The Captive City *** (1951, John Forsythe and Joan Camden) – Classic Movie Review 13,503

Robert Wise’s taut and tense 1951 film noir crime thriller exposé film The Captive City stars John Forsythe and Joan Camden.

Director Robert Wise’s 1951 film noir crime thriller exposé film The Captive City stars John Forsythe and Joan Camden.

John Forsythe stars as newspaper editor and co-owner Jim Austin, who finds wide corruption in his US small town, in this tense, sincere little, film-noir-style, paranoia thriller, based on writer Alvin M Josephy Jr’s experiences as a reporter on Time magazine.

A private detective called Clyde Nelson (Hal K Dawson) is on the case, and has found the police are mixed up with illegal gambling while on a divorce case, but he bites the dust soon after contacting the editor. Then Austin starts investigating after being goaded by Police Chief Gillette (Ray Teal).

In an interesting, not very starry cast, Victor Sutherland enjoys himself as dodgy town tycoon Murray Sirak.

Karl Lamb and Alvin M Josephy Jr’s neat, persuasive script is realised with taut, imaginative direction by Robert Wise, documentary-style location shooting and atmospheric deep-focus black and white photography by Lee Garmes.

This is a wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee type of movie, an alarm call to 1950s Americans against complacency and corruption – the enemy within. But, unfortunately it was easy to get from here to the backlash of the reds-under-the-beds scare that afflicted Hollywood and the US.

The cast are John Forsythe, Joan Camden, Harold J Kennedy, Marjorie Crossland, Victor Sutherland, Ray Teal, Martin Milner, Hal K Dawson, Geraldine Hall, Ian Wolfe, Gladys Hurlbut, Jess Kirkpatrick, Paul Newlan, Frances Morris, Paul Brinegar, Patricia Goldwater, Robert Gorell, Glenn Judd, William C Miller, Charles Regan, Charles Wagenheim, Victor Romito, and Estes Kefauver.

The Captive City is directed by Robert Wise, runs 91 minutes, is made by Aspen Productions and Avernus Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Karl Lamb and Alvin M Josephy Jr, is shot in black and white by Lee Garmes, is produced by Theron Warth, and is scored by Jerome Moross.

Aspen Productions was owned by Wise and fellow film director, producer and editor Mark Robson.

Robert Wise’s previous film noir thrillers include Born to Kill and The Set-Up (1949).

Other exposé films include Hoodlum Empire (1952) and The Turning Point (1952).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,503

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