Filming began on the U.S. production in June 1949, the picture was released in Great Britain in April 1950, but did not debut in the United States till May 1951.
Plot
At the Hotel Compton in Gary, Indiana, U.S. postal inspector Harry Gruber is murdered by two men, Joe Regas and George Soderquist. They dump the body in La Porte during a rainstorm, but just then a nun, Sister Augustine, passes near them. Soderquist tries to distract her by helping unfurl her umbrella and pretending Gruber is drunk, but she reports the incident.
Postal inspector Al Goddard is assigned to the case. He traces Sister Augustine to a convent in Fort Wayne, and recites to her a quotation from Martin Luther about personal responsibility. She then agrees to go to the police station, where she identifies Soderquist from a mug book, and then to Gary in the hope of identifying him there in person. She will stay at a convent there until she is needed to testify in court.
Soderquist is seen by Goddard and Sister Augustine with another gang member, Paul Ferrar, but gets away. Meanwhile, Regas, whom Mary does not recognize, sees her and telephones Earl Boettiger, the head of the gang and owner of the Hotel Compton, warning him to hide Soderquist. Later, when Soderquist rejects an order to leave town, they kill him.
Goddard realizes that as Soderquist has not left town, the gang must still be planning something. He talks to the Gary postmaster, who suggests a likely target for theft: a money shipment that arrives regularly in Gary by train but must change to another train, involving a seven-minute truck ride between stations. Gruber had asked him about the truck's drivers, one of whom recently declined a chance at a higher-paying job; it is Ferrar, and Goddard recognizes him from before.
Goddard, posing as a corrupt inspector, pressures Ferrar to meet the head of the gang. He then asks Boettiger to join the gang, promising to be a more reliable inside man than is Ferrar. The plan is indeed to steal the money shipment, expected to be worth $1million. Meanwhile, Regas is still worried about Sister Augustine and tries unsuccessfully to stage a fatal accident for her.
When Boettiger makes a last-minute change to the plan, Goddard has no choice but to phone the police from the gang's hotel suite. He is heard by Boettiger's mistress, hotel employee Dodie, but she protects him because she does not want to be an accessory to his murder. She "reports" the planned crime to him in order to stay on the right side of the law, and says she is leaving town at once.
The robbery does not go as smoothly as hoped, because Regas neglects his part in the preparations to take Sister Augustine prisoner. When the gang meets, she blurts Goddard's name, revealing his deception. He pleads for them not to kill her, then buys time by starting a fight. As police arrive, a shootout ensues in an industrial district, ending in the death of all the gang members.
The film was announced in July 1948 as Postal Inspector. It was always envisioned as a vehicle for Alan Ladd.[4]Ardel Wray and Robert L. Richards wrote the script, and the film was meant to follow Chicago Deadline.[5] However, production was pushed back to allow Ladd to make Captain Carey, U.S.A. The film's title was changed to Dead Letter.[6]William Keighley was originally announced as director, then he was replaced by Lewis Allen.[7]
Phyllis Calvert was signed in April 1949.[8] According to Calvert, the studio did not believe that she would accept the part, as she had turned down several previous film offers.
After six weeks of script rewrites,[9] filming began on June 16, 1949.[10] The title was changed again to United States Mail.[11]
The film features Jack Webb and Harry Morgan as villains, later famously paired as Los Angeles police detectives on the Dragnet television show. The film's co-writer Richard L. Breen had previously worked with Webb on the radio series Pat Novak for Hire, and would write at least three scripts for Dragnet, including the 1954 theatrical film and the 1966 TV-movie pilot for the revival series.
Reception
The film was released in the U.K. in April 1950.[1] It made its U.S. debut in May 1951, retitled as Appointment with Danger.[citation needed]
Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, liked the film, especially the screenplay. He wrote, "[I]t's fairly obvious that it's all familiar stuff to our hero, for he evinces as much emotion over these muscular goings-on as a postal clerk counting air mail stamps. But he is fortunate in having a vehicle, which is basically a cops-and-robbers tale, tautly written by scenarists Richard Breen and Warren Duff, who also have injected humor in the modern idiom into their dialogue. And he is fortunate too in having the support of principals who handle these lines and roles as to the manner born. As a result, Appointment With Danger lives up to its title as Ladd, checking on the murder of another postal inspector in Gary, Ind., finds a visiting nun who saw the criminals."[13]
Variety gave the film a positive review, writing, "Ladd is right at home as the tightlipped, tough inspector assigned to the case. There is a neat contrasting byplay in the nun character done by Phyllis Calvert as co-star, which adds an offbeat note to the meller plot."[14]
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References
1 2 "NEW FILMS IN LONDON" Our Film Critic. The Manchester Guardian 1 Apr 1950: 5.
↑ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
↑ Schallert, Edwin (July 14, 1948). "Roberts Busy Perusing New Novel by Wolfert". Los Angeles Times. p.21.
↑ THOMAS M. PRYOR (July 14, 1948). "SCHARY RETURNING TO METRO STUDIOS: Likely to Be Executive Producer Second to Louis B. Mayer -- RKO Leaders in Meeting". New York Times. p.26.
↑ Schallert, Edwin (Nov 18, 1948). "Otto Preminger to Direct Tierney, Conte as Team; Barker Scouts Zoo Stars". Los Angeles Times. p.B9.
↑ THOMAS F. BRADY (Apr 6, 1949). "ELEANOR PARKER IN BOGART MOVIE: Warners Name Actress to Lead in 'Chain Lightning' -- Change Directors at Paramount". New York Times. p.38.
↑ THOMAS F. BRADY (Apr 12, 1949). "FOX BUYS RIGHTS TO KERSCH NOVEL: Studio Pays $175,000 for 'Night and City,' 1946 Story of Nightlife in London". New York Times. p.39.
↑ "Film: For love? Hell no, I did it for money Frustrated by the British studios, Phyllis Calvert went to Hollywood. What followed was even worse." Sweet, Matthew, The Independent; London, 25 Feb 2000: 12.
↑ "Of Local Origin". New York Times. May 5, 1949. p.34.
↑ "New Screen Team". Chicago Daily Tribune. Mar 12, 1950. p.G2.
↑ "Ladd's Picture Nominated for Mystery Award". Chicago Daily Tribune. Nov 25, 1951. p.g2.
↑ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, May 10, 1951. Last accessed: December 28, 2007.
↑ Variety. Film review, May 10, 1951. Last accessed: December 28, 2007.
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