''Moment of Danger'' (also known as ''Malaga'') is a 1960 British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

film starring

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...

and Edmund Purdom. It was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1959. The film is based on the novel by , and it was brought to the screen by David D. Osborn. The film proved to be the final completed film for

Plot

Starting with a wordless jewel heist pulled-off by thief Peter Curran and locksmith John Bain, Curran then double-crosses his accomplice, dumps his lover Gianna and escapes with his ill-gotten gains. In the aftermath Gianna teams up with Bain and the two of them decide to even the score with Curran, developing feelings for each other along the way.

Cast

as John Bain *

as Gianna * Edmund Purdom as Peter Carran *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Inspector Farrell *

Paul Stassino Phaedros Stassinos (1930 – 28 June 2012) was a Greek Cypriot actor whose international stage name was Paul Stassino. Early life Stassino was born in Platres and grew up in nearby Limassol, but spent most of his acting career in England. He ...

as Juan Montoya * John Bailey as Cecil *

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east ...

as Shapley *

Peter Illing Peter Illing (4 March 1899 – 29 October 1966) was an Austrian-born British film and television actor. Selected TV series * '' Deadline Midnight'' (1961) as Captain Dnieprovsky * '' The Saint'' (1962) as Inspector Buono Filmography * '' The S ...

as Pawnbroker *

Martin Boddey Albert Martin Boddey (16 April 1907 – 24 October 1975) was a British film and television actor. He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity. Boddey started acting when he was nearly 40, often portraying irritable authority fig ...

as Sir John Middleburgh

Background

Before the film's release, Jet magazine said it "concerns a girl ... and a man ... who, broke and stranded, are on the run from the law...(at one point) the girl goes out and gets money as a prostitute." One author describes Michael Hordern's appearance in the movie as a "sympathetic copper who knows that Trevor Howard is a jewel thief – thanks to Howard's double-crossing partner Edmond Purdom – but lacks the evidence to make an arrest." In the film

was cast as a woman of colour of European descent with the Italian name of Gianna.Regester, page 318 In some pre-release publicity, one magazine article made a point of saying that when Trevor Howard's character kissed Dorothy, it was the first time in her career that she had received an on-screen kiss from a white man. This was not so as the actors barely touched throughout, but director László Benedek created some strongly understated sexual tension. The actress' first screen kiss so described occurred when starring with German actor

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gene ...

in the 1958 Italian production '' Tamango''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moment of Danger 1960 films 1960 crime drama films British crime drama films Films set in London Films set in Spain British chase films 1960s chase films 1960s English-language films Warner Bros. films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films directed by László Benedek 1960s British films