Night Alarm (DVD)

A pyromaniac is terrorizing the city, torching large factory buildings. Reporter Hal Ashby pens a series of articles about the crimes, implicating rich paper magnate, Henry Smith, who owns mortgages and insurance on all of the burned properties. After he's approached by quirky scientist Alexander Dexter, who claims to know the "mystical secrets" of flame, Hal suspects that his own arson theories are wrong. His revelation may be too late in coming - someone has torched the Smith Paper Factory, with dozens of employees still inside. When Hal reaches the scene, he learns that the woman he loves is trapped in the flaming building.

This exciting thriller builds to a roaring climax, filmed with shocking realism. The fiery set pieces complement the smoldering chemistry between co-stars Bruce Cabot and Judith Allen. Cabot appears here fresh from his best-remembered role as Fay Wray's rescuer in the 1933 classic, King Kong. Fuzzy Knight makes a brief appearance, hanging up his western duds and donning a tux to play a singing dinner club comedian. Director Spencer Gordon Bennett was known as the "King of the Serials," bringing The Masked Marvel (1943), Zorro Rides Again (1945), Batman and Robin (1949) and Captain Video (1951) to the screen, among many others.

• drama