Cry Danger (1951)

Why so much hype?

Simply Perfect

i must have seen a different film!!

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Cry Danger – 1951Dick Powell shines in this mid cycle film noir. Powell has just gotten out of prison after doing 5 years of a life sentence for a 100 grand armed robbery. He says he was framed and wants to get even.This film noir is a true gem with some of the best use of location shooting in the genre. The acting, from the top to the bottom of the cast is first rate. The look of the film is also top flight, with cinematographer, Joseph Biroc, supplying director Robert Parrish with a nice assortment of blacks and greys. Add all this to a screenplay from noir veteran, William Bowers, and we have a genuine classic.The cast includes, Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman, Regis Toomey, Jean Porter, William Conrad, Jay Adler and Gloria Saunders.Dick Powell – He is very good as the less than pleased man just out of prison, who is trying to clear his name. His role features some great back and forth with fellow cast members, William Conrad and Richard Erdman. He is not quite as innocent as he claims. Powell shows he can be a hard man when the need arises. This is, in my humble opinion, his best noir role.Richard Erdman – Erdman also hands in an excellent performance as the alibi who arranged for Powell to be sprung from prison. His motive is that he figures Powell still has the 100 large hidden somewhere. He would like a slice.Rhonda Fleming – Fleming plays the wife of Powell's friend who was also sent up the river over the robbery. Powell and Fleming had been an item before her wedding to Powell's buddy. Fleming has the most difficult role in the film as she is playing both sides of the street. She was in on the robbery, though Powell does not know this.William Conrad – Conrad is a hoot here as the bookie who had arranged the robbery that started the mess. He is less than amused that Powell is out and after him. He spends the film setting up another frame job so Powell well get sent back to prison. When that fails, he sends killers out to whack Powell.Regis Toomey - Toomey made a career out of playing world weary Police detectives etc. Toomey is not sure if Powell is guilty or was framed. He watches from a distance as Powell hunts down the swine he believes set him up.Jean Porter- B-starlet, Porter sparkles here as the perky blonde bimbo with a penchant for picking pockets. She has some snappy lines with Richard Erdman before she gets killed in a botched hit on Powell.Gloria Saunders – Though only on screen for a couple of minutes, Saunders has a very effective bit in Conrad's new frame attempt of Powell. Some might recall her as "The Dragon Lady" on television's TERRY AND THE PIRATES.Jay Adler – Long-time bit player Adler, takes full advantage of his small amount of screen time as the slimy owner of the trailer park where a lot of the film takes place.This one is well worth a watch. There is more than enough snappy dialogue and violence here. Plus the added bonus of the wonderful use of LA's old Bunker Hill district as the film's backdrop. Noir ResumesDick Powell – MURDER MY SWEET, CORNERED, JOHNNY O'CLOCK, PITFALL, ROUGES' REGIMENT, TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, SPLIT SECOND. The last film was as a director.Richard Erdman – DANGER SIGNAL, SHADOW OF A WOMAN, NOBODY LIVES FOREVER, THE BLUE GARDENIA. Most will recall him from his bit in STALAG 17William Conrad – THE KILLERS, BODY AND SOUL, SORRY WRONG NUMBER, TENSION, ONE WAY STREET, DIAL 1119, CRY OF THE HUNTED. He also starred as Frank Cannon in the long running P.I. series, CANNON. He was very much in demand as a narrator for various show. His voice can be heard on many Quinn-Martin productions.Rhonda Fleming - WHEN STRANGERS MARRY, SPELLBOUND, THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, OUT OF THE PAST, INFERNO, THE KILLER IS LOOSE, WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS, SLIGHTLY SCARLET, Regis Toomey – PHANTOM LADY, SPELLBOUND, STRANGE ILLUSION, THE BIG SLEEP, THE GUILTY, THE BIG FIX, HIGH TIDE, I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES, UNDERCOVER GIRL, THE HUMAN JUNGLE.Jay Adler – THE UNDERWORLD STORY, THE MOB, SCANDAL SHEET, THE TURNING POINT, VICE SQUAD, THE LONG WAIT, 99 RIVER STREET, DOWN THREE DARK STREET, MURDER IS MY BEAT, THE BIG COMBO, ILLEGAL, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, CRIME OF PASSION, THE KILLING Robert Parrish –Twice Oscar nominated and one time winner, Parrish, was involved with, SHOOT FIRST and THE MOB as a director. As a film editor, he worked on, CAUGHT, A DOUBLE LIFE and BODY AND SOUL, which he won the Oscar for.Joseph Biroc – Two time nominated and one time Oscar winning cinematographer, Biroc, worked on, ROUGHSHOD, LOAN SHARK, WITHOUT WARNING, THE GLASS WALL, VICE SQUAD, WORLD FOR RANSOM, NIGHTMARE and THE GARMENT JUNGLE. His most famous films are likely, HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.William Bowers – The prolific Bowers was also nominated for Oscars twice. His work includes the story or screenplay for, THE WEB, LARCENY, ABANDONED, CONVICTED, THE MOB, SPLIT SECOND, TIGHT SPOT as well as un-credited work on PITFALL and CRISS CROSS.Cry Danger is a must see for the film noir fan.

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.

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.

Seen at the SF Film Noir Festival January 2007. Eddie Muller, the host of the affair, interviewed Richard Erdman between films. Erdman is viciously funny and a great raconteur. You'd recognize his face anywhere, he's done so many bit parts in movies over the years. His role in Cry Danger is one of his favorites and served as a kind of break through for his career. The scene where he has sworn off booze and is putting together a hamburger and pouring himself a glass of milk shows a man who makes himself promises and keeps none of them. He tosses the burger, pours out the milk and fills the glass with whiskey. Noir films from this era made no apologies. A drunk was a drunk. Nobody went to rehab. Cigarettes are lit like Roman candles and nobody complained about second hand smoke. Babes in low cut gowns make it obvious what they're after. Powell's character is focused and relentless. Rhonda Fleming is a gorgeous red herring (to match her red hair?) The print came up from the UCLA film vaults after the 35 mm print sent out from Cambridge proved technically unwatchable. Muller says there will never be a DVD of this film. The master is shot and the 16 mm version shown at the Castro Theater was murky and grey. Still, the film is worth watching if for no other reason than to hear Bill Bowers' sharp dialogue. His family was in the audience including his widow for a touching tribute to this master Noir scripter.