Cry Terror! is written, produced and directed by Andrew and Virginia L. Stone. The film features Rod Steiger, James Mason, Inger Stevens, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson, Kenneth Tobey and Jack Klugman. Howard Jackson handled the music, with cinematography by Walter Strenge. Occasionally, you reach a point where you must acknowledge that your tolerance for unusual elements in certain genres has its limits. Most fans of film noir and classic crime movies are prepared to accept plot devices and require some suspension of disbelief—and they’re right to do so. However, this only works when the actors deliver strong performances and the final result is truly gripping. Cry Terror! asks too much of its audience, even for those simply wanting to check off a Rod Steiger or James Mason movie from their list. Andrew and Virginia Stone seem to have made mistakes in nearly every aspect of this film. The story starts promisingly: Mason portrays an inventor who’s tricked by Steiger's shady character into building time bombs under the guise of a government contract. Steiger, however, is a thief who, along with his not-very-bright accomplices, demands ransom money or threatens to detonate passenger planes. The story then jumps ahead, and Mason and his family are taken hostage while Steiger smirks and makes menacing demands from authority figures led by the stern Kenneth Tobey. So far, things seem potentially acceptable. FBI agents are shown debating in a documentary-like fashion, while Mason stands firm to protect his wife and child back at the tense hostage location. Stevens’ character is forced into being the person who collects the ransom money within a strict timeframe or else Jimmy and his child will be harmed. She narrates her thoughts as she navigates everyday American traffic. The suspense feels minimal because we're left wondering if she’ll make it back on time. Meanwhile, Mason and his child are left in the care of Klugman and Dickinson in a penthouse suite. Klugman is clearly wrong for his part, and Dickinson is completely underused. Perhaps frustrated by the weak script, both Jack and Angie allow Jimmy to wander out onto the terrace for twenty minutes, where he essentially becomes John McClane in an elevator shaft, accomplishing nothing that ultimately impacts the ending! It’s frustrating to see such a talented cast misused; a few role changes could have made this an excellent thriller, even considering the absurd plot developments. The New York City location photography deserves praise, and Brand, though typecast, is the only one who conveys genuine menace as a sexually aggressive ex-con reliant on pills to get through the day. Ultimately, however, it’s clear that the production team missed the mark. It earns a 6/10.

Source on TMDB