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Among the male stars of the noir cycle, Dick Powell was the most peevish. When Humphrey Bogart smart-talked, it was with a wry bonhomie; when Robert Mitchum did it, it was with mumbled nonchalance. But when Powell snaps back a retort, you know he's got his dander up. This drastic change from his earlier days as happy-go-lucky hoofer began with his assumption (the first) of Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet and continued in Cornered, Johnny O'Clock, To the Ends of the Earth, and The Pitfall. His prickly temper informs Robert Parrish's Cry Danger, the last true noir he would appear in before affecting a pipe and cardigans in The Bad and the Beautiful.

Carrying a grip with the weight of the world in it, Powell steps off a train in Los Angeles; he's just spent five years in prison for a robbery and murder for which he took the rap. Luckily, a war-wounded and hard-drinking Marine (Richard Erdman), with whom he was supposedly drinking when the job was pulled, surfaced to give him an alibi. But Powell has never met this old buddy before.

Nonetheless, they throw their lot together and rent an armadillo-like trailer in a run-down park, where the wife of his old partner (Rhonda Fleming) lives, too. Powell has scores to settle, beginning with big-time bookie William Conrad who, he reckons, owes him $50-grand. Conrad pays off in classic mob fashion, by giving him a tip on a fixed race. The payoff money puts the police on his tail, as its marked bills are part of the take from the old robbery. But all traces of the illegal book have vanished, so Powell can't prove his innocence. He starts stalking Conrad for revenge, even though he's dodging pot-shots in the trailer park, while the duplicity that ensnared him lies much closer to home....

Cry Danger has a number of points in its favor, chief among them the pitiless photography of Joseph Biroc (it's decidedly the low-rent side of the City of Angels). Parrish keeps hustling the story along, nonetheless slowing down enough to allow Erdman a craftily underplayed, memorable performance (the same can't be said of Fleming, who simply lacks the wherewithal to function convincingly as femme fatale). There's a high quotient of violence, too – particularly when Powell extracts a confession from Conrad through a one-sided game of Russian Roulette. Somehow, though, the ingenuity of the earlier part of the picture starts to peter out near the end, turning its oddly low-key ending into something of an afterthought.

Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Regis Toomey, Richard Erdman, and Jean Porter star in "Cry Danger," a 1951 film directed by Robert Parrish.

Powell plays Rocky Mulloy, an ex-con, recently released from prison after an alibi appears that clears him of a robbery/murder. The alibi is a Marine (Erdman) named DeLong who says that he and Powell were drinking together at the time the job was pulled.

In truth, Powell didn't commit the crime. However, he has never seen this Marine before in his life. The Marine wants money from the robbery.

The two rent a trailer in a trailer park, where the wife (Rhonda Fleming) of his ex-partner, who is still in prison, lives. She's actually an old girlfriend of Rocky's and the two are still attracted to one another.

Rocky goes after a bookie (William Conrad) who cheated him and unknowingly bets on a fixed race, is paid in the robbery money, which sends the police after him.

It's good to read the comments for this film and realize that many people appreciate the versatility and talent of Dick Powell. He was many things to many people - a wonderful singer, a great tough guy, a savvy businessman, a good director, and a marvelous producer who launched Sam Peckinpah and Aaron Spelling. Not all of his later films were "A" productions, but he was always excellent.

The performances by Erdman and Conrad are very good. Rhonda Fleming is her usual beautiful self, and Jean Porter plays a lively party girl.

This is a good noir that captures the atmosphere of post-war LA, the down and out side of it. It's exciting and a little unpredictable, too, enough to keep you watching.

Dick Powell, born in Mt. View, Arkansas, had a versatile career, starting out as a song and dance man with hit records who starred in some of the best musicals Hollywood ever made several of them by Busby Berkely. When his career floundered he changed genres and became one of the movies' best tough guys, in many ways better in the role than Humphrey Bogart, although Powell never became the cult hero Bogart became. Powell then went on to success in the new medium of television. While "Cry Danger" is no "Murder, My Sweet," it is an exceptional tough guy flick. One thing that always impressed me about Dick Powell, especially well done in "Murder, My Sweet," is his talk. He could read a line like nobody else. His voice helps make "Cry Danger" more realistic and more exciting to watch. William Conrad's Castro is an excellent foil for Powell's character, Rocky Mulloy. This was before the world came to know a real life villain, Fidel Castro. Today, Conrad's character has become even more dastardly as a result of historical events. There is even a freakish resemblance between Conrad's Castro and the cigar-smoking one in Cuba. Thus Conrad's character is even more menacing. Richard Erdman usually gets on my nerves when I see him in a movie. He had a habit of overplaying his part. But in Cry Danger he has been properly cast and comes off a winner. He ends up with some of the best lines in the film. This is the best acting I have seen him do. Rocky (Dick Powell) and Delong(Erdman)have trouble with their women in "Cry Danger." Both Rhonda Fleming and Jean Porter turn in creditable performances and add to the overall effectiveness of the film. One reviewer commented on the photography. And it's true the photography adds much to the overall impact of the movie. The trailer park is shown in such a realistic manner that the viewer can almost see the cockroaches crawl across the table. The action never slows down. The final scene is a good one. Once you start watching "Cry Danger" you won't want to stop.

This film was shot on location in and around the Bunker Hill area of Los Angeles in the 1950's. The seedy trailer park, the crummy cocktail bars, and the Union Station (built in 1939) are the backdrop for a much better than average tale of revenge. Dick Powell gets off a train at the Union Station after spending 5 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He is met by a cop (Regis Toomey) that thinks he not only did the crime, but that he has stashed the loot. Also on the welcoming committee is Richard Erdman as an alcoholic former Marine that provided Powell with an alibi that got him out of prison. Rhonda Fleming plays the wife of a pal of Powell's that remains in prison for the crime. Powell intends to prove not only his innocence, but that of his buddy.

Add to the mix William Conrad as a bad guy with his own agenda and you have a better than average noir. The dialog between Powell and Erdman is dark and funny at the same time. The cinematography captures a part of Los Angeles that fell under the urban renewal wrecking ball that ripped the soul out of this part of the city. Not the greatest film noir ever made, but one of my favorites. Why isn't this film out on DVD?

With Cry Danger, Dick Powell said good bye to the noir genre that had served him well since his electrifying Philip Marlowe in Murder My Sweet. Hard to believe the applecheeked tenor of all those sappy Warner Brothers musicals was the tough guy in some of the best noir films ever done. His few remaining films were not noir and pretty soon Powell was strictly on the small screen.

Powell in this case is a bookie who was sent up for a robbery that he didn't commit. He's out now due to an alibi provided by Richard Erdman who says Powell had been drinking with him the night the robbery had taken place.

With five years of his life taken from him, Powell's out to find who framed him and he hunts with only the determination Dick Powell can muster. He nearly gets framed again when he's given some of the hot money from the robbery to make a bet.

Usually in noir films, cops are usually a bit on the slow side unless the protagonist is a cop. Regis Toomey who plays the cop who arrested Powell five years before is an exception. He has Powell trailed from the moment he leaves prison and that pays off for him and for Powell.

This is a nicely done crisp little crime thriller. Good photography of the seamy side of Los Angeles, especially the trailer park where Powell is residing with Erdman, Rhonda Fleming who's the wife of his partner who's still in prison and Erdman's gal Jean Porter. The trailer park is pretty seedy, but with Rhonda Fleming there it does have its compensations.

Ike basically took the words out of my mouth (for which I applaud him!), but I'll pledge my love for this film anyway. I'm fairly new to film noir (started getting into the style in my mid to late teens, and now at twenty, I'm a fanatic) and while I've seen almost all of the massive hits, the films that define the genre to the critics and the movie-loving public, I've found that my personal favorites are films like these, the ones that are so obscure you just might stumble upon them on accident and find that you've unearthed a treasure trove! An undiscovered gem that is virtually ignored altogether now (and perhaps then as well), "Cry Danger" is undoubtedly in my top ten favorite film noirs of all time. Many people will chalk this up to pure foolishness or relative inexperience with the genre on my part, but before you form these opinions, let me state my case. From the first long-angled shot of this film, the richly-textured atmospheric style is laid out. Our lead character steps off a train, fresh out of the jail where he spent five years of his life paying for somebody else's crime. He looks down a long, cylindrical tunnel at the station. The exit. But the tunnel represents something else. It represents the life he left as a younger man and the life he must return to as a forsaken, middle-aged, unemployed former gangster. It represents his cloudy, uncertain future, and his clinging reluctance to meet with it. From there, we're introduced to a set of characters so shady and so thoroughly corrupted by circumstances beyond their control that the story itself must logically take place in one of the seediest, most dilapedated settings to have ever been featured as a primary backdrop in a film noir...a worn-down trailer park! Yes, it's uncharacteristically rustic and completely atypical, but that's another one of this film's charms. The cramped trailer that Dick Powell and Richard Erdman share looks like it could have easily been ground zero for a moderately large hurricane, but as this is a west-coast noir, the above theory can be easily disputed. Beyond the trailer park lie villainous clip-joints and a non-descript deli which houses some mysterious vanishing bookies. Every civilian is a potential thug and every cop is on their payroll! The beauty of this film isn't necessarily the plot, as others have pointed out, even though I am certainly intrigued by the dilemma of our hero and the resolution of the story should be fairly unexpected. But the real reason to watch this film is for all the little things. So many fine details woven together to form a tapestry that, taken as a whole, makes for a really fun rainy-day noir caper! Dick Powell is awesome as a basically decent guy who's been set-up and screwed over one time too many. Richard Erdman really deserves glowing praise for his portrayal of a wise-cracking, one-legged ex-Marine (who lives in a trailer park! See why you should rent this right away?!?!). I've seen Erdman in a few things (most notably "Stalag 17" and "The Twilight Zone") and this film is the perfect vehicle to showcase his understated, cynical stage presence and his emphatic, cooly-paced and bitingly sardonic delivery. An underappreciated actor who really brings it to this role. All in all, this film is too smart and too cynical to win any awards, but if you enjoy a truly sinister noir with some very unique settings and memorable performances, "Cry Danger" just may be that film. All negative criticisms aside, see this and decide for yourself. I think you'll be glad you did!

Like the old Sinatra song, things can be far better the second time around. The first time I saw "Cry Danger" it was shortly after a viewing of "Murder, My Sweet" and it just couldn't compare to that classic. I recently viewed the movie again and I must say that "Cry Danger" was a lot of fun.

The real stars of the movie are 1) the dialogue, and 2) Dick Powell's delivery of that dialogue. Bogart and Mitchum are blue collar guys who deliver these kinds of one-liners beautifully...and it stings...but Powell has an air of elegance and intelligence wrapped in a white collar, so when he gets caustic, condescending, sarcastic, and nasty, it seems to hurt even more. And it hurts so good. There is nothing more delicious to Noir fans than Powell letting rip with a great one-liner. And the more casual he is, the more "tossed away" the line is delivered, the more we grin with satisfaction. It's just a thing of beauty.

The supporting cast is good, with just about everyone pulling their weight admirably. William Conrad, Regis Toomey, and Rhonda Fleming are in fine form. I was expecting twists, turns, and deceit from Erdman's character, but after an interesting reveal in the beginning of the film, his character seems to be abandoned and left only to provide some comic relief. That missed opportunity aside, though, the script is fun and moves along briskly.

The direction is just fine, though not as dark as I would have liked it...but that is a minor complaint. There is a rawness and realism to these B films that I find much more rewarding than a lot of the glossy A films produced.

8 out of 10 for a thoroughly enjoyable hour and a half crawl through the seedy underbelly of Tinsel Town.

Cry Danger (1951)

Humphrey Bogart smiles. Robert Mitchum smiles. Lots of tough film noir types also show a grin or manage a laugh. But not Dick Powell. Forever grim and determined, he is a the archetype of an unhappy man, and usually, as in "Cry Danger," he's out to fix some problem.

This is a Dick Powell movie all the way, and a really good one. There are some great secondary characters, especially the mob leader William Conrad and a suspicious and wise-cracking Marine sidekick played by Richard Erdman. And the plot is good, if twisting slightly and improbable at times. It's also a somewhat cheaply made affair, with a car crash that won't convince a child, and some sets that show their seams. But hey, who cares? It barrels along and stern stiff unflappable Powell (his name is Rocky Mulloy in the movie) won't be stopped, even by love, even by duplicity. And certainly not by cops who should have arrested him several times for his liberties while on parole.

This is director Robert Parrish's first film, and he didn't really direct much later of note except, in 1966, a couple scenes in "Casino Royale." Between the two he did a bunch of so-so westerns. William Conrad, who is thirty at the time of filming here, went on to be television's "Cannon" and "Jake and the Fat Man," but he appeared in a bunch of these B-list noirs and is good every time. The leading woman is a simple type, and good enough at it, but her most memorable role is in "Spiral Staircase," a couple years earlier (definitely see that one). She, too, like half of Hollywood, drifted to t.v. by 1960.

Powell's career is interesting, and his last big role before moving to television himself was in "The Bad and the Beautiful," just a year later. He is never quite a distinctive leading man, and I'm guessing he thought of this as just bread and butter work, but he gives it his usual steely best, and holds the movie together. The other leading character has to be 1950 L.A., without the glamour. Every scene is gritty and real, night and day, and it's yet another sign of end of the studio system and the rise of t.v., with all the location shooting.

A fast, fun one, well filmed.

Thanks to lighter, smaller film cameras developed during World War II, B-movie directors on a low budget often took their productions into the streets of Los Angeles (and elsewhere), adding a kinetic and exhilarating realism unavailable on the back lot. So-called films noir, particularly the documentary-style police procedurals, were especially enhanced by location shooting. I can name several films--"Crime Wave," "Kiss Me Deadly," "Angel's Flight" and this one, "Cry Danger," among others--that would have been far less interesting if the producers had kept them studio-bound. "Cry Danger" was shot at two locations on Bunker Hill, one at the corner of Third and Olive (the Amigos Club, where William Conrad had an upstairs office) and the other at the New Grand Hotel complex on the northwest corner of Third and Grand (where Conrad tricked Dick Powell into winning a bet with hot money from the robbery that had sent him to prison). But the most atmospheric scenes were shot several blocks away, at the top of Hill Place north of Sunset Boulevard in what is now a Chinatown neighborhood, where Powell moved into the Clover Trailer Park. (To see film stills matched with 2010 photos, check out www.electricearl.com/bh.) I recently (April 2010) saw the restored film version of "Cry Danger" at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (where, incidentally, Rhonda Fleming and Richard Erdman were on hand to talk about the movie), and I can attest that the location scenes drew audible breaths and exclamations from the audience. Don't get me wrong; "Cry Danger" has great dialog and interesting characters, but without that wonderful personality called postwar Los Angeles it would have been much less of a movie.

Good dialog and a fast-moving story make this one of the better somewhat-unknown film noirs of its day.

Dick Powell and Jay Adler wisecrack their way through this film with some humorous sarcasm. Both are a lot of fun to watch. Powell was in his prime for this kind of role. He was much more mature looking than in his earlier musical days and he fits the part of a tough detective to a tee. His dialog with the tough cop, played by Regis Toomey, also is excellent stuff.

Jean Porter provides added humor with her supporting role as the bimbo-thief date for Adler and Rhonda Fleming adds beauty. A younger William Conrad - with a dark head of hair and a mustache - also has a key role in here.

Even though it is classified as film noir, I'm not sure it belongs in that category because it doesn't feature the brooding, dark type of characters and atmosphere one usually sees in that genre. One place is does belong is in your collection, if you like classic crime stories. This is another attractive film that still hasn't been issued on DVD.

Dick Powell is pardoned for a crime and searches for justice in post-war Los Angeles. Powell moves into a seamy trailer park on a hill overlooking the downtown (there is a great film shot of this) and teams with a disabled ex-marine. Powell confronts a gangster named Castro, played by William Conrad. Castro is definitely bad news for everyone around him.

The plot is not exceptional and certainly does not transcend B-movie standards, but the film is visually good and somehow the characters and the setting create a milieu which draws in the viewer. Definitely worth watching.

During his early years in Hollywood, Dick Powell was pigeonholed into roles that were very, very similar. Because of his lovely voice and handsome face, he starred in one musical after another for Warner Brothers. While these films were pretty agreeable to watch, they were light-weight--with little depth and posing little challenge to Powell. He ached to do something more and around the end of WWII he got it--a great string of tough film noir movies. Now these were the antithesis of his earlier films and my assumption is that he got this chance because his boyish good looks were disappearing as he reached middle age. And, as far as I'm concerned, this was definitely for the better. With such tough films as "Cornered", "Johnny O'Clock" and "Murder My Sweet" he proved he could play a guy every bit as tough and cynical as the best of them!

"Cry Danger" begins with Powell being released from prison. Apparently, he'd spent five years there for a crime he didn't commit--and the only reason he was released is because an opportunist (Richard Erdman) perjured himself to provide him with an alibi. But he DIDN'T commit the robbery and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. The trail leads to a real crumb (William Conrad) and some snappy scenes between them. I'd say more, but don't want to divulge the film's nice twists.

All in all, the film worked for three major reasons--Powell's snappy acting, Conrad's performance as a slime-ball and wonderful dialog. While this is not exactly a great example of film noir, it's near-great--and well worth your time.

interesting twist with 'Harry'

Engaging, compact crime meller has Dick Powell in excellent form as Rocky Mulloy, framed for a robbery and out of jail on parole after serving five years; he's being tailed by a Los Angeles police lieutenant, who thinks Rocky knows the whereabouts of the loot never retrieved from the heist. Powell is nearly upstaged by William Conrad as a slick, slimy bookie, the boss behind the job that sent both Rocky and a pal up the river. Supporting cast is pretty solid; only Rhonda Fleming misses the mark as Rocky's former-flame who married his partner (Fleming's general nature is too sweet for this scenario, and she looks too coiffed and glamorous to be living in a seedy neighborhood trailer park). Lots of delicious, overripe tough talk and an exciting finale, though it's a shame Rocky never gets to expose the bookmaker's flunkies who pull a fast one on him with some hot racehorse dough. **1/2 from ****

After five years in prison wrongly accused of robbery of US$ 100,000.00 and murder, Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell) is released when the ex-marine Delong (Richard Erdman) gives the necessary alibi to him. Rocky was framed and sentenced to life, but he has always claimed that he was indeed drinking with marines. Delong is a one-leg ex-marine that wants a share of the stolen money and gave the fake alibi to release Rocky. They go to visit Nancy (Rhonda Fleming), who was Rocky´s former girlfriend that married his best friend Danny Morgan that is in prison for the same robbery, and she welcomes Rocky. Meanwhile Police Lt. Gus Cobb (Regis Toomey) tails Rocky day and night. Rocky borrows Delong´s car and seek out the gangster Louis Castro (William Conrad), who planned the robbery and he demands US$ 50,000.00 using a revolver. Castro promises to settle up with him later but frames Rocky instead. But Rocky wants to prove that he and Danny are non-guilty. Will he succeed?

"Cry Danger" is a film-noir with an engaging story of injustice, betrayal and revelations. The screenplay is very well written with plot points and excellent conclusion. The lovely Rhonda Fleming steals the film and her biography shows also a shining woman to be admired. The final twist will certainly surprise the viewers of this highly recommended film-noir. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Golpe do Destino" ("Blow of the Destiny")

Dick Powell must represent one of the most successful transformations of character in screen history, from light hearted romantic crooner to tough guy. While this little, recently re-discovered film, may be far from one of the best examples, it certainly makes for a good watch.

The story by Jerome Cady (A.K.F. Call Northside 777 '48) has many good one liners, and enough twists to keep you hooked till the close. It's unfortunate Cady died at only 45 from an overdose of sleeping pills, taking with him whatever other stories he may have wanted to tell...as well as his own! The Screenplay by William Bowers (A.K.F: The Web '47, Night and Day '46 and Split Second '53) rolls along at a lively pace up to the final scene, that unfortunately, seems to have been either tacked on or hastened by other commitments.

The support cast are also good, with William Conrad menacing as the Orson Wells look alike - double crossing partner in crime. Richard Erdman adds a good presence as Delong, a strange opportunist tagging along hoping for a share of missing heist monies. Auburn haired beauty, and trained Soprano, Rhonda Fleming provides adequate feminine interests. Would sure be nice if someday, footage of her traveling Gospel quartet with Jane Russell, might come to light. Ms Fleming also received the Living Legacy award in '95 for her many contributions to women's health issues. Regis Toomey makes a convincing Detective, and his character is intelligently defined.

'Cry Danger' marks the first Directorial effort for Award winning editor Robert Parrish (Body and Soul '47) who went on to direct: Saddle the Wind '58, and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun '69. Prolific Director of Photography: Josef Biroc (It's a Wonderful Life '46, The Detective '69) captures the seedy sets designed by Hungarian Joseph Kish, to the point where you can almost smell the mold and dust on the walls.

Paul Dunlap (Walk Like a Dragon '60, and several Samuel Fuller efforts) along with Emil Newman, are credited with the Music Score, but others were also involved, so it comes across as pretty much like a stock Library effort.

Not first class Noir, but should please lovers of 50's mystery double features and, any work by Powell is worth watching.

Not to be insulting, but if you rent a Dick Powell or Alan Ladd movie, you generally know it's going to be a B-picture. There are a couple of exceptions, but Cry Danger isn't one of them. It's as B as it gets. Dick stars as a recently released convict who took the rap for a robbery but didn't make out with any of the loot. His partner supposedly kept the money, but when Dick goes looking for it, the widow (the beautiful Rhonda Fleming) tells him she never saw a penny.

Dick's sidekick is played by Richard Erdman, and his performance is the only one that really stands out. He's pretty creepy, with his limp and voice that perpetually gives out, and he seems like he might be the one person Dick needs to stay away from. Is he a faithful friend and sidekick, or is he about to double cross him? It's unclear until the end, which I guess is a compliment to Richard. As pretty as Rhonda is, she's not enough to save this movie.