WITHOUT WARNING!
**1/2 out of *****
Reviewed by Finger_Of_DOOM

Genres
Crime
Thriller

1952
Directed by
Arnold Laven
Written by
William Raynor
Cast
Adam Williams .... Carl Martin
Meg Randall .... Jane Saunders
Edward Binns .... Lt. Pete Hamilton
Harlan Warde .... Police Detective Sgt. Don Warde
John Maxwell .... Fred Saunders
Angela Stevens .... Blonde
Byron Kane .... Police Chemist Charlie Wilkins
Charles Tannen .... Wolf
Marilee Phelps .... Virginia

The film noir genre peaked in popularity in the late 1940s to early 50s and subsequently floundered a decade later when color films became all the rage. Films such as Laura (1944), Dillinger (1945) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950) were among the popular (and some of my personal favourites). Much like any popular flavour of the month, cheap copies and lesser quality versions were released to capitalise and "Without Warning" is in the line of those B-grade Noirs that were pushed out in the 1950s. The film had a largely unknown cast, low production values that limits the film to several mundane locations, and a story that feels more "made-for-TV" than like a cinematic experience. Without Warning! may not appear to be a great film but it captures the Noir essence in just over an hour and manages to entertain. But that's really about all it manages to do.

Without Warning! tells the story of Carl Martin (Adam Williams), a recent widower, professional gardener, and on the side serial killer with a taste for blonde bombshell women. When a series of murders are discovered, the L.A.P.D. detective Pete Hamilton (Ed Binns) is on the case, and must stop this killer before he strikes again. Carl eventually takes a liking to the garden supply shop owner's daughter, Jane Saunders (Meg Randall), who just so happens to be a blonde. Queue suspenseful music.

Without Warning! is a competent thriller with an unsympathetic killer and a bevy of blonde girls that all seem too old for the parts they're playing. Let's start with Carl, the serial killer; he's largely unsympathetic because he kills without reasons and the filmmakers do not allow the time for the audience to understand his motives, they are largely unexplained. We are given little time with the antagonist and know virtually nothing of his personality or life, aside form the fact his wife died and he is a gardener by trade.

On the flip side the same can be said about his victims. We know nothing of them, especially Jane who we as the audience should feel something towards as she is set up as the eventual 'ultimate kill' for Carl. However, throughout her ordeal I didn't really care whether she lived or died. There seems to be an overall sense of detachment with all the characters, in fact the only character we really get to know are the detectives hunting this killer and they end up being cliché cardboard cutout characters that we've seen in numerous television shows and movies over the years.

Without Warning! has nothing special going about it and plays out like a Television episode of whatever cop show was popular in that time. It manages to capture the Noir feel and that's commendable, but a few added minutes of character development was sorely needed and would have made this a much better film.

Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.

Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)