Without Warning!

Without Warning! is a 1952 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Adam Williams, Meg Randall, and Ed Binns. The film is shot in a semidocumentary-style with police procedural voice-over narration in parts. Without Warning! was released commercially for the first time on DVD in 2005. Previously, the film was considered lost and unavailable for viewings.

Without Warning!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byArnold Laven
Produced byArthur Gardner
Jules V. Levy
Screenplay byWilliam Raynor
Story byWilliam Raynor
StarringAdam Williams
Meg Randall
Ed Binns
Narrated byGene Wood
Music byHerschel Burke Gilbert
CinematographyJoseph F. Biroc
Edited byArthur H. Nadel
Production
company
Allart Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • May 8, 1952 (1952-05-08) (United States)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetless than $100,000[1]

Plot

A quiet gardener living in Los Angeles, California picks up blond women and is murdering them with garden shears. The police attempt to track him down but the man continues to kill. The killer lives in a shack on a hill overlooking Los Angeles (Chavez Ravine).

Cast
  • Adam Williams as Carl Martin
  • Meg Randall as Jane Saunders
  • Ed Binns as Lt. Pete Hamilton
  • Harlan Warde as Police Detective Sgt. Don Warde
  • John Maxwell as Fred Saunders
  • Angela Stevens as Janet Collier (Blonde)[2]
  • Byron Kane as Police Chemist Charlie Wilkins
  • Charles Tannen as Wolf
  • Marilee Phelps as Virginia
  • Robert Foulk as Wilson, Motel Manager
  • Connie Vera as Carmelita
  • Robert Shayne as Dr. Werner, Police Psychiatrist
  • Lee Phelps as "Doc," the Police Coroner
  • Arthur Gardner (movie's co-producer) as Jackson, Rapid Transit Cab Co. Driver[2][3]

Production

It was the first team from Laven, Gardner and Levy who met in the army. Sol Lesser liked the film and picked it up for distribution.[1]

Release

Home media

Without Warning! was released for the first time on DVD by MPI Home Video on August 30, 2005.[4]

Reception

TV Guide rated the film two out of five stars, calling it "A capable first feature by the production team, with talented unknowns as actors".[5]

gollark: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by negligence/incompetence, except maybe do because people can be either.
gollark: What's "MSM"?
gollark: Apparently their initial plan was just to hope for herd immunity or something, based on models they came up with for a flu pandemic, but said plans had handwaved the issue of ventilators, and the models didn't actually match COVID-19, and it took them a while to actually do something about this.
gollark: The UK doesn't seem to be doing hugely well with this whole thing to be honest.
gollark: If he *does* die it'll be very bad for morale.

References
  1. Looking at Hollywood: Story of Boer Trek Will Be Filmed in Africa Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 6 May 1952: b4.
  2. Without Warning! (DVD). Levy-Gardner-Levan Productions, Inc.: Dark Sky Films. 2005.
  3. "TCM: Without Warning!". TCM.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. "Without Warning (1952) - Arnold Laven". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. "Without Warning - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide Staff. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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