A lesser known docu-noir, eclipsed by the likes of T-Men and Call Northside 777, Appointment With Danger details the challenges and hazardous nature of the work undertaken by the postal inspector. Let us investigate this U. S. male further. Alan Ladd is the ruthless, acerbic officer, enveloped by an insatiable drive to avenge the murder of a colleague, who, by his own admission, he disliked and to uncover the motives behind the killing.
The surprise package is Phyllis Calvert, a nun and the sole witness, who could identify those responsible for the crime. Ladd's preoccupation with her safety, becomes an unwelcome distraction as he proceeds in his quest. She is appalled when he offers her a Colt 45 for protection, immediately scuppering any chance of a 'Nun With a Gun' spin-off.
Intent upon addressing future plans held by the killers, Ladd confronts insider Stacy Harris in a smoke filled pool hall. Had it been a football match, it would have been abandoned due to fog! With a combination of threats and fast talking, Ladd infiltrates the gang, consisting of usual suspects, Paul Stewart, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, but not Frank Aletter! Gathering valuable information about the prospective 'Two station heist'and his position sealed, the movie becomes less, The Nun's Story and more Jazz on a Summer's Day, as Ladd befriends Stewart's moll and hard bop fan Jan Sterling. His usual, eminently watchable self, Ladd loses a touch of street cred by dismissing the genre as being "where everyone plays a different tune at the same time."
With a couple of plot holes the size of letter boxes, Appointment With Danger is not quite first class noir, but is an intelligently paced crime thriller, which delivers sufficient action and tension, steadily building towards its violent finale.
The surprise package is Phyllis Calvert, a nun and the sole witness, who could identify those responsible for the crime. Ladd's preoccupation with her safety, becomes an unwelcome distraction as he proceeds in his quest. She is appalled when he offers her a Colt 45 for protection, immediately scuppering any chance of a 'Nun With a Gun' spin-off.
Intent upon addressing future plans held by the killers, Ladd confronts insider Stacy Harris in a smoke filled pool hall. Had it been a football match, it would have been abandoned due to fog! With a combination of threats and fast talking, Ladd infiltrates the gang, consisting of usual suspects, Paul Stewart, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, but not Frank Aletter! Gathering valuable information about the prospective 'Two station heist'and his position sealed, the movie becomes less, The Nun's Story and more Jazz on a Summer's Day, as Ladd befriends Stewart's moll and hard bop fan Jan Sterling. His usual, eminently watchable self, Ladd loses a touch of street cred by dismissing the genre as being "where everyone plays a different tune at the same time."
With a couple of plot holes the size of letter boxes, Appointment With Danger is not quite first class noir, but is an intelligently paced crime thriller, which delivers sufficient action and tension, steadily building towards its violent finale.