SUDDEN DANGER

Bill Elliott with Beverly Garland in background mirror

SUDDEN DANGER (1955). Director: Hubert Cornfield.

Wallace Curtis (Tom Drake of Date with Disaster), who has been blind since an accident, comes home to discover his mother dead from gas. A note suggests that she wants her son to use the insurance money (from a suicide?) for an operation. Detective Lt. Andy Doyle (Bill Elliott) is suspicious of Curtis, especially when he learns that he supposedly argued with his mother about her paying for his operation, lied about the fact that she caused the accident, and discovering that the suicide note was created on his girlfriend, Phyllis' (Beverly Garland), typewriter. As Curtis wonders if the operation will be a success, Doyle seemingly builds a case against him.

Minerva Urecal and Tom Drake

This is the second and one of the best of former western star Bill Elliott's cop movies, with a good suspenseful script, a good score (Marlin Skiles), sharp cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks, and solid performances from everyone -- Elliott is professional if not a great actor. Drake makes a sympathetic figure but he doesn't give away his guilt or innocence, and Garland [Twice-Told Tales] is as expressive and credible as ever. Minerva Urecal scores as Curtis' harridan of a landlady, and Dayton Lummis and Helene Stanton [New Orleans Uncensored] are fine as a business executive and his much-younger squeeze, a model. Ellsworth Fredericks also photographed Invasion of the Body Snatchers the following year. 

Verdict: Surprisingly effective little B mystery. ***. 

NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED

Beverly Garland and Arthur Franz

NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED (1955). Director: William Castle. 

New Orleans, the second busiest port after New York City, has become a hotbed of crime and violence. Dan Corbett (Arthur Franz) only wants to fix up an old rust bucket of a ship and start his own business, but for now he works on the docks. Dan gets involved with two women: Alma Mae (Helene Stanton), who is the sexy girlfriend of mob boss "Zero" Saxon (Michael Ansara); and Marie Reilly (Beverly Garland of Soldiers of Fortune), whose husband, Joe (William Henry of Uranium Boom) works for Saxon and later winds up dead. Dan agrees to help the authorities expose Saxon's corruption by going to work for him undercover, even though he knows he's putting himself in harm's way. 

Arthur Franz and Helene Stanton

Frankly, there's enough material in this picture to have made an exciting thriller, but New Orleans Uncensored just ambles along without ever once igniting. The performances are all credible, although the cops and other authorities are played by real-life policemen. The suspenseful climax the film has supposedly been building to never quite materializes. Other cast members include Mike Mazurki as Saxon's dumb enforcer, and Ed Nelson as a dock worker. This same year Helene Stanton played a blonde goddess in the Jungle Jim film Jungle Moon Men. 

Verdict: Surprisingly, a rather dull William Castle movie. **.