tynesider
I enjoyed this little-known Alan Ladd picture. I liked the locations too, whether shot in Gary, Indiana or not, I don't know;Incidentally, I thought the actor who played the cop putting out an All Points Bulletin looked like Jimmy Little from the Phil Silvers Show where he played Sergeant. Grover.
Ben Larson
When I think of Alan Ladd, I usually think westerns like Shane, but he really did a wide variety of films. He wasn't a great actor, but reportedly one that was easy to work with; hence the large number of roles.Here, he plays a postal detective that is trying to solve a murder. His prime witness is a nun (Phyllis Calvert who was nominated for a BAFTA Best Actress award for Crash of Silence). She really shines in the scenes she is in.Also featured are Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, familiar to many as partners in Dragnet. In this film, they are on the other side of the law, but the familiar characteristics are there.Also featured was the sexy Jan Sterling as the head man's moll. She would go on to get a Best Supporting Actress nomination and a Golden Globe for The High and the Mighty.It was an interesting picture, and Ladd was superb.
BILLYBOY-10
Most of the gun-play happens at the very end of this pot boiler so that can't be blamed for the holes in the story leading up to the ho-hum finale. Post Office Inspector Alan Ladd plays his typical snarky, smarmy, role who infiltrates the bad guys in order for the good guys to win. A nun is thrown in for a dose of Godly morality and the ever wonderful Jan Sterling is here too as the wise cracking moll of the top bad guy--she protects Ladd in the end only to tell him she hopes they kill him. Oh well. Then there's one of the bad guys who finds out about Ladd and before he can squeal he disappears from the script. Oh well. Then there's no explanation why they killed the other Post Office cop in scene one. Oh well. Jack Webb is here with Henry Morgan and they appear together just like in Dragnet on TV and Webb's name is Joe too. Webb kills Morgan with a pair of bronzed baby shoes. Touching. Oh well. Webb gets plugged in the end in a gun struggle between Ladd and him. You know, the same old scene where the hero and bad guy struggle and then a shot is fired and you don't know who got plugged until one of them says something witty. Oh well. This movie tries. It fails, mostly because the story is full of holes just like the ones in the bad guy at the end when Ladd tells him he died a rich man. Oh well.
blanche-2
Alan Ladd has an "Appointment with Danger" in this 1951 film also starring Phyllis Calvert, Jack Webb, Jan Sterling and Paul Stewart. Ladd is a postal inspector who goes undercover to stop a robbery after his partner is murdered and a nun (Calvert) can identify the man leaving the murder scene. It's up to Ladd and the police to see that she's protected while catching the robbers in the act.This is a routine drama, with the handsome Ladd playing a cynical inspector with his usual straightforward delivery. But he seems to walk through this role laconically. The minute I saw Jack Webb and his "Dragnet" partner Henry Morgan together in their pre-TV series days, I wasn't looking for a scintillating script, figuring that one of Webb's cronies had something to do with it. He did. Webb played the criminal in this the way he played Joe Friday, showing us that in Webb's hands anyway, there's no difference what side of the law you're on. Henry Morgan, however, made a sleazy criminal.The best performance comes from Phyllis Calvert, who is just right as the nun and contributes some spark to this film. Jan Sterling contributes some more spark, but her role is a throwaway."Dragnet" never did a thing for me, and once I see Webb (the exception being "Sunset Boulevard") I can't summon up much enthusiasm. If you're a "Dragnet" and/or Webb fan, you'll enjoy this a bit more than I did.
AD
