Reto a la muerte

Appointment with Danger is directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff. It stars Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, Jack Webb, Stacy Harris and Harry Morgan. Music is by Victor Young and cinematography by John F. Seitz.

Al Goddard (Ladd) is a U.S. Postal Inspector sent to investigate the grim murder of one of his colleagues. There's a witness to locate and possibly protect, a nun, Sister Augustine (Calvert), and soon enough Al has to go undercover as a crook to infiltrate the gang responsible for the murder. Not only that, but they plan to steal one million dollars being transported by the U.S.P.S., clearly Al has a lot on his plate.

Alan Ladd's last film noir (though it barely qualifies as such) is good entertainment that relies on hardboiled speak more than it does action or mystery. A great opening involving the murder is kind of a false dawn, in that the mood and visual strengths on show here are rarely reproduced during rest of pic. However, that is a small complaint in truth because it's so much fun to be around Ladd's Al Goddard.

We quickly learn that he is basically a great cop but not much of a human being, since we know who did the murder from the off, we have to rely on Goddard's undercover operation for our suspense quota, which comes in spades. Goddard is constantly at threat of being exposed, he has to consistently think on his feet, have a quip or yarn to spin to deflect suspicion, so this keeps things spicy in the story.

The strand involving Calvert's nun is a weak one, it's clearly a narrative device to smooth out Goddard's rough edges, but it never really works and that the writers turn her into a dumb ass late in the play is annoying. Another irritant is that Sterling (wasted) as Paul Stewart's (good villain value as usual) moll really doesn't impact on proceedings, she wanders in and out of the film promising to be a femme fatale, but it never happens and after playing out as a weak red herring she exits with a whimper.

Some smart location work is on show, with the backdrop of pool halls and cheap hotels utilised to good effect by Allen and Seitz, and a couple of scenes really sock the jaw; literally in one case! But it never rises above being a routine cops and robbers based homage to the U.S.P.S. Inspectors. Thankfully Ladd is on form and delivers the best parts of the screenplay with a steely cold sharpness that positively tickles the fancy of noir lovers. 6.5/10

I just seen Appointment With Danger for the first time and quite enjoyed it.

A postal inspector is murdered in Gary, Indiana and fellow inspector, Al Goddard is sent over there to investigate this. He tries to track down a nun who witnessed the murder, which he does. He then joins the gang responsible and makes out he is a "bent" postal inspector.

This movie is shot well in black and white and well on location too, especially the railway scenes.

The cast includes the excellent Alan Ladd (Shane) as Goddard, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart and Jan Sterling.

For some reason, Appointment With Danger doesn't seem to have been released on video or DVD, so you will have to rely on it coming on telly and tape it, which I did.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

I caught this by accident on Sky at a friend's place at 8 one Sunday morning, so it was clear what Sky thought of it. In fact it's a gripping & well-crafted 'film gris', making good, expressive use of studio sets (with occasional location montages) and showing Alan Ladd at his best - the archangel of understated cold menace. Closed-in tension, violence & intrigue are the generic elements - the heart of Hollywood crime movies - and Ladd needs to be respected as a screen actor, not mocked for not being very tall. His career was slipping, and the length & other casting (strong character actors, no stars) suggest a B movie but here he's as natural as Spencer Tracey in a laid-back tough guy role. Unusual too in that it shuts out any Cold War vibes & focuses on a public utility - the US Postal Service.

Films of this type, so namely thriller, really appeal to me, love films with tautness, edge and suspense and have done for a long time now. The story sounded great too on paper and the cast is a talented one, with Alan Ladd proving more than once that he does well in the sort of role he plays here (one that plays to his strengths rather than stretching him too much) and the rest of the cast is full of ever reliable actors.

'Appointment with Danger' for me was nifty and entertaining if a little disappointing at the same time, as there was more room for it to be better than it turned out to be with the promise it had. Having its issues while also having a lot to recommend, so all in all not too bad a position to be in. Regarding as to whether to class it as a film-noir, from my perspective 'Appointment with Danger' and can easily be classed as one, at the same time it can be considered a mystery/heist film with a lot of noir-ish elements (if not as hard-boiled as most and it does lack a strong "femme fatale").

Starting with what doesn't quite work, to me Phyllis Calvert's role is underdeveloped and her later scenes distract a little from what's going on and don't always add much. Calvert does portray her very winningly it has to be said, the fault does not lie with her.

Did think that at times the pace could have tightened up a little more in the middle and there could have been more suspense, with outcomes never really being in doubt and with there not being enough danger 'Appointment with Danger' has its bland spots.

It does look great though, loved the moody lighting and very atmospheric locations enhanced by some very stylish photography. They all gave off a real sense of foreboding. The music also gives off that vibe, classy and ominous without overbearing what's going on. Lewis Allen directs smartly and mostly does not let the momentum slip.

Maybe the script is not always what one calls hard-boiled, but it was hard to dislike its snappiness, tautness and surprisingly humorous moments, thankfully never unintentionally. The story on the most part does grip, thanks to a lot being packed in without feeling like there was too much going on and it doesn't feel muddled. Would have liked more suspense, but thankfully boredom never properly crept in and there were exciting moments, namely the climax.

The cast are good, a few great, Ladd has been better with him playing relatively similar roles with more steel but still does admirably (laconic does not come over as bland). Jan Sterling steals her (too few) scenes as the amusingly wise-cracking moll, that she plays the heck out of, and Paul Stewart does cynical and menacingly reserved expertly. Found the scene stealer to be a frighteningly vicious Jack Webb.

In summary, entertaining but more danger and suspense wouldn't have gone amiss. 7/10

When I think of Alan Ladd, I usually think westerns like Shane, but he really did a wide variety of films. He wasn't a great actor, but reportedly one that was easy to work with; hence the large number of roles.

Here, he plays a postal detective that is trying to solve a murder. His prime witness is a nun (Phyllis Calvert who was nominated for a BAFTA Best Actress award for Crash of Silence). She really shines in the scenes she is in.

Also featured are Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, familiar to many as partners in Dragnet. In this film, they are on the other side of the law, but the familiar characteristics are there.

Also featured was the sexy Jan Sterling as the head man's moll. She would go on to get a Best Supporting Actress nomination and a Golden Globe for The High and the Mighty.

It was an interesting picture, and Ladd was superb.