Tue 15 Dec 2020
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: PANIC IN THE CITY (1968).
Posted by Steve under Suspense & espionage films[5] Comments
PANIC IN THE CITY. Feature Film Corp. of America, 1968. Howard Duff, Linda Cristal, Stephen McNally, Nehemiah Persoff, Anne Jeffreys, Dennis Hopper. Director: Eddie Davis.
Just because a movie isn’t good, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be interesting. Case in point: Panic in the City, a late 1960s Cold War thriller that you’ve probably never heard of, let alone seen. By all normal standards, it’s not a particularly well-crafted film. The plot, in which a federal agent tracks down a rogue Eastern Bloc agent aiming to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, is essentially something that could just have been done better in an episode of Mission: Impossible. As for the cinematic quality of the film, it is practically non-existent. Indeed, the movie really feels more like a made-for-TV pilot episode of a mid-tier detective show than something one would pay to see in a theater.
What makes the movie worth a look, however, are a couple things. First, there are two performances in the film that stand out. Although he is only in the movie for less than thirty minutes, Dennis Hopper has a memorable turn as Goff, a thug for hire. He’s signed up to work for rogue communist agent August Best (Nehemiah Persoff) and engages in murder for hire job before the tables are turned and he is himself murdered. The late 1960s, of course, would be a turning point in Hopper’s career. For much of the 1950s and early 1960s, Hopper was primarily a guest star or supporting actor in television shows. All that would change in 1969 – one year after Panic in the City – with the release of Easy Rider (1969).
As for the aforementioned Persoff, his role in this film is, like nearly all of his performances, acutely memorable. A student of Elia Kazan, discussed here, Persoff never achieved the fame of many of his contemporaries and never really became a leading man. Nevertheless, he had many roles in both television and film. For those interested, you can view part of his performance as a mob boss in an episode of Hawaii Five-O, one that also features John Ritter, here.
Another aspect of Panic in the City that makes it a bit more interesting than would be expected is that (SPOILER ALERT!!) the lead character, federal agent Dave Pomeroy (Howard Duff) dies at the end. In a nuclear blast no less. There is no optimistic Hollywood ending here. Just a death in a mushroom cloud and a lonely woman walking the streets alone. You can watch the entire film here, with ads unfortunately.
December 15th, 2020 at 4:33 pm
The reason you have not heard of this film goes to the nature of the deal, in which I was involved, albeit at arm’s length. This is what happened:
Edgar Ulmer and Louis Hayward, long time personal friends who had made three films together and the pilot for a television series based on Swiss Family Robinson, recognized films for television were in vogue, both at the network level and syndication. I jumped in, and bear in mind this was truly a different world, dialed information for CBS and asked the operator if she could connect me to the fellow who made film deals. She did, and the next day, I was in the office of Hal Hough; a great guy, by the way. We got along, and he outlined the terms of a contract CBS had just signed with the Commonwealth-United theatre chain. Thirteen films pre-sold to the CBS station group, encompassing five stations in as many cities. The structure itself is totally misleading, not thirteen pictures, but one followed by twelve pre-negotiated and completely individual options.
Hayward flew in and gave it some movie star pizzaz followed by Edgar who negotiated, brilliantly, all the fine print. But our end, for reasons I will not get into here, fell apart, and we funneled the AFA (Associated Film Artists negative pick up deal to Commonwealth and its production arm, United Pictures. They actually produced and released theatrically some of these things, Panic in The City was one. Maybe the best one.
Now, about quality. CBS wanted straight arrow mainstream type stories, of the kind that appeared to be successful on the NBC shows that got all this thinking started commercially. They wanted stars, and casting approval, but that only meant recognizable names, essentially from the recent past. This film was loaded.
As for me, I got a good job out of it, but the money I had anticipated earning, was a fantasy.
December 15th, 2020 at 4:49 pm
The cast had star power all right, not Top of the Line, mind you, but certainly names TV audiences at the time wold recognize. But the little I watched of it earlier today, the production values were sub-nil, to say the least. As Jon says, though, sometimes it can still be interesting to watch productions such as this, if only to see some of your favorite players in something you haven’t seen before.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Like so many projects in Hollywood what was concieved and what ends up delivered are two different things, but I would have been satisfied just to see Anne Jeffries in anything.
A friend and I had an anthology series in development with Roger Corman at one point when he was producing material for Showtime. God knows what anything that got on the screen would have looked liked, but there were a few bucks earnest money before it died the usual death most projects die.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:26 pm
I love the films of Edgar G. Ulmer.
Eddie Davis had a long previous career directing numerous television episodes. Some of his episodes of BAT MASTERSON are charming.
December 17th, 2020 at 10:00 pm
Thanks for this recommendation! Compelling in its very shabbiness, with flavorful location shooting of down-market Los Angeles, akin to that in Model Shop. The Communist cell in this film is extremely similar to the one in Walk a Crooked Mile (1948). The downbeat ending makes this something of a kid brother to Fail Safe. Overall a very good show.