Second Chance (1953)

SECOND CHANCE is a routinely-plotted thriller with an above-average setting (the glorious mountain top terrain of Mexico) and a decent cast to lift it above the norm for the genre. I should also note that it was originally released in 3D in 1953 as part of the short-lived 3D boom in movies, although watching it 'flat' there aren't many (or any) eye-popping sequences that stand out as in the likes of HOUSE OF WAX, for example.The story opens with some excellent and suspenseful chase sequences in which put-upon heroine Linda Darnell is being hunted through the streets by the vengeful Jack Palance. It turns out that she's a witness ready to testify against a mob boss and he's the bodyguard sent to bring her home. You know the story by now, but what makes this fun is an ultra-laconic Robert Mitchum as a boozy boxer who Darnell ends up hooking up with.Sadly the middle part of the film gets a little tedious with some drawn-out romance scenes and the great Palance left skulking in the background. However, things pick up for an extended, disaster-fuelled climax set in and atop a broken cable car. There are some great fight scenes and stunts which make full use of the taut scenario. SECOND CHANCE isn't the greatest film out there, but it's certainly a distinctive and memorable one.

A standard tale of a woman in jeopardy and on the run aided by a handy tall, dark and handsome stranger but the stars make it worth checking out. Robert Mitchum and Linda Darnell have an excellent chemistry, a shame that they only made this one film together. Actually their costarring was not planned, Susan Hayward was originally scheduled to appear but Howard Hughes had a revealing wardrobe in mind to exploit the leading lady's figure in 3-D, Susan found it distasteful and backed out and Linda stepped in. The wardrobe ended up not being used since Hughes wasn't upfront with Linda either and she likewise refused the costuming so between the censors and she he backed down and her clothes are flattering without being overly revealing.The story may be standard but it is shot in some beautiful locations in gorgeous Technicolor and moves at a good pace with a suspenseful climax. It also has a fine villain in Jack Palance whose granite features were ideally suited to being a bad guy. Probably very impressive in the original 3-D this still has some impressive shots that give you an idea of what the audiences in the 50's saw. A good compact thriller that's worth your time.

Robert Mitchum played in some wonderful noir-romances during the late 40s to about the mid-1950s. Films like "His Kind of Woman", "Out of the Past" and "Macao" heated up the screen and were terrific entertainment. "Second Chance" is in that same tradition, though it didn't deliver quite the same level of film. It wasn't quite as thrilling, the noir-like cinematography was gone and the romance seemed far less steamy or as believable. It's still watchable...but is a bit of a disappointment.The film is set in Mexico. Linda Darnell plays a woman who is being pursued by an assassin (Jack Palance). Into the middle of this arrives a boxer (Mitchum) who falls hard for her and won't let anyone, even a psychopathic killer, get in his way. It all ends with a very memorable scene aboard a cable car.My biggest problem with the film was not the pretty color cinematography. The problem was the romance. It never got particularly hot but what really bothered me is how fast it all occurred. There was no real buildup nor was there any sort of chemistry between them. Too bad the film wasn't slightly rewritten and didn't co-star Jane Russell--a 'broad' who was a great co-star with Mitchum.

Pretty good suspense-noir-romance in 3D, not quite an A and not quite a B, with prizefighter Robert Mitchum agonizing over having killed a rival in the ring (shades of Golden Boy) while he pursues moll Linda Darnell, who is pursued by amorous hit man Jack Palance, all running around streets in unnamed Mexican tourist towns. The racial stereotyping is a bit thick, and the screenplay isn't exactly overflowing with fresh situations or good lines. But there's plenty of local color, and an exciting climax aboard a disabled cable car. The stunts are impressive, Darnell's typically beautiful, and Bob Mitchum doing his sexy-laconic-sarcastic thing was always something to behold.