The Threat (1949)

When a killer (Charles McGraw) breaks out of Folsom prison, he has plans to head out for a bleak desert hideout. But first he makes a violent detour to Los Angeles to kidnap three people he considers responsible for sending him to the gas chamber: a police detective (Michael O'Shea), a district attorney (Frank Conroy) and a stripper (Virginia Grey). Directed by Felix E. Feist (DONOVAN'S BRAIN), this B film noir isn't half bad. At a compact running time of one hour and six minutes, there's very little time for superfluous moments and director Feist keeps the film tight and the action quickly moving. As written, Michael O'Shea's cop seems sort of incompetent but Charles McGraw makes for a suitably menacing killer while Virginia Grey brings a sense of desperation to her showgirl. Fans of the the noir genre should be pleasantly surprised. With Julie Bishop and Anthony Caruso.