Pretty hard to make a hostage movie with no suspense, but this one virtually pulls it off. It isn't exactly "Dog Day Afternoon" or "The Desperate Hours" (1955 version) in the intensity department. The studio was undoubtedly hoping that baby-faced Marshall Thompson would be just as ironically chilling playing a killer as Alan Ladd was a few years earlier in "This Gun For Hire". Unfortunately, Thompson does little more than clench his jaw the entire time and is about as menacing as a bran muffin. Not only that, but it's a real handicap having him be so silent; there are long stretches in this film that are the equivalent of dead air. The camera is rolling but nothing seems to be happening at all. It doesn't help that the hostages he takes are extremely, extremely dull and mechanically written. It's got hard-headed policemen and a heroic, know-it-all psychiatrist (who is alarmingly blase about the murders his former patient has committed) on hand too for those who are interested.<br /><br />I suppose it deserves a bit of credit for making an attempt to show how the media intrudes on these types of unfolding situations and packages them as entertainment. Too bad it does so in a naive, wildly unrealistic fashion. Surprising that TCM, otherwise the best channel going, would showcase this as part of their "Unknown Gems" (or something) segment. It's unknown all right, and with good reason.<br /><br />One final note: I'm pretty sure that's Barbara Billingsley from "Leave it to Beaver" there towards the end, even though this is not listed as being among her films on this site.