward, and that's precisely why I'm amazed the whole thing just works so smoothly -indeed chillingly. No need for double crossing, double minded gangsters: those unnecessary decoys uninspired directors use to try to spice up their movie and gain 5 minutes!! Here you know the guys are going to play by the rules i.e. bad and simple!

And the suspense is kept at an incredible level just by the sheer darkness of the atmosphere and obviously by the decadent streets of NY which is shown in a very tough manner.

Baron plays Bono and although not an actor, he gives a credible performance. Maybe because he doesn't really have to talk so much. Most of his thoughts are narrated by a great voice over (Lionel Stander -he was cut off from the cast due to McCcarthysm). Note Larry Tucker's cool performance who would go on to win a Golden Globe for Shock Corridor.

Just for the quote because it hit me as an instant cult quote: "Baby Boy Frankie Bono". I'll admit nothing incredible in that, but listen to Standler say it and you'll understand!!