Appointment with Danger (1951)

An Exercise In Nonsense

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A humorless postal inspector goes undercover to thwart a planned mail robbery and apprehend those who murdered a fellow inspector. In the process, he encounters: a sadistic gunsel, a blonde floozie, and a pious nun, among others.The movie's a spotty docu-drama that dramatizes the role of a generally over-looked enforcement agency, namely the Department of Postal Inspection that protects our mails. There were a number of these docu-dramas from the late 40's and early 50's, largely in the style of The Naked City (1948). Generally they lauded law enforcement agencies such as Treasury, FBI, metropolitan police, and others. As movies, they had built-in appeal by dealing with crime in a more realistic way than usual, and also for their Cold War value as a first line of defense against presumed Soviet subversion. Some dealt more with departmental procedure, while others slipped into melodrama or noir, (T-Men, {1947}).AwD relies more on melodrama than procedure. In fact, it's hard to discern much difference between it and standard police drama. One thing—it's certainly not noir—being filmed in flat, naturalistic style and without a morally ambiguous central character or other earmarks of that atmospheric genre. I agree with another reviewer that the term 'noir' is thrown around much too loosely. Apparently, this was Alan Ladd's swan song with his home studio, Paramount. Despite his short stature and pretty boy good looks, the actor could indeed project a strong unsmiling presence. Here, he manages some of that commanding presence, but generally glides through the role in one-note, uninteresting fashion. Perhaps this is as much a fault of the screenplay as his or the director's. After all, his Inspector Goddard is supposed to be emotionally flat and unfeeling. To me, the movie's best parts are a vicious Jack Webb, a supremely coy Jan Sterling, and an unvarnished look at Gary, Indiana's jagged skyline. Also, there's that great shot of Goddard's one punch "ko" of the surly Regas (Webb) on a handball court. It's a jolting slice of staging and the movie's best. Then there's that imaginative bit of business with the bronzed baby shoes, along with a number of snappy lines, especially the innuendo from the wanton blonde, Dodie (Sterling). Her role, I suspect, was added for sex appeal, since the character herself is inessential to the plot. Note too how every guy, good or bad, sports a spiffy suit and tie. It's like they paraded every day through Wardrobe, which they probably did. On a more negative note, I could have done without the goody-goody nun (Calvert), which is out of tune with the rest of the film, but definitely in tune with Cold War needs of the time. Such outside political influences are worth noting here, considering Hollywood's well-known fingers to shifting winds and how they often shape content.All in all, the movie's a decent melodrama, but too spotty and loose to rank with better docu-dramas of the time. I'm just sorry the material didn't get a tighter screenplay, and perhaps a lead actor who was not a celebrity star and the compromises that go with that.

APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER – 1951Alan Ladd headlines this gritty and violent film-noir. Ladd plays a Postal Investigator out to catch the murderers of a fellow Investigator.The killing is tied to a gang led by Paul Stewart, who is planning a million dollar robbery of a cash transfer. Ladd does the old crooked cop bit to worm his way into the gang. Also in the mix are Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Stacy Harris, Phyllis Calvert and the always good, Jan Sterling.Calvert plays a nun who witnessed crooks Morgan and Webb disposing of a body. Sterling is the girlfriend of gang leader, Paul Stewart. Webb is quite good here as the nut-bar who wants to kill damn near everyone. He has one scene where he pummels fellow crook, Morgan, to death with some bronze baby shoes.Needless to say, Ladd's undercover bit soon hits more than a few bumps on the road. Anyways, it all ends in a blazing shootout with the nasty types on the wrong end of a lead exchange.While not as well-known as THIS GUN FOR HIRE, THE BLUE DAHLIA or THE GLASS KEY, it is worth a look, now that it is finally out on DVD.

Extremely disappointing and although Alan Ladd performs well he alone cannot lift this very routine picture out of its mediocrity. There is some decent location stuff with the railroad and finally a shoot out at the end but this is far more concerned at having its heart in the right place and promoting the mail service as a wonderful institution than in getting down and dirty as a thrilling movie. Its a shame because the mix of gangsters and nuns could have been much more interesting and the spirited performance from Jan Sterling could have been put to much better use. Great title but not such a good picture.

If we learn one thing about the US Post Office in Appointment With Danger is that it takes care of its own. When a postal inspector winds up a homicide victim, it's another postal inspector that does the investigation. I was surprised that the FBI wasn't called in as they usually are with crimes involving the US mail.But their top cop in the person of Alan Ladd is called in when one of the inspectors is murdered. He's found dead in an alley in a small Indiana town. And there's a witness, a nun played by British import Phyllis Calvert who sees the victim being dumped and is given an excuse by one of the perpetrators that they're just helping a drunken pal. That guy is played by Harry Morgan and Calvert recognizes him from the mug books once Alan Ladd tracks her down. The crooks also know that Calvert's been talking to the police.Ladd's dead colleague was working on foiling a planned heist of a mail truck that will be carrying a large sum of currency. When Morgan goes missing and later turns up dead, the lead goes cold. Ladd's only way to apprehend the crooks is to insinuate himself with them and catch them in the act of robbery. Appointment With Danger was Alan Ladd's final noir film with Paramount and it's a good one. He's a most cynical fellow in this film and can't quite wrap his mind around Calvert's character.The gang includes Paul Stewart as the brains and trigger happy gunman Jack Webb. Interesting to see future Dragnet partners Webb and Morgan together. But though she only has a few scenes the one you'll remember is Jan Sterling playing Stewart's moll. Sterling is Stewart's girl to be sure, but she likes a little fun on the side. Her scenes with Ladd are the best in the film and Jan has a very practical turn of mind and a knowledge of the law gained from hanging around unsavory types.Appointment With Danger is definitely a must for Alan Ladd fans and folks who might become Alan Ladd fans after seeing this movie.