Gene BarryThe Atomic City

"The Atomic City" made in 1952, is an interesting tale about what can happenin real life and no doubt was a controversial issue in its day.The story takes place in Los Alamos, New Mexico, at the maximum-securitynuclear-weapons research centre and involves top atomic scientist Dr. FrankAddison (Gene Barry), his wife Martha (Lydia Clarke) and his young sonTommy (Lee Aaker).Disaster strikes when Tommy is kidnapped and is held in exchange for atomicsecrets by enemy agents. It shows the anguish that the parents are putthrough and the devious methods that the kidnappers use to obtain thesesecrets, including killing the boy if they fail to get what they want.The parents reluctantly hand the case over to the FBI but to them NationalSecurity is top priority. Apprehending the extortionists comes first and savingthe boy is further down the list. To the parents, it is saving the boy first andapprehending the extortionists next.The FBI spend considerable time following up every clue but time is fastrunning out. The useless formula handed to the extortionists to stall for moretime is confirmed as useless and the boy's life is now in peril.The climax to the movie comes when the FBI find out by accident where theboy is being held and they converge on the site - the Puye Indian cliffdwellings.Everything is now going wrong for the kidnappers, so they decide to destroyall evidence and flee. The master-mind of the plot kills his accomplices andthen prepares to kill the boy as he would be able to identify him.Tommy of course is a bright and resourceful little boy and he knows what isabout to happen to him. So, he decides to save himself even though heknows that there is no way off the plateau where he is being held, with ashere drop to his death on all sides.Young Lee Aaker, the veteran of numerous movies and TV shows as achild actor, turns in another good performance as Tommy. His role in themovie is totally believeable.Good, absorbing entertainment.

This review is for the blu-ray version of 'The Atomic City' released by Olive Films in September, 2013I purchased this movie because I am a fan of classic science fiction films. However this is not a science fiction film. it is a cold war espionage film. While it might be perceived to be science fiction by the title, it is not, at least by the standards of the day.This is not exactly a budget release as it is priced at approximately $20.00. There isn't much in the way of extra's. It's strictly for fans of cold war drama.BLU-RAY: The picture quality is very good. As good as can be expected.PLOT: Dr. Frank Addison (Gene Barry from War of the Worlds) is a nuclear scientist. He lives with his wife Martha (Lydia Clarke) and their son Tommy (Lee Aaker) in Los Alamos (the atomic city of the title). Dr. Addison is working on the top secret H-Bomb. Tommy is kidnapped by the commies and Dr. Addison is told that he will be killed if he does not turn over to them the secret of the H-Bomb. Dr. Addison tries to keep it a secret as he tries to figure out how to get Tommy back without committing treason. His wife and the government find out what is going on. The remainder of the movie focuses on how to get Tommy back alive.THOUGHTS/CONCLUSIONS: The movie poses an interesting moral dilemma for Gene Barry's character. He can turn over the H-Bomb plans and save his son but in the process he would be committing treason and jeopardizing the country.The movie is shot in 1:37:1 ratio.It has a lot of good outdoor shots and uses real-life locations in and around Los Angeles and historic sites in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Overall, this is a decent cold war paranoia film (if there is such a genre). It is worth a watch. If you are on a budget and want the movie I'd probably wait and try and buy a used copy at a lower priceI feel like this should be a $9.99 blu-ray or at most $14.99. Even the cover is basically in black and white and not for artistic reasons.But at least it is available. Afterall, nobody is twisting your arm to purchase it at the higher price!Thanks to Olive films for releasing it.I give the movie 3 stars for plot, 5 stars for picture quality for an average of 4 stars. I drop one star off the rating for the price and lack of extra's.Recommended for fans of cold war drama and science fiction fans who have to have every movie that can claim to be science fiction even if it's not.

One of the joys of watching old movies particularly those shot on location is that the viewer sees a place, an environment as it was. Such is the case with "Atomic City" starring Gene Barry and Lee Aaker and directed by Jerry Hopper. It was made in 1952 and largely filmed in New Mexico's Santa Fe and Los Alamos regions. It hit the screens while America was still reeling from the shock that the Cold War was real and Communist spies had actually infiltrated the labs at Los Alamos. In fact two American civilians, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were awaiting execution the following year after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. Writer Sydney Boehm's story is simple. The young son of a Los Alamos nuclear scientist is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the design of the H-bomb. The 85 minute production is entertaining but its real quality lies in the actual locations such as the famous La Fonda hotel in Santa Fe, the shops of that period and of course Los Alamos known as "Atomic City," a name that still lingers today on the town's bus service. In the longish finale the viewer is treated to scenes filmed at the Bandelier National Monument with its famous Frijoles Canyon and the unique cliff dwellings of the Indian ancestors. The movie is now sixty years old and for lovers of visual history it provides a great treat.

Note: This review is for the standard DVD, not the Blu-ray version.Nuclear physicist Frank Addison (Gene Barry of War of The Worlds fame) and his wife are in despair when their young son is kidnapped by spies who are after the secrets behind the H-bomb. Against the parents' wishes, the FBI become involved and the chase is on - and what a chase it is, shot on location in real-life places, from the intriguing and huge Los Alamos research site, where the family live amongst many other workers, to the streets of LA and up to the ancient cliff dwellings of Santa Fe. It's like a travelogue and visual history of the era rolled into one, with excellent black and white photography, real-life people amid the actors, and an insight into surveillance techniques of that time. Barry and the other actors give convincing performances, including little Lee Aker who starred in TV's The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and the engaging Nancy Gates, a regular in Fifties Sci-fi films and on TV. The story keeps you gripped from beginning to end, and it's not surprising that the writer was nominated for an academy award. TECHNICAL BITS - not my strong point, but it's a good print, with equally good sound, although no subtitles. The 'Aspect Ratio' is 1.37.1? (I thought it looked a teensie bit 'stretched' on my wide, flat screen telly, although not enough to worry me; but just for science, I tried it on 'Auto' and it looked more natural.)

This movie was well done for it's time. It is slow moving but worth while watching. Acting was pretty good.

ニューメキシコ州ロスアラモス国立研究所。そのエリアでは、厳しいセキュリティ体制の下、日々、原子力研究が行われている。研究所で働く物理学者のフランク・アディソン博士(ジーン・バリー)は、妻のマーサ(リディア・クラーク)と息子のトミー(リー・アーカー)とエリア内の住居で暮らしている。そんなある日、トミーが、学校の遠足でサンタフェのお祭に行くが、行方不明になってしまう。ほどなくして、アディソン夫妻のもとに、トミーを誘拐したという手紙が届く。犯人たちは、トミーの命と引き換えに、原子力技術の機密研究ファイルを要求し…。長編作品のデビューとなるジェリー・ホッパー監督によるサスペンス・スリラーの小品。後に、『 宇宙戦争 』やTVシリーズ『 バット・マスターソン 』、『バークにまかせろ』(北米盤DVD" Burke's Law ")などで有名になるジーン・バリーの映画初出演作でもある。シドニー・ボームは、アカデミー賞の脚本賞にノミネートされた。日本劇場未公開。『 インディ・ジョーンズ/クリスタル・スカルの王国 』は、1957年が舞台ということで、1950年代の事象、風俗がいろいろと盛り込まれていたが、その中で、インディが、原子爆弾の実験場に迷い込み、冷蔵庫の中に隠れて(！)、かろうじて爆発から身を守るという場面が出てくる。若干、ユーモラスに描写はされてはいたものの、確かに、1950年代は、原子力(核)の時代でもあり、その重苦しい空気を(1946年生まれのスピルバーグ監督なりに)再現したものだったのだろう。本作も、まさに原子力の時代をヴィヴィッドに切り取ったと言える1952年製の作品。同時期の『非常線』(1953年)や『 キッスで殺せ 』(1955年)のように、原子力の恐怖が、物語のクライマックスで(文字通り)暴発に至るような派手な展開はないが、秘密のベールに隠されていたロスアラモス研究所の姿(もちろん、全貌ではないけれど)をフィルムに収めたり、誘拐犯たちが、原子力の研究ファイルを要求するなど、リアリティによる重みがある。また、トミーのセリフ「もし、僕が大人になれたら」やアディソンのセリフ「同僚が、実験中に放射線に晒され病院に運ばれた」などもさりげなく語られてはいるが、妙に生々しく響く。もちろん、本作の基本は、原子力研究を背景にしたB級サスペンス・スリラーで、決して、反原子力などのメッセージを声高に叫ぶのが目的ではないものの、原子力の時代に生きる(研究所のエリアで居住する)人間たちの漠たる不安や恐怖が静かに、しかし、確実に伝わって来るのだ。本作が、長編作品のデビューとなるホッパー監督の演出は、無駄な説明を省き、テンポもすこぶる快調。特に、トミーが誘拐されて以降は、FBIが、誘拐犯たちを追い詰めて行く地道な捜査の描写(ホテル、野球場、警察内と場所を変えて)をリズミカルに積み重ねて、定石ながらも、淀みなくクライマックスへと導いて行く。クライマックスの舞台としてインディアンの断崖居住の遺跡を選んでいるのも、映画ならではの視覚的効果絶大(ヘリコプターによる空撮もダイナミックだ)。高所であり広大な遺跡のロケーションが、ヒッチコック作品の「開かれた閉所」―『 北北西に進路を取れ 』でのトウモロコシ畑やラシュモア山など―のように機能して、トミーと誘拐犯たちのチェイス場面を、より手に汗握るものにしている。誘拐犯たちの描き込みが足りないなど、気になる点もないではないが、ホッパー監督の演出手腕が生きた、実にすっきりとまとまった作品になっている。初主演のバリーは、生真面目で、硬さが目立つ演技だが(彼は、バット・マスターソンやエイモス・バークのような、そこはかとないユーモアを漂わせた役の方が似合う)、図らずも、本作の息子を誘拐され苦悩する主人公には適していると言えるだろう。本Blu-rayは、売れ筋ではないものの、興味深いパラマウントの佳作、秀作をライセンス発売している米Olive Filmsのもの。2011年に同社から発売されたDVD用と同一のHDマスターを使っているようだ。レストアはされていないようで、目立つキズも残っているが、全体的には、白黒諧調、ディテール表現ともに平均点な画質。DTS-HDマスター・オーディオの音声も、ノイズが多め。例によって、英語字幕は未収録。特典は一切収録されておらず、本編のみ(メニュー画面は、「再生」と「チャプター」のみ)という味気なさも、いつもの通り。北米盤ながら、日本同様、R-A仕様なので、日本のBlu-rayプレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能だ。 宇宙戦争バット・マスターソンBurke's Lawインディ・ジョーンズ/クリスタル・スカルの王国キッスで殺せ北北西に進路を取れ