Product Details

• Actors: Alan Ladd, Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart
• Directors: Lewis Allen
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Olive Films
• DVD Release Date: July 27, 2010
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003J216JU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,048 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Appointment With Danger" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Olive Films Release Date: 07/27/2010 Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Superficial Noir, but Alan Ladd Makes an Entertaining Tough Guy., August 12, 2010

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Appointment With Danger (DVD)

"Appointment with Danger" begins like a typical post-war propaganda film in the guise of a thriller. A voiceover narration sings the praises of a law enforcement agency. In this case, we learn how big and efficient the US Postal Service is thanks to the dedication of "a great army of men and women". We're introduced to "the nation's oldest police force": postal inspectors. Then we're whisked to Gary, Indiana where a postal inspector by the name of Henry Gruber has been murdered. The introduction would lead the audience to believe this is going to be a police procedural, but it's not. It sticks to narrative mode for the rest of the film. Another postal inspector, Al Goddard (Alan Ladd), has been sent to track down the nun, Sister Augustine (Phyllis Calvert), who saw Gruber's killers. Goddard is a hardened, cynical man who goes undercover to catch the murderers as they heist a mail truck carrying $1 million.

It's classified as "film noir", but "Appointment with Danger" is only superficially so. Al Goddard has lots of great, hardboiled lines. He doesn't get on well with people and trusts no one. "One way or another, everybody you meet is a pitch artist," he says. There are a couple of brutal scenes. And Goddard's ability to make the suspects think he's even more crooked than they are introduces an aspect of identity confusion. But Goddard is never confused or conflicted. "Appointment with Danger" doesn't take place in the noir universe. Nevertheless, Goddard's hard-boiled persona is a lot of fun, as is the film's conspicuous attempt to cast Ladd as a tough-guy sex symbol -love the shirtless squash game between Goddard and violent conspirator Joe Regas (Jack Webb). Regas' persistent paranoia about the nun is a disaster waiting to happen.

Sister Augustine, who thinks Goddard could be a nice man with a little practice, is too angelic in contrast to the cynical cop and cold-blooded criminals. Earl Boettiger (Paul Stewart), a hotelier who masterminds the heist seems almost too level-headed for the part. Between him, the too-precious nun, and Goddard's aloofness, the film has a flat tone that keeps it just shy of completely engaging the audience. Earl's mistress Dodie (Jan Sterling) is a counterpoint to that tone. She's not in many scenes, but she produces a terrific combination of vulnerability, resignation, and realpolitik when she confronts Goddard. "Appointment with Danger" could have been better if it had been willing to explore its character's bizarre behavior a little more, but it's still entertaining. The print on the Olive Films 2010 DVD is pretty good but no bonus features or subtitles.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Appointment With Danger, July 29, 2010

By 

John Q. Public (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Appointment With Danger (DVD)

A good movie. If you like Alan Ladd, you will like this movie.
It is not as good as, This Gun for Hire or The Blue Dahlia, but a good four star movie.
The picture quality is very good.
Postal Inspector (Alan Ladd) is assigned to investigate the murder of a fellow officer.
It is strange to see, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan as criminals after seeing them in the 1960's Dragnet.
Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Appointment with Danger (1951) ... Alan Ladd ... Lewis Allen (Director) (2010)", February 7, 2011

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Appointment With Danger (DVD)

Paramount Pictures presents "APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER" (1951) (89 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, Jack Webb & Harry Morgan

Directed by Lewis Allen

Relentless postal inspector Al Goddard is sent to Gary, Indiana, when another officer is murdered. He must find the nun who witnessed the murder, then infiltrate the gang by convincing them he is a postal inspector gone bad. This is a great Alan Ladd crime drama with interesting support from Jack Webb & Harry Morgan as the villains!

Jack Webb and Harry Morgan (Sgt. Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon in a future life) are members of the gang. Webb's character is particularly vicious, and he kills Morgan with a pair of bronze baby shoes!

Appointment with Danger is a fast moving, entertaining, punch in the gut of a movie. In spite of its obscurity Appointment is a crime film of the first order. It's a textbook example of the visual aspects of the noir style.

BIOS:
1. Lewis Allen [Director]
Date of Birth: 25 December 1905 - Oakengates, Telford, Shropshire, UK
Date of Death: 3 May 2000, Santa Monica, California

2. Alan Ladd
Date of Birth: 3 September 1913 - Hot Springs, Arkansas
Date of Death: 29 January 1964 - Palm Springs, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 89 min on DVD ~ Paramount Pictures ~ (07/27/2010)