The Flame Barrier

Carol Dahlmann hires the Hollister brothers to help find her husband after he disappears while tracking a fallen satellite deep in the jungle. Dave and Matt Hollister agree to follow the faint trail of equipment and clues, expecting a routine search. Instead they encounter a deadly corrosive substance that has been killing animals and people where it touches, forcing them to weigh scientific curiosity against immediate danger. As they push through hostile terrain and unravel scant leads, alliances form and tensions rise, with the threat of the mysterious acid always looming close but the ultimate outcome kept secret until the end.

Directed by Paul Landres, The Flame Barrier was released in 1958, from a story credited to Pat Fiedler and George Worthing Yates. The film stars Arthur Franz as Dave Hollister and Kathleen Crowley as Carol Dahlmann, and it was produced as a compact science fiction feature typical of its era.

No widely cited box office totals are available for this title, and it did not register as a major commercial release. It circulated mainly as a B movie in double bills and later turned up on television packages and genre retrospectives rather than topping charts.

The movie fits into the 1950s pattern of small budget science fiction that combined scientific anxieties with exotic settings. Its image of a corrosive, unexplained hazard in the jungle stands out among contemporaries, so it gets occasional mentions in surveys of Cold War era genre cinema and in listings of obscure sci fi curios.

Contemporary and later viewers tend to regard the film as modest fare, reflected in mixed reviews and low audience ratings. Themes include the risks of uncontrolled technology, human resourcefulness when faced with an unknown threat, and strained loyalties between characters. Performances and atmosphere carry the picture more than special effects, making it of interest to fans of vintage, idea-driven science fiction.