Dial 1119

Trailer—Dial 1119

(Flash Review) An awkward quiet man shoots a bus driver after stealing his gun during a trip. He flees to a local bar, shoots the bartender and takes the customers hostage demanding to see a police psychiatrist. Why is he having a mental breakdown? How will the standoff play out? This was a tightly-scooped story, very realistic, great character development and believable dialog. It truly keeps you in the edge of your seat with its script efficiency. The 50s media coverage is a nice twist.

A top notch cast playing a motley crew of characters. Entertaining and suspenseful beginning to end.

A man escapes from an asylum and holds people hostage in a bar, as the police try to meet his demands. This is a tense little thriller that is well made but there's not enough material within its running time of 75 minutes to add up to anything more than a curious diversion. Thompson is effective as the clean-cut psycho who goes about his business without showing any emotion except for an occasional smirk suggesting bemusement. Conrad plays "Chuckles" the bartender and he's pretty good, as is the rest of the cast, featuring such reliable veterans as Levene and Ames. The TV set in the bar looks like a flat panel! In his film debut, Mayer (nephew of Louis B.) directs competently.

MGM was known for "More stars than there are in Heaven." And therefore few people think of it in terms of film noir. But some of the very best noir came out of that studio in the 1940s and 1950s -- this being one of the bleakest and grittiest. It's kind of a "Grand Hotel" in a sleazy bar. We have lots of types, but, with the exception of one dear thing on her way to the road to Hell with an older man, they're extremely convincing low lifes. We have a real prostie here, a tough bartender, a couple of guys on the make. The escaped killer is portrayed very brutally, with understanding but no phony-baloney tears. The cast could scarcely be better. Marshall Thompson, previously a romantic juvenile, is fine as the blank-faced killed. Andrea King is always a treat, though I wish she weren't obscured by the beret she wears here. Still, the scenes between her and the fast-talking middle-aged Romeo who has her in the bar are superb. This is one of the best in the genre.

Marshall Thompson stars in this interesting thriller as Gunther Wyckoff, a mentally unstable young man who has escaped from an asylum, killed a bus driver with a gun he acquired, then holds a bar hostage with several people inside. Both the authorities and hostages try to work with and understand why Gunther is so crazed, with little success, though it does have something to do with his war record... William Conrad is good as the bartender affectionately named Chuckles, who has a most surprising big screen TV in the bar, where they can see their drama play out live. Intriguing film with good performances makes thoughtful and prescient commentary on how live television coverage can affect the outcome of a crime, and the impact it has on all concerned.

The disturbed veteran became a staple character of the postwar noir cycle. In Dial 1119 -- the equivalent of 911 today -- clean-cut Marshall Thompson plays the most whacked-out of the bunch, a cold, disengaged psycho who kills without reaction or remorse. Riding the Big Dog into town (the aptly named Terminal City), he steals the bus driver's gun and, when confronted, plugs him dead. Then he holes up in a bar containing a cross-section of small-town America; the liveliest of them is Andrea King as man-hungry barfly Helen. Seems he returned to town to meet with the police psychiatrist who knows the "real" story behind his shell-shocked persona....Dial 1119 is an engaging (if never quite gripping) drama, part of MGM's low-budget, black-and-white early 1950s productions under Dore Schary

What I liked about "Dial 1119" is that it's basically ignored as an example of film noir yet, for a film made in 1950, this thing was ahead of its time. First off, there's a big-screen TV in the bar, which plays an important part in advancing the plot. The folks who made this picture also foresaw the role that TV news would come to play in taking over a story. Good cast with William ("Cannon") Conrad as Chuckles the bartender, Leon ("Mr. Ed") Ames and Marshall ("Daktari") Thompson as the central character, our friendly neighborhood psycho. Finally, you've got a love a film noir selection that takes place in Terminal City.

The film follows a disturbed young man who kills without remorse. It is surprisingly disturbing considering the period in which it was filmed. After killing a bus driver, the baby faced young man seeks refuge in a bar and holds its patrons hostage. All he wants is to see the psychiatrist who committed him three years before. The film is notable for its stark and unflinching portrayal of someone completely unable to feel remorse. The film is also notable as it was one of the first movies put out by MGM under new management which turned the company away from solely making big budget events. This B-movie thriller marked a new territory for MGM. It is well-worth watching - IF you can find it!

This is a most effective little thriller from 1950 concerning a disturbed killer who holds a group of people hostage in a bar. It's the sort of story that had been done many times before in films, and which would soon be a staple on television. There are few surprises in this one, as everyone goes through the motions as one expects they would in a movie like this. As the psychopath, Marshall Thompson isn't really up to the job. He's not awful, but he doesn't generate much tension personally. Robert Walker would have been much better. The actors playing the various hostages are capable, however, and there's a nice sense of what city life was probably like at around this time. Slick and artificial as it is, the film has its charms. It's never boring, and director Gerald Mayer maintains a nice pace.