Appointment with Danger (1951)

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.

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.

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.

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.