"Blast of Silence" (1961)

I saw this movie on TV when I was 16 or 17 and never forgot it. It took me years to find it on the Internet, since I had missed the beginning and never knew the title.

A great piece of Noir. There’s an interesting analysis of the film here:

http://themovieorphan.com/uploads/3/4/4/0/34405309/blast_of_silence.pdf

Highly recommended viewing! :cool:

Never saw it, but read about it in the RE/Search volume on Incredibly Strange Films

Here’s the actual text of the volume – https://archive.org/stream/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite/RE_Search_10_Incredibly_Strange_Films_(Starbrite)_djvu.txt
https://archive.org/details/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite
(go to p. 178)

It sounded interesting, but not enough for me to search out a copy of it, I’m afraid.
According to the IMDB trivia entry on it, they offered a role to Peter Falk (for no pay). He seriously considered it, then got a paying gig.

For years, I thought the lead was played by a young George C Scott, which impeded my search for it. You must admit, there’s a close resemblance between Scott and Allen Baron.

I recognized the voice of Lionel Stander of Hart to Hart fame as the tough-guy narrator instantly.

The movie is in the minuteman library network. I’ve seen it.

According to your YT link, “video unavailable.”

Years ago, I saw BoS after many years of wanting to see it, but was disappointed. The main flaw, imo, is the narration. Lionel Stander was a great choice, but it’s written in the 2nd person and heavily cliched. I recall very little other than the line (possibly paraphrased): “Just one more man to see and then you’ll be alone. The way you like it. The way it was meant to be.”

The film does seem to have exerted an influence on Taxi Driver, or maybe I was left with that impression because so much screen time of both is taken up with a solitary guy driving.

That’s odd. It works fine for me.

That’s because you’re outside the US.

Here’s alink to **Blast of Silence’s ** opening from a Spanish-speaking You Tube poster. Act quickly and see it before NBC Universal’s attorneys shut this one down as well.