Cry Danger (1951)

Engaging, compact crime meller has Dick Powell in excellent form as Rocky Mulloy, framed for a robbery and out of jail on parole after serving five years; he's being tailed by a Los Angeles police lieutenant, who thinks Rocky knows the whereabouts of the loot never retrieved from the heist. Powell is nearly upstaged by William Conrad as a slick, slimy bookie, the boss behind the job that sent both Rocky and a pal up the river. Supporting cast is pretty solid; only Rhonda Fleming misses the mark as Rocky's former-flame who married his partner (Fleming's general nature is too sweet for this scenario, and she looks too coiffed and glamorous to be living in a seedy neighborhood trailer park). Lots of delicious, overripe tough talk and an exciting finale, though it's a shame Rocky never gets to expose the bookmaker's flunkies, who pull a fast one on him with some hot racehorse dough. **1/2 from ****

Marines know how to handle danger. It's in their blood. So when Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell) is freed from a life sentence after five years - for a crime he didn't commit - he's eager to hunt down those who framed him; and also, to do what he can to clear his buddy, Danny Morgan, still in stir. No sooner after detraining at Union Station, Rocky's buttonholed by police Detective Cobb (Regis Toomey) who's accompanied by an ex- marine, Delong (Richard Erdman), both wanting to know: So, Rocky ... where's that hundred grand from the robbery, huh? Cobb wants to recover the money for his investigation; Delong wants his just reward for providing Rocky with the alibi that freed him from jail.Cobb lets Rocky walk away with Delong, but puts a 24/7 tail on them as they make their way downtown to catch up with Danny's wife, Nancy (Rhonda Fleming), at a low rent, seedy caravan park. From there, while leaving Delong hitting on ravishing blonde Darlene (Jean Porter), Rocky sets his sights - and his Colt .45 pistol - on Castro (a very young William Conrad), the bookie who must know - right? - where the dough is stashed. From that point, the pacing quickens as Rocky worms his way deeper into the setup that put him in jail and find the money; and put a bullet in the louse who framed him in the first place. Rocky's mad enough and man enough to do it, that's for sure. But, when he does find out, well ... I'll leave you to savor that delicious surprise. And don't miss Rocky's final confrontation with Castro: a tour de force of terrifying torture rarely seen in movies of this era.All the while, Dick Powell delivers great one-liners like no other actor; and with a cool, savoir-faire not again seen, in my opinion, until Mr Cool - Steve McQueen - arrived on the scene in the early sixties. It's worth seeing these movies with Powell just to experience the suave professionalism of such a consummate actor; and this story and movie is one of his best. The production, supporting cast, filming and editing are almost perfect for the time and place. Interestingly, this was the first directing effort by Robert Parrish who went on to direct Fire Down Below, Saddle the Wind, The Wonderful Country and others, including the first Casino Royale.Give this film noir eight out of ten. Recommended for all.May 17, 2016

Allegedly involved in a payroll heist, hard-boiled Dick Powell has just gotten out of prison early on a life sentence after his alibi checked out. His return to society strikes fear in the minds of people involved, and suspicion in the minds of the detectives who have been trying to figure out this case ever since Powell went up the river. This is a quintessential film noir, brilliantly written and filled with surprises. All sorts of shady characters pop in and out of the action, including the apparent mastermind behind the heist William Conrad, who continues to set Powell up to take the fall. Richard Eardman is excellent as Powell's sardonic pal who also got an early release, and becomes the scapegoat in the efforts to pin the crime on someone other than the perpetrators. Eardman tosses off acidic remarks as if he was flipping pancakes as a chef in a greasy spoon. Even though his character has a female love interest, the way he says his lines indicates that his character is more a Clifton Webb type then the straight tough guy he claims to be. mixing alcohol with his snarky comments, he notes "The way I drink, you have to start early."The gorgeous Rhonda Fleming has the leading female role of the girlfriend of someone still in prison for being involved in the heist, making a play for Powell even though she is supposedly still in love with this man. Fleming has a beauty that cries for color in movies, and since this is in black and white, that aspect of her stunning appearance is unfortunately missing. Regis Toomey, a veteran character actor from the silent days, is excellently cast as the detective who has his own motivations for continuously going after Powell. Every move in this film noir is nicely set up, so with each little plot twist, more surprises are revealed and the result is a sleeper of film noir in an era where the abundance of the darkness at dawn films made many of them indistinguishable. Having seen this years ago, and giving it a good, if not excellent rating, made me thrilled to find out that it was much better than I remembered. As for Powell, he took advantage of his aging and moved gracefully from musicals and frivolous comedies into westerns and chilling crime dramas. You won't be thinking of him breaking into song when you see how he acts here, and that makes his performance all the more remarkable. Conrad, later a hero as a character actor on prime-time TV, would be alternately cast in film noir if Raymond Burr was not available.he makes it wonderful smarmy villain, and it is fun to watch Powell play cat and mouse with him, making his potential take-down all the more delightful.

Your average run of the mill film-noir with Dick Powell starring as a recently released prisoner, who comes home to try to prove that he was not involved in a robbery that killed someone and sent him up the river.Rhonda Fleming plays the almost-innocent wife of the guy who went to prison along with the Powell character. However, she isn't as innocent as she appears.As stated, the film is routine and there really isn't that much excitement involving the main characters, except that they escape death when another couple take the bullets intended for them.The ending is where Powell walks into the sunset as the police go to arrest Fleming.