gordonl56 APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER – 1951Alan Ladd headlines this gritty and violent film-noir. Ladd plays a Postal Investigator out to catch the murderers of a fellow Investigator.The killing is tied to a gang led by Paul Stewart, who is planning a million dollar robbery of a cash transfer. Ladd does the old crooked cop bit to worm his way into the gang. Also in the mix are Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Stacy Harris, Phyllis Calvert and the always good, Jan Sterling.Calvert plays a nun who witnessed crooks Morgan and Webb disposing of a body. Sterling is the girlfriend of gang leader, Paul Stewart. Webb is quite good here as the nut-bar who wants to kill damn near everyone. He has one scene where he pummels fellow crook, Morgan, to death with some bronze baby shoes.Needless to say, Ladd's undercover bit soon hits more than a few bumps on the road. Anyways, it all ends in a blazing shootout with the nasty types on the wrong end of a lead exchange.While not as well-known as THIS GUN FOR HIRE, THE BLUE DAHLIA or THE GLASS KEY, it is worth a look, now that it is finally out on DVD.

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.

secondtake Appointment with Danger (1951)A good, run-of-the-mill crime story. It's more a heist film than a true noir, and it has a popular twist of featuring a government cop as the lead character. There are several FBI films like this (they start with a shot of government building and have a serious narrator or title card give the context), but this is the only one I know of about the U.S. Post Office police.Alan Ladd is a solid actor, in urban crime films or in Westerns, but he's never quite inspiring or memorable, and so the movie is hampered from the start. On the other hand, there is a slew of interesting secondary characters, and some are real characters (like the ever-impressive Paul Stewart, who had his real start in "Citizen Kane"). We get to bomb through some great sets and locations (including the waterfront), and the photography by John Seitz (one of the best, see "Sunset Blvd." and "Double Indemnity") is great. The editing seemed a little sudden at times, almost as if this was shortened version (it wasn't, as far as anyone has noted), but you have to pay attention a couple times to follow what happens. In a way, I think they expect the audience to know the usual twists of this kind of plot, and if that helps explain its fast cutting, it also reveals a kind of formula behind it all.See it? Yes, of course. It's great in particular ways.

MartinHafer This is one of Alan Ladd's best film noir flicks. It's not as famous as The Blue Dahlia or This Gun For Hire, but is at least as good due to fantastic and well-delivered dialog and an interesting story.I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because this movie has an early pairing of Harry Morgan and Jack Webb as thugs. And, to make it even better, Jack Webb beats Morgan to death with a bronzed baby shoe! Talk about sick irony!!! Another choice moment is during a handball game. All movie long, Ladd has been looking for his chance to punch the lights out of Webb but he can't as he has infiltrated the gang on behalf of good old Uncle Sam. During the game, however, tough guy Webb lets down his guard and he's playing away until instead of hitting the ball, Ladd cold-cocks him with a blow that looks like it, at the very least, caused major brain damage! So, give it a try--it's well worth it just to see Webb killing the man who will later be his partner on Dragnet!