DANGER ZONE

Virginia Dale and Hugh Beaumont

DANGER ZONE (1951). Produced and directed by William Berke. 

In the first of three movies starring Hugh Beaumont as boat renter and sometime private eye Denny O'Brien working out of Pier 23 in San Francisco, he gets involved in two separate cases (as he does in the subsequent films Roaring City and Pier 23). In the first story a woman at an auction, Claire Underwood (Virginia Dale), importunes Denny to bid for her on a locked suitcase that turns out to contain a saxophone. Claire isn't the only person who wants the sax, there's a dumpy fellow named Dunlap (Ralph Sanford) who's after it as well. Then there's a poor guy named Bud Becker (Don Garner) who wants the instrument simply to play sweet music and winds up poisoned to death. Lt. Bruger (Richard Travis) is convinced that Denny is up to his ears in murder and mischief, but with the help of his pal the professor (Edward Brophy), Denny is able to find out the secret of the sax and the identity of the killer.

Beaumont with Tom Neal

In the second story Denny is hired by another private eye, Edgar Spadely (Tom Neal), to escort a woman, Vicki (Pamela Blake), to a party on a yacht. This turns out to be a trick so that the lady's husband can catch her in a compromising position with a photographer at the ready. Naturally Lt. Bruger suspects Denny of murdering the husband even as Denny fingers Vicki and her accusatory niece, Sheila (Paula Drew), who will inherit all of her uncle's money. Eventually the unsurprising truth comes out. A fast pace is the main asset of Danger Zone, although the first story has a slight bit of suspense to it. Beaumont and Travis are good as the bickering hero and cop, although Denny never comes off like an especially likable character. The women give mediocre performances and aren't very sexy, either. Edward Brophy adds some humor and gives arguably the most notable performance as the tippling professor, who sleeps on a couch in Denny's bedroom. Don Garner is also memorable in his bit as the sick and dying Bud, whose tragic death is barely remarked upon. From Lippert Pictures. 

Verdict: Low-grade film noir. Proof that B movies transitioned into TV shows, in this case literally. **.