Blast of Silence (1961)

Editor's note: in addition to this great and strange movie coming out on DVD (from Criterion no less) the rarely-seen gem is being screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April. The festival is associated with the very popular Noir Con going on at the same time. This film, one I consider the last of the classic noirs, is finally getting the respect it deserves.

By Mike White

Asking a group of cinephiles what films book ended the film noir cycle is akin to throwing raw meat to a pack of wild dogs. You’re liable to lose a finger if you’re not careful. It’s commonly held that Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil rounded out the movement but Allen Baron’s Blast of Silence should rightfully hold this distinction. Akin to the classic Poverty Row films where noir found its American niche—like Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour (1945)—Baron’s film is a low budget excursion into the underworld of New York following Baby Boy Frankie Bono (Baron), a hit man who comes out the cold black silence into a deep and dark December to knock off Troiano (Peter H. Clune), a “second string syndicate boss with too much ambition.” Like Jules Dassin’s Rififi, the exterior scenes in Blast of Silence were shot on overcast days, adding to the grittiness of the mise en scene.

“You were born in pain,” intones the distinct gravel voice of Lionel Stander in his insistent voiceover that be-bops along like a Beat poem, perfectly paired with the languid Meyer Kupferman jazz score. The typical noir convention has the main character narrating his tale. Stander works as Frankie’s conscience at times; the voice of an omniscient narrator at others. His narration—written by Waldo Salt under the name Mel Davenport—elevates Baron’s film from an elegant crime story into a sublime, nihilistic gem. That the voiceover also gives a wealth of exposition while filling in some of the film’s slower, albeit beautifully shot, sequences doesn’t hurt either.

Frankie sees himself as an Angel of Vengeance. He learns to hate every mark; wiping them out does the world a favor. A misanthropic orphan, Frankie is the prototype for Travis Bickle, “God’s lonely man.” He lurks through the streets of Manhattan “smooth, like a piece of precision machinery” as he trails his mark, encountering unsavory characters in the process like the corpulent Ralphie. Living with his pet rats, Ralphie practically wheezes corruption. Wonderfully played by Larry Tucker (best remembered for his role as Pagliacci in Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor), he’s the stand out of the film.

Like much of the cast, Blast of Silence was the first foray into film for Tucker. This contrasts Salt and Stander who were both seasoned professionals and victims of the HUAC blacklist. The mix of novice enthusiasm and old guard professionalism came together perfectly in Baron’s freshman film, creating a fitting finale for American film noir.

Unavailable in the U.S. legitimately for decades, Blast of Silence was release in France on DVD as Baby Boy Frankie in 2007 before finally garnering a Criterion disc in the States in 2008.

Click to play trailer