Split Second (1953)

Sam Hurley, "Nation's No. 1 killer" with a cold contempt for "heroes," escapes prison with two companions and takes a mixed bag of hostages to Nevada ghost-town Lost Hope City. He knows that they won't be found there because an atom-bomb test is planned for the next morning. Relationships shift and tension builds as Hurley keeps the others in suspense as to whether he will let them escape before bomb time.