Cry Danger

source: Cry Danger

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.

Rocky Malloy is a man that has served five years of his life in jail for a crime he didn't commit. We watch as he gets out of the train in Los Angeles' Union Station, where the newspaper man recognizes him from the front page story. A detective, and the man who gave Rocky his alibi, Delong, follow him until they meet. Rocky, while grateful to the guy that got him out of jail, but he knows Delong has an ulterior motive and wants to get to part of the money. Rocky and Delong end up in a seedy trailer park. The beautiful Nancy happens to live there as well. Nancy, whose husband is tied up to Rocky, always liked Rocky. Being so close, they begin to get reacquainted. Delong, who likes Darlene, another woman in the trailer park, shacks up with Rocky. When someone shoots in Rocky's direction on the first night at the trailer park, he figures he has to pay a visit to an old friend so he can collect some of the money that's due to him. This is the beginning for Rocky to clear his name, even if it will take him to situations he didn't count on. "Cry Danger", directed by Robert Parrish, is a minor film of the crime genre, not a film noir, as some comments indicate, and which Robert Maxwell, in his excellent commentary on this forum, analyzes objectively. This film was basically shot during the daytime. Sure, there are night scenes, but those menacing shadows are missing, also there are no tricky camera angles that distinguishes the noir genre from crime films. Which doesn't mean the film doesn't have its own merits. Dick Powell, a versatile man, was at the end of his film career. As Rocky, he doesn't show the ease he showed in the much better "Murder My Sweet", but still he holds our attention. His contribution to the film pays off. Richard Erdman, who is seen as Delong, makes a good appearance. Rhonda Fleming plays Nancy, the woman who is the key to the mystery at the center of the story. William Conrad plays Louie Castro. Regis Toomey is seen as the detective Gus Cobb, who realizes Rocky is clean. Jean Porter has a couple of good moments as the party girl living in the trailer park. "Cry Danger" while not a fine example of the crime film, gives us a look at how Los Angeles looked like thanks to the good black and white photography by Joseph Biroc. The director, Robert Parrish, gets good ensemble playing from his cast.

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")

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.

It's never been clear to me what a film noir is. A treacherous woman? The traditional iconography of black sedans and snub-nosed revolvers? Black and white? Seedy surroundings or exotic ones? Murder or grand larceny? Revenge? Charlie Chan had all of them. This one would seem to have all the proper elements though. Here is Dick Powell, who gave a good performance as Philip Marlowe in "Murder My Sweet." A .38 and a .45 caliber pistol. Rhonda Fleming, a femme than whom no one is more fatale. A semi-comic sidekick in Richard Erdman. Good old Los Angeles setting, and well chosen too. Fine noir title. Yet the whole thing just doesn't jell. If film noir has anything, it has two basic elements, as Alain Silver pointed out -- dramatic photography and unusual camera placements. This has neither stylistic element. It's shot mostly during the daytime and Robert Parrish, an intelligent guy, has shot it as the straightforward unraveling of a mystery surrounding a double cross. You could substitute Cagney and Bogart and you'd have a typical, inexpensive Warner Brothers' gangster movie from the 1930s. Dick Powell looks good in his neatly tailored suits and flat-brimmed fedora. He gets to drive a two-ton Nash as well. He's just been released from the slams after serving five years for a robbery he did not take part in. But, man, is he expressionless. When he makes a wise crack or is supposed to be sad, his face takes on a look of agony, as if trying to rearrange its own musculature is a colossal effort. And the script doesn't help him. The hospitalized Erdman asks about his, Erdman's, girl friend. "What about Doreen? How bad is she?" Powell: "As bad as she can get." William Conrad gives a stereotypical performance too but it is probably the best one because, cliché or not, the evil fat man is invariably a colorful role. Think of Sidney Greenstreet. Regis Toomey as the cop with whom Powell has a suitably ambivalent relationship looks like General George Marshall. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced they're not one and the same person. Let me put it this way. Have you ever seen the two of them in the same room together? And the end, such as it is, kind of collapses in on itself. There isn't the expectable shootout. The villain doesn't twist around and fall from the roof with a splash. There is no clinch followed by a dissolve. Instead, after learning the true story from an unwitting Fleming, Powell tells her they're leaving for Timbuctoo and tells her to pack. Then he walks out, spills the beans to the waiting police, and strolls away. I'm kind of making fun of it but I rather enjoyed it too. Everyone likes to see a puzzle solved.

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.

Double-crossed ex-jailbird Powell settles his scores with sadistic relish in this mildly satisfying, workmanlike noir. Nothing special, particularly in the plot department, but watchable for a few cool elements -- notably the bitter dialogue and character actor Richard Erdman's scene-stealing turn as a witty drunken chiseler. The script constantly pushes its bad-girl theme, serving up plenty of floozies eager for the impassive Powell; it pants long and hard for little spark. Visually things start promisingly, but director Parrish has exhausted his interesting stuff within five minutes. Noir lite.

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'

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?