Cry Danger *** (1951, Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman, William Conrad, Regis Toomey, Jean Porter) – Classic Movie Review 6565

Director Robert Parrish’s suspenseful 1951 film noir crime thriller stars Dick Powell as paroled convict Rocky Mulloy, who tries to prove that he was innocent of the robbery he was framed and sentenced to jail for.

He sets off hunting down the bad guys (Rhonda Fleming as the duplicitous sex siren Nancy, William Conrad as the vicious mobster Castro) who are really responsible, with the help of a handicapped marine, Delong (Richard Erdman).

Powell’s practised, hard-boiled performance spearheads this well-cast, fast-moving, tough-toned revenge thriller, in which all the elements are expertly corralled by director Parrish in his début.

Fleming and Conrad are enjoyably flamboyant as the baddies, while Jean Porter stands out as Darlene. Also in the cast are Regis Toomey, Jay Adler, Joan Banks, Hy Averback, Gloria Saunders, Renny McEvoy, Lou Lubin and Benny Burt.

This Olympic production and RKO release  is written by William Bowers, based on a story by Jerome Cady, shot in black and white by Joseph F Biroc, produced by Sam Wiessenthal and W R Frank, scored by Emil Newman and Paul Dunlap, and designed by Richard Day.

It was shot in just 22 days in Los Angeles by former child star Parrish, making his debut as a director.

The film was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and released in 2011.

RIP Jean Porter.

RIP Jean Porter (8 December 1922 – 13 January 2018).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6565

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