User reviews

For someone who grew up in the Fifties watching Dragnet as a kid, viewing this film in the Nineties was strange: the cop-heroes of that TV show, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, are now villains in this film!

Webb played the tougher of the two characters, by far, and was effective in that role. Meanwhile, Alan Ladd played his normal good guy-tough guy role. Another odd thing about this movie is that Ladd was an agent for the U.S. Post Office, an organization - at least back then before people went "postal" - one doesn't normally think need policemen.

But, as it was explained in the film, it was needed and the movie goes quickly from a corny-hokey start into a tough film noir. Phyllis Calvert adds a soft touch to the proceedings as a nun who humanizes Ladd, and helps him with the case.

In all, I'm making this sound perhaps more interesting than it was, because it was okay but nothing super. Still, I'd like to see it get a DVD treatment some day and I'd consider buying it.

If we learn one thing about the US Post Office in Appointment With Danger is that it takes care of its own. When a postal inspector winds up a homicide victim, it's another postal inspector that does the investigation. I was surprised that the FBI wasn't called in as they usually are with crimes involving the US mail.

But their top cop in the person of Alan Ladd is called in when one of the inspectors is murdered. He's found dead in an alley in a small Indiana town. And there's a witness, a nun played by British import Phyllis Calvert who sees the victim being dumped and is given an excuse by one of the perpetrators that they're just helping a drunken pal. That guy is played by Harry Morgan and Calvert recognizes him from the mug books once Alan Ladd tracks her down. The crooks also know that Calvert's been talking to the police.

Ladd's dead colleague was working on foiling a planned heist of a mail truck that will be carrying a large sum of currency. When Morgan goes missing and later turns up dead, the lead goes cold. Ladd's only way to apprehend the crooks is to insinuate himself with them and catch them in the act of robbery.

Appointment With Danger was Alan Ladd's final noir film with Paramount and it's a good one. He's a most cynical fellow in this film and can't quite wrap his mind around Calvert's character.

The gang includes Paul Stewart as the brains and trigger happy gunman Jack Webb. Interesting to see future Dragnet partners Webb and Morgan together. But though she only has a few scenes the one you'll remember is Jan Sterling playing Stewart's moll. Sterling is Stewart's girl to be sure, but she likes a little fun on the side. Her scenes with Ladd are the best in the film and Jan has a very practical turn of mind and a knowledge of the law gained from hanging around unsavory types.

Appointment With Danger is definitely a must for Alan Ladd fans and folks who might become Alan Ladd fans after seeing this movie.

Appointment with Danger is directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff. It stars Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, Jack Webb, Stacy Harris and Harry Morgan. Music is by Victor Young and cinematography by John F. Seitz.

Al Goddard (Ladd) is a U.S. Postal Inspector sent to investigate the grim murder of one of his colleagues. There's a witness to locate and possibly protect, a nun, Sister Augustine (Calvert), and soon enough Al has to go undercover as a crook to infiltrate the gang responsible for the murder. Not only that, but they plan to steal one million dollars being transported by the U.S.P.S., clearly Al has a lot on his plate.

Alan Ladd's last film noir (though it barely qualifies as such) is good entertainment that relies on hardboiled speak more than it does action or mystery. A great opening involving the murder is kind of a false dawn, in that the mood and visual strengths on show here are rarely reproduced during rest of pic. However, that is a small complaint in truth because it's so much fun to be around Ladd's Al Goddard.

We quickly learn that he is basically a great cop but not much of a human being, since we know who did the murder from the off, we have to rely on Goddard's undercover operation for our suspense quota, which comes in spades. Goddard is constantly at threat of being exposed, he has to consistently think on his feet, have a quip or yarn to spin to deflect suspicion, so this keeps things spicy in the story.

The strand involving Calvert's nun is a weak one, it's clearly a narrative device to smooth out Goddard's rough edges, but it never really works and that the writers turn her into a dumb ass late in the play is annoying. Another irritant is that Sterling (wasted) as Paul Stewart's (good villain value as usual) moll really doesn't impact on proceedings, she wanders in and out of the film promising to be a femme fatale, but it never happens and after playing out as a weak red herring she exits with a whimper.

Some smart location work is on show, with the backdrop of pool halls and cheap hotels utilised to good effect by Allen and Seitz, and a couple of scenes really sock the jaw; literally in one case! But it never rises above being a routine cops and robbers based homage to the U.S.P.S. Inspectors. Thankfully Ladd is on form and delivers the best parts of the screenplay with a steely cold sharpness that positively tickles the fancy of noir lovers. 6.5/10

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.

Films of this type, so namely thriller, really appeal to me, love films with tautness, edge and suspense and have done for a long time now. The story sounded great too on paper and the cast is a talented one, with Alan Ladd proving more than once that he does well in the sort of role he plays here (one that plays to his strengths rather than stretching him too much) and the rest of the cast is full of ever reliable actors.

'Appointment with Danger' for me was nifty and entertaining if a little disappointing at the same time, as there was more room for it to be better than it turned out to be with the promise it had. Having its issues while also having a lot to recommend, so all in all not too bad a position to be in. Regarding as to whether to class it as a film-noir, from my perspective 'Appointment with Danger' and can easily be classed as one, at the same time it can be considered a mystery/heist film with a lot of noir-ish elements (if not as hard-boiled as most and it does lack a strong "femme fatale").

Starting with what doesn't quite work, to me Phyllis Calvert's role is underdeveloped and her later scenes distract a little from what's going on and don't always add much. Calvert does portray her very winningly it has to be said, the fault does not lie with her.

Did think that at times the pace could have tightened up a little more in the middle and there could have been more suspense, with outcomes never really being in doubt and with there not being enough danger 'Appointment with Danger' has its bland spots.

It does look great though, loved the moody lighting and very atmospheric locations enhanced by some very stylish photography. They all gave off a real sense of foreboding. The music also gives off that vibe, classy and ominous without overbearing what's going on. Lewis Allen directs smartly and mostly does not let the momentum slip.

Maybe the script is not always what one calls hard-boiled, but it was hard to dislike its snappiness, tautness and surprisingly humorous moments, thankfully never unintentionally. The story on the most part does grip, thanks to a lot being packed in without feeling like there was too much going on and it doesn't feel muddled. Would have liked more suspense, but thankfully boredom never properly crept in and there were exciting moments, namely the climax.

The cast are good, a few great, Ladd has been better with him playing relatively similar roles with more steel but still does admirably (laconic does not come over as bland). Jan Sterling steals her (too few) scenes as the amusingly wise-cracking moll, that she plays the heck out of, and Paul Stewart does cynical and menacingly reserved expertly. Found the scene stealer to be a frighteningly vicious Jack Webb.

In summary, entertaining but more danger and suspense wouldn't have gone amiss. 7/10

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.

I caught this by accident on Sky at a friend's place at 8 one Sunday morning, so it was clear what Sky thought of it. In fact it's a gripping & well-crafted 'film gris', making good, expressive use of studio sets (with occasional location montages) and showing Alan Ladd at his best - the archangel of understated cold menace. Closed-in tension, violence & intrigue are the generic elements - the heart of Hollywood crime movies - and Ladd needs to be respected as a screen actor, not mocked for not being very tall. His career was slipping, and the length & other casting (strong character actors, no stars) suggest a B movie but here he's as natural as Spencer Tracey in a laid-back tough guy role. Unusual too in that it shuts out any Cold War vibes & focuses on a public utility - the US Postal Service.

This is a very routine film noir which features a very nice nun part.Her lines are very smart,and her notion of duty teaches the cop (Ladd) a thing or two(and maybe more).The other female part,the gangster's moll,well played by Jan Sterling,is pretty endearing too:she's primarily a lazy girl,who enjoys listening bebop records ,and she reckons that she will lose anyway:either she will go to jail or she will wear mink,but what's the point of wearing furs if you've got to hide from the world?

As for the male parts,they are okay but nothing extraordinary.The film begins with a well-deserved tribute to the post office.

Alan Ladd has an "Appointment with Danger" in this 1951 film also starring Phyllis Calvert, Jack Webb, Jan Sterling and Paul Stewart. Ladd is a postal inspector who goes undercover to stop a robbery after his partner is murdered and a nun (Calvert) can identify the man leaving the murder scene. It's up to Ladd and the police to see that she's protected while catching the robbers in the act.

This is a routine drama, with the handsome Ladd playing a cynical inspector with his usual straightforward delivery. But he seems to walk through this role laconically. The minute I saw Jack Webb and his "Dragnet" partner Henry Morgan together in their pre-TV series days, I wasn't looking for a scintillating script, figuring that one of Webb's cronies had something to do with it. He did. Webb played the criminal in this the way he played Joe Friday, showing us that in Webb's hands anyway, there's no difference what side of the law you're on. Henry Morgan, however, made a sleazy criminal.

The best performance comes from Phyllis Calvert, who is just right as the nun and contributes some spark to this film. Jan Sterling contributes some more spark, but her role is a throwaway.

"Dragnet" never did a thing for me, and once I see Webb (the exception being "Sunset Boulevard") I can't summon up much enthusiasm. If you're a "Dragnet" and/or Webb fan, you'll enjoy this a bit more than I did.

The worst crime committed by 'Appointment with Danger (1951)' is mediocrity, so it's not all bad, just a little uninteresting. Alan Ladd – everybody's favourite small-statured noir tough guy – stars as Al Goddard, a U.S. Postal Detective who, for some reason, is assigned to investigate a murder: who needs real police when the post-office is sending their top man? Goddard eventually becomes embroiled in a high-stakes currency hijacking, masquerading as a corrupt cop who wants in on the action. Yet the film struggles to inject any real suspense or emotion into a by-the-numbers police procedural. Ladd strides through the role with an indifferent breeziness; even when captured by his enemies, there's never any sense that he's in danger, nor that the criminals might actually get away with it.

The film's cheerful introduction into the world of the U.S. Postal Service could just as well have been a paid-advertisement that preceded the film screening, and, if anything, undercut any semblance of suspense that 'Appointment with Danger' might later have produced. But there are good things to be said. Jack Webb gives the film's best performance as a rotten henchman, his cragged face tainted by an expression of contempt that he doesn't bother to conceal (he could later join with co-star Harry Morgan for the popular television series "Dragnet"). Phyliss Calvert is completely lovely as Sister Augustine, a nun who becomes witness to a murder, an event that instills some excitement into her otherwise peaceful and peaceable life. Sister Augustine's role is ostensibly to "soften" the cranky and pragmatic Detective Goddard – as did the Amish people to Harrison Ford in 'Witness (1985)' – but Ladd doesn't really afford his character any development.

Postal Inspector Al Goddard (Alan Ladd) is a man on a mission. His partner has been murdered and he must solve the case and prevent the gang from pulling the big mail heist! Location filming in Chicago and Gary, Indiana, adds a touch of realisim that can't be captured in a Hollywood studio. This movie is above average, but the following makes it a MUST see: 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 - Alan Ladd's last encounter with his beloved noir genre - is an erratic hit-and-miss showcase, which strikes as a picture both fairly suspenseful and too underdeveloped in its narrative structure. Though it has its pleasurable moments of ravishing intensity, Appointment with Danger is a rather forgettable flick that creates a disadvantage out of its overly routine approach to the subject.

The film focuses on Al Goddard (Alan Ladd), a special investigator for the US post office, who is called in to investigate a mysterious murder of his fellow co-worker. What starts off as a rather superficial intrigue with a lovely nun in the middle of the whole action, soon turns into a deadly intrigue concerning a group of greedy, handy thugs and a huge sum of money. In order to reveal their plan, Goddard poses as a witty crook who also wants to put his hands on the cash. While trying to infiltrate the gang and discover what the scheme is about, he communicates with the police and takes care of the nun, who is now in grave danger, as she's the only suspect in the aforementioned murder case. During the last, most decisive moments of the intrigue something goes wrong, and Goddard is forced to rely only on his own cunning. The movie concludes with an intense and climatic shootout in a quiet industrial district.

The most fascinating thing about this film is its cast. Apart from Alan Ladd as the protagonist, Lewis Allen cast Jack Webb and Harry Morgan as the ruthless murderers. The future stars of the TV series Dragnet bring a lot of joy to the cinephile's heart with their dark and nasty portrayals of two guileful schemers.

Overall, Appointment with Danger might not be film noir finest example, yet it still aspires to be a reasonably thrilling picture, which makes a good use of its stellar cast and moody cinematography. Though unsuccessful, it will please all the genre fans.

The postal inspectors are the nation's oldest police force. This is one of their stories. In Gary, Indiana, an inspector is murdered by two thugs (Harry Morgan), They transport the body to La Porte where they encounter a nun, Sister Augustine. The body is left in an alley and the sister is the only witness. Al Goddard (Alan Ladd) is the relentless postal inspector investigating the case.

The sassy nun is a great new addition to a rather standard police procedural. The contrasting personality blend is quite interesting and sometimes fun. This movie is best when the nun gets to bounce off the cops. It's too bad that she doesn't stay in the whole movie. The police procedural is fine but nothing new. This would be better as the sassy nun movie. She has the best lines. "With a little practice, you could be a nice man."

Shot in 1949, this is the first movie that Jack Webb and Henry (Harry) Morgan appeared in together before pairing up in "Dragnet" (the second is "Dark City"). This movie was written by the same man who wrote the radio shows that Webb starred in, including "Dragnet," which had begun airing a few months before this movie was made. This movie starts off by describing the postal service in realistic form, and it seems like a total copy of the opening of "He Walked By Night," which also featured Webb. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't stay very realistic and it quickly turns into the standard film noir of its time. Alan Ladd is flat as cardboard in his performance, and he doesn't break a sweat in any of the intense scenes. Instead he totally glides through the movie with such ludicrous ease that he wipes out the thrill of it all. He single-handedly makes the plot seem like a joke. The supporting cast is good, and Webb is particularly good as the psychopathic killer. Jan Sterling, however, is one of the most forgettable "broads" of all film noir, as she serves strictly as a plot device to insert brief and futile tension in the movie. Phyllis Calvert, though, is adorably cute as the nun, giving a very believable performance.

Anyone who has ever read the summary of "Appointment with Danger" in Leonard Maltin's movie guide knows what I'm going to write. Jack Webb and Harry Morgan are the Bad Guys!!! In fact, they weren't just ordinary bad guys. There was no honor among thieves; they actually turned against each other. Really! In later years, Jack Webb built an interesting reputation by casting against type. Remember "Emergency"? Bobby Troup was a singer-songwriter. Julie London, another singer, was Troup's wife at the time--and Jack Webb's ex. Robert Fuller specialized in Westerns. I wonder if by playing a heel in this one was his inspiration. With Jack's fondness for uniforms and authority, one would have expected HIM to play the postal inspector.

An Alan Ladd vehicle, APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER ostensibly soups up its noir-ish template with the involvement of a virtuous nun, Sister Augustine (a guileless Phyllis Calvert), who becomes the sole witness of a foul play and whose own life is threatened henceforth. But, that précis could be misleading, what in fact is set in motion is a rote cops-and-robbers procedural, lead by the hard- boiled postal inspector Al Goddard (Ladd), infiltrating himself into a criminal clique conniving to operate a stick-up of one million dollars in transportation by the Postal Service.

Yes, the film is an explicit encomium of USA's Postal Service, and at first glance, this infotainment seems to spirit us way to a new territory, the lives of postal inspectors, the covert law enforcers whom the mass knows little of, but what ensues proves that the filmmakers have no intention to burrow deeper into that front, here we are in the well-trodden path, an all-too-smart Al, outwits the crooks in a slipshod heist, saddled with an even less plausible last-minute whim of press-ganging Sister Augustine into the fold to imperil our hero.

Contrary to its sub-standard action goings-on, what director Lewis Allen manages to hammer out is those alluring shots of nightly scenery, creating a taut and sinister vibe which chimes in with Film Noir's tenor. Also, at least this time, we are tantalized by a sinewy, half-naked male bod in a handball game than the usual distaff equivalent, ruling out a wimple-clad Sister Augustine, even the moll Dodie (Sterling, always a magnificent scene-stealer), intuitively knows not to meddle with lawbreakers' business and timely finds herself a fallback position.

Roundly eclipsed by its more influential and well-crafted peers, like John Huston's THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) or Kubrick's THE KILLING (1956), APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER at least offers a stage for a short-statured Ladd to emulate a straight-up, gallant daredevil of a hero with pizazz and conviction, especially when he is able to outmaneuver the murderous thug Joe Regas (Jack Webb, casting every glint with menace and intensity) every time.

referential points: Lewis Allen's THE UNINVITED (1944, 6.9/10); John Huston's THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950, 7.9/10); Kubrick's THE KILLING (1956, 8.2/10).

I just seen Appointment With Danger for the first time and quite enjoyed it.

A postal inspector is murdered in Gary, Indiana and fellow inspector, Al Goddard is sent over there to investigate this. He tries to track down a nun who witnessed the murder, which he does. He then joins the gang responsible and makes out he is a "bent" postal inspector.

This movie is shot well in black and white and well on location too, especially the railway scenes.

The cast includes the excellent Alan Ladd (Shane) as Goddard, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart and Jan Sterling.

For some reason, Appointment With Danger doesn't seem to have been released on video or DVD, so you will have to rely on it coming on telly and tape it, which I did.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

Extremely disappointing and although Alan Ladd performs well he alone cannot lift this very routine picture out of its mediocrity.

There is some decent location stuff with the railroad and finally a shoot out at the end but this is far more concerned at having its heart in the right place and promoting the mail service as a wonderful institution than in getting down and dirty as a thrilling movie.

Its a shame because the mix of gangsters and nuns could have been much more interesting and the spirited performance from Jan Sterling could have been put to much better use. Great title but not such a good picture.

I am sick and tired of every kind of crime movie shot in the 30's, 40's, and 50's that is filmed in black and white being labeled a 'film noir'. This Alan Ladd vehicle is a typical example, one scene shot in a dark alley in the rain and it's a film noir. I don't think so.

It is, in fact a run of the mill heist movie with nothing to recommend it other than watching Alan Ladd (if you are a fan).

The plot is straight forward with no particular twists or turns to create any interest for the viewer.

The fact that it involves postal inspectors instead of one of the usual law enforcement agencies adds no interest, in fact it comes across as an advertisement for the US Postal Service

Jack Webb's performance was the only thing of any value in the movie.

Al Goddard, a detective who works for the United States Postal Inspection Service, is assigned to arrest two criminals who've allegedly murdered a U. S. postal detective.

The subject matter - postal robbery - the conversation between Alan Ladd and Phylis Calvert as a nun, a well-staged plot and some robust action in the end elevates this crime heist thriller from the routine, though it can meander and be confusing at times. Alan Ladd is on top form, is suitably hard boiled, and Jan Sterling does well as a dizzy moll.

Sister Augustine (Phyllis Calvert) is a nun who witnesses two men dragging the body of a dead postal inspector one rainy night.

Al Goddard (Alan Ladd) is the US Postal service investigator who tracks down Sister Augustine.

She identifies George Soderquist (Harry Morgan) by going through mugshots and puts herself in danger.

The gang who Soderquist belongs to are planning a one million dollar postal mail truck robbery. Goddard infiltrates the gang as a corrupt postal inspector who can give them more reliable inside information.

Meanwhile gang member Joe Regas (Jack Webb) kills Soderquist as he refused to leave town and then hones in on Sister Augustine.

This is a pretty solid but routine film noir and it lacks action. More could had been made of the Sister Augustine story.

Instead it concentrates on whether Goddard would be found out as an undercover cop.

The film has the pairing of Webb and Morgan as villains long before they became cops in Dragnet.