# "Blast of Silence" (1961)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 10, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306 "2019-06-10T15:47:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/1 "2019-06-10T15:47:42Z")
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.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-D-6RXTaW0)
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](http://themovieorphan.com/uploads/3/4/4/0/34405309/blast_of_silence.pdf)
Highly recommended viewing! 🆒
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/2 "2019-06-10T16:31:08Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> 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.
>
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-D-6RXTaW0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-D-6RXTaW0)
>
> 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](http://themovieorphan.com/uploads/3/4/4/0/34405309/blast_of_silence.pdf)
>
> Highly recommended viewing! 🆒
Never saw it, but read about it in the RE/Search volume on _Incredibly Strange Films_
> **[Incredibly Strange Films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredibly_Strange_Films)**
>
> RE/Search No. 10: Incredibly Strange Films is a book about American underground and other films. It was guest edited by Jim Morton, with associate editor Boyd Rice, in the RE/Search series edited by V. Vale and Andrea Juno, originally published in 1985 and expanded in 1986.
> Among the subjects covered are the work of filmmakers Russ Meyer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Frank Henenlotter, Larry Cohen, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman, Ed Wood, Radley Metzger, Joseph W. Sarno, Ray Dennis Steckler, Ted V....
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/stream/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite/RE_Search_10_Incredibly_Strange_Films_%28Starbrite%29_djvu.txt)
[https://archive.org/details/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite](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.
> **[Blast of Silence (1961) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054687/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv)**
>
> Blast of Silence (1961) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more...
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/3 "2019-06-10T17:30:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> 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.
>
> [Blast of Silence (1961) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054687/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv)
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.
---
### Author:  [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/4 "2019-06-10T17:48:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Never saw it, but read about it in the RE/Search volume on _Incredibly Strange Films_
>
> [Incredibly Strange Films - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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/stream/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite/RE_Search_10_Incredibly_Strange_Films_%28Starbrite%29_djvu.txt)
> [https://archive.org/details/RESearch10IncrediblyStrangeFilmsStarbrite](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.
>
> [Blast of Silence (1961) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054687/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv)
The movie is in the minuteman library network. I’ve seen it.
---
### Author:  [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/5 "2019-06-10T18:31:11Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> 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.
>
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-D-6RXTaW0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-D-6RXTaW0)
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.
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/6 "2019-06-10T18:48:39Z")
> [@Dropo](#):
>
> According to your YT link, “video unavailable.”
That’s odd. It works fine for me.
---
### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-of-silence-1961/835306/7 "2019-06-10T18:56:16Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> That’s odd. It works fine for me.
That’s because you’re outside the US.
Here’s a[link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7SBwxWGjSY) 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.