Appointment with Danger

Director: Lewis Allen Lewis Allen

Overview

In this film, Al Goddard, special investigator for the U.S. post office, is assigned to collar two criminals who've murdered a postal detective. Goddard must first locate the only witness to the crime, attractive young nun Sister Augustine.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2010
UPC:	0887090024204
Original Release:	1951
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	17,569

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alan Ladd	Al Goddard
Phyllis Calvert	Sister Augustine
Jack Webb	Joe Regas
Jan Sterling	Dodie
Paul Stewart	Earl Boettiger
Stacy Harris	Paul Ferrar
David Wolfe	David Goodman
Dan Riss	Maury Ahearn
Harry Antrim	Taylor, Postmaster
Geraldine Wall	Mother Ambrose
George J. Lewis	Leo Cronin
Paul Lees	Gene Gunner
Harry Morgan	George Soderquist
Murray Alper	Goddard's Taxi Driver
Symona Boniface	Woman
Volta Boyer	Nun
Arnold Daly	Clerk
Allan Douglas	Postal Inspector
Billy Engle	Man
Fritz Feld	Window Dresser
Kathleen Freeman	Nun
Howard Gardiner	Hot Dog Man
Art Gilmore	Narrator
Terry Goodman	Boy
Frank Hagney	Motorcycle Cop,Motorcycle Cop
Whitey Haupt	Boy
Sid Tomack	Trainman
James Cornell	Gruber
Harry Tyler	Brakeman
Sheldon Jett	Fat Man
Bruce Wong	Chop Suey Restaurant Proprietor
Erno Verebes	Window Dresser
Russell Saunders	Gary Policeman
Ralph Sanford	Wilder Bartender
Bill Meader	Sharkey
John Whitney	Postal Inspectors
Herb Vigran	Policeman
Pat Lane	Policeman
Jerry James	Policeman
Patsy O'Byrne	Woman
Ann Tyrrell	Secretary
Byron Barr	Policeman
Victor Young	Composer

Technical Credits

Richard L. Breen

Warren Duff

Lewis Allen	Director
Robert Fellows	Producer
Richard L. Breen	Screenwriter
Warren Duff	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Harold Lewis	Sound/Sound Designer
Gene Garvin	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

One of the lesser-known films noir, Appointment with Danger is decidedly uneven, but when it's kicked into high gear, it's quite memorable. It's a shame that the stretches of the film between its highs don't have more vitality and spark to them; they're not bad, mind you, but they come across as routine. That feeling of "routine-ness" is more in the execution, for Danger has a number of elements that are somewhat different for the genre and which had greater potential than was realized. For example, having a nun as the crucial witness had not been done to death in the genre, and the decision to make the protagonist a member of the postal police was original. If these were missed opportunities, we're quite fortunate that director Lewis Allen and screenwriters Richard L. Breen and Warren B. Duff were in better form for the sequences that stand out -- especially the squash game and the murder of Henry Morgan. The former is an outstanding sequence in which Alan Ladd's seething anger is allowed to boil over, resulting in an exciting game in which the ball becomes almost a weapon of death. In the latter, Jack Webb's cold blooded killing, with a pair of bronzed baby shoes that themselves are filled with meaning, is shockingly brutal yet thrilling. Ladd does well in the lead role, although his laidback style will not engage all viewers. Phyllis Calvert is excellent as the nun, and Jan Sterling gets in some memorable moments as the moll. The most interesting casting, however, is future Dragnet co-stars Webb and Morgan as the villains, with Webb's patented deadpan style proving chilling and disturbingly psychopathic.