Just off the top of my head, I can think of three Humphrey Bogart films that are highly reminiscent of "Split Second"--"The Petrified Forest", "The Desperate Hours" and "Key Largo". Yet, despite this being a very familiar sort of film, there is enough going for it to make it well worth your while.
The film begins with a jailbreak. The nation's most wanted man has escaped and he and two other crooks are hiding in the desert--near the nuclear testing grounds in Nevada. Along the way, they take several prisoners and plan on hiding out in the test area until just before the explosion. However, naturally, things don't go quite as planned.
As I said above, the idea of a bunch of crooks terrorizing a group of hostages is certainly not new. However, three main things make this worth while. First, the nuclear angle is new--and REALLY pays off great at the end of the film. In fact, the ending is great. Second, Steven McNally is a familiar face as a noir heavy--and here he is at his snarling best. Third, despite McNally's great performance, I really loved the character played by Alexis Smith--there is nothing like it and you just have to see what I mean. So what you have is a very taut film packed with nice performances and a knock-out ending. I might rate it higher, but as I said it's a bit familiar and the middle portion is a bit talky. Still....see this film.
The film begins with a jailbreak. The nation's most wanted man has escaped and he and two other crooks are hiding in the desert--near the nuclear testing grounds in Nevada. Along the way, they take several prisoners and plan on hiding out in the test area until just before the explosion. However, naturally, things don't go quite as planned.
As I said above, the idea of a bunch of crooks terrorizing a group of hostages is certainly not new. However, three main things make this worth while. First, the nuclear angle is new--and REALLY pays off great at the end of the film. In fact, the ending is great. Second, Steven McNally is a familiar face as a noir heavy--and here he is at his snarling best. Third, despite McNally's great performance, I really loved the character played by Alexis Smith--there is nothing like it and you just have to see what I mean. So what you have is a very taut film packed with nice performances and a knock-out ending. I might rate it higher, but as I said it's a bit familiar and the middle portion is a bit talky. Still....see this film.