THE 49th MAN 1953

This Cold War thriller was put out by the B-unit at Columbia Pictures. The film stars, John Ireland, Richard Denning, Suzanne Dalbert, Mike Connors, Robert Foulk, Richard Avonde and Peter Marshall.

John Ireland is a Federal agent who by accident, gets mixed up in a plot to bring atomic bombs into the USA. The parts are broken down into several pieces for assembly at the target city. Richard Denning is the bigwig in charge of hunting down the devices. He drafts Ireland in to aid in the hunt.

The Feds are tracking down various pieces all over the States. This is starting to get serious as the number of possible bombs increases. Now the Feds find out that some Uranium has been smuggled into the country on board a US Navy submarine of all things.

Ireland is sent undercover to France with the submarine on a return visit. They are to check out the last port of call for the sub in southern France. The plot thickens as several suspects are added to the pot. These include, Suzanne Dalbert and Peter Marshall. Also up as suspects are several navy types, Mike Connors and Robert Foulk.

Ireland, however, has gotten the wrong men with the Navy Officers. The whole atomic bomb thing turns out to be a test to see if the US borders were secure from such a threat.

Needless to say, that would be too simple. It turns out the Reds had tumbled to the test. They have snuck a real atomic bomb into the States. Ireland and the Feds finally realize what the Reds are planning and are soon after them. It is a cat-and-mouse game being played out as the pursuit heats up. The Reds are killing everyone who might rat them out.

The Feds manage to do the old nick of time stunt and capture the bomb before it explodes. They fly the device to an A-Bomb test site and boot the thing out the door minutes before it goes off. The Reds are foiled, this time! The film's story, by Ivan Tors is a bit weak kneed in parts, but as a low end thriller, it has its moments.





Direction was by B film specialist, Fred C Sears, who keeps the pace moving. Sears cranked out about 50 films in his 1949 till 1958 Hollywood career. Sears' films include, WORLD WITHOUT END, UTAH BLAINE, RUMBLE ON THE DOCKS, THE 49th MAN, CELL 2455 DEATH ROW and CHICAGO SYNDICATE.

The screenplay was by noir veteran, Harry Essex. His work includes HE WALKED BY NIGHT; I, THE JURY; BODYGUARD; THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK, KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL, and DESPERATE.