Split Second (1953 film)

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Split Second
Directed by	Dick Powell
Produced by	Edmund Grainger
Written by	Chester Erskine (story) Irving Wallace (story and screenplay)
Starring	Stephen McNally Alexis Smith Jan Sterling Keith Andes
Distributed by	RKO Pictures
Release date(s)	May 2, 1953
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Split Second is a 1953 thriller film about escaped convicts and their hostages holed up in a ghost town, unaware of the terrible danger they are in. It starred Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Jan Sterling, and Keith Andes.

[edit] Plot

Two convicts, Sam Hurley (Steven McNally) and Bart Moore (Paul Kelly), escape from prison, though Moore is seriously wounded in the breakout. They meet up with a confederate, a mute named 'Dummy' (Frank DeKova), and hide out in a ghost town. Along the way, they pick up several hostages, Kay Garven (Alexis Smith) and her lover Arthur Ashton (Robert Paige), reporter Larry Fleming (Keith Andes), dancer 'Dottie' Vale (Jan Sterling), and the town's sole resident, Asa Tremaine (Arthur Hunnicutt).

Larry tries to warn the gangsters that the government is going to conduct an atomic bomb test nearby the next day, but Sam, their leader, does not believe him. When Arthur causes trouble, Sam kills him without a qualm. Meanwhile, Sam discovers that Kay's husband is a doctor. He phones Neal Garven (Richard Egan) and threatens to kill his unfaithful wife unless he meets them. To Kay's surprise, Neal still loves her enough to show up. He successfully operates on Bart, but warns Sam that moving his friend too soon will kill him.

When Sam finally realizes that Larry was telling the truth, he still waits as long as possible to give Bart time to recuperate. Then, little more than an hour before the bomb is scheduled to go off, the gang leaves in the car; a desperate, self-serving Kay talks Sam into taking her along.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the test has been moved up an hour. When the five-minute warning sounds, the doomed criminals frantically try to speed away, realizing it is hopeless. Asa leads the others to a cave. After the detonation, the four emerge unharmed.