Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It’s funny... I didn’t even know Mr. Molly 12 years ago. But in 1991, we both evidently picked up the same book on film, and we both evidently read the same article about an obscure film noir called BLAST OF SILENCE. And last night, we both finally saw the film for the first time. Mr. Molly took the time to write up a quick review of the picture, and I’ll just say this... I agree with him. Someone needs to put this on DVD. Now. Please.
Guess what, crime film junkies? Your Carnival of Souls was shown last night at the Egyptian here in Hollywood. That’s right – Allen Baron’s ultra-rare Blast of Silence had a screening last night, with the director/star/screenwriter in attendance, dishing his own flick!
Made in 1961 for $28,000, Blast rivals Seven, Juggernaut and Get Carter in the “Bleak”-stakes. The plot is so simple it may as well not even be there – a hitman returns to his old neighborhood in Harlem to complete a contract, but is waylaid by his own personal memories crashing in on him. The “blast” in the title refers to his own, self-wished death.
Schrader and Scorsese must have caught Blast of Silence at some time in their lives, because watching hitman “Baby Boy Frank Bono” prowl the night streets is like watching a rough draft of Travis Bickle. The voice-over narration (by an uncredited Lionel Stander, and not Baron – representing a colder, more idealized self-vision of Bono’s) sounds like Travis forty years down the line.
The cinematography, by Merrill Brody, who also edited, is crisp, dark and menacing. Baron pointed out, pre-screening, that they had an early Arriflex, and no dolly (Brody had to weigh the tripod down with bags of sugar). The tracking shots, through Madison Square and Harlem, are terrific, even more so considering the resources.
There’s a superlative review of Blast in re/SEARCH’s Incredibly Strange Films, which is where I first read about it back in 1991. A twelve-year wait for a 77-minute black-and-white crime film? Worth every minute. Baron himself said, after the screening, “I’d give it a 10 for cinematography, and a 2 for story”.
He’s wrong. 10s all around, and a plea for someone to put this thing on DVD. What a blast.
Good to see you last night, you psychopath, and I’m glad you enjoyed the film as much as I did. What a winner, and Baron was a genuine delight when we spoke to him after the movie.
"Moriarty" out.
