Leofwine_draca SECOND CHANCE is a routinely-plotted thriller with an above-average setting (the glorious mountain top terrain of Mexico) and a decent cast to lift it above the norm for the genre. I should also note that it was originally released in 3D in 1953 as part of the short-lived 3D boom in movies, although watching it 'flat' there aren't many (or any) eye-popping sequences that stand out as in the likes of HOUSE OF WAX, for example.The story opens with some excellent and suspenseful chase sequences in which put-upon heroine Linda Darnell is being hunted through the streets by the vengeful Jack Palance. It turns out that she's a witness ready to testify against a mob boss and he's the bodyguard sent to bring her home. You know the story by now, but what makes this fun is an ultra-laconic Robert Mitchum as a boozy boxer who Darnell ends up hooking up with.Sadly the middle part of the film gets a little tedious with some drawn-out romance scenes and the great Palance left skulking in the background. However, things pick up for an extended, disaster-fuelled climax set in and atop a broken cable car. There are some great fight scenes and stunts which make full use of the taut scenario. SECOND CHANCE isn't the greatest film out there, but it's certainly a distinctive and memorable one.

TheLittleSongbird My main reason for seeing Second Chance was Jack Palance, a great actor (apart from the odd out-of-kilter-hammy performance, and mostly in films that are not very good in the first place) who particularly excelled in villain roles. Second Chance has its fair share of faults and is not a great film, but has enough to make worth a look.Palance's performance is also one of the best things about the film. Some understandably feel that he overdid it here but that was most likely to do that Palance was trying (and succeeded) to make much of a role that didn't have very much to it. It is a marvellously creepy performance that is filled with intensity, particularly frightening in the climax. Linda Darnell has perhaps the most dramatic role of the three leads and does a good job with it, she is quite affecting and holds her own against Palance and Robert Mitchum, who is as charismatic as ever.Another plus is the Mexican scenery, which is absolutely splendid, and is aided by striking photography and colours that are both gritty and vibrant. The film's highlight is the last third, with a crackling climax with the cable car, filled with terror and suspense that one wishes was present earlier in the film. There is also a colourful and fun if also rather overlong fiesta scene and the boxing match has a riveting intensity, its behind-the-scenes story being just as fascinating, the pursuit of Darnell by Palance is also done pretty well.For all Second Chance's good things, it could also have been much better. The story is what brings it down, while it comes to life in the last third, two thirds of the film apart from is not as compelling and rather routine, its loose ends due to having ideas not explained enough make some of it confusing especially in the first part. It also tries to be too many elements, and while none of them are done terribly they've all been done better and better, the first part 's storytelling could have been clearer and the 'dream-like romance' that dominates the middle act suffers from dull pacing and lacking chemistry, Palance and Darnell's chemistry is pretty good and not very involving, pretty mechanical actually, with her and Mitchum.Second Chance's script has some intelligent moments but generally is the kind that gets the job done but with not enough excitement, and the same can be said for the direction. Pacing also could have been much tighter, dragging in particularly the middle act.Overall, routine film but has a great climax, and Palance and the scenery also make it worth a look. 6/10 Bethany Cox

RanchoTuVu One might expect more from a film from the early 50's with both Robert Mitchum and Jack Palance instead of this travelogue like tepid suspenser. Set somewhere in Latin America (probably Peru because people are buying tickets to Lima), Mitchum is a prize fighter who's doing the South American circuit. His "A" level of talent and fame is a bit high for this particular movie which is definitely in the "B" range, and that doesn't necessarily make it one of those forgotten masterpieces. It even manages to practically waste another standout actor, Jack Palance, who plays a hit man in love with runaway Linda Darnell. As with any questionable outcome, the possibilities were there to make something memorable, but they apparently were allowed to slip by, notwithstanding the interesting locations. The cable car finale, instead of being the film's exciting climax, is basically its worst part, with the best stuff coming in bits and pieces with Darnall and Palance sharing the scenes.

manuel-pestalozzi These are the last spoken words in this movie, before it ends rather abruptly. They characterize the whole affair accurately. Second Chance is a beautiful movie, the locations in Mexico look superb and made me yearn for my next holiday, despite the faded colors. In the middle there is a long sequence of a typical fiesta with fireworks and a surprisingly lascivious and suggestive dance scene – just for the fun of it. The action moves on to a spectacular old suspension railway which I also found impressive and entertaining.Unfortunately the story development is not good. It looks like nobody could decide what kind of movie this should be. It starts out like a film noir, then becomes a dreamy romance before turning into a classic, full fledged disaster flick with a suspended cable car full of different characters (look how all passengers assemble on the rear platform without the whole thing keeling over as I expect it should). Every part is OK in itself, but the different pieces do not tie together well.Anybody who is interested in old movies, where locations, objects and events may or may not have symbolic significance will like this Technicolor movie made by RKO studios in its last stages of existence.