Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

JohnHowardReid This film is usually credited to director Robert Parrish alone, but in point of fact it was Dick Powell who directed and rehearsed the players, whilst Parrish and Joe Biroc concentrated on the camera set-ups. This makes Cry Danger Powell's first film as a director – and a really notable achievement it is! Powell's own performance is also one of his best. He delivers his amusingly pungent dialogue in a delightfully laconic manner. However, it is actually Richard Erdman, who plays Powell's bogus buddy, who delivers the film's standout performance. The script provided him with a well-rounded character which he plays with just the right degree of morose self-indulgence – without in any way alienating audience sympathy. On the other hand, William Conrad delivers another of his chillingly fascinating studies in vicious thuggery. He is particularly well-served by director Powell, who makes great use of his bulk and in the justly celebrated table- top confrontation pulls off a truly memorable use of upside-down composition. So why am I awarding this terrific film a miserable 8/10? The name of the loser is Rhonda Fleming – a really lovely woman but with a very limited acting range. She is so beautiful, she can usually get away with it – but not in this movie! Understandably, she passes up the opportunity to turn in a performance of some subtlety, but even her straight acting here is unconvincing. But the rest of the players are all in fine form, particularly Jean Porter, Joan Banks and Gloria Saunders. (Memo to myself: Check to see if IMDb credits the unbilled Kathleen Freeman as the second cigarette girl.) Of the male performers, Jay Adler, Hy Averback, Benny Burt and Lou Lubin make a lasting impression. I have a buddy who used to give a course on film editing and this was the movie he always showed his students as an example of the best!

mark.waltz Allegedly involved in a payroll heist, hard-boiled Dick Powell has just gotten out of prison early on a life sentence after his alibi checked out. His return to society strikes fear in the minds of people involved, and suspicion in the minds of the detectives who have been trying to figure out this case ever since Powell went up the river. This is a quintessential film noir, brilliantly written and filled with surprises. All sorts of shady characters pop in and out of the action, including the apparent mastermind behind the heist William Conrad, who continues to set Powell up to take the fall. Richard Eardman is excellent as Powell's sardonic pal who also got an early release, and becomes the scapegoat in the efforts to pin the crime on someone other than the perpetrators. Eardman tosses off acidic remarks as if he was flipping pancakes as a chef in a greasy spoon. Even though his character has a female love interest, the way he says his lines indicates that his character is more a Clifton Webb type then the straight tough guy he claims to be. mixing alcohol with his snarky comments, he notes "The way I drink, you have to start early."The gorgeous Rhonda Fleming has the leading female role of the girlfriend of someone still in prison for being involved in the heist, making a play for Powell even though she is supposedly still in love with this man. Fleming has a beauty that cries for color in movies, and since this is in black and white, that aspect of her stunning appearance is unfortunately missing. Regis Toomey, a veteran character actor from the silent days, is excellently cast as the detective who has his own motivations for continuously going after Powell. Every move in this film noir is nicely set up, so with each little plot twist, more surprises are revealed and the result is a sleeper of film noir in an era where the abundance of the darkness at dawn films made many of them indistinguishable. Having seen this years ago, and giving it a good, if not excellent rating, made me thrilled to find out that it was much better than I remembered. As for Powell, he took advantage of his aging and moved gracefully from musicals and frivolous comedies into westerns and chilling crime dramas. You won't be thinking of him breaking into song when you see how he acts here, and that makes his performance all the more remarkable. Conrad, later a hero as a character actor on prime-time TV, would be alternately cast in film noir if Raymond Burr was not available.he makes it wonderful smarmy villain, and it is fun to watch Powell play cat and mouse with him, making his potential take-down all the more delightful.

dougdoepke Second-rate noir, made curiously memorable by atmospheric LA locations, a sardonic Richard Erdman, and a good look at history's ugliest car--the 1950 Nash 4-door sedan, an inverted bathtub cleverly disguised as a passenger vehicle.At the top of the list are the principal players, led by a usually capable Dick Powell who's supposed to be a hardened ex-con, but whose clean-cut looks and Brooks Brothers suit instead suggest nothing more menacing than an insurance company executive. He's got the tough guy patter down, but somebody should have spoken to wardrobe and make-up. Then there's the well-scrubbed Rhonda Fleming, the femme fatale, who nevertheless dresses and simpers with all the girlish flair and sensuality of Andy Hardy's highschool prom date. Even criminal mastermind William Conrad, with a voice resonant enough to intimidate God, spends his main screen time pancaked on the floor, looking sweatily up at Powell. Together, the three are about as convincing as a politician at election time, leaving a hole in the picture where a heartbeat ought to be.The main reason to catch this otherwise tepid concoction is Richard Erdman. Hollywood has always had its share of raw talents who, because of obvious physical limitations, are left to work the fringes. The diminutive, dough-faced Erdman is one. Here, he not only steals the show with sly expressions and cleverly delivered lines, but wraps it up and takes it home. His well-scripted byplay with chippie girlfriend Jean Porter even manages to breathe some life into the otherwise listless pairing of Powell and Fleming. Here's hoping there is that proverbial place in Hollywood heaven for unsung talents like Erdman and the other anonymous credit crawl names who boost many a film beyond the merely forgettable.Fortunately there are some nice minor touches. A seedy downtown trailer-park atop Bunker Hill furnishes an unusual backdrop and a good view of LA at mid-century. There's also Hy Averback's energized bookie, Joan Banks' mature vamping, Jay Adler's bad ukele playing, and that quietly inspired moment when alcoholic Erdman casts aside nourishing food and milk for yet one more drink and the dipso ward.Nonetheless, the loosening of classic noir standards is evidenced here by an absence of conflict between light and shadow and by a moral universe beginning to harden and stabilize, especially around Powell's unconflicted personality. Stylistically, this is a film about transitions-- the darkly volatile 1940's are giving way to the sunnier, more assured Eisenhower era. So, if you're not expecting much in the way of noir, you might take a chance on this one, despite the key drawbacks.

Michael O'Keefe Film-Noir; Powell on the prowl. Rocky Malloy(Dick Powell)is released from prison and immediately begins looking for who framed him for a robbery he did not commit. An ex-Marine(Richard Erdman)proves to be a false witness to get Malloy released in hopes of getting a share of $100,000 believed to be hidden. No-nonsense cop(Regis Toomey)greets Malloy on his arrival in Los Angeles and promises to tail his every move. Rocky goes gunning for nightclub owner Castro(William Conrad), who had arranged the robbery. Malloy manages to meet up with his still incarcerated buddy's wife(Rhonda Flemming), who still carries a torch. Deception and flying lead is not going to deter Malloy from trying to prove his innocence. Rounding out the cast: Jean Porter, Jay Adler and Joan Banks.