Split Second *** (1953, Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Jan Sterling, Keith Andes, Arthur Hunnicutt) – Classic Movie Review 11,970

Split Second (1953, Alexis Smith).

Director Dick Powell’s tense 1953 American film noir thriller Split Second stars Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Jan Sterling, Keith Andes, and Arthur Hunnicutt.

Escaped convicts Sam Hurley (Stephen McNally), Bart Moore (Paul Kelly) Dummy (Frank de Kova) hold a mixed bag of characters hostage in an American ghost town that happens to be the site of the US army’s atomic testing range.

The victims include reporter Larry Fleming (Keith Andes), unfaithful wife Kay Garven (Alexis Smith), sourpuss old-timer local resident Asa Tremaine (Arthur Hunnicutt), dancer Dottie Vail (Jan Sterling), Kay’s lover Arthur Ashton (Robert Paige) and Kay’s doctor husband Neal (Richard Egan).

There is a perfunctory plot, but the film is packed with incident, suspense and strong character acting, all deftly handled by début director Powell.

Stephen McNally in Split Second.

The screenplay by William Bowers and Irving Wallace is based on a story by Chester Erskine and Irving Wallace.

Dick Powell films as director: Split Second (1953), The Conqueror (1956), You Can’t Run Away from It (1956), The Enemy Below (1957), and The Hunters (1958).

The cast are Stephen McNally as Sam Hurley, Alexis Smith as Kay Garven, Jan Sterling as Dottie Vail, Keith Andes as Larry Fleming, Arthur Hunnicutt as Asa Tremaine, Paul Kelly as Bart Moore, Robert Paige as Arthur Ashton, Richard Egan as Dr. Neal Garven, and Frank de Kova as Dummy.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 11,970

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