Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Dial 1119 (The Violent Hour) 1950


Dial 1119 Movie Poster (27 x 40 Inches - 69cm x 102cm) (1950) Belgian -(Marshall Thompson)(Virginia Field)(Andrea King)(Sam Levene)(Leon Ames)     Gunther Wyckoff has been placed in a mental institution instead of being executed in the electric chair.  He was found to be mentally ill by the police psychiatrist, Dr. John Faron.  Gunther escapes from the hospital and he travels to the town where he was on trial.  The woman passenger next to him on the bus notices his unusual stiff behavior.  Gunther sees a gun above the bus driver and he takes the gun during a stop.  The bus driver confronts him about the gun and Gunther shoots him.  His next visit is to a local bar with five customers and two employees.  He shoots the bartender and takes the other employee and the customers as hostages.  He demands to talk to Dr. Faron.
     The customers and employees of the bar are interesting people.  There is some discussion between the detective in charge of this situation and the psychiatrist about a sentence of execution versus hospitalization.  In this case, hospitalization caused the deaths of innocent people, injuries to the bus driver and one policeman plus psychological trauma to the hostages.  But on the other side of the argument, should mentally ill people be killed when they commit crimes?  3* (This movie is OK)

75 min, Crime directed by Gerald Mayer with Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field, Andrea King, Sam Levene, Leon Ames, Keefe Brasselle, Richard Rober, James Bell, William Conrad, Dick Simmons, Hal Baylor.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 33% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxed 3 ½*.
Special Note:  1119 was the number to dial for the police department.









No comments:

Post a Comment