The Threat (1949)

★ 5.8 1h 6m IMDb
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A violent escaped con and his gang kidnap the police detective and DA who put him behind bars.

The Threat

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Cast

Michael O'Shea
Michael O'Shea as Detective Ray Williams Died 1973 · Hartford, Connecticut, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Michael O'Shea (March 17, 1906, Hartford, Connecticut - December 4, 1973, Dallas, Texas) was an American character actor whose career spanned from the 1940s-196...
Virginia Grey
Virginia Grey as Carol Died 2004 · Edendale, California, USA Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was Gloria Swanson. Gr...
Charles McGraw
Charles McGraw as Arnold 'Red' Kluger Died 1980 · Des Moines, Iowa, USA Charles McGraw (born Charles Butters) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He developed into a leading man, especially in film noir classics during the late 1940s and early 1950s. His...
Julie Bishop
Julie Bishop as Ann Williams Died 2001 · Denver, Colorado, USA From Wikipedia Julie Bishop (August 30, 1914 – August 30, 2001) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 80 films between 1923 and 1957. Bishop was born Jacqueline Wells and...
Frank Conroy
Frank Conroy as District Attorney Barker MacDonald Died 1964 · Derby, Derbyshire, England, UK From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frank Parish Conroy (14 October 1890 – 24 February 1964) was a British film and stage actor who appeared in many films, notably Grand Hotel (1932), The Little Mi...
Robert Shayne
Robert Shayne as Insp. 'Murph' Murphy Died 1992 · Yonkers, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Shayne (October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992), born Robert Shaen Dawe, was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for p...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 7/10 Mar 21, 2014
Arnold Kluger Escaped From Folsom Prison Tonight…

The Threat is directed by Felix E. Feist and written by Dick Irving Hyland and Hugh King. It stars Charles McGraw, Virginia Grey, Michael O’Shea, Julie Bishop. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Harry J. Wild.

Maniac criminal Red Kluger escapes from jail and sets off to kidnap the three people he holds responsible for his incarceration.

Compact at just over an hour in run time, The Threat is all about Charles McGraw impressing on everyone just what a great portrayer of hard cases he would become. Once the escape and set up of plot has been formed, pic basically confines itself to one cramped location as Kluger and his two henchmen hold four people hostage at their hideout, the fourth person being an unfortunate truck driver who has got in the way. The air of menace is palpable, the atmosphere hot and sweaty, and via torture, violence and mind games it builds to tough old climax, having got there without fuss or filler.

Nothing memorable visually, and some of the screenplay involves characters doing daft things, but it’s a gritty “B” noir well worth taking a look at. Especially for McGraw’s performance. 7/10

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