Without Warning!

This article is about the 1952 film. For other uses, see Without Warning (disambiguation).

Without Warning! is a 1952 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Adam Williams, Meg Randall, and Ed Binns. The film is shot in a semidocumentary style with police procedural voice-over narration in parts. Without Warning! was first released commercially on DVD in 2005. Initially, it was considered lost and unavailable for viewing.

Without Warning!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Arnold Laven
Screenplay by	William Raynor
Story by	William Raynor
Produced by	Arthur Gardner Jules V. Levy
Starring	Adam Williams Meg Randall Ed Binns
Narrated by	Gene Wood
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc
Edited by	Arthur H. Nadel
Music by	Herschel Burke Gilbert
Production company	Allart Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	May 8, 1952 (1952-05-08) (United States)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	less than $100,000[1]

Plot

Carl Martin resides in Los Angeles, California. He makes his living tending gardens. He also murders young blondes with a pair of shears. Despite police efforts, Martin continues waging his killing spree. Detective Lieutenant Pete Hamilton is assigned the case, assisted by Sergeant Don Ward. They thumb through official files, putting together a list of recent unsolved cases. The victims were all blonde women. They met their deaths around the end of various months. Since it is now the end of the next month, the detectives anticipate another killing. And they are correct. But this time, the elusive murderer is identified by multiple witnesses, including two motorcycle officers. Yet they remember very little regarding the suspect's physical appearance. One officer was knocked out from behind; the other was wounded while chasing the fleeing suspect.

Afterwards, Martin returns to his residence, a shack on a hill overlooking Chavez Ravine. He feels lucky that the police know little about his identity. In the days that come, it will take the death of one additional woman plus the manhandling of another before Hamilton and Ward are able to nail Martin.

Cast

• Adam Williams as Carl Martin
• Meg Randall as Jane Saunders
• Ed Binns as Lt. Pete Hamilton
• Harlan Warde as Police Detective Sgt. Don Warde
• John Maxwell as Fred Saunders
• Angela Stevens as Janet Collier (Blonde)^[2]
• Byron Kane as Police Chemist Charlie Wilkins
• Charles Tannen as Wolf
• Marilee Phelps as Virginia
• Robert Foulk as Wilson, Motel Manager
• Connie Vera as Carmelita
• Robert Shayne as Dr. Werner, Police Psychiatrist
• Lee Phelps as "Doc," the Police Coroner
• Arthur Gardner (movie's co-producer) as Jackson, Rapid Transit Cab Co. Driver^[2][3]

Production

The film marked the team's first collaboration, consisting of Laven, Gardner, and Levy, who met in the army. Sol Lesser liked the film and picked it up for distribution.^[1]

Release

Home media

Without Warning! was released for the first time on DVD by MPI Home Video on August 30, 2005.^[4]

Reception

TV Guide rated the film two out of five stars, calling it "A capable first feature by the production team, with talented unknowns as actors".^[5]