Pretty Good

best movie i've ever seen.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This film is usually credited to director Robert Parrish alone, but in point of fact it was Dick Powell who directed and rehearsed the players, whilst Parrish and Joe Biroc concentrated on the camera set-ups. This makes Cry Danger Powell's first film as a director – and a really notable achievement it is! Powell's own performance is also one of his best. He delivers his amusingly pungent dialogue in a delightfully laconic manner. However, it is actually Richard Erdman, who plays Powell's bogus buddy, who delivers the film's standout performance. The script provided him with a well-rounded character which he plays with just the right degree of morose self-indulgence – without in any way alienating audience sympathy. On the other hand, William Conrad delivers another of his chillingly fascinating studies in vicious thuggery. He is particularly well-served by director Powell, who makes great use of his bulk and in the justly celebrated table- top confrontation pulls off a truly memorable use of upside-down composition. So why am I awarding this terrific film a miserable 8/10? The name of the loser is Rhonda Fleming – a really lovely woman but with a very limited acting range. She is so beautiful, she can usually get away with it – but not in this movie! Understandably, she passes up the opportunity to turn in a performance of some subtlety, but even her straight acting here is unconvincing. But the rest of the players are all in fine form, particularly Jean Porter, Joan Banks and Gloria Saunders. (Memo to myself: Check to see if IMDb credits the unbilled Kathleen Freeman as the second cigarette girl.) Of the male performers, Jay Adler, Hy Averback, Benny Burt and Lou Lubin make a lasting impression. I have a buddy who used to give a course on film editing and this was the movie he always showed his students as an example of the best!

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.

During his early years in Hollywood, Dick Powell was pigeonholed into roles that were very, very similar. Because of his lovely voice and handsome face, he starred in one musical after another for Warner Brothers. While these films were pretty agreeable to watch, they were light-weight--with little depth and posing little challenge to Powell. He ached to do something more and around the end of WWII he got it--a great string of tough film noir movies. Now these were the antithesis of his earlier films and my assumption is that he got this chance because his boyish good looks were disappearing as he reached middle age. And, as far as I'm concerned, this was definitely for the better. With such tough films as "Cornered", "Johnny O'Clock" and "Murder My Sweet" he proved he could play a guy every bit as tough and cynical as the best of them! "Cry Danger" begins with Powell being released from prison. Apparently, he'd spent five years there for a crime he didn't commit--and the only reason he was released is because an opportunist (Richard Erdman) perjured himself to provide him with an alibi. But he DIDN'T commit the robbery and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. The trail leads to a real crumb (William Conrad) and some snappy scenes between them. I'd say more, but don't want to divulge the film's nice twists.All in all, the film worked for three major reasons--Powell's snappy acting, Conrad's performance as a slime-ball and wonderful dialog. While this is not exactly a great example of film noir, it's near-great--and well worth your time.interesting twist with 'Harry'

Have nothing to add except a novice's impression-- the other reviews cover it all.I found Rocky an uninspiring tough guy... his acting is wooden (another reviewer notes this)...and it takes a lot of talent to deliver corny one liners without it appearing ridiculous. The dialogue was actually not bad.Neither is he young nor good looking--mostly just boring reminds one of an insurance agent.The trailer park was fun to watch...1950 seediness.The 2 tonne Nash was fun too (how do the front wheels turn?)--part of the time machine effect.Film noir? Don't know that much about these terms but I was not expecting the ending of this film if that qualifies it.There were no unusual or artistic camera angles (that always adds interest) Still it is a film for adults---how many of those are made now? And it has the twist ending and of course there is the time machine part of it.Give it 6 starts.. A decent watch.