Panic in the City

I am somewhat surprised that it is even available to purchase -- since it is not the kind of kitschy-bad that can earn a movie cult status, nor notable as any popular achievement either. Its chief virtue is a sort of understated competence.

"Panic..." is plotted as a stereotypical doomsday thriller and the characters are almost, but not quite, cut from cardboard templates. But decent performances and some unusual casting choices for that era give it a certain tragic power.

A romantic subplot between a white middle-aged G-man and Latina doctor is spare, with none of the histrionics you might expect from a low-budget thriller of this sort.

The film's presentation of Los Angeles is a mostly unglamorous town of vacant lots, auto machine shops, shabby apartment complexes, and sterile hospital waiting rooms. The choice of locations adds considerably to its bleak tone. The conspirators operate in this vacant environment, and literally work themselves to death constructing an atomic bomb to use on the city. The nearly-as-anonymous protagonists do not fare much better in their efforts to find and to stop them.

Made in the 60's and in color, but staged more like a 40's "B" picture, "Panic in the City" is not exceptional, but it is not half bad.

Agent Pomeroy (Howard Duff) is called in to crack a bunch of saboteurs planning an atomic explosion in LA. Another cheapie which kept us (slightly) entertained while we pointed at the screen and wondered 'who's that?' Howard Duff is one of those actors who was rarely off our screens in our younger years but somehow we never can remember his name or what he was in. Linda Cristal was the pretty young wife in 'The High Chaparral' and who do we have here but a very youthful Dennis Hopper! Probably much to his chagrin he gets bumped-off early on, perhaps to get started on Easy Rider (or did Hang 'em High come first?). Whatever, this was a good story that moved along nicely but was obviously a bit short in the funding department. On the plus side, we get to see the seamier, workaday reality of the city that is mostly shown in other movies as a glamorous, high-rolling place, and we found that quite refreshing and 'real'.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Panic In The City; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 5.75 out of 10.00

Okay, people, set those tongues firmly in your cheeks and enjoy this slice of Boys-Own Adventure. It's Mother Russia versus Uncle Sam, and I don't mean Boys Vs Girls - we're back in the time of the cold war.

What struck me as unusual was how in-depth the writers went with their fictitious plans. I'm not saying that Eddie Davis (who also directs) and Charles Savage get the theory of atomic fusion correct - I'm not a rocket scientist, so I wouldn't know. But what they do give the viewer is a logical and credible story. For example, in the opening scenes, we watch a man staggering down streets while another follows close behind: When the man collapses in the street, his tail rifles through his pockets. The next thing we witness is a police car pulling over, and the man's rushed to the hospital. Most writers wouldn't think to have the tailer lift the injured man's identity. It's a small thing, but the pleasure is in the details. And the writers keep those tiny specifics coming. It places the story above your average cold-war thriller, making it more enjoyable. One downside is the characterisations - The men are strong and capable - The women need the men. It's a pity as one of the leads is a female doctor. However, the writers fail to imbue her personality with the traits a woman required in the 1960s to claw and climb her way up to the head of her chosen field. She should be strong, confident, resilient, and driven. Sadly, Dr Paula Stevens is none of these. As such, she becomes a slight non-entity, a piece of eye candy to fall for the dashing hero, Dave Pomeroy. Another letdown was the panic. Apart from a select few, nobody else knows they should be trying to get the hell out of dodge. It probably came down to budgetary issues, but there is a distinct lack of people losing their heads. And that is sad because it would have added a greater emotive power to the narrative and extra interest for the audience.

For the most part, the direction is your standard point and shoot, though Davis slips in a few nice pans and camera angles. These stop the film from becoming too uninteresting. The average cinematography allows the cast's talents to shine through, and it's them and the story that held my attention best.

The cast is excellent, especially Howard Duff and Nehemiah Persoff, who play the juxtaposed agents, pitted against one another. Duff is the perfect hero - strong-jawed and rugged. Persoff is the ideal combatant - driven, ominous, ambitious, and galvanized. As I said before, it's a shame the female characters weren't a tad stronger: I would have loved to see Linda Cristal in a robust role. Dr Stevens is similar to Victoria Cannon, whom she portrayed in The High Chapperal - the woman of the piece.

I would happily recommend Panic In The City for a Sunday Morning or Afternoon viewing. It's one of those entertaining flicks you don't need to think about much - Not because it's silly but rather because it's pretty complete and enjoyable. So if you prefer your cold-war thrillers in a 60s Boys-Own Adventure style, or you're a chauvinist, then Panic is a film for you. At least for one watch.

So before the big bad bomb goes boom, please visit my Killer Thriller Chillers, The Game Is Afoot, and The Final Frontier lists to see where I ranked Panic In The City.

Take Care & Stay Well.

This low-budget, atomic-age, science-fiction film did make it to the movie theaters, but it also gives off a very ominous, TV-movie-look, when watching the film. Unfortunately, to make things even worse, you still can't find a copy of Panic in the City (1968), in its original theatrical version. According to IMDB, the film was shot in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, but the only versions available, come from a television SD, 4:3 version, found on YouTube, thus emphasizing the cheapness. Panic in the City (1968), has a lot of potential, even though it is low-budget. The 4:3 aspect ratio is the problem, when it comes to properly judging it. The film probably would garner more respect, if it was remastered into HD. It does have a very good cast, veteran acting, starts off pretty good and has a strange parallel to the Dark Knight Rises (2012). What that parallel is, I can't tell you. You'll have to find out on your own. The supporting cast consists of acting names from film and TV-past, like John Hoyt, Dennis Hopper, Mike Farrell (M*A*S*H*, 1972-1983), Deanna Lund (Land of the Giants, 1968-1970) and the ravishing, Linda Cristal, who plays the main-female lead to Howard Duff's, Agent Pomeroy.

Panic in the City (1968), is another atomic-age, Cold War, action movie, about bad-guys making an atomic bomb in Los Angeles and the American agents trying to stop them. Can the good-guys save the day? Paul Dunlap, the music composer for Panic in the City (1968), also did the soundtrack music, for the Three Stooges/Curly Joe DeRita, theatrical films, of the 1960s. What really hurts Panic in the City (1968), are the strange, but oddly interesting, film-technique choices, that director Eddie Davis, chooses for this film. The pace of the film is slow in parts. Too much time is wasted, watching people walking to cars and driving around parking lots. The film has a very plastic feel to its style, because it is produced in a textbook, but low-budget way. There are some confusing camera shots, set-piece locations (everything looked like the scenes were shot at the houses and offices of the cast and crew). There are also some odd editing choices, that re-emphasized the low-budget elephant-in-the-room. One glaring mistake found in a scene, has a car chase happening, but all the shots in the middle of the chase, look like the exact same curve, shot three times. Panic in the City (1968), has the potential to be good, but there are some negative points.

PMTM Grade: 5.9 (D) = 6 IMDB.

The cover of the DVD box for this forgotten movie trumpets one of the actors in it, which happens to be Dennis Hopper. Actually, Hopper (who is almost unrecognizable) only plays a minor role in the movie. That didn't give me a problem. Watching the movie itself, one will be struck by how much it resembles a made-for-TV movie of the era, with its limited production values and flat loot. But that didn't give me a problem. What did give me a problem was the story. Actually, the first twenty or so minutes of the movie aren't that bad - there is some mystery and intrigue that kept me interested. However, after those twenty minutes are over, the next 45 or so minutes will put many viewers to sleep, with endless talk and an investigation that makes little progress. Things do pick up again in the last 25 or so minutes, but many viewers will have abandoned ship long before this part of the movie comes across. The movie also suffers from the fact that we never learn why the bad guys are doing what they are doing. Had there been more tension and action in the middle, as well as explanation for the bad guys scheme, we might have had something here. But as it is, it's more or less a disappointment.