Blast of Silence is a 1961 noir film starring Allen Baron, who also wrote and directed. Baron plays Frankie Bono, a professional hitman, who arrives in New York City to kill a mobster during the Christmas holiday. Solitary and meticulous, Frankie patiently waits for the opportune moment to fulfill his contract; however, a random encounter with an old friend leads him to consider the possibility of a normal life and ends up jeopardizing everything Frankie has achieved.

To call Blast of Silence a crime film would be a disservice to the story. This is a 77 minute existential crisis, a psychologically claustrophobic nightmare, as fatalistic as they come, and the best you can hope for as the viewer who might side with Frankie Bono is that when the hammer falls, it’s quick and painless. And make no mistake about it, the hammer is going to fall on Frankie; only what makes Blast of Silence so interesting is that he isn’t being punished for being a killer, but for allowing himself to feel human. This is, after all, the beginning of the Sixties when the American post-war high was finally crashing down hard, and the idea of the American dream was losing some of its appeal. So when Frankie comes around and decides he finally wants his cut of the dream, it’s no wonder he gets what he gets. Sorry, Frankie, wrong decade, wrong genre. (more…)

Lots of interesting stuff to talk about today; The Dark Knight, my little sister’s upcoming wedding, a new addition to the Where the Long Tail Ends family and maybe even a review of Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-In-Law. Now normally I would have a totally self indulgent opening to bump up the word count before I go into my review, but today I feel like changing things up a bit in honor of the unconventional Petey Wheatstraw. For a brief moment in time I even considered rhyming the review, but I’m quite certain that would have driven me, and possibly you, insane.

But like I said earlier, I have other matters to discuss before I tackle Petey Wheatstraw. First up is the incredibly thick cloud of hyperbole surrounding The Dark Knight. Now I liked the film, quite a bit actually, but for people to make this out like the second coming of The Godfather is more then enough to choke a donkey. Yes Heath Ledger is outstanding in possibly one of the first great performances of the year, but could we hold up on the Oscar talk until, I don’t know, the year is over with? (more…)