Appointment with Danger

Appointment with Danger - Alan Ladd's last encounter with his beloved noir genre - is an erratic hit-and-miss showcase, which strikes as a picture both fairly suspenseful and too underdeveloped in its narrative structure. Though it has its pleasurable moments of ravishing intensity, Appointment with Danger is a rather forgettable flick that creates a disadvantage out of its overly routine approach to the subject. The film focuses on Al Goddard (Alan Ladd), a special investigator for the US post office, who is called in to investigate a mysterious murder of his fellow co-worker. What starts off as a rather superficial intrigue with a lovely nun in the middle of the whole action, soon turns into a deadly intrigue concerning a group of greedy, handy thugs and a huge sum of money. In order to reveal their plan, Goddard poses as a witty crook who also wants to put his hands on the cash. While trying to infiltrate the gang and discover what the scheme is about, he communicates with the police and takes care of the nun, who is now in grave danger, as she's the only suspect in the aforementioned murder case. During the last, most decisive moments of the intrigue something goes wrong, and Goddard is forced to rely only on his own cunning. The movie concludes with an intense and climatic shootout in a quiet industrial district. The most fascinating thing about this film is its cast. Apart from Alan Ladd as the protagonist, Lewis Allen cast Jack Webb and Harry Morgan as the ruthless murderers. The future stars of the TV series Dragnet bring a lot of joy to the cinephile's heart with their dark and nasty portrayals of two guileful schemers. Overall, Appointment with Danger might not be film noir finest example, yet it still aspires to be a reasonably thrilling picture, which makes a good use of its stellar cast and moody cinematography. Though unsuccessful, it will please all the genre fans.

I am sick and tired of every kind of crime movie shot in the 30's, 40's, and 50's that is filmed in black and white being labeled a 'film noir'. This Alan Ladd vehicle is a typical example, one scene shot in a dark alley in the rain and it's a film noir. I don't think so. It is, in fact a run of the mill heist movie with nothing to recommend it other than watching Alan Ladd (if you are a fan). The plot is straight forward with no particular twists or turns to create any interest for the viewer. The fact that it involves postal inspectors instead of one of the usual law enforcement agencies adds no interest, in fact it comes across as an advertisement for the US Postal Service Jack Webb's performance was the only thing of any value in the movie.

Appointment with Danger (1951) A good, run-of-the-mill crime story. It's more a heist film than a true noir, and it has a popular twist of featuring a government cop as the lead character. There are several FBI films like this (they start with a shot of government building and have a serious narrator or title card give the context), but this is the only one I know of about the U.S. Post Office police. Alan Ladd is a solid actor, in urban crime films or in Westerns, but he's never quite inspiring or memorable, and so the movie is hampered from the start. On the other hand, there is a slew of interesting secondary characters, and some are real characters (like the ever-impressive Paul Stewart, who had his real start in "Citizen Kane"). We get to bomb through some great sets and locations (including the waterfront), and the photography by John Seitz (one of the best, see "Sunset Blvd." and "Double Indemnity") is great. The editing seemed a little sudden at times, almost as if this was shortened version (it wasn't, as far as anyone has noted), but you have to pay attention a couple times to follow what happens. In a way, I think they expect the audience to know the usual twists of this kind of plot, and if that helps explain its fast cutting, it also reveals a kind of formula behind it all. See it? Yes, of course. It's great in particular ways.

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

This is a very routine film noir which features a very nice nun part.Her lines are very smart,and her notion of duty teaches the cop (Ladd) a thing or two(and maybe more).The other female part,the gangster's moll,well played by Jan Sterling,is pretty endearing too:she's primarily a lazy girl,who enjoys listening bebop records ,and she reckons that she will lose anyway:either she will go to jail or she will wear mink,but what's the point of wearing furs if you've got to hide from the world? As for the male parts,they are okay but nothing extraordinary.The film begins with a well-deserved tribute to the post office.

The worst crime committed by 'Appointment with Danger (1951)' is mediocrity, so it's not all bad, just a little uninteresting. Alan Ladd – everybody's favourite small-statured noir tough guy – stars as Al Goddard, a U.S. Postal Detective who, for some reason, is assigned to investigate a murder: who needs real police when the post-office is sending their top man? Goddard eventually becomes embroiled in a high-stakes currency hijacking, masquerading as a corrupt cop who wants in on the action. Yet the film struggles to inject any real suspense or emotion into a by-the-numbers police procedural. Ladd strides through the role with an indifferent breeziness; even when captured by his enemies, there's never any sense that he's in danger, nor that the criminals might actually get away with it. The film's cheerful introduction into the world of the U.S. Postal Service could just as well have been a paid-advertisement that preceded the film screening, and, if anything, undercut any semblance of suspense that 'Appointment with Danger' might later have produced. But there are good things to be said. Jack Webb gives the film's best performance as a rotten henchman, his cragged face tainted by an expression of contempt that he doesn't bother to conceal (he could later join with co-star Harry Morgan for the popular television series "Dragnet"). Phyliss Calvert is completely lovely as Sister Augustine, a nun who becomes witness to a murder, an event that instills some excitement into her otherwise peaceful and peaceable life. Sister Augustine's role is ostensibly to "soften" the cranky and pragmatic Detective Goddard – as did the Amish people to Harrison Ford in 'Witness (1985)' – but Ladd doesn't really afford his character any development.

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.

Postal Inspector Al Goddard (Alan Ladd) is a man on a mission. His partner has been murdered and he must solve the case and prevent the gang from pulling the big mail heist! Location filming in Chicago and Gary, Indiana, adds a touch of realisim that can't be captured in a Hollywood studio. This movie is above average, but the following makes it a MUST see: Jack Webb and Harry Morgan (Sgt. Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon in a future life) are members of the gang. Webb's character is particularly vicious, and he kills Morgan with a pair of bronze baby shoes!

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.

Anyone who has ever read the summary of "Appointment with Danger" in Leonard Maltin's movie guide knows what I'm going to write. Jack Webb and Harry Morgan are the Bad Guys!!! In fact, they weren't just ordinary bad guys. There was no honor among thieves; they actually turned against each other. Really! In later years, Jack Webb built an interesting reputation by casting against type. Remember "Emergency"? Bobby Troup was a singer-songwriter. Julie London, another singer, was Troup's wife at the time--and Jack Webb's ex. Robert Fuller specialized in Westerns. I wonder if by playing a heel in this one was his inspiration. With Jack's fondness for uniforms and authority, one would have expected HIM to play the postal inspector.