BLAST OF SILENCE (1961) Worthy heir to classic noir

Somewhere between classic film noir of the '40s/'50s and "The Sopranos" lies BLAST OF SILENCE, a lean and compelling psychological portrait of a hit man, shot on a shoestring budget and now considered "a rediscovered masterpiece." Accompanied by an avant-jazz soundtrack and hard-boiled, second-person narration, Frankie Bono wanders the cold streets of Manhatten at Christmastime, repelled by human contact, though briefly attracted to a girl he once knew. Writer/director Allen Baron stepped into the lead when his pal Peter Falk took another film, and while not an experienced actor, Baron brought just the right mix of defensiveness and yearning to the role. BLAST OF SILENCE features stylishly framed and lit images and sharp, staccato editing, combined with a documentary feel to the settings and performances. If you're a noir buff, you're in for a blast. (Trivia notes: Baron wrote the script but not the gritty narration that thrusts us so neatly into the mind of the recicent killer; that was penned by Oscar-winning Waldo Salt, the once-blacklisted author of such hyper-dramatic films as MIDNIGHT COWBOY, SERPICO, and COMING HOME. The voiceover was supplied by an uncredited character actor, gravel-voiced Lionel Stander, who had also been blacklisted. Oh, and check the insert above – Baron looked enough like actor George C. Scott to be his brother.) More on BLAST